Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Behavioral theory of learning
Behavioral theory of learning
Behavioral theories of learning
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Introduction
As the global communities migrate from their native home lands to new countries and regions, the need to learn a new language becomes an imminent requirement. Learning second language for an individual with not back ground to the language can be a serious proposition which can results in seriously straining the individual. This makes it very important to select a learning strategy very carefully to prevent complicating the learning process and also one which will help speed up the entire learning process (Bitchener 2007). With this in mind there are three main approaches linked to learning a 2nd language namely the behaviourist, Halliday’s and Chomsky’s approaches. Each of these adopts different learning theories but that all promote
…show more content…
The behavioural approach is closely linked to behaviour psychology and guides the individual towards learning a language through direct interaction which people who speak the language. The natural behaviour of learning a language is linked to first listening to the language before gradually beginning to pick works, building sentences and eventually attempting conversation (Littlewood 2002). This requires for there to be a positive stimulus which keeps presenting the learning with opportunities to hear words, learn them and reply. It’s also the responsibility of the tutor of stimulator to re-enforce the individual confidence through encouragement, acknowledgement and polite corrections. The tutor or stimulus is a very important aspect linked to learning a second language but it’s also important to remember the individual must be able to bond with the educator to secure the required response while …show more content…
This makes it important for the learner to learn a language gradually allowing them to master each word without making major mistakes while using them. This is especially important when considering much language syntax differs from English which making many sentences be forced in the opposite structure. This makes it important 2nd language learners to first take time to learn how to place the words which would then translate to the right meaning. Failing to understand the word and grammar arrangement can lead to major complications and result in the learner having bad experiencing dealing with native speakers which can result in serious complications (Halliday 1970).
According to Hallidays approach combining both practical speaking and communication as well as attend theory classes very important towards improving the learners understanding of the language syntax thus allowing them to begin practicing to rearrange working to fit the native way of speaking a 2nd language. Failure to do this would result in seriously impairing the meaning of the language resulting in serious complication communicating with the public which may also feel offended when communication is
As in the classroom, they are not allowed to be quiet or use gesture, they, more often than not, resort to a mixture of the second language and the mother tongue. This use of the mother tongue may be positive or negative, depending on whether they transmit structures, functions or uses of languages which are shared between both languages or not. He also expounds that “the phenomenon of transfer will reveal itself in the attempt to realize in the same way as in his mother tongue”.
In addition to that, the writer will discuss the fact of neutral learning and language acquisition and finally how to engage brain-based learning approach to develop the process of second language learning.
The aim of this essay is to explore language acquisition and compare and contrast different theories of language acquisition and language development. Language in its most basic form is used to communicate our needs and wants. It encompasses a range of modes of delivery including signing, spoken and written words, posture, eye contact, facial expressions and gestures. So how do we learn ‘language’? Are we born with the skills for communication, or is it something that we have to learn or have taught to us? Four theories are looked at in this essay to determine how children acquire and then develop language. These theories include behaviourist, nativist, cognitivist and sociocultural. This essay will highlight some similarities and differences in each theory and what impact these have on a child’s acquisition and development of language. Lastly we will look at the implications of these theories when working with children. Can a classroom teacher deliver a quality literacy program based on just one of these theories or does it need to incorporate components of all four? Sims, (2012) pp. 21 states ‘’High-quality learning experiences in the early years of life enhance children’s cognitive and language skills’’. This places a great responsibility on educators and teachers alike to provide an environment which is rich in learning opportunities that will encourage both the acquisition and development of language.
