L2 Learning Theories and Reviews.

 

L2 learning theories along with your reviews of them.

When we focus on the history of l2 learning, it’s not very old. It’s difficult to trace how long have been human is learning other human languages. But the foundation of systematic study of l2 was created in the early 20^th century, we can say that the earlier 20^th century was a golden century for L2 learning and teaching and l2 theories. The 20^th century saw continuous innovation and change in language, and instructions, as well as the emergence of occasionally conflicting philosophies. The three most popular l2 theories were Behaviorism, Nativism, and Krashen’s Monitor models.

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Behaviorism- in the 1950s, and 1960s Behaviorism was very popular in explaining l2 acquisition. The behaviorist theory views learning as a reaction to stimuli in the environment; it views a learner as a “creature of habit” that can learn to target language through drill and chorus. Thus the success of language learning depends on the degree of reinforcement like praise and punishments received from the parents and by that they learn pronunciation, grammatically correct sentences, and new words. Further, the acquisition is explained in terms of relationships among-

·         Stimuli 

School of Behaviorism

·        Imitation

·     Reinforcement

·     Repetition

·     Habit formation

Strengths

·     Objectives measurement, which can be replicated and peer-reviewed.

·     Real-life applications {behavior therapies}

·     Clear predictions that can be scientifically tested.

Weakness

·         Ignores mediational processes

·         Reductionist – ignores biology

·         Humanism – can’t compare animals with humans.

·         Freud – people don’t bear like a blank slate.

Despite its contributions to psychology, behaviorism has many criticisms. Because it assumes that nearly everything an organism learns comes from how it interacts with its environment, many holes can arise due to the complex nature of human psychology. For example, in humanism, humanity’s ability to make decisions with free will plays a key role in understanding psychology, and behaviorism ignores the idea entirely because of its core principle. Behaviorism also does not take into account memory, problem-solving, critical thinking, etc., all of which play a key role in how humans make decisions and interacts with the environment.

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Nativism or Universal Grammar (U.G)-Nativism strongly believed that humans are born with a genetic capacity that predisposes them to the systematic perception of language. So, it is called the innate theory too. Noam Chomsky, an American linguist explains that children are biologically programmed for language acquisition, he also explains that as children learn to stand up, walk and run, the language also develops automatically. Chomsky’s theory, that children are hard-wired with the ability to learn the language, focused on the fact that children often receive ‘improvised” input from the adults around them. Peoples often use incorrect grammar, and babies hear a small sample of a language. Therefore, to acquire language, children must possess a linguistic framework in their brains that is activated by the input they key receive. LAD (language acquisition device) is then able to map linguistic input and make connections within their universal grammar, according to Chomsky.

 

In conclusion – one can completely agree that both Behaviorism and Nativism are excellent theories in the field but not perfect. Behaviorist believes that language learning is all about a child’s direct experiences with the environment, Nativists believe that children will learn language no matter what, regardless of the environment they grow up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References www.verywellmind.com