UNIT 2

GENERAL THEORIES ON LEARNING AND ACQUISITION OF A

FOREIGN LANGUAGE. THE CONCEPT OF INTERLANGUAGE. THE
TREATMENT OF ERROR.
OUTLINE
• INTRODUCTION.
• Aims of the unit.
• Notes on bibliography.
• A HISTORY OF LANGUAGE LEARNING.
• The nature and origins of foreign language learning.
• The influence of Greek and Latin on foreign language teaching.
• GENERAL THEORIES ON LEARNING AND ACQUISITION OF A
FOREIGN LANGUAGE.
• Key issues in language learning.
• Acquisition vs learning.
• Mother, second, and foreign language.
• Competence vs performance.
• General theories on language learning.
• First approaches.
• Present-day approaches.
• General theories on second language acquisition.
• Six theories of Second Language Acquisition.
• The Acculturation Model.
• Accommodation Theory.
• Discourse Theory.
• The Monitor Model.
• The Variable Competence Model.
• The Universal Hypothesis.
• The Natural Approach and Language Acquisition.
• The Acquisition/Learning Hypothesis.
• The Monitor Hypothesis.
• The Natural Order Hypothesis.
• The Input Hypothesis.
• The Affective Filter Hypothesis.
• Factors which influence Second Language
Acquisition. 3.3.3.1.Second Language
Aptitude.
• The Role of the First Language.
• Routines and Patterns.
• Individual Variation.
• Age Differences.
• THE CONCEPT OF INTERLANGUAGE.
• THE TREATMENT OF ERROR.
• NEW DIRECTIONS ON LANGUAGE LEARNING ACQUISITION.
• CONCLUSION.
• BIBLIOGRAPHY.
• INTRODUCTION.

• Aims of the unit.

The aim of this study is to provide a thorough account of what is known
about the way people learn langua ges. A historical background will give
a framework for general theories on learning from its origins to present-
day trends, in an attempt to depict the major and minor approaches and
theories in language learning. At this point, key issues will be useful to
review so as to clarify the nuances between some concepts such as
acquisition and learning, or terms such as mother, second, and foreign
language within a theory of learning. The same overview approach is
used to set the link between a language learning theory and the concept
of interlanguage. Furthermore, the treatment of error will be described
from ancient roots to present-day trends within a positive framework.
According to the learner’s needs, new contributions on a language
learning theory are offered through current applied linguistics journals. A
final section will conclude with an overview of the development of most
influential theories on language learning.
• Notes on bibliography.
Introductions to a historical background to language learning include Baugh
and Cable, A History of the English Language (1993); David Crystal,
Linguistics (1985); and Howatt, A History of English Language Teaching
(1984); On approaches to the teaching of English as a foreign language,
see Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers, Approaches and
Methods in Language Teaching (1992), and Wilga M. Rivers, Teaching
Foreign-Language Skills (1981). An influential introduction to general
theories on learning and acquisition of a foreign language, still
indispensable, is Krashen, S.D., Second Language Acquisition and
Second Language Learning (1981); and Krashen, S. D., and T. D. Terrell,
The Natural Approach: Language Acquisition in the Classroom (1983).
Among the many general works that incorporate the the concept of
interlanguage and error treatment, see especially Corder, S. Error
Analysis and Interlanguage (1981a). The most complete record of current
publications is the annual supplement of AESLA (Asociación Española de
Lingüística Aplicada) and the following collections from Universidad de
Alcalá y Universidad de Barcelona respectively, Universidad de Alcalá, La
Lingüística Aplicada a finales del Siglo XX. Ensayos y propuestas (2001);
Universidad de Barcelona, Trabajos en Lingüística Aplicada (2001).
Bibliographical sources are fully presented at the end of this work.

• A HISTORY OF LANGUAGE TEACHING.

• The nature and origins of foreign language teaching.
The history of foreign language teaching goes back to the earliest
educational systems whose main aim was to teach religion and to
promote the traditions of the people. These practices trace back to the
temple schools of ancient Egypt where the principles of writing, the
sciences, mathematics, and architecture were taught. In ancient India,
much of the education was carried on by priests with the Buddhist
doctrines that later spread to the Far East. In ancient China, philosophy,
poetry and religion were taught regarding Confucius and other
philosophers teachings. The Greeks focused on the state and society in
preparing intellectually citizens and the concepts they formulated served
in later centuries as the basis for the liberal arts, philosophy, aesthetic
ideals, and gymnastic training. Roman education provided the Western
world the Latin language, classical literature, engineering, law, and the
administration and organization of government.