Through the years, language teachers, psychologists and others have had varying ideas of how languages are learned. Second language acquisition has multiple models, including cognitive based models, sociocultural models, and models regarding input and interaction. In this paper, my goal is to take one prominent model of SLA, the interactionist model, and determine how this model actually plays out in the classroom. I seek to answer the following questions: How does interaction support the development of interlanguage as shown in SLA research? And what does this imply about teaching practice. The discussion of these questions will follow from an analysis of four articles on interaction research. First, I will discuss an article called “Talking, tuning in and noticing: exploring the benefits of output in task-based peer interaction” by Philp & Iwashita (2013). Then I will discuss Iwashita’s work, “Negative Feedback and Positive Evidence in Task-Based Interaction” (2003). I will move on to the work of Mackey and Silver, “Interactional tasks and English L2 learning by immigrant children in Singapore” (2005). Finally, I will analyze McDonough’s work from 2005 on “Learner-learner interaction during pair and small group activities in a Thai EFL context.” Through these articles I will gain more information on how to answer my chief questions.
Language is a fundamental aspect of human interaction and societal growth; however, its origins within cognition are still not completely understood and remain debatable. One of the most historically accepted explanations of language acquisition proposes that language is an innate characteristic within humans. This hypothesis suggests that language is unique to human cognition in that there is a specialized, genetic predisposition for humans to acquire language and individuals are born with a unique faculty to identify and understand language patterns and grammatical structures. The issue with such proposition is the fixation on indemonstrable, preprogrammed language-specific faculties within the brain. Instead, it is more likely that language
Language Acquisition, National Order Hypothesis, Input Hypothesis, Monitoring Hypothesis, and the Affective Filter Hypothesis. According to Krashen’s, language learning refers to a conscious effort to learn a new language while language acquisition is acquired through a subconscious level. The best example I have for understanding the language learning versus the language acquisition is through my personal experience. Before I entered elementary school, my first language acquisition was speaking Spanish because I was surrounded by family members and friends who communicated in Spanish only, and then when I entered the elementary school, I learned and acquired the English language through my social school environment and academic classes in English. I acquired the Spanish language subconsciously because it was a requirement for communicating with members of my family as well as my friends and the acquirement of the English language happened while communicating socially with friends at the school environment and finally I learned the English language through the educational academic classes taken while attending school through a conscious
In his article, “My and Misconceptions about Second Language Learning,” published in 1992, Barry McLaughlin listed five major myths and misconceptions held by the general public, or specifically by some second language teachers, as well as some contradictory viewpoints about second language learning held by different scholars. In his five main arguments, he puts specific emphases on his suggestions for second language teachers about second language teaching and learning to dispel these five myths and misconceptions. Though diverse and comprehensive, McLaughlin’s synthesis of relevant language teaching and learning studies does not provide enough
For decades, foreign language teachers wandered in a scientific abyss. Until 1983, there had been little real research dealing with the ways in which someone acquires a second language. Teachers mostly used the audiolingual classroom model that had been in place for the past twenty years (or, even worse, the literally ancient grammatical translation model that had been used by civilizations millennia old). Clearly, language teaching methodology was in a poor situation. In 1983, however, Krashen published the results of an unprecedented body of research and paved the way for a revolution in our field. His five-point hypothesis focused on the difference between the acquisition of and the learning of a second language. Krashen has his detractors, of course, not the least of whom are American school districts, which have been reluctant to implement his teachings. Most experts agree, however, that his ideas are the most meritorious of the theories in circulation now, and schools that refuse to incorporate them are doing their students a disservice.
When people learn a second language, they are sometimes influenced by features of their L1, which is called “a transfer from L1”. The transfer can be divided into two types: a positive transfer and a negative transfer. The positive transfer is thought that an influence from L1 works positively in a language acquisition and can facilitate L2 acquisition. On the other hand, the negative transfer is considered that an influence of some features L1 work negatively and can interfere with language acquisition. Therefore, the negative transfer is also called “interference”. The transfer from L1 is likely to occur in a variety of areas of language such as phonology, vocabulary, morphology, syntax and semantics. Secondly, we pay attention to that L2 acquisition also have a developmental sequence. In common with a child who acquires L1, L2 learners develop the acquisition in a certain order. Moreover, Shirahata (2010) mentions that L2 learners follow a similar acquisition order of some grammatical items even in the case of L2 leaning in a classroom. He also pays attention to the fact that some grammatical items that one learner has trouble in learning are similarly difficult for other learners even though teachers, the way to teach and textbook are different. This fact suggests L2 acquisition in a classroom setting has a certain acquisition order.
