Second Language Acquisition Processes and Theories
Universal Grammar Theory
Noam Chomsky
States that all children are born with
the innate ability to acquire, develop,
and understand language
Input Hypothesis
Krashen
Proposes the language acquisition takes place only
when the learner receives input just beyond their
current level of competence.
Application: Create a student centered teaching
model to encourage interaction and discussion
Output Hypothesis
Merrill Swain
Meaningful output is as necessary as meaningful
input because the experience of producing language
leads to more effective processing of input
Application: Use classroom interaction to ask
questions and allow the students to respond
verbaly
Interaction Theory
Long
States that the effectiveness of comprehensible
input is greatly increased when learners have to
negotiate for the meaning
Application: Allow the students to discuss a topic such as global
warming, allowing each student to give their opinion while listing to
the opinion of others.
Noticing Hypothesis
Richard Schmidt
States knowledge of a language is not always
essential for acquisition but the learner must be
aware of the input in order to gain from it
Also learners must notice the ways in which their
interlanguage structures differ from target norms
Application: Allow an English learner student to first check if they
can find the mistake in their work before telling them the
mistake, allowing them to find and notice the mistake for
themselves