Schools of Thought in Second Language Learning

Schools of Thought in Second Language Learning

1. 1900 - 1950

   • Behaviorism
     • Observable behaviors
       • Mental processes were ignored
   • Structural Linguistics
     • Observable linguistic behaviors
       • Meaning or thought were ignored
         • Learning through conditioning
           • classical
           • Operant
             • Positive reinforcement
             • Positive punishment
   • Leonard Bloomfield, Edward Sapir, Charles Hockett & Charles Fries

2. 1960 - 1980

   • Generative Linguistics
     • Interested in describing & in arraving at an explanatory of language
       • Competence reveals the meaning and thought (deep structure) that generates the observable performance
   • Cognitive Psychology
     • Meaning, understanding, and knowing were significant
       • Sought to discover underlying motivation and deeper structures of human behavior
         • Focus on psychological principles of organization and functioning
   • Noam Chomsky & David Ausbel

3. 1980 - 2000

   • Constructivism
     • All human beings construct their own version of reality
       • Emphasis in active processes of construction & in the nature of knowledge and its variations
         • Piaget
           • Individual cognitive development as a solitary act
           • Biological timetables and stages of development were basic
         • Vygotsky
           • Social interaction was foundational in cognitive development