Language connects human beings together by providing them a way to express ideas and thoughts to one another. The continuous growth of interaction between countries requires a need for more multilingual people in the world, and the value of acquiring a second language can provide people with numerous activities not as easily adaptable for monolingual individuals. A major component of linguistics involves grammar, which are the rules of language. Grammar can be broken down into syntax and semantics. Syntax refers to the system of rules that governs how human beings combine words in order to create sentences, and semantics refers to the context of sentences and provides meaning to what it is that a person is saying (Morris and Maisto 260-261). Jacqueline S. Johnson from the Department of Psychology at Cornell University and her research partner Elissa L. Newport from the University of Illinois provided in their case study, “Critical Period Effects in Second Language Learning: The Influence of Maturational State on the Acquisition of English as a Second Language” that, “some investigators have suggested that a critical period theory must predict that children are better than adults at learning second languages” (63). In order to prove or disprove the idea that children are able to better acquire second languages at a higher rate of proficiency than adults, numerous case studies have been conducted comparing early-language learners with late-language learners. Ultimately, what can be determined is that while second language proficiency is at its highest potential among younger children, there are too many possible variables in individual lives after puberty to accurately pinpoint how successfully an older person develops his multiling...
Globalization demands people to communicate in a new context of communication. People should be able to communicate across nations and become the part of global society. Since a language is a means of communication, people should master language well to support them in their communication activities. Meanwhile, learning language is not only learning different words for the same things but also learning another way about things. Byram and Fleming (1998: 7) state that the potential of language teaching to prepare learners to meet and communicate in other cultures and societies than the specific one usually associated with the language they are learning. It means that language learner should master the knowledge of how to express appropriate messages
Second Language learning is necessitated by the different situations of different people. For instance, it can be for social or academic purposes. Learners are affected by many factors in the second language acquisition process such as level of cognitive development, socio-economic and cultural background, age, motivation or ability and intelligence (Gomleksiz, 2001; Wisniewski, 2007). This paper will however concentrate on how intelligence or aptitude and motivation affect the learning of a second language.
While languages do essentially have the same building blocks, the arrangement of words can range. Some languages begin with clauses by naming a subject such as a noun, which would make it the topic of the sentence. However, other languages begin clauses with words that name the action in a specific sentence (Freeman & Freeman, 2014). For example, English syntax is different from Spanish syntax. This means that confusion may result for students whose L1 is Spanish. For example, in English “red shirt” is used, but in Spanish, the phrase is inverted to “shirt red”. This may result in non-standard syntax when Spanish learners speak or write English. Another difficulty may be faced if a student does not understand that a structured sentence is needed. A student may not see the purpose of saying “I want to get a dog” when simply the words “want dog” would suffice. The problem with this is because syntax is a part of grammar, there is a set of internalized rules that people acquire (Freeman & Freeman, 2014). Within time, students will discover that a full sentence is needed instead of just two words. However, this is something that cannot be simply taught, as a student requires this throughout time and
Chomsky and Skinner and Theories Of Language Development Many psychologists have studied and researched into how we acquire language. Some have concluded that the ability to learn language is a genetically inherited skill. Others believe that language is learned following birth and is due to environmental factors. This is part of the nature vs. nurture debate.
When we know a new language, just we can start to see connections we couldn’t see before because each and every language approaches the world in a slight different way. As a result, we have the opportunity to understand the world from the respective of another culture and gain a greater appreciation of human society in all its diversity. Therefore, the importance of second language learning is gain reinforced. We became not just equipped to communicate across the cultures but empowered and to understand others’ point of view also.