Explaining Second Language Learning I

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Explaining Second Language Learning I

• by Lisa Kaci, Josephin Oberhokamp, Hendrik
  Fitzner Camilla Honerlage

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Table of content

• Questions
• Behaviourism
• Mimicry and memorization
• The innatist perspective
• Universal Grammar
• Monitor Model
• Psychological theories
• Cognitivist/developmental perspective
• Information processing
• Connectionism
• The competition model
• Discussion

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Questions

• What are the steps with which Behaviorism
  explains language? Name them and give an example.
• What are the two different theories about the
  nature of Universal Grammar?
• What are the 5 hypotheses of Krashens Monitor
  Model? Explain two of them briefly.
• To what refer declarative knowledge and
  procedural knowledge?
• What does the Competition Model explain?

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Behaviourism

• Theory of learning
• Very influential between the 1940s and 1970s
• Nurture ? Environment has great importance

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Behaviourism

• Explains learning in terms of
• Imitation
• Practice (mimicry)
• Reinforcement
• ? Formation of habit language development

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Behaviourism

• Video Learning English, Spanglish
• Video Some funny guy learning English

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Behaviourism

• Influence on development of audiolingual teaching
  and material
• ? great emphasis on mimicry and memorization

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Behaviourism

• Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis assumes

First and target language similar Target language is learned with ease
First and target language different Target language is learned with difficulty
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Behaviourism

• But learners did not do the predicted errors
• ?All learners made nearly the same errors
• Influence of first language is the process of
  finding similarities

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Criticism on Behaviourism and CAH

• Behaviourism Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis
  are inadequate explanations for second language
  acquisition

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Universal Grammar

• Noam Chomsky
• Innate linguistic knowledge which consists of a
  set of principles common to all languages
• Explanation for second language acquisition?

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Universal Grammar

• Lydia White
• best perspective for second language acquisition
  but nature of Universal Grammar is altered
• Robert Bley-Vroman/Jacquelyn Schachter
• Not a good explanation for second language
  acquisition critical period is passed
• Vivian Cook
• Learners have more knowledge than input could
  give them

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Universal Grammar

• Different theories about its nature
• Nature and availability of Universal Grammar are
  the same in first language acquisition and second
  language acquisition
• Universal Grammar that is present to second
  language learners has been altered in its nature
  by acquisition of other languages

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Monitor Model

• Stephen Krashen
• Model of second language acquisition
• Influenced by Chomskys theory of first language
  acquisition

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Monitor Model

• Based on 5 hypotheses
• Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis
• Monitor Hypothesis
• Natural Order Hypothesis
• Input Hypothesis
• Affective Filter Hypothesis

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Monitor Model
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Psychological theories cognitivist/developmental
perspective

• Since 1990 central role in second language
  acquisition
• Computer as metaphor for mind
• Capacities for storage, integration and retrieval
• No specific module in brain for
  acquisition/learning
• UG as explanation for first language acquisition
• ? Less successful for second language acquisition

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Psychological theories cognitivist/developmental
perspective

• Theories
• Information processing
• Connectionism
• The competition model

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Information processing

• Norman Segalowitz
• Second language acquisition as the building up of
  knowledge for automatic use of speaking and
  understanding
• Learner first pays attention to any aspect of
  language for understanding/production
• ? controlled processing
• Experience/practice ? easier process of
  information
• ? quicker automatic access

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Information processing

• Controlled processing

• Automatic processing

• Slow access
• Under control of attention
• Limited in capacity

• Quick access
• Requires little attention
• Needs little capacity to perform

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Information processing

• Robert DeKeyser
• Second language acquisition as skill learning
• Learning starts with declarative knowledge
• Becomes procedural knowledge through practice
• Processes become proceduralized/automized like
  other skills
• Parallel to development from controlled to
  automatic processing

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Information processing

• Declarative knowledge

• Procedural knowledge

• Involves acquisition of isolated facts and rules
• ? knowing that
• e.g. knowing that a car can be driven

• Requires practice
• Involves processing of longer units and
  increasing automization
• ?knowing how
• e.g. knowing how to drive a car

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Information processing

• Example car driving
• Begin learning to drive a car
• Close attention to every action/decision
• Aware that performances can easily be disturbed
  (e.g. talking)
• Practice ? skill improves
• Automization
• Experienced driver
• Able to pay attention to previously disturbing
  events

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Information processing

• Restructuring
• Changes in language behavior
• Quality changes in learners knowledge
• New forms are not just added to old
• Regular systematic reorganization and
  reformulation
• Sudden burst of knowledge or backsliding
• Systematic aspect of learners language
  incorporates too much or wrong things
• ? saw ed

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Connectionism

• Innate only the simple ability to learn
• Very important the role of the environment

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Connectionism

• Emphasis is on the frequency
• Encountering of specific linguistic features in
  the input
• How often features occur together

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Connectionism

• Knowledge of language built up through exposure
• connections build up
• Stronger connections the more often something is
  heard
• ? chunks

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The competition model

• Explains first language and second language
  acquisition
• Hypothesis
• language acquisition occurs without the
  necessity of a learners focused attention or the
  need for any innate brain module that is
  specifically for language

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The competition model

• Language use and language meaning important
• Learners understand how to use cues
• ? word order, grammatical markers and animacy
  of nouns

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The competition model

• Example Box push boy
• Depends on the mother tongue, how second
  languages are learned
• Example Il giocattolo guardail il bambino

Two/three year old Four year old
Uses cues of animacy and their knowledge of the way things work in the world. Children will give a SVO interpretation to strings of the words.
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Questions

• What are the steps with which Behaviorism
  explains language? Name them and give an example.
• What are the two different theories about the
  nature of Universal Grammar?
• What are the 5 hypotheses of Krashens Monitor
  Model? Explain two of them briefly.
• To what refer declarative knowledge and
  procedural knowledge?
• What does the Competition Model explain?

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Bibliography

• Doughty, C. J. Long, M.H. (eds.) (2003). The
  Handbook of Second Language Acquisition. Malden,
  MA Blackwell.
• Gramley, S. Gramley, V. (eds.) (2008).
  Bielefeld Introduction to Applied Linguistics.
  Bielefeld Aithesis.
• Lightbown, P. M. Spada, N. (2006). How
  Languages are Learned. 3rd Edition. Oxford
  Oxford University Press.
• Mitchell, R. Myles, F. (1998). Second Language
  Learning Theories. London Arnold.
• Richards, J.C. Rodgers, T. S. (2001).
  Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. 2nd
  edition. Cambridge Cambridge University Press.
• Saville-Troike, M. (2006). Introducing Second
  Language Acquisition. Cambridge Cambridge
  University Press.