Second Language Acquisition: Theories and Stages

Posted on Feb 22, 2025 in Other civil servant exams

Second Language Acquisition Stages

Language Acquisition (LA) suggests that learners go through 5 stages. It is of great importance to know the learners’ current stage. Help from teachers is fundamental to lead the students to the next stage. The teacher should be aware of this «ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT»

Stage 1: Limited Vocabulary

The learner understands only a few words, has a very limited vocabulary, does not produce any utterances, and uses body language only.

Stage 2: Basic Comprehension

The learner has limited comprehension, produces one- or two-word sentences, uses key words and familiar phrases, and uses present tense verbs.

Stage 3: Improved Comprehension

The learner has improved comprehension, uses simple grammar sentences, makes grammatical and pronunciation mistakes, and misunderstands the context.

Stage 4: Fluent Comprehension

The learner understands without much effort and uses well-structured sentences.

Stage 5: Near-Native Proficiency

The learner shows near-native-like pronunciation, good command of grammatical structures, and good listening comprehension.

To progress through stages according to Krashen, provide the learners with new information that can be processed and comprehended by using their current level of proficiency. The above is known as «Comprehensible Input»

Behaviorist Theories

(Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis)

  • Skinner (1960): Human learning and animal learning are similar.
  • Late 19th-century research of animal behavior gave rise to the school of Behaviorism.
  • All behavior (B) is viewed as a response to stimuli; B happens in an associative chain.
  • Learning is habit-formation through a reward system.
  • Types of habit formation:
    • Classical Conditioning (Pavlov: dog + meat + bell = salivation, then dog + bell = salivation)
    • Operant Conditioning (if random produces reward, it becomes regular)
    • Multiple Response Learning (a chain of deeds) (Hadley, 2001)
  • Skinner considered language as a sophisticated response system.
  • The mind is a tabula rasa for stamping associations.
  • The tool for SLA is drill and practice with no explanations.
  • The native language is the source of major difficulty for language learning.
  • Overcoming interference is essential for Contrastive Analysis (CA).
  • CA predicts mistakes.
  • Fossilization and positive transfer occur.
  • Understanding isn’t necessary.

Universal Grammar Theory

  • 1957 Syntactic Structures Chomsky (1980-1990)
  • Marked/Unmarked features in languages
  • Critical Period
  • The theory is originally based on first language acquisition.
  • Closely related to cognitive psychology principles.
  • Language is a genetically determined capacity (66-67).
  • Language Acquisition Device (LAD) with innate linguistic properties (distinguishing speech-non-speech sounds; organize into system; possible and not possible in the system; construction of system according to linguistic data of exposition – parameter setting takes place).
  • Language is formal and substantive universals.
  • Core grammar is true for all languages; peripheral grammar is unique. Interested in competence, but not performance.

Krashen’s Monitor Theory

(Input Hypothesis)

  • SLA is very different from other types of learning.
  • LAD is used by any age learners when they acquire, not learn, a language.
  • Distinguish acquisition (like a child) and learning (rules).
  • Learning leads to a monitor, and acquisition leads to true proficiency.
  • Providing input is the most important part.
  • Monitor Hypothesis: SLA generates fluency; learning edits and monitors output.
  • Input Hypothesis: Acquisition happens when i+1, comprehensible and planned input takes place; fluency emerges over time.
  • Affective Filter Hypothesis: Motivation, confidence, and anxiety are low.
  • Implications for the classroom: Affective filter is low; the class is useful for beginners; optimal input is appropriate to the learner’s level, interesting and relevant, not sequenced grammatically, i+1; error correction is minimal, shouldn’t take place simultaneously with acquisition; never force to produce L2 before they are ready to; fluency can’t be taught.

Direct method

  • Krashen’s Input Hypothesis (students learn to understand a language by listening to it)
  • Conversational Theory (they learn to speak by speaking)
  • Social Theories (cultural pictures make them aware of the situations they might encounter in the target community)

CLT

  • Conversational Theory
  • Krashen’s Monitor Theory and Input Hypothesis (deals with motivation)