Assignment #2

Research on the following:

Theoretical Perspective on First and Second Language Acquisition

 Children acquiring their first language go through a period of listening to the language they are
exposed to. During this period the child tries to discover what language is. In the case of second
language acquisition, learners opt for a silent period when immediate production is not required
from them.

1. Plato and Innate Knowledge

Best known as the famous student of Socrates and one of the greatest philosophers, Plato is where we
begin our journey to understanding the nature of language learning (~400 B.C.). One of his more
predominant ideas was that human beings are born with innate knowledge (a priori knowledge). In
short, people come into the world knowing things they aren’t taught. 

Human beings don’t live a long time (they certainly didn’t 2000 years ago) and yet they accomplish so
much in that limited time. This is known as, “Plato’s Problem”. Plato believed that some knowledge,
including language, was innate. This was why most people can talk early on in life. 

Plato set it off from the start. From this point, linguists go back and forth trying to figure out whether or
not we’re actually already born with the abilities to speak a language or if we have to learn everything
on our own. As you will see, the debate is not clear cut.  

2. Descartes and Cartesian Linguistics

You may have heard of famous the French philosopher and mathematician Descartes. And if you
haven’t, you may be familiar with this famous saying, “Cogito ergo sum,” otherwise known as, “I think,
therefore I am.” As a philosopher, Descartes spent a great deal of time trying to understand what we
can say we know with absolute certainty. At the end of the day, he mused, the only thing we know for
certain is that we exist. And we can prove that with our ability to think.

Descartes didn’t write Cartesian Linguistics. In fact, he wasn’t really concerned with language-learning
other than the fact that it was something people did naturally. His ideas, however, influenced later
language theorists, mainly, Noam Chomsky (who we’ll discuss in a moment).

Descartes believed humans to be largely rational creatures that needed language to interact. Our ability
to use language creatively sets us apart from the communicative elements of other species. We can
rationalize and communicate our position in the world to each other as thinking, speaking beings, no
matter where we exist on the planet.

To Descartes, learning a language meant finding similarities between your own and the target language.
Then, you merely manipulating already existing structures in your minds through external experiences to
learn a language.
While there’s some truth in these views, it doesn’t account for languages that vastly differ from Western
ones. And his thoughts detail little on the best way to go about learning a language. 

3. Locke and Tabula Rasa

Tabula Rasa, aka, the blank slate, is one of philosopher John Locke’s more popular ideas (1690). In it, he
argues against innate knowledge (or knowledge from birth). Instead, he believed that we’re all born as
blank slates. And as we go through life, our experiences write knowledge on that slate. He also argued
that we learn everything through our senses. 

If you’re learning a language right now, you probably feel this way. Every lesson, every step in your
journey towards fluency may feel like writing new information into your mind as if it were a blank slate…

However, as you soon see, there are many ideas of thought that differ greatly from this idea. Still, when
you consider how we learn some ideas through school and experience, there may be some truth in this
Think about how you study subjects like History, Algebra, and Philosophy. Some of the concepts may
have seemed so alien that when you discovered them, they were like little epiphanies. 

While these 3 philosophers mostly talked about language-learning in passing, our next 4 theories focus
directly on language-learning.

4. Skinner and the Theory of Behaviorism

B.F. Skinner agreed with Locke built his Theory of Behaviorism onto his concepts and behavioral
psychology. His language acquisition theory says that all behavior is in response to surrounding stimuli.
And he applied this to language learning through something operant conditioning.

Classical conditioning may be familiar to you. Pavlov’s Dogs is a famous example of this. Pavlov rang a
bell and then fed dogs. Soon, the dogs associated the sound of a bell ringing with food and would
salivate (whether or not they were actually given food). 

Skinner applied the methodology behind classical conditioning to the way children learn languages. This
resulted in the Behaviorist Theory of Second Language Acquisition. Operant conditioning is the use of
positive and negative reinforcement to change behaviors. You can see the effects of this approach with
dated and ineffective traditional learning models for second language instruction: 

5. Chomsky and Universal Grammar

Famously, Noam Chomsky argues against many of Skinner’s Theory of Behaviorism with his own Theory

of Universal Grammar (the 1950s). This was pretty much the antithesis of Skinner’s theory. Chomsky
believed in at least some innate ability in humans for language and a limited number of ways to organize
language in our minds. His proof was the fact that there are some universal elements in all languages.