The ancient Jewish traditions of the Old Testament also played an

important role in formation of later education systems. The foundation of
Jewish education is the Torah (the Biblical books of mosaic law) and the
Talmud, which set forth the aims and methods of education among Jews.
Jewish parents were urged by the Talmud to teach their children such
subjects as ethics, vocational knowledge, swimming, and a foreign
language. During the Middle Ages (15th-16th century), the early
educational systems of the nations of the Western world emanated from
the Judea-Christian religious traditions, which were combined with
traditions derived from ancient Greece philosophers like Socrates, Plato,
and Aristotle.

• The influence of Greek and Latin on language teaching.

In the context of language teaching and learning, a clear influence of the
Greek and Latin language is present. In Greece, Plato, Aristotle, and the
Stoics examined carefully the structure of language as part of the general
study of ‘dialectic’. This study had a major influence on subsequent
grammatical thinking which was taken over by the Romans with very little
change.
In the sixteenth century the status of Latin changed from a living
language that learners needed to be able to read, write in, and speak, to
a dead language which was studied as an intellectual exercise (Richards
& Rodgers 1992). The analysis of the grammar and rhetoric of Classical
Latin became the model language teaching between the 17th and 19th
centuries, a time when thought about language teaching crystallized in
Europe.
It was not until the eighteenth century that “modern” languages began to
enter the curriculum of European schools where they were taught using
the same basic procedures that were used for teaching Latin. Still
nowadays, many of the features of modern language learning theories
can be traced back to this early period, and are considered beneficial
legacies from the past.
• GENERAL THEORIES ON LEARNING AND ACQUISITION OF A
FOREIGN LANGUAGE.
• Key issues in language learning.
A relevant characteristic of contemporary second and foreign language
teaching is the proliferation of approaches, methods and theories so as to
search for more efficie nt and effective ways of teaching languages.
Many theories about the learning and teaching of languages have been
proposed from a historical perspective, and have been influenced by
developments in the fields of linguistics, psychology, anthropology, and
sociology. The study of these theories and how they influence language
teaching today is called applied linguistics. As we have seen in the
preceding sections, many of our modern practices find their roots, or at
the least are inspired, in the practices of our predecessors.
The extent and importance of the teaching of English as a foreign
language, and therefore, the development of language learning theories,
make it reasonable to define some key concepts within this issue.

• Acquisition vs learning.
These two concepts underlie a theory of learning, and are one of the
main tenets of Stephen Krashen’s theory of second language acquisition.
For him, there are two distinctive ways of developing skills and knowledge
(‘competence’) in a second language. Thus, acquisition refers to the
“natural” way of picking up a language by using it in natural,
communicative situations. This term is used to refer to an unconscious
process by which language is acquired similarly as children acquire their
first language, and probably second languages as well.
The term learning, by contrast, means having a conscious knowledge
about grammar, and conscious rules about a language are developed. In
this context, formal teaching and correction of errors are necessary for
“learning” to occur. We refer to conscious grammar rules only to make
changes when correcting. It is important to bear in mind that learning,
according to the theory, cannot lead to acquisition

• Mother tongue, second, and foreign language acquisitio n.

In learning languages, a distinction is usually made when referring to
mother tongue, second language, and foreign languages. In the
seventeenth century, the theologian Jan Amos Komensky (1592 - 1670),
commonly known as Comenius, already established a distinction
referring to those terms. Thus, he claimed that man fell from his original
state due to the loss of the original tongue, at the Tower of Babel. For
him, the beginning is the learning of the mother-tongue (first language
acquisition); there is no point in learning another language if one has not
mastered one's own. After that, one should learn the languages of one's
neighbours (second language); and only after that should one take on the
learning of one of the classic languages, such as Latin, Hebrew, Greek or
Arabic (foreign language).
At this point, it is relevant to define these concepts in modern terms. For
instance, a mother tongue is considered to be the first language one
learns as a child whereas a second language is acquired under the need
of learning the language of another country. On the other hand, when
languages are acquired in school, it is considered as a foreign language.
The acronyms ESL and EFL stand for the learning of English as a
Second and as a Foreign Language.
• Competence vs performance.
A distinction is often made between competence and performance in the
study of language. According to Chomsky (1965), competence consists
of the mental representation of linguistic rules which constitute the
speaker-hearer’s internalized grammar whereas performance consists of
the comprehension and production of language. Language acquisition
studies –both first and second- are interested in how competence is
developed. However, because second language acquisition focuses on
performance, there is no evidence for what is going on inside the
learner’s head. This is one of the major weaknesses of second language
acquisition research.

