Theories of Second-Language Acquisition

Innateness Hypothesis
1. Lenneberg
2. "Language is a biologically controlled behavior that develops from within, triggered by age and environment."
3. Applicable to the learner from birth to age 2 where the brain undergoes a crucial developmental period.
Contrastive Analysis
1. "The theory that comparing first and second languages can predict what might be easy or difficult for the learner."
2. No contributor mentioned
3. The theory was actually proven to not be effective so it would be well-advised not to apply it in the classroom.
Behaviorism through audiolingualism
1. No contributors mentioned
2. "The method is behavioral, emphasizing oral practice such as pattern drills of specific grammatical form."
3. This would be student-teacher interaction with the teacher correcting problems as they occur. No writing or writing until oral adequacy.
Communicative Competence
1. Hymes
2. "The knowledge that enables language users to 'convey and interpret messages and to negotiate meanings interpersonally within specific contexts.'"
3. Application is through social functioning of language: requesting, refusing, agreeing, telling a story, etc. One example is roleplay.
Interlanguage Theory
1. Selinker
2. "[It] asserted that the learner's language should be viewed as creative, with rules unique to itself, and not just a borrowed or incomplete form of the target language."
3. Since this theory doesn't really view "errors" as errors, the teacher instead uses student mistakes to focus on what to better instruct. I would argue that codeswitching is similar to this except, instead of switching languages, it almost combines them.

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Theories of Second-Language Acquisition

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	Created by Katie Hamff over 7 years ago