This is the first of a two part video series about Second Language Acquisition theories.
Let's begin by looking at Behaviorism and Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis.
Behaviorism was influential from the 1940s to the 1970s.
As we know from first language acquisition, the Behaviorists believe in habit-making so
that when phrases and sentences are repeated enough, they will become habits that the learner
will be able to use.
This is true in their opinion for first language acquisition and second language acquisition.
However, in SLA they think that the habits learned when acquiring the mother tongue will
interfere with learning a new language, so there is need for significant amounts of drill
and practice in the second language.
This lead to the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis, or CAH.
In a very simplified explanation, Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis claims that when the first
and second language have similarities, then the second language will be easy to learn.
But where there are differences between the two, then it will be difficult to learn the
target language.
While CAH does seem to be able to explain some language learning issues, it does not
hold true in general.
For example, we know that regardless of what the primary language is, English learners
will acquire certain simple grammatical components in the same order.
Also, when ESL/EFL learners make mistakes in their sentences, those mistakes cannot
always be traced back to their first language.
It does appear that eventually teens and adults are able to recognize similarities and differences
after they have learned a fair amount of the target language.
So, they are able to use their cognitive skills to accept or reject patterns.
Therefore, CAH has more significance for intermediate levels and above than for beginners.
After Behaviorism, came Innatism.
It began in the 1970s, but remains influential today.
Chomsky argues that there is some place in our human brain that contains Universal Grammar
(UG) knowledge that just needs to be released, or used.
The question is whether this can possibly relate to second language acquisition.
Some say yes it does, but that because of the differences, it requires more direct teaching.
Others claim that sufficient input in the second language will be enough.
Krashen came up with five hypotheses for applying the Innatist view of SLA.
He called it the "Monitor Model."
First is his "Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis."
He defined acquisition as something that happens naturally with "no conscious attention to
language form."
Learning, on the other hand, is all about consciously attending to rules and form.
Second is the "Monitor Hypothesis."
This monitor is constantly making comparisons between what has been acquired and what has
been learned so that it makes the necessary edits and revisions between the two in order
to successfully learn the language.
This may happen automatically in some students, but for most, they will need guidance, plenty
of time, and a purpose to present correct language.
Third is the "Natural Order Hypothesis."
This suggests that second language acquisition follows patterns just like first language
acquisition did, although, not necessarily the exact same way for both.
The fourth is the "Input Hypothesis."
This is the one I focus on most because I believe it is true to a large extent.
The learner acquires the language when receiving a lot of comprehensible input.
This is represented by the formula i + 1.
The "i" stands for "input" and the "+1" represents the level being a little bit higher than the
current level of the learner.
The idea is that i + 4 will be much too difficult for the learner, so they will shut down.
While i - 1 will be too easy for the learner, so boredom will set in and they will also
shut down.
The fifth of Krashen's hypotheses is the "Affective Filter Hypothesis."
This is another very useful idea.
It says that even if the first four hypotheses are true for a particular student, he or she
still may not learn a language just because they have an emotional barrier.
The affective filter could be boredom or anxiety.
It also could be a lack of perceived need to learn the language, a lack of motivation,
or a negative perception of their own language learning ability.
Most of the emotions I have mentioned here can be addressed by a perceptive teacher.
Okay.
We have covered a lot in this video.
We started out talking about Behaviorism and the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis.
Then we moved to the Innatists and Krashen's application of that theory.
The next video will look at some psychological theories.