• General theories on language learning.

• First approaches.
From a historical perspective foreign language learning has always been
an important practical concern. Whereas today English is the world’s
most widely studied foreign language, five hundred years ago it was
Latin, for it was the dominant language of education, commerce, religion,
and government in the Western world. In the mid-late nineteenth century,
opportunities for communication increased among Europeans and there
was a high demand for oral proficiency in foreign languages.
Second language learning has always tended to follow in the footsteps of
first language acquisition and, in fact, throughout the history of language
teaching, we find several attempts to make second language learning
more like first language learning. The importance of meaning in learning,
and the interest on how children learn languages as a model for language
teaching were the first approaches to a language learning theory. Thus, if
we trace back to the sixteenth century, we find out that the Frenchman
Montaigne described his own experience on learning Latin for the first
years of his life as a process where he was exclusively addressed in
Latin by a German tutor. In the nineteenth century, he was followed by
individual language teaching specialists like the Frenchman C. Marcel,
the Englishman T. Prendergast, and the Frenchman F. Gouin (Howatt
1984).
Prendergast was one of the first to record the observation of children in
speaking, followed by Gouin, one of the best known representatives of
language teaching due to his observations of children’s use of language.
In 1880 Gouin attempted to build a methodology around observation of
child language learning when publishing L'art d'enseigner et d'étudier les
langues, which turned out to be a total failure. However, his turning to
observations of how children learn a second language is one of the most
impressive personal testimonials in the recorded annals of language
learning.
Attempts to develop teaching principles from observation of child
language learning were made but these new ideas were not sufficient
within the educational movement at that time. However, toward the end of
the nineteenth century, the interests of reform-minded language
teachers, and linguists, coincided and first attempts to language learning
theories were to be taken into consideration.

• Present-day approaches.
Regarding the learning of languages, three main theories have
approached, from different perspectives, the question of how language is
learnt. Thus, behaviorism emphasizes the essential role of the
environment in the process of language learning whereas mentalist
theories give priority to the learners’ innate characteristics from a
cognitive and psychological approach. A third approach claims for
relevant concepts such as a comprehensible input and a native speaker
interaction in conversations for students to acquire the new language.
Hence, mentalist accounts of language acquisition originated in the
rejection of behaviorist explanations of. Chomsky emphasized the role of
mental processes rather than the contribution of the environment in the
language acquisition process. This "Chomskian revolution" initially gave
rise to eclecticism in teaching, but it has more recently led to two main
branches of teaching approaches: the humanistic approaches based on
the charismatic teaching of one person, and content-based
communicative approaches, which try to incorporate what has been
learned in recent

years about the need for active learner participation, about appropriate
language input, and about communication as a human activity.
Following Richards & Rodgers (1992), prominent figures in this field,
such as Stephen Krashen, Tracy D. Terrell, and Noam Chomsky
developed the language learning theories which are the source of
principles in language teaching nowadays. A psycholinguistic and
cognitive approach is necessary to understand learning processes, such
as habit formation, induction, inferencing, hypothesis testing, and
generalization.
The advances in cognitive science and educational psychology made by
Jean Piaget and Lev Semenovic h Vygotsky in the first half of the
century strongly influenced language teaching theory in the 1960s and
1970s. Their theories were intended to explain the ineffectiveness of the
traditional prescriptive and mechanistic approaches to language teaching
and later serve as a basis for the new natural-communicative
approaches. Beginning in the 1950s, Noam Chomsky and his followers
challenged previous assumptions about language structure and language
learning, taking the position that language is creative (not memorized),
and rule governed (not based on habit), and that universal phenomena of
the human mind underlie all language.
In addition to Chomsky's generativism, new trends favoring more
humanistic views and putting a greater focus on the learner and on social
interaction, gave way to the Natural (USA) and Communicative
(England) approaches. Psychologist Charles Curran's Community
Language Learning and Krashen's and Terrell's Natural Approach (in the
1980s) are very representative of this latest trend in language teaching.
Stephen Krashen and Tracy D. Terrell have proposed ideas that have
influenced language teaching. Thus, Krashen studied the way that
children learn language and applied it to adult language learning. He
proposed the Input Hypothesis, which states that language is acquired
by using comprehensible input (the language that one hears in the
environment) which is slightly beyond the learner's present proficiency.
Learners use the comprehensible input to deduce rules. Krashen's views
on language teaching have given rise to a number of changes in
language teaching, including a de-emphasis on the teaching of
grammatical rules and a greater emphasis on trying to teach language to
adults in the way that children learn language. While Krashen's theories
are not universally accepted, they have had an influence.
Most recently, there has been also a significant shift toward greater
attention to reading and writing as a complement of listening and
speaking, based on a new awareness of significant differences between
spoken and written languages, and on the notion that dealing with
language involves an interaction between the text on the one hand, and
the culturally-based world knowledge and experientially-based learning of
the receiver on the other.

