Language

Learning

Lecturer: Pham Huynh Thuy Uyen

Language
Learning
Theoretical
Approaches
1. Overview: Conscious
Learning
o Definition: Formal, structured
language learning through a
specific syllabus.
o Characteristics: Systematic
approach, grammar rules and
vocabulary are explicitly taught.
o Benefits: Promotes accuracy &
understanding of language rules.
o Example: Learning a language
through classroom instruction,
textbooks, and exercises.
 1. Overview: Subconscious Learning
o Definition: Language
acquisition through natural
exposure & use.
o Characteristics: Immersive
experience in real-life contexts,
without explicit instruction.
o Benefits: Enhances fluency &
intuitive grasp of language
usage.
Eg: Acquiring a language by
living in a country where it is
spoken, interacting with native
speakers
Milestones & Patterns in Development
Milestones & Patterns in Development
o Early Vocalizations: Infants start with involuntary sounds like crying or cooing.
o Sound Discrimination: Infants can differentiate between sounds early on.
o First Words: Around 12 months, infants begin to understand and say recognizable
words.
o Vocabulary Growth: By age 2, children have a growing vocabulary and start
forming simple sentences.
o Advanced Language Use: By age 3-4, children can use language for questioning,
commanding, storytelling, and mastering basic language structures.
∙ 1.2 First language learning theories
Behaviorism
Innatism
Interactionist Position
∙ Behaviorism:
∙ Behaviorism as a Learning Theory:
∙ A psychological theory of learning that was highly influential in the 1940s and
1950s, particularly in the United States.
∙ Traditional behaviorists believed that language learning occurs through
imitation, practice, feedback on success, and habit formation.
∙ Mechanisms of Language Learning:
∙ Imitation: Children imitate the sounds and patterns they hear in their
environment.
∙ Reinforcement: Positive reinforcement (e.g., praise or successful
communication) encourages children to continue imitating and practicing these
sounds and patterns.
Through this process, children form habits of correct language use
∙ Behaviorism:
· Role of Environment:
The quality and quantity of language that a child hears, along with the
consistency of reinforcement from others, influence the child's success in
language learning.
· Appeal and Limitations of Behaviorism:
The behaviorist view is intuitively appealing and can partially explain aspects of
children's early language learning.
However, it may not fully account for the development of more complex aspects
of language, suggesting that it is beneficial to examine actual language data to
assess its effectiveness.
∙ Innatism:
∙ Innatism:
∙ Innatism as a Theory of Language Acquisition:
∙ Proposed by linguist Noam Chomsky, who argued that children are
biologically programmed for language development, similar to other
biological functions like walking.
∙ Language acquisition occurs naturally, with the environment providing the
necessary input, but the child’s biological endowment does the rest.
∙ Critique of Behaviorism:
∙ Chomsky developed his theory in response to the perceived inadequacies of the
behaviorist view, which relies on imitation and habit formation.
∙ He argued that the language children are exposed to is often imperfect (e.g.,
incomplete sentences, slips of the tongue), yet they still manage to learn
complex language structures.
∙ Innatism:
Language Acquisition Device (LAD) and Universal Grammar
(UG):
∙Chomsky introduced the concept of the Language Acquisition
Device (LAD), an innate mechanism in the brain that helps
children discover the underlying rules of a language system.
∙LAD has been replaced in more recent writings by the concept of
Universal Grammar (UG), a set of principles common to all
human languages.
∙UG helps children learn the specific rules and variations of the
language spoken around them by matching innate grammatical
knowledge to these structures.
∙ Innatism:
∙ Evidence Supporting Innatism:
∙ Universality: Virtually all children learn their native language successfully at an
early age, even those with limited cognitive abilities or who are deaf (through sign
language).
∙ Consistency: Children master the basic structure of their native language regardless
of varying environmental conditions, suggesting that language development is
separate from other cognitive processes.
∙ Lack of Complete Input: Children are not exposed to all linguistic rules and
patterns, yet they learn them, indicating an innate ability.
∙ Animal Comparison: Animals, even primates with intensive training, cannot learn a
symbol system as complex as human language.
∙ Independence from Explicit Correction: Children acquire language without
consistent correction of their grammatical mistakes, which supports the idea that they
are innately equipped to learn language.
∙ Interactionist Position:
∙ Interactionist Position:
∙ Interactionist Perspective on Language Development:
∙ Language develops through the interaction between the child’s innate
characteristics and the environment.
∙ Interactionists place more emphasis on the environment than
innatists, particularly on language that is modified to suit the learner's
capabilities.
∙ Importance of Child-Directed Speech:
∙ Interactionists emphasize the significance of child-directed speech,
which is language adjusted to make it easier for children to
understand.
∙ Language acquisition is seen as similar to the acquisition of other
skills and knowledge, influenced by the child’s experience and
cognitive development.
∙ Interactionist Position:
∙ Piaget's Cognitive Development Theory:
∙ Jean Piaget, a Swiss psychologist, studied how children’s
cognitive development influences language use.
∙ He observed that cognitive understanding, such as concepts
like object permanence and logical reasoning, is crucial for
language development.
∙ Piaget did not view language as a separate module of the mind
but as one of several symbol systems developed in childhood,
reflecting knowledge gained through physical interaction with
the environment.
∙ Interactionist Position:
∙ Vygotsky's Socio-Cultural Theory:
∙ Lev Vygotsky, a Soviet psychologist, proposed that language
develops entirely through social interaction.
∙ He introduced the concept of the zone of proximal
development, which refers to what a child can achieve with
help from others but not alone.
∙ Vygotsky believed that language and thought originate from
social interactions, with thought being internalized speech. His
view contrasts with Piaget’s, who saw language as a tool to
express knowledge acquired from the physical world.
∙ Interactionist Position:
∙ Differences Between Piaget and Vygotsky:
∙ Piaget: Language develops as a symbol system to express
knowledge gained through physical interaction with the
environment.
∙ Vygotsky: Thought is internalized speech, and speech arises
from social interactions, making language inherently social.
∙ Broad Range of Interactionist Theories:
∙ Interactionists represent a spectrum of views on the relative
contributions of innate mental structures and the environment in
language acquisition.
1.3 Second Language learning theories