Essentially, we’re all born with the ability to learn languages as a result of a Language Acquisition
Device (LAD). This is a theoretical component of the mind that allows anyone to acquire a language.
Building off of the nativist theory of language and some of the previous ideas of thought covered here, it
shows that people have a capacity to learn a language in everyone from birth. 

6. Schumann and the Acculturation Model

John Schumann looked specifically at how immigrants learn a new language once they relocate to
his Acculturation Model. The Acculturation Model (1978) looks at the sociological and psychological
impact of relocation on language learners.

Instead of thinking about language-learning in terms of learning for pleasure, he examined it when it
was a necessity. Immigrants, migrant workers, and their children learned a new language with far more
pressure from social and psychological areas. And this pressure either resulted in success or failure.

Cultural identification, he argues, is vital to the individual. And if an immigrant’s language was roughly
equal socially to the language of their new home, they were more likely to learn the language. The same
was true if the cultures were similar.

7. Krashen and the Monitor Model (Input Hypothesis)

Stephen Krashen offers the most practical out of all these theories because his position gives you an
actual strategy you can use to learn a language. The Monitor Model (1970s – 1980s) is a set of 5
hypotheses that build off of each and outline the process everyone goes through to learn a language. 

While parts of the language acquisition theory have been disproven or argued against, overall, modern
language-learners and instructors gravitate toward these views.

His theories appeal to new language-learners because it removes boring drilling and memorization along
with stressful performance requirements of traditional language-learning classes off the menu for
students. And in the end, it makes learning a language feel more organic and smoother than what most
people remember from their high school and other language classroom experiences. 

Read and understand the k-12 Curriculum Guide for English (Grade 1-10) 2016

Write at least 10 important thoughts on language?

1. What are the 2outcomes of this curriculum?

2. What are the four Components?

 Four components to a curriculum: the goals, the methods, the materials, and the assessment.
They are very closely interrelated in that the goal is the primary thing with which a lesson begins
and the others line up to achieve that goal.
3. What are the six Language Teaching Principles in this curriculum for English?

 Principle 1: Know your Learners

English teachers should understand the students’ personal and educational background so they
can tailor classes according to their students’ needs more effectively. Learning about the
students’ culture, first language, and past experiences are useful while preparing lesson plans,
materials, and projects.
 Principle 2: Create Conditions for Language Learning
Creating a positive atmosphere in class considering physical space, materials, and student
integration promotes better learning experiences for English students. A pleasant atmosphere
makes students feel comfortable and more confident in participating and expressing themselves
in a positive way, which is essential for learning development. Additionally, setting high
expectations, differentiation, and motivation help learners deepen their English language skills.
 Principle 3: Design High-Quality Lessons for Language Development
Creating meaningful and exceptional lesson plans that develop the students’ language
acquisition and their content learning process remains essential. Teachers may engage students
in authentic language practice experiences, supporting their learning strategies and critical
thinking development. According to the 6 Principles manifesto, “gestures, visuals,
demonstrations, embedded definitions, audio supports, and bilingual glossaries make
information comprehensible.”
 Principle 4: Adapt Lesson Delivery as Needed
Assessing students and adapting lesson plans accordingly remains a must. Reflecting on the
students’ performance and development improves the quality of many English lessons. There
are several ways to do so: reteaching content, adapting activities and materials, adjusting
instructions and tasks, being flexible with the students’ response time they allow students.
 Principle 5: Monitor and Assess Student Language Development
Outstanding ESL/EFL teachers also monitor and assess students’ language development to
measure and document progress.  English students learn in different ways and speed. Therefore,
English teachers should prepare different forms of assessment while providing constructive
feedback appropriate for the students’ ages and levels for continual student improvement.
 Principle 6: Engage and Collaborate Within a Community of Practice
This last principle suggests English teachers should collaborate with each other to support their
English language learners. Sharing classroom experiences, reflecting critically on teaching
practices, following current ELT research, joining and engaging in professional groups, attending
academic conferences, and engaging in online learning groups are all ways to be active within a
community of practice. This advice might benefit teachers, their co-workers, their students and
the institutions where we work.  Is this last suggestion a tad self-serving for TESOL? Yes, but it’s
also a practical suggestion for dedicated ESOL professionals.

4. What are the 14 integrated Language Arts Domains?