• General theories on second language acquisition.

According to Ellis (1985), second language acquisition is a complex
process, involving many interrelated factors. The term ‘Second language
acquisition’ (SLA) refers to the subconscious or conscious processes by
which a language other than the mother tongue is learnt in a natural or a
tutored setting. It covers the development of phonology, lexis, grammar,
and pragmatic knowledge, but has been largely confined to
morphosyntax.

According to research in this field, it is thought that acquisition can take

place only when people understand messages in the target language,
focusing on what rather than how it is said. There are affective
prerequisites to acquisition such as a positive orientation to speakers of
the language, and at least some degree of self-confidence, as well as a
silent period before any real spoken fluency develops. The amount of
skills and know ledge, called competence, will be acquired through input,
and certainly the initial production will not be very accurate. The study of
SLA is directed at accounting for the learner’s competence but in order to
do so has set out to investigate empirically how a learner performs when
he or she uses a second language.

• Six theories of Second Language Acquisition.

• The Acculturation Model.

The term “acculturation” is defined as ‘the process of becoming adapted
to a new culture’ (Ellis 1985). This is an important aspect of Second
Language Acquisition since language is one of the most observable
expressions of culture and because in second language settings, the
acquisition of a new language is seen as tied to the way in which the
learner’s community and the target language community view each other.
A central premise on this model is that a learner will control the degree to
which he acquires the second language.
• Accommodation Theory.
This theory derives from the research of Giles and focuses on the uses of
language in multilingual communities such as Britain. It operates within a
socio-psychological framework and its primary concern is to investigate
how intergroup uses of language reflect basic social and psychological
attitudes in interethnic communication.
• Discourse Theory.
This theory is proposed by Halliday (1975) and his view of first language
acquisition. It derives from Hymes’s description of communicative
competence in which communication is treated as the matrix of linguistic
knowledge. Hence, language development should be considered in terms
of how the learner discovers the meaning potential of language by
participating in communication. Halliday shows in a study how his own
child acquired language and puts forward that the development of the
formal linguistic devices for basic language grows out of the interpersonal
uses to which language is put. One of its main principles is that there is a
‘natural’ route in syntactical development.
• The Monitor Model.
Krashen’s Monitor Model is one of the most prominent and
comprehensive of existing theories in second language acquisition. It is
an account on language-learner variability within the framework of the
Monitor Model. It consists of five central hypotheses, and related to them,
a number of factors which influence second language acquisition.
Although this model will be discussed in next sections, we will offer a
brief account of it.
The five hypotheses are first, the acquisition-learning hypothesis where
the terms ‘acquired’ and ‘learnt’ are defined as subconscious and
conscious study of language; secondly, the natural order hypothesis
which affirms that grammatical structures are ‘acquired’ in a predictable
order; thirdly,

the monitor hypothesis, where the monitor is the device that learners use
to edit their language performance; fourth, the input hypothesis by which
‘acquisition’ takes place as a result of the learner having understood input
a little beyond the current level of his competence; and finally, the
affective filter hypothesis, where the filter controls how much input the
learner comes into contact with, and how much is converted into intake.
The term affective deals with motivation, self- confidence, or anxiety state
factors (Ellis 1985). This theory will be approached in detail in the
following section.

• The Variable Competence Model.

This model is proposed by Ellis (1984) and extends on the work of
Tarone and Bialystok. It claims that the way a language is learnt is a
reflection of the way it is used. Therefore, two distinctions form the basis
for this model, one refers to the process of language use, and the other to
the product.
The product of language use deals with unplanned and planned
discourse. Unplanned discourse is related to the lack of preparation or
forethought, and also to spontaneous communication. On the other hand,
planned discourse requires conscious thought and gives priority to
expression rather than thought. The process of language use is to be
understood in terms of rules and procedures, that is, linguistic knowledge
and the ability to make use of this knowledge. (Ellis 1985)

• The Universal Hypothesis.

