CHAPTER 4 Human Learning

By:
RODHIAH AMZAH
ZANARIAH ABDULLAH
ZAM ZARINA MD ZAIN
NUR WAHIDA ZAINAL KAMARUDDIN
 APTITUDE
By RODHIAH AMZAH
2007143767
 ●
The identification of a
Aptitude number of characteristics of
successful language learners

●
- risk-taking behavior
●
- memory efficiency
●
- intelligent guessing
●
- ambiguity tolerance
●
(Brown 1991 and Robin & Thompson 1982)
 - learning numbers
- listening
Independent of
Required - detecting spelling a specific
Modern prospective clues and foreign
Language language grammatical patterns
- memorizing all language
Aptitude Test learners ( either L1 or L2)
(before learn L2 (predictive of
(MLAT) (Caroll - utilizing words &
to perform morphemes from a success in the
& Sapon 1958)
such tasks: constructed learning of any
hypothetical language.
language)
 Pimsleur ●
Peace Corps volunteer
Language
training programs –help
Aptitude
Battery (PLAB) predict successful lang.
(Pimsleur 1996) learners

●
- quite well received by foreign lang.
Results for teacher
●
- their popularity steadily waned
MLAT & ●
- few attempts to experiment with
alternative lang. aptitude (Skehan 1998,
PLAB tests: Parry & Child 1990)
Factors account for the decline:

●
- pros: measured ability to perform focused, analytical, context - reduced activities (occupy Ss in traditional
lang. classroom).
●
- cons: began to tap into the kinds of learning strategies and styles that crucial in the acquisition of
communicative competence in context-embeded situations. (Cohen 1998, Reid 1995, Ehrman 1990, Oxford
1990b, 1996)

1. Became apparent that they simply reflected the general intelligence/academic ability
of Ss. (Skehan 1998)
2. How is one to interpret a lang. aptitude test?

●
Test clearly biases both Ss and T.
●
Led to believe that they will be succesful or unsucessful (depend on the aptitude test score)
●
Self-fullfilling prophecy is likely to occur
●
What T should do?
●
- optimistic to Ss
●
- monitor styles and strategies carefully
●
- leading Ss toward effective strategies
 INTELLIGENCE
By ZANARIAH ABDULLAH
2007143775
 Intelligence
Traditional definition –’smart’ person capable of learning 2 nd
language more successfully because of greater intelligence

Howard Gardner (1983)

Comprehensive picture of intelligence:
1. Linguistic
2. Logical-mathematical
3. Spatial (adapt to environment)
4. Musical (pitch and rhythmic patterns)
5. Bodily-kinesthetic (movement)
6. Interpersonal (understand others)
7. Intrapersonal intelligence (see oneself, develop self-identity)
Robert Sternberg (1985, 1988)
“triarchic” view of intelligence
• Componential ability for analytical thinking
(examine things very carefully)
• Experiential ability to engage in creative
thinking, different experiences in insightful
ways (deep & clear)
• Contextual ability: “street smartness”- enables
people to “play the game” of manipulating
their environment (others, situation)
Daniel Goleman (1995)
Emotional Intelligence
• Highest level of hierarchy of human ability
• Management of core emotions – anger, fear,
enjoyment, love drives & controls efficient
mental & cognitive processing
• The emotional mind is far quicker than the
rational mind, springing into action without
even pausing to consider what it is doing.
 Intelligence is language-based
Oller
• “Language may not be merely a vital link in
the social side of intellectual development, it
may be the very foundation of intelligence
itself”
• A deep relationship, perhaps even an identity,
between intelligence and language ability
 TRANSFER
By ZAM ZARINA MD ZAIN
2007143773
• Information related to one topic can
sometimes either help or hinder the
acquisition
• Definition: Carryover of previous
performance/knowledge to subsequent
learning.
• Language learners apply L1 to L2
Transfer
 TYPES OF
TRANSFER