Behaviorism
Innatism
Interactionist Position
Behaviorism:
 Behaviorism:
∙ Behaviorist View on Learning:
∙ Learning occurs through imitation, practice, reinforcement, and habit formation.
∙ Both verbal and non-verbal learning follow the same underlying process.
∙ Learners form associations between words and objects/events based on linguistic input
from their environment.
∙ Repeated experiences strengthen these associations.
∙ Language Development as Habit Formation:
∙ Language learning is seen as the formation of habits.
∙ When learning a second language, habits formed in the first language can interfere with
learning the new language.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0Hi00phL30
 Behaviorism:
Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis (CAH):
∙ CAH is linked to behaviorism and was developed by structural linguistics.
∙ The hypothesis predicts that:
o Similarities between the first and target languages make it easier for learners to
acquire target-language structures.
o Differences between the two languages lead to difficulty in learning the target
language.
∙ Reference to Theorists:
∙ Lado (1964): Discusses the interference of first language habits in second language
learning.
∙ P. M. Lightbown (2002): Mentions the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis and its
predictions regarding language learning.
Innatism
Innatism
∙ Universal Grammar (UG) and Language Acquisition: Chomsky's theory of
language acquisition suggests that children have an innate knowledge of Universal
Grammar (UG), which enables them to acquire the language of their environment during
a critical period of development.
∙ Application to Second Language Acquisition (SLA): Some linguists believe that UG
offers a valuable perspective for understanding SLA, but there is debate over whether
UG is still accessible to learners who have passed the critical period.
∙ Impact of Formal Instruction and Error Correction: Researchers within the UG
framework disagree on the role of formal instruction and error correction in SLA. Some
argue that adult learners, like children, do not need explicit correction, while others
believe that learners may benefit from some explicit grammatical instruction.
Innatism

∙ Focus on Advanced Learners' Competence: UG-based researchers are primarily

interested in the language competence (knowledge) of advanced second language
learners. They believe UG is necessary to explain the acquisition of complex syntax,
which they argue resembles the competence of native speakers.
∙ Debate on Early vs. Advanced Language Performance: While other theories may
explain early language performance, UG is considered essential for understanding the
more complex language competence of advanced learners
Interactionist Position
Interactionist Position
∙ Interactionist Perspective on Language Acquisition:
∙ Second language acquisition largely occurs through conversational interaction.
∙ Key proponents: Hatch (1992), Teresa Pica (1994), and Michael Long (1983).
∙ Michael Long's View:
∙ Comprehensible input is necessary for language acquisition, similar to Krashen’s
view.
∙ Long emphasizes how input is made comprehensible through modified
interaction.
∙ Learners need opportunities to interact with other speakers, which leads to
adaptations in the conversation until understanding is achieved.
 Interactionist Position

∙ Modified Interaction:
∙ Modified interaction is key for making input comprehensible, which in turn promotes
language acquisition.
∙ This modification does not always involve simplifying language; it can also include:
o Elaboration
o Slower speech rate
o Gestures
o Additional contextual cues
Interactionist Position

∙ Examples of Conversational Modification:

∙ Comprehension check: Native speaker ensures the learner has understood (e.g., "The
bus leaves at 6:30. Do you understand?").
∙ Clarification requests: Learner asks the native speaker to clarify something unclear
(e.g., "Could you repeat, please?").
∙ Self-repetition or paraphrase: Native speaker repeats or rephrases the sentence to aid
understanding (e.g., "She got lost on her way home from school. She was walking
home from school. She got lost.").