In the words of Ellis (1985), this hypothesis states that second language
acquisition is determined by certain linguistic universals. Those working
on this tradition argue that there is a Universal Grammar that constrains
the kind of hypotheses that the learner can form and that it is innate. The
relationship between Universal Grammar and acquisition of the first
language is, in fact, a necessary one, as Chomsky’s primary justification
for Universal Grammar is that it provides the only way of accounting for
how children are able to learn their mother tongue.
• The Natural Approach and Language Acquisition.
In 1977, a teacher of Spanish, Tracy Terrell, and an applied linguist,
Stephen Krashen, both from California, developed a language teaching
proposal that incorporated the statements of the principles and
practices of second language acquisition. In their book, The Natural
Approach (1983), we find theoretical sections prepared by Krashen and
sections on classroom procedures, prepared by Terrell.
Their method focuses on teaching communicative abilities and the
primacy of meaning, following a communicative approach. Since they
see communication as the primary function of language, they rejected
earlier methods of language teaching which viewed grammar as the
central component. Krashen and Terrell’s view of language consists of
lexical items, structures, and messages.
This method has been identified with “traditional” approaches based on
the use of language in communicative situations without recourse to the
native language. The term “natural” refers to the principles of language
learning in young children in the Natural Method, and similarly in Krashen
and Terrell’s principles found in successful second language acquisition.

However, the fact that the Natural Approach was related to the older
Natural Method does not mean that they are synonymous terms. In fact,
the Natural Method became known as the Direct Method by the turn of
the century. Although they share the same tradition and the same term
“natural”, there are important differences between them. Thus the Direct
Method places emphasis on teacher monologues, direct repetition, and
formal questions and answers, focusing on accurate production of target
language sentences. In the Natural Approach there is an emphasis on
exposure, or input, rather than practice, that is, what the language
learners hear before they try to produce language. Moreover, there is an
emphasis on the central role of comprehension (Richards & Rodgers
(1992).
The theory of the Natural Approach is grounded on Krashen’s views of
language acquisition, which is based on scientific studies (Krashen and
Terrell 1983). Therefore it is relevant to present first, the fourth principles
on which this theory is based on, and then, the five hypotheses that
account for this method.
The first principle is that comprehension precedes production. The
second general principle accounts for production to emerge in stages,
where students are not forced to speak before they are ready. The third
general principle is that the course syllabus consists of communicative
goals, organizing classroom activities by topics, not grammatical
structures. The final principle is that activities must foster a lowering of
the affective filter of the students, encouraging them to express their
ideas, opinions, emotions and feeling. A good atmosphere must be
created by the instructor. The five hypotheses represent the principal
tenets of Krashen’s theory and are examined in the next section.

• The Acquisition/Learning Hypothesis.

The Acquisition-Learning distinction is the most fundamental of all the
hypotheses in Krashen's theory and the most widely known among
linguists and language practitioners. The Acquisition/Learning
Hypothesis claims that there are two independent systems of second
language performance: the acquired system and the learned system.
Acquisition refers to a natural and subconscious process very similar to
the process children undergo when they acquire their first language in
order to develop a language proficiency. Speakers are, then,
concentrated not in the form of their utterances, but in the communicative
act through a meaningful interaction in the target language or natural
communication.
According to Krashen (1983), learning refers to a process of conscious
rules for meaningful communication which results in conscious
knowledge about the language. This proa non natural way, as a product
of formal instruction. According to Krashen 'learning' is less important
than 'acquisition'.

• The Monitor Hypothesis.

The Monitor Hypothesis emphasizes the role of grammar, as the
learned knowledge to correct ourselves when we communicate, but
through conscious learning, in both first and in second languages. This
may happen before we actually speak or write. However, the Monitor use
itself is limited to three specific requirements. Thus, the performer first,
has to have enough time to think about rules; secondly, the learner has to
focus on form , on what rather than how; and finally, the learner has to
know the rule.

According to Krashen (1983), the role of the monitor should be used only
to correct deviations from speech and to polish its appearance. Hence, it
appears that the role of conscious learning is somewhat limited in second
language performance.
It appears that the role of conscious learning is somewhat limited in
second language performance. According to Krashen, the role of the
monitor is - or should be - minor, being used only to correct deviations
from 'normal' speech and to give speech a more 'polished' appearance.
Krashen, then, establishes an individual variation analysis among
language learners regarding their monitor use.

• The Natural Order Hypothesis.

According to the Natural Order Hypothesis, the acquisition of
grammatical structures takes place in a predictable order in which errors
are signs of naturalistic developmental processes. This order seems to
be independent of the learners’ age, first language background,
conditions of exposure, and although the agreement between individual
acquirers was not statistically similar. All these features reinforced the
existence of a natural order of language acquisition.
In general, certain structures tend to be acquired early such as
grammatical morphemes, or “function words” and others to be acquired
late such as the third person singular morpheme or the ‘s possessive
marker. However, Krashen (1983) points out that this hypothesis is not a
language program syllabus, and in fact, he rejects grammatical
sequencing when the goal is language acquisition.

