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Second Language Acquisition:
Theories and Application
- Universal Grammar Hypothesis
- Developed by Noam Chomsky
- Description: All human language rests on
innate building blocks of expression. Each
language has sentences with the same basic
parts in common (nouns, verbs, etc), but they
are just structured differently.
- Application: According to this theory, ELLs could
achieve fluency by learning the basic grammar
and sentence structuring rules of English.
Therefore, teaching proper grammar and
structure is highly important in the classroom.
- Developed by Noam Chomsky
- Cummins's Theories of
Bilingualism and Cognition
- Developed by Jim Cummins
- Description: Knowledge of an individual's first language provides a firm
foundation for second language acquisition. Cummins distinguishes between
basic interpersonal communicative skills (BICS) and cognitive academic
language proficiency (CALP). BICS is conversational fluency picked up relatively
quickly by ELL, including high frequency words and basic grammatical
expressions. CALP includes the ability to interpret and produce increasingly
complex aspects of the language, and may take 5-7 years for ELL to grasp,
partly because many words are only used in textbooks and in the classroom
(not everyday language). Cummins believes that an individual's ability to
speak English fluently does not indicate that they have learned English.
- Applications: Teachers need to know that it
may take 5-7 years for ELL to develop CALP,
so they should not always assume ELL have
learning disabilities. Teach prefixes, root
words, and suffixes to help ELL figure out the
meaning of academic words.
- Developed by Jim Cummins
- Interlanguage Theory
- Developed by Larry Selinker
- Description: Second-language learners create an
"interlanguage" to try to achieve competence in the
second language. They use 3 sources of information:
rules of their own language, rules of the new language,
and rules about how languages generally work
- Application: Teachers should use the slight
errors in the way ELLs speak to assess students'
misunderstandings. They should not see these
errors as failures. Teachers should gradually
guide ELLs towards the right language form
instead of immediately counting off points.
- Developed by Larry Selinker
- Affective Filter Hypothesis
- Developed by Stephen Krashen
- Description: Emotional variables (anxiety,
motivation, self-confidence, etc) can block input from
reaching the language acquisition site, which could
lower the level of the second language acquired.
- Application: Teachers should provide a
non-threatening and encouraging environment
that promotes learning. When teachers promote
high self-esteem and other emotional variables,
students are more likely to learn proficiently.
- Developed by Stephen Krashen
- Input Hypothesis
- Developed by Stephen Krashen
- Description: Individuals only acquire
language when they understand
messages (comprehensible input).
Speaking in the target language does
not result in language acquisition.
- Application: Students should not be
forced to speak and write in the
target language until they are ready.
Class time should be filled with
comprehensible oral input.
- Developed by Stephen Krashen
- Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis
- Developed by Stephen Krashen
- Description: Distinguishes learning from acquisition. Learning
is knowing about a language, but acquisition is an unconscious
process where language is used for real communication.
- Application: Teachers should focus less on
rules of a language and more on application.
They should give students the basics and
help them apply it to new situations.
- Developed by Stephen Krashen
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