Psychological Bases of CA

Psychological Bases of CA

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  CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS ByCarl James
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  Professor: Dr. Saharkhiz Presented by: Nastaran Razavi
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  Chapter Two ThePsychological Basis of Contrastive Analysis
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  • CA isa hybrid drawing on the sciences of : Linguistics • is concerned with the formal properties of language Psychology • is concerned with learning processes
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  2.1 Transfer inLearning Psychology The psychological basis of CA is Transfer Theory, i.e., prior learning affects subsequent learning.
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  2.1 Transfer inLearning Psychology Learning involves the association of two entities. In psychology, Associationism (dating back to Aristotle) is a theory about how items combine in the mind to produce thought and learning. For example, identifying pictographs with what they really represent is a mental process developed through association.
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  2.1 Transfer inLearning Psychology In the process of learning, those entities are a stimulus (S) and a response (R). The Stimulus-Response Theory refers to the belief that behavior manifests as a result of the interpl-ay/ association between stimulus and response. For example, when a child feels thirsty (stimulus) he will respond by saying ‘Milk’, and it will be reinforced with a glass of milk. Following this concept, it can be said that the psychologic-al basis of CA is transfer theory, elaborated and formulated within a Stimulus-Response (behaviorist) theory of psychol-ogy.
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  2.2 Some Problemsin Defining S-R in Second Language Learning 1. In non-verbal learning, the learner doesn’t have to learn the responses, except their associations with a particular stimulus. In other words, the L2 utterances, which are the responses, have to be learnt jointly with their associated stimuli. S: Yes/ No Questions R: Yes, I do / No, I don't
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  2.2 Some Problemsin Defining S-R in Second Language Learning 2. CA is more concerned with teaching rather than learning since teaching involves the predetermination and conventionalization of which stimuli and responses are to be associated. In other words, CA is interested in how learners are taught to appropriately associate a certain response to its stimulus. S: emphasis R: (Cleft Sentence) It was JOHN who did it!
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  2.2 Some Problemsin Defining S-R in Second Language Learning 3. What constitutes a S or a R in L2 learning? Jakobovits (1970) and Bloomfield (1933): S pre-linguistic definition: The environmental conditions that are prior to linguistic utterances. S: Feeling cold (pre-linguistic) R: Could you please shut the window? S R: Sure.
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  2.2 Some Problemsin Defining S-R in Second Language Learning Richterich (1974): S Communicative need which is prior to the interaction. The stimulus reception is unavoidable while the response is a choice. S: Sadness (Communicative need) R: I miss him so much. S R: Yes, I miss him too. Richterich disregards the stimulus conception as purely linguistic and also finds it contradictory because language behavior is a two-way process: a R may act as a S for the next R.
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  2.2 Some Problemsin Defining S-R in Second Language Learning 4. A response in language behavior is the utterance, which is linguistics object of study. However, linguistic descriptions only account for language as a system (they deal with sentences and not with utterances). Therefore, Utterances undergo a process of abstraction to be studied as sentences. Since there is a one-to-many relationship between sentences and utterances, predictions can only be made as regards the form and not the substance. As a result, CA is more interested in generalizations rather than in the utterances themselves.