• The Input Hypothesis.

The Input Hypothesis is Krashen’s explanation of how second language
acquisition takes place, and is only concerned with acquisition, not
learning. This hypothesis points out the relationship between the
learner’s input and the language acquisition process, where the speaking
fluency emerges after the acquirer has built up competence through
comprehending input. This hypothesis claims that listening
comprehension and reading are of primary importance in a language
program, and that speaking fluently in a second language come on its
own with time.
According to this hypothesis, learners improve and progress along the
natural order when receiving second language input. Since not all of the
learners can be at the same level of linguistic competence at the same
time, Krashen (1983) suggests that natural communicative input is the
key to designing a syllabus, ensuring in this way that each learner will
receive the appropriate input for their current stage of linguistic
competence.

• The Affective Filter Hypothesis.

In the Affective Filter Hypothesis, Krashen (1983) gives a framework to
the learner’s emotional state or attitudes that may pass, impede, or block
the necessary input to acquisition. These affective variables are usually
related to success in second language acquisition and they contribute to
the concept of “low affective filter”. Among the positive variables, we may
include motivation, a good self-image, and a low level of anxiety. It means
that the performer is open to input, and that having the right attitudes,
such as confidence and encouragement, second language acquisition will
be a complete success.

On the contrary, low motivation, low self-esteem, and debilitating anxiety

can combine to raise the affective filter and form a mental block that
prevents comprehensible input from being used for acquisition. In other
words, when the filter is up, it impedes language acquisition.
• Factors which influence second language acquisition.
The five hypothesis seen in the preceding section form the core of the
second language acquisition theory that underlies the Natural Approach.
We will consider now the implication of the theory to several issues such
as second language “aptitude”, the role of the first language, the role of
routines and patterns, individual variation, and age differences in second
language rate and attainment (Krashen & Terrell 1983).

• Second Language Aptitude.

Supported by empirical studies, the idea of second language aptitude is
related to rapid progress in second language classes, and for those
students that have this aptitude, a better performance in foreign language
classes. The speed of learning is measured by grammar-type tests that
involve a conscious awareness of language, where the ability to
consciously “figure out” grammar rules will lead students to success.
Aptitude differences play a large role if grammatical accuracy is
emphasized.

• The Role of the First Language.

The role of the first language in second language performance is closely
related to the term interference, which can recast as a learner ‘strategy’
(Corder 1981). This concept implies that second language acquisition
(SLA) is strongly influenced by the learner’s first language (L1) when we
try to speak a second language (L2).
It was claimed that there is a “fall back” on first language grammatical
competence when students have to produce in second language. It
should not be thought, according to Krashen (1983) that any approach
will completely eliminate this mode of production. When students try to
express themselves in the target language beyond their acquired ability,
they will tend to fall back on the L1.
During the last decades, there has been considerable disagreement
among researchers about the extent of the role of L1 due to behaviorist
which see SLA as a process of habit-formation. Hence, according to this
theory, errors were the result of interference from the habits of the L1.
The Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis was an attempt to predict the areas
of difficulty that learners experienced, and eliminate the chance of error.
But it did not prove to be successful. As the learner’s proficiency grows,
L1 influence will become less powerful.

• Routines and Patterns.

Routines and patterns are sentences spoken by performers who have
not acquired or learned the rules involved, thus ‘What’s your name?’
They may be helpful for encouraging input in the real

world, as well as to manage conversations. Patterns are partially

memorized and may be of considerable indirect benefit. Correctly used,
routines and patterns can help acquirers gain more input and manage
conversations, and on the contrary, they can lead to trouble if not used
effectively as they cannot be used for every situation.
• Individual Variation.
The theory of second language acquisition posits a basic uniformity in the
way we all acquire language. It also predicts that acquirers will vary only
in certain ways, thus in the rate and extent of acquisition. This is due to
two factors: the amount of comprehensible input an acquirer obtains, and
the strength of the affective filter. We can also observe variation with
respect to routines and patterns use with respect to classroom activities.
Students who have no aptitude for grammar or who simply are not
interested in grammar, will concentrate almost completely on acquisition
activities.

