EDRL Chapter 2 L1 & L2 Theories by Heidi H

Behaviorist Theory

heidihillen — 2025-02-10 02:40:52 UTC

When learning a language, the child must hear then recognize and associate a word with an action, thing, or idea.

extra focus on the role imitating others plays initially
believes children are born as blank slates (tabula rasa), shaped by experience

Pictures/video links

heidihillen — 2025-02-10 02:40:52 UTC

Quotes

heidihillen — 2025-02-10 02:40:52 UTC

"For example, to learn the word ball, the child would first associate the word ball with the familiar spherical object, the stimulus. Next, the child would produce the word by imitation, at which time an adult would praise the child for saying ball, thereby reinforcing the child’s correct verbal response." (pg 61)

However...

heidihillen — 2025-02-10 02:52:50 UTC

this theory doesn't explain original sounds or words children can still come up with
parents also must typically ask for further explanation of what their children mean, not to correct them grammatically

Innatist Theory

heidihillen — 2025-02-10 02:59:27 UTC

We are all born with a natural, innate understanding of how to analyze linguistics

we also possess a universal understanding of grammar, which further allows us to create grammar rules later on by learning from the language used around us
overall stating how children use rules rather than imitation to learn languages

Quotes

heidihillen — 2025-02-10 02:59:52 UTC

"For example, a child may hypothesize the rule that all plural nouns end with an -s. Therefore, when they come to a word such as child, they form the plural as childs, or when they come to the word man, they say mans for the plural. Gradually, they will revise their hypothesis to accommodate exceptions to the plural rule." (pg 61)

Pictures/video links

heidihillen — 2025-02-10 03:03:54 UTC

However...

heidihillen — 2025-02-10 03:13:40 UTC

this theory claims little influence from parents or caregivers on a child's language
"too dismissive of the ways that mothers and others who bring up children help infants to acquire language” (pg. 27)
no matter what, adults still shape a child's idea of what is socially acceptable when speaking, as well as further expanding their vocabulary

Interactionist Theory

heidihillen — 2025-02-10 03:17:38 UTC

Caregivers are the main source of language acquisition for children.

focuses on interactions like "conversational scaffolding", which an adult is to interpret and translate a child's broken speech into proper sentences, providing "conversational assistance and focused linguistic input tuned to the child’s own interests and language use at that moment"
overall, the theory acknowledges the role caregivers play in broadening children's speech and vocabulary, as well as what is deemed appropriate

Quotes

heidihillen — 2025-02-10 03:20:34 UTC

"Children are constantly constructing meaning as they interact with people and the world around them, and through these interactions, they gradually sort out the nuances and multiple meanings of words and phrases." (pg 63)

Picture/video links

heidihillen — 2025-02-10 03:25:25 UTC

Behaviorist for Second Languages

heidihillen — 2025-02-10 03:34:53 UTC

founded the idea for audioliguistic methods, which have people listen to English speakers to memorize grammatical patterns and verb forms
When teaching second languages, behaviorism utilizes imitation, repetition, and the reinforcement of grammatical structures

However...

heidihillen — 2025-02-10 03:35:38 UTC

only 2 out of 40 students claimed this "drill-and-skill" style to be an effective method for them to learn from

Quotes

heidihillen — 2025-02-10 03:37:27 UTC

"Students are first taught to listen and speak and then to read and write based on the assumption that this is the natural sequence

in first language acquisition. (This sequence has been disputed, as you will see

in Chapter 5.) " (pg 65)

Innatist for Second Languages

heidihillen — 2025-02-10 06:36:14 UTC

helped establish creative construction theories, based around the idea that second language students would build understanding of grammatical rules similarly to how they have prior
Dulay and Burt (1974) were also able to further deny with research a consistent difficulty level amongst second language English learners, as different languages follow different textual and grammatical rules, changing how the student will initially assess the sounds and letters

However...

heidihillen — 2025-02-10 06:36:49 UTC

overall they still concluded that second language English learners have a similar learning pattern to those learning English for the first time

Quotes

heidihillen — 2025-02-10 06:38:07 UTC

"In a large-scale study of Spanish-speaking and Chinese-speaking children learning English in school (Dulay & Burt, 1974), English language samples were collected using a structured interview based on colorful cartoon pictures. Children were asked questions about the pictures in ways that elicited the use of certain grammatical structures. Children’s grammatical errors were then examined to determine whether they could be attributed to influence from the first language or whether they were similar to the types of errors young, native English-speaking children make. Data analysis showed that some learner errors could be traced to influence from the first language, Chinese or Spanish. However, the majority of errors were similar to those made by native English-speaking youngsters as they acquire their mother tongue." (pg 65)

The Acquisition/Learning Hypothesis

heidihillen — 2025-02-10 06:49:22 UTC

Krashen claimed an acquisition as a natural process of having meaningful conversation with other language speakers, with the focus on communication
Language learning was referred to as the intentional and conscious learning of the language and its functions, specifically seen in foreign language classes.

"Krashen claims (1) that learning cannot turn into acquisition and (2) that it is only acquired language that is available for natural, fluent communication." (pg 66)

However, other theorists discussed the difficulty in which it would be to tell whether acquisitional learning or language learning is at work.

The Monitor Hypothesis

heidihillen — 2025-02-10 06:58:03 UTC

Kraken proposed that through learning a language, you also develop an internal grammar "monitor" that helps to ensure proper usage

"For a student to use the monitor, three conditions are necessary: sufficient time, focus on grammatical form, and explicit knowledge of the rules." (pg 66)

He also goes on to explain how making sure to follow grammatical rules only assists, but rather the majority of language knowledge comes from communication and active acquisition.

The Natural Order Hypothesis

heidihillen — 2025-02-10 07:01:30 UTC

language learners acquire skills and understanding in a predictable sequence
many have agreed that they learned skills in a similar order, however there is always still room for individual variation as well

The Input Hypothesis

heidihillen — 2025-02-10 07:09:57 UTC

" comprehensible input is the causative variable in language acquisition" (pg 67)

claims understanding of the language stems from the learner's ability to recognize conversational speech
the "input" must be understandable, used in natural conversation, and be slightly above the learner's current knowledge level

However, some have challenged Krashen for there being no way to gauge the learner's current understanding

"i + 1 would be a dynamic variable, subject to the

student’s knowledge and interest in the topic, anxiety level, communicative

situation and the like." (pg 67)

They have also stated how Krashen's hypothesis does little to credit the actual usage of the language on the learner's end i.e. speaking and writing

The Affective Filter Hypothesis

heidihillen — 2025-02-10 07:18:26 UTC

"Krashen concludes that the most important affective variables favoring second language acquisition are a low anxiety learning environment, student motivation to learn the language, self-confidence, and self-esteem." (pg 67)

states how students must first be open to receiving the information in the first place
encourages teachers to give students a "silent period", a no-pressure time to practice their conversation skills amongst each other

"Krashen’s second language acquisition theories have been influential in promoting language teaching practices that (1) focus on communication, not grammatical form;(2) allow students a silent period, rather than forcing immediate speech production; and (3) create a low-anxiety environment." (pg 68)

Interactionist for Second Language

heidihillen — 2025-02-10 07:26:34 UTC

focus on how foreign or second language learners modify the language or alter the original composition of sentences to convey their messages - negotiation of meaning

"A second language learner’s output facilitates acquisition in at least two ways. First, it can serve to elicit requests for clarification, thus requiring repetition or paraphrasing that is more understandable. In addition, as learners
speak or write in the new language, they have to actively select the grammar, vocabulary, and linguistic style that will best express their ideas." (pg 68)
therefore, output takes them more effort to create for comprehension