EXPLAINING SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING

sociocultural theory - a perspective that places L2 acquisition in a larger social context

The behaviourist perspective

-​ learning in terms of imitation, practice, reinforcement (or feedback on success), and
habit formation

Mimicry and memorization

-​ Nelson Brooks (1960) and Robert Lado (1964) were two proponents of this perspective.
-​ Used audio lingual teaching materials
-​ Behaviorism was linked to Contrastive analysis hypothesis because of habits

The innatist perspective

-​ Innate knowledge of the principles of universal grammar permits all children to acquire
the language of their environment during a critical period of their development.
-​ Lydia White (2020) and other linguists have argued that universal grammar offers the
best perspective from which to understand L2 acquisition
-​ Robert Bley-Vroman (1990) and Jacquelyn Schachter (1990) have suggested UG is a
good framework for understanding L1 acquisition but does not offer a good explanation
for L2.
-​ Vivian Cook (2003) and others argue if we reject the notion that humans have innate
knowledge of some principles of language, we are left with “the logical problem” of
language acquisition.
-​ Exact nature of L2 has been altered by the acquisition of L1 (White, 2003)
-​ Bonnie Schwartz (1993) concludes that instruction and feedback change only superficial
aspects of language performance and do not affect the underlying systematic knowledge
of the new language.
-​ Lydia White (1991) agrees that acquisition of many grammatical features of the new
language takes place naturally when learners are engaged in meaningful use of the
language.

Krashen’s Monitor Model

-​ Stephen Krashen’s (1982) Monitor Model, first described in the early 1970’s
-​ Acquisition/Learning hypothesis suggests that we acquire language the same way
children pick up their L1. with no conscious attention to language form. We learn on the
other hand through conscious attention to form and rule learning.
-​ Monitor hypothesis L2 users draw on what they have acquired when they engage in
spontaneous communication, it is the editing to monitor their speech
-​ Natural order hypothesis was based on the finding that, like L1 acquisition, L2
acquisition unfolds in predictable sequences.
-​ Comprehensible input hypothesis is that acquisition occurs when one is exposed to
language that is comprehensible and contains i + 1. The i represents the level of
 language already acquired, and the “+1” is a metaphor for language that is just a step
beyond that level.
-​ Krashen’s affective filter hypothesis is proposed to account for the fact that some people
who are exposed to large quantities of comprehensible input do not acquire language
successfully.
-​ DeKeyser (2012) and R. Ellis (2012) found that both explicit and implicit pedagogical
interventions can influence L2 knowledge and use

Universal Grammar - is a theoretical system of categories, operations, and principles that are
shared by all human languages and considered to be innate to humans.

The cognitive perspective

-​ Acquisition and learning are distinct mental processes.
-​ General theories of learning can account in the gradual development of complex syntax
and for learners’ inability to spontaneously use everything they know about a language
at a given time

Information processing
-​ Building up of knowledge that can eventually be called on automatically for speaking and
understanding
-​ Robert DeKeyser (1998), Richard Schmidt (2001) and others have suggested that
learners must pay attention at first to any aspect of the language that they are trying to
speak.
-​ Paying attention uses cognitive resources to process information
-​ McLaughlin & Heredia (1996) through experience and practice information that was new
becomes easier to process and gradually becomes automatic
-​ Ellis, Simpson-Vlach & Maynard (2008) Use of patterns applies not only to idiomatic
expressions
-​ J.R Anderson (1995) and DeKeyser (1998, 2001, 2007) investigated L2 as a skill
learning
-​ McLaughlin (1990) stated that restructuring is the gradual build up of knowledge through
practice
-​ Lightbown (2008) Transfer-appropriate processing is a principle in cognitive psychology
that suggests memory performance is enhanced when the cognitive processes used
during encoding (learning) match those used during retrieval (remembering)