• Age Differences.
Age is the variable that has been most discussed when dealing with
second language acquisition because of the belief that children are better
language learners than adults. There has been considerable research on
the effect of age on this field. The available evidence suggests that age
does not alter the route of acquisition, and according to Ellis (1985), child,
adolescent, and adult learners go through the same stages irrespective
of how old they are.
However, rate and success of SLA appear to be strongly influenced by the
age of the learner. Where rate is concerned, it is the older learners who
reach higher levels of proficiency. Literature research shows that
although age improves language learning capacity, performance may
peak in the teens, and that age was a factor only when it came to
morphology and syntax. Where success of SLA is concerned, the general
finding is that the longer the exposure to the L2, the more native-like L2
proficiency becomes.

• THE CONCEPT OF INTERLANGUAGE.

In this section we will relate the concept of interlanguage to its

background in mentalist views on language acquisition and the
sequence of development in second language acquisition. Closely
related to interlanguage is the nature of errors, but we will examine it in
next section.
The term interlanguage was first coined by Selinker (1972) and refers to
the systematic knowledge of a second language which is independent of
both the learner’s first language and the target language. The term is
related to a theory of learning that stresses the learner-internal factors
which contribute to language acquisition, and it was the first attempt to
examine empirically how a learner builds up knowledge of a language.
Interlanguage was a construct which identifies the stages of development
through which L2 learners pass on their way to proficiency. The question
was to what extent the order of development paralleled that in L1
acquisition. Mentalist accounts of first language acquisition (FLA)
stressed the active contribution of the child and minimized the importance
of behaviorist concepts, such as interference, imitation and
reinforcement. One of the most prominent figures in this field, Noam

Chomsky, claimed that the child’s knowledge of his mother tongue was
derived from a Universal Grammar which consisted of a set of innate
linguistic principles to control sentences formation.
Another mentalist feature that needs mentioning is that the child builds up
his knowledge of his mother tongue by means of hypothesis-testing.
Corder (1981) suggests that both L1 and L2 learners make errors in order
to test out certain hypotheses about the nature of the language they are
learning. He saw the making of errors as a strategy. This view was in
opposition to the view of the SLA presented in the Contrastive Analysis
Hypothesis where L2 errors are the result of differences between the
learner’s first language and the target language. In the following section,
we will offer an account of the treatment of error.

• THE TREATMENT OF ERROR.

Earlier records on error treatment trace back to the early seventeenth
century, when universities of most European countries started to
exchange and spread their scientific and cultural knowledge. Children
entering “grammar schools” were initially given a rigorous introduction to
Latin grammar (Howatt 1984) and errors were often met with brutal
punishment.
Since then, error analysis has been approached from a quite different
perspective. Prior to the early 1970s, it consisted of little more than
collections of ‘common’ errors and linguistic classification. In the first half
of the twentieth century, behaviourist accounts approached the concept
of error as a sign of non-learning, as they were thought to interfere with
the acquisition of second language habits. The goals of traditional Error
Analysis were pedagogic, in order to provide information to be used for
teaching or to devise remedial lessons. There were no serious attempts
to define ‘error’ in psychological terms.
Error Analysis declined because of enthusiasm for Contrastive Analysis
proposed by Chomsky. The strong form of the Contrastive Analysis
Hypothesis claims that differences between learner’s first language and
the target language can be used to predict all errors whereas the weak
form claims that differences are only used to identify some of the errors
that arise. In accordance with behaviorism, the prevention of errors was
more important than mere identification.
It was not until the late 1960s that there wa s a resurgence of interest in
Error Analysis. It involves collecting samples of learner language,
identifying the errors in the sample, describing and classifying then
according to their hypothesized causes, and evaluating their seriousness.
One of the dominant figures in this field, Corder (1981), helped to give
this error treatment a new direction., elevating the status of errors from
undesirability to that of a guide on language learning process. According
to the Natural Order Hypothesis, proposed by Krashen (1983), the
acquisition of grammatical structures takes place in a predictable order in
which errors are signs of naturalistic developmental processes. Errors
are no longer seen as ‘unwanted forms’ but an active learner’s
contribution to second language acquisition. This is one of the main
tenets of our current educational system where errors are seen as a
positive contribution to language learning, and give LOGSE students an
active role on language learning process.

• NEW DIRECTIONS ON LANGUAGE LEARNING ACQUISITION.

