Topic 6 Language Acquisition Theories
Intended Learning Outcomes: At the end of this chapter, the students are expected to:
1. Analyze language acquisition based on theories.
6.1 Behaviorist learning theory
Behaviorist view of language acquisition states that the language behavior of the individual is
conditioned by sequences of differential rewards in his/her environment. It regards language
learning as a behavior like other forms of human behavior, not a mental phenomenon, learned
by a process of habit formation. Since language is viewed as mechanistic and as a human activity,
it is believed that learning a language is achieved by building up habits on the basis of stimulus-
response chains. Behaviorism emphasizes the consequences of the response and argues that it is
the behavior that follows a response which reinforces it and thus helps to strengthen the
association.
According to Littlewood (1984), the process of habit formation includes the following:
The child imitates the sounds and patterns which s/he hears around her/him.
People recognize the child’s attempts as being similar to the adult models and reinforce
(reward) the sounds by approval or some other desirable reaction.
In order to obtain more of these rewards, the child repeats the sounds and patterns so
that these become habits.
In this way the child’s verbal behavior is conditioned shaped until the habits coincide with
the adult models.
Example Little Rhea is always watching her favorite cartoon in
English. After awhile, her parents can now hear Rhea
speaking the same language with that of the language used
in the cartoon film.
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The behaviorists claim that the three crucial elements of learning are: a stimulus, which serves to
elicit behavior; a response triggered by the stimulus, and reinforcement, which serves to mark the
response as being appropriate or inappropriate and encourages the repetition (or suppression) of
the response.
Example Jenny learns that a cotton candy is sweet. Thus, even a
tamarind candy which is sour is still thought to be sweet by
her.
[It is during this time that Jenny will think that not all candies
are sweet.]
6.2 Cognitivist Learning Theory
Noam Chomsky, the proponent of the innatist theory or cognitivist theory, argues that language
is not acquired by children by sheer imitation and through a form of conditioning on
reinforcement and reward as what the behaviorist claim. Chomsky believes that all normal human
beings have an inborn biological internal mechanism that makes language learning possible.
Cognitivists/innatists claim that the child is born with an initial state about language which
predisposes him/her to acquire a grammar of that language. They maintain that the language
acquisition device (LAD) is what the child brings to the task of language acquisition, giving him/her
an active role in language learning. They also believe that language is prewired. He argued that
humans are biologically prewired to learn language at a certain time and in a certain way and that
in particular part of the brain is predisposed to be used for language, thus a child has language
learning capability on his/her own not being shaped by the environment.
Example Baby Jenny says am am to mean eat. She is not taught of such
term yet she learns it on her own.
[This explains that a child has the capability to learn language
because of the Language Acquisition Device (LAD) in the
brain.]
An infant experiences the house cat; they know that it
meows, is furry, purrs, eats from a bowl in the kitchen –
[Hence develops the concept of cat first then learns to map
the word kitty onto that concept. Children learn about the
world first, then map language onto their prior experience]
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6. 3 Stephen Krashen’s Monitor Model
Stephen Krashen’s monitor model is an often cited among theories of second language
acquisition. It consists of five central hypotheses:
1. Acquisition/ learning hypothesis. It claims that there are two ways of developing
competence in L2:
Acquisition - the subconscious process that results from informal, natural communication
between people where language is a means, not a focus nor an end, in itself.
Example Language is acquired without formal training nor education
Learning - the conscious process of knowing about language and being able to talk about
it, that occurs in a more formal situation where the properties or rules of a language are
taught. Language learning has traditionally involved grammar and vocabulary learning.
Example Language is learned through training like English language
being taught in school
Acquisition parallels first language development in children while learning approximates
the formal teaching of grammar in classrooms. Conscious thinking about the rules is said
to occur in second language learning while unconscious feeling about what is correct and
appropriate occurs in language acquisition.
2. Natural order hypothesis. It suggests that grammatical structures are acquired in a
predictable order for both children and adults, that is, certain grammatical structures are
acquired before others, irrespective of the language being learned. When a learner
engages in natural communication, then the standard order below will occur.
Example The learner learns spelling first before grammatical structure
The learner learns subject-verb agreement first before s/he
learns the subjunctive mood in English.
[Examples imply that a learner learns the simplest first before
it learns the complicated ones.]
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3. The monitor hypothesis. It claims that conscious learning of grammatical rules has an
extremely limited function in language performance: as a monitor or editor that checks
output. The monitor is an editing device that may normally operate before language
performance. Such editing may occur before the natural output or after the output.
Krashen suggests that monitoring occurs when there is sufficient time, where there is
pressure to communicate correctly and not just convey meaning, and when the
appropriate rules are known.
Example Jenny is schooled enough in learning English language. She
knows the rules and everything in it. However, usually, her
language performance is low compared to that of what she
knows.
[Jenny is editing in herself the language she will use. She
monitors and edits the language before she is to use it, thus
it results to limit of performance which hampers the language
performance overall.]
4. The input hypothesis. Krashen proposes that when learners are exposed to grammatical
features a little beyond their current level (i.e., i + 1), those features are acquired.
Acquisition results from comprehensible input, which is made understandable with the
help provided by the context. If learners receive understandable input, language
structures will be naturally acquired. Ability to communicate in a second language
emerges rather than indirectly put in place by teaching.
Example A teacher is delivering a topic on literature devices. As she
goes on with her class, she corrects the students of the
errors they commit. Errors committed are not part of the
topic yet the teacher reinforces it so the students will not be
committing the same errors later.
[Teacher in the situation does have an input to the students
thereby called i + 1 in the input hypothesis.]
5. The affective filter hypothesis. Filter consists of attitude to language, motivation, self-
confidence and anxiety. Thus learners with favorable attitude and self-confidence may
have a low filter which promotes language learning. Learners with a low affective filter
seek and receive more input, interact with confidence, and are more receptive to the
input they are exposed to. On the other hand, anxious learners have a high affective filter
which prevents acquisition from taking place.
Example Jenny is nervous. She is shaking and she is anxious of the
interview thus, she failed to answer the first interview
question.
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[The higher the anxiety, the lower is the language
performance. The more anxious one is, the lower is the
language performance. More so, the less anxious, the better
is the performance.]
The following are the implications for teaching:
Teachers must continuously deliver at a level understandable by learners.
Teaching must prepare the learners for real life communication situations.
Classrooms must provide conversational confidence so that when in the outside world,
the student can cope with and continue learning.
Teachers must ensure that learners do not become anxious or defensive in language
learning.
The confidence of a language learner must be encouraged in a language acquisition
process.
Teachers should not insist on learners conversing before they feel comfortable in doing
so; neither should they correct errors nor make negative remarks that inhibit learners
from learning. They should devise specific techniques to relax learners and protect their
egos.
Teachers must create an atmosphere where learners are not embarrassed by their errors.
Errors should not be corrected when acquisition is occurring.
Error correction is valuable when learning simple rules but may have negative effects in
terms of anxiety and inhibitions.
Formal grammar teaching is of limited value because it contributes to learning rather than
acquisition.
Only simple rules should be learned.
Teachers should not expect learners to learn late structures such as third person singular
early.
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