NEGATIVE
TRANSFER

POSITIVE
TRANSFER
 POSITIVE TRANSFER
 
• Occurs when prior knowledge benefits the learning tasks.
• Give facilitating effects of the first language.
• This positive transfer is most likely to occur when the
learner
1. recognizes common features among concepts,
principles, or skills;
2. consciously links the information in memory; and
3. sees the value of using what was learned in one
situation in another (Schunk, 1996b).
 Factors of
positive
transfer

Similarities
in syntactic
structures

Similarities
Similarities
between L1
between
and L2
writing system
vocabulary

Similarities
within vowel
system
 Ways to promote positive transfer

Employ informed
instruction. learn not Promote positive
Provide
only to describe a attitudes toward
Teach target opportunities for
concept or strategy, target language, so
language in distributed practice
but also to that students will
meaningful rather after the information
understand when feel inclined to deal
than rote contexts. has been initially
and why the concept with rather than
learned.
or strategy is useful avoid topics
(Paris et al., 1982).
 NEGATIVE TRANSFER
• Occurs when previous performance disrupts the
performance of a second task.
• When the native language is negatively transferred, it
means interference has occurred.
• Misconception : Important type of negative transfer.
Learner store information incorrectly in long-term memory
or retrieve the improper information to working memory
 Factors of
Negative
Transfer

Linguistic
distance
between L2
and L1

Limited
quantity of
L2 input Age
Focus
 Errors in Negative Transfer

production errors:
substitution: use
of L1 forms in L2
Under
differentiation:
Overproduction: inability to make a
Misinterpretation: L1
Underproduction: produces L2 structure distinction made
structures influence
avoidance of difficult with much greater in another L
the interpretation of hypercorrection:
L2 structures. frequency than
L2 messages. exaggerated
natives of L2 do.
attempt to imitate
linguistic forms
(b/p)
Calques: word
order error
INTERFERENCE

NUR WAHIDA BT ZAINAL

KAMARUDIN
2007143759
• Interference is the process in which a communicative
behavior for the first language influences the second
language.

• Students tend to demonstrate interference when using

English in formal settings, i.e., in a testing situation,
rather than playing on the playground.

• L1 interference when speaking or writing in a second

language is generally a lifelong experience.
• Practitioners are recommended to consider the
possibility that L2 learners’ errors in English may result
from language interference or from limited English
experience.

• An illustration of interference would be when children

literally translate phrases from their native language to
English i.e., the Spanish form for “Have a seat” is “Toma
asiento”, when translated literally, second language
learners may say, “Take a seat”.

• In such situations, the L2 learner’s language use

difference is due to language interference.
• Interference may be viewed as the
transference of elements of one language to
another at various levels including
phonological, grammatical, lexical and
orthographical (Berthold, Mangubhai &
Batorowicz, 1997). 
 Grammatical interference is
Phonological interference as
defined as the first language
items including foreign accent
influencing the second in terms
such as stress, rhyme, intonation
of word order, use of pronouns
and speech sounds from the first
and determinants, tense and
language influencing the second.
mood. 

Interference at a lexical level Orthographic

provides for the borrowing of
interference includes the
words from one language and
converting them to sound spelling of one language
more natural in another. altering another.
• According to Hagège, interference between L1 and L2 is
observed in children as well as in adults.
• In adults it is more obvious and increases continuously, as
a monolingual person gets older and the structures of his
first language get stronger and impose themselves more
and more on any other language the adult wishes to learn.
• In contrast, as regards children, interference features will
not become permanent unless the child does not have
sufficient exposure to L2.
• If there is sufficient exposure, then instead of reaching a
point where they can no longer be corrected (as often
happens with phonetics features), interference features
can be easily eliminated.
 Questions
1. Differentiate between intelligence and
aptitude
( Oct. 2008)
2. Explain Emotional Intelligence by Daniel
Goleman (1995)
3. Explain production errors and the types
 Reference
• http://education.calumet.purdue.edu/
• Odlin, T. (1989). Language transfer: cross-
linguistic influence in language learning.
• Cambridge ,United Kingdom: Cambridge
University Press