Declarative Knowledge - is the knowledge that we are aware of having

Procedural Knowledge - the ability to use language

Usage-based learning
-​ emphasizes that language acquisition and understanding occur through the active use of
language in communicative contexts
 -​ Nick Ellis and Stefanie Wulff (2020) explained the emphasis is on the frequency with
which language features occur together.
-​ Learners develop a stronger and stronger network of associations or connections
between these features as well as between language features and the contexts in which
they occur.
-​ Nick Ellis (2003, 2005) and others observed language at least partly learned in units
larger than single words, and sentences or phrases are not usually put together at one
time

The competition model

-​ Elizabeth Bates and Brian MacWhinney (1981) described the competition model as an
explanation for both L1 and L2 acquisition that takes into account not only language form
but also language meaning and language use.
-​ Speakers understand cues that signal specific functions
-​ The relationships between words in a sentence may be signalled by word order,
grammatical markers, and the animacy of the nouns in the sentence.
-​ MacWhinney (1997) according to the competition model, L2 acquisition requires learners
learn the relative importance of the different cues appropriate in the language they are
learning
-​ Peter Robinson and Nick Ellis (2008) suggest that cognitive linguists draws from and
builds on a number of different approaches that have in common, language is learned
through perceptual and cognitive experiences

Language and the brain

-​ Recent brain imaging studies shows activation in different locations in both hemispheres
during language processing
-​ Beretta (2011) This is not the case with younger learners who show activation onl in the
arrears for L1 processing
-​ Kara Morgan-Short (2014), Michael Ullman (2020), and other researchers are using
technology to investigate the effect of different L2 learning environments, of how
electrical activity in the brain changes following explicit and implicit instruction

The interaction hypothesis

-​ Evelyn Hatch (1978), Michael Long (1983, 1996), Teresa Pica (1994), Susan Gass
(1997) and many others have argued that conversational interaction is an essential
condition for L2 acquisition.
-​ Long (1983) agreed with Krashen that comprehensible input is necessary for language
acquisition.

Modified interaction - is the necessary mechanism for making language comprehensible

 Negotiation for meaning - working together to reach mutual comprehension

-​ Comprehension checks - efforts by the native speaker to ensure that the learner has
understood
-​ Clarification requests - efforts by the learner to get the native speaker to clarify
something that has not been understood
-​ Self-repetition or paraphrase - the more proficient speaker repeats their sentence either
partially or in its entirety

Interaction hypothesis - Long (1996) revised the interaction hypothesis, placing more emphasis
on cognitive factors such as ‘noticing’ and corrective feedback during interaction.

Comprehensible input - Merrill Swain (1985) learners must produce language that their
interlocutor can understand

The noticing hypothesis

-​ Comprehensible input leads to a growth in language knowledge when the learner
becomes aware of a particular language feature.
-​ Richard Schmidt (1990, 2001) proposed the noticing hypothesis, suggesting that nothing
is learned unless it has been ‘noticed’. Noticing is the essential starting point.
-​ Susan Gass (1998) also described a learning process that begins when learners notice
something in L2 that is different from what they expected or that fills a gap in their
knowledge of the language
-​ Alison Mackey, Susan Gass, and Kim McDonough (2000) had learners watch and listen
to themselves in videotaped interactions and asked questions leading them to explore
what the were thinking as they participated in those interactions.
-​ Ron Leow (1997) developed crossword puzzles that learners had to solve while thinking
out loud, thus made the learners notice their language use
-​ Merrill Swain and Sharon Lapkin (1998) recorded learners in pair work and kept track of
the language features
-​ Godfroid (2020), Pellicer-Sanchez & Conklin (2020) used eye tracking technology has
been used as a more direct measure of processing visual input, recorded learners
reading a text and record when eyes stop at a word, and for how long, and whether the
learner goes back to read it.
-​ Noticing of language features affects their L2 development.

Input processing
-​ Bill VanPatten (2004) observed many cases of students misinterpreting sentences, the
competition model was discussed.
-​ Input processing relates to the competition model which processes input from the word
order to interpret the relationships in a sentence.

Processability Theory
-​ the sequence of development for features of syntax and morphology was affected by
how easy these were to proces.