Current research questions are approached from a wide range of
interdisciplinary subjects. Thus, language acquisition current research
has brought about an exceptionally concise portrayal of

changes in language teaching methodology and a focus on form. During

the 1970s previous methodological approaches, such as audiolingualism
or grammar-translation were under pressure from more communicative
approaches. In addition, approaches to second language acquisition
research were added to emphasize the need to engage acquisitional
processes within an interaction- driven approach to interlanguage
development, and special attention to the concept of interference when
dealing with languages in contact from a sociolinguistic perspective.
There has also been a longstanding concern among researchers,
educators, and parents about the intellectual development of children
and a focus on cognitive processes. Current research focus on actual
effect that bilingualism has on children’s cognitive development across a
number of areas of thought. The attempt is to identify what aspects of
cognition are affected by childhood.
On learning and acquisition of languages, we find an interest on Spanish
Language approaches, writing analysis of second language performance,
the role of second and foreign language classroom settings, and
research on advanced learners’ interaction in a foreign language context,
where the concepts of input and feedback are addressed.
There is a considerable interest on curriculum design and language
teaching approaches within the classroom context. The terms acquisition
and learning are still present in most articles on language teaching
methodology regarding writing and selectividad test skills.
Another current concern turns on new technologies, such as practising
language learning on the web for distance courses. The traditional home
study methods for distance learning have been replaced in the last few
years by the use of computers and CD-ROMs. New exciting possibilities
become availa ble via Internet and much literature is being written about
it as a way to enhance learning through technology.

• CONCLUSION.

Over the centuries, many changes have taken place in language learning
theory with the same specific goal, the search of a language teaching
method or approach that proves to be highly effective at all levels. In the
preceding sections we have examined the main features of language
learning proposals in terms of approach and theories from the most
traditional approaches to the present-day trends.
We have been concerned in this presentation about the approach to
second language learning on adults following language learning theories
on children. One set of schools (e.g., Total Physical Response, Natural
Approach) notes that first language acquisition is the only universally
successful model of language learning we have, and thus that second
language pedagogy must necessarily model itself on first language
acquisition. An opposed view (e.g., Silent Way, Suggestopedia) observes
that adults have different brains, interests, timing constraints, and
learning environments than do children, and that adult classroom
learning therefore has to be fashioned in a way quite dissimilar to the
way in which nature fashions how first languages are learned by children.
Another key distinction turns on general theories on language learning,
and language acquisition, paying special attention to those theories that
have developed into present-day methods for second language
acquisition, such as the Natural Approach. The concept of
interlanguage has been

approached in order to understand its current importance in the field of

language teaching, and hence, the treatment of error as an important
part in the process of learning.
Chomsky challenged the behaviorist model of language learning with a
cognitive approach. He proposed a theory called Transformational
Generative Grammar, according to which learners do not acquire an
endless list of rules but limited set of transformations which can be used
over and over again. For Chomsky, behaviorism could not serve as a
model of how humans learn language, since much of that language is not
imitated behavior but is created anew from underlying knowledge of
abstract rules. In his own words, language is not a habit structure.
Chomsky’s theory of tranformational grammar proposed that the
fundamental properties of language derive from innate aspects of the
mind and from how humans process experience through language
(Richards & Rodgers 1992). His theories brought about the mental
properties on language use and language learning existing within the
learner’s competence, that is, his ability to generate sentences from
abstract rules.

• BIBLIOGRAPHY.

A historical background to language learning

• Baugh, A. & Cable, T. 1993. A History of the English Language. Prentice-
Hall Editions.
• Crystal, D. 1985. Linguistics. Harmondsworth, England. Penguin Books.
• Howatt, A. (1984). A history of English Language teaching . Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
On approaches to the teaching of English as a foreign language
• Rivers, W. 1981. Teaching Foreign-Language Skills. Chicago: The
University of Chicago Press.
• Richards, J., & Rodgers, T. 1992. Approaches and Methods in
Language Teaching (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
On general theories on second language acquisition and learning
• Krashen, S. D. 1981. Second Language Acquisition and Second
Language Learning. Oxford:
Pergamon.
• Krashen, S. D., and Terrell, T. D. 1983. The Natural Approach:
Language Acquisition in the Classroom. Oxford: Pergamon.
On the concept of interlanguage and error treatment
• Corder, S. 1981a. Error Analysis and Interlanguage. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
New directions in language teaching
• Revistas de la Asociación Española de Lingüística Aplicada (AESLA):
De la Cruz, Isabel; Santamaría, Carmen; Tejedor, Cristina y Valero,
Carmen. 2001. La Lingüística Aplicada a finales del Siglo XX. Ensayos y
propuestas. Universidad de Alcalá.
• Celaya, Mª Luz; Fernández-Villanueva, Marta; Naves, Teresa; Strunk,
Oliver y Tragant, Elsa. 2001. Trabajos en Lingüística Aplicada .
Universidad de Barcelona.