Name: 1.

Usman Farooq
(BENF18M002)
2. Aaqib Hussain
(BENF18M046)

Class: BS English

Semester: 5th

Submitted to: Prof. Azhar Pervez

Department Of English
University Of Sargodha
Approaches, Methods, and Techniques:
Analysis of ‘Language Learning Theories’ requires understanding of the terms
‘Technique, Activity and Procedure.’ ‘Technique’ is a broader term for specific
tasks and refers to Brown’s taxonomy of techniques: controlled, semi-controlled
and free techniques. However, ‘Activity’ and ‘Procedure’ deal with learner’s
performance and practices/behaviours in teaching respectively.

Language Learning:
Language learning is broadly defined as developing the ability to communicate in
the second / foreign language.There are several types of language learning which
includes:

Language learning for specialists

This includes programmes which not only teach language but also a variety of
subject ‘content’ related to language such as literature, culture, history and politics
at BA or MA level. This also covers programmes and courses involving the
teaching of translating and interpreting.

Language learning for non‐specialists or service languages

This includes language teaching options which are available to all interested
students, some of which may have a focus on specific topics or on the
enhancement of selected skills (e.g. effective speaking skills). Also included are
programmes in which language is a minor part and predominately relates to the
learning of language skills rather than related ‘content’ studies, as outlined above
(language learning for specialists).
Language learning for social purposes
This includes language learning for mobility or where the local language is taught
as a foreign language to incoming students. It also relates to language learning for
employability, travel or for heritage/family reasons.

Acquisition vs. Learning:

Acquisition (Mentalist Approach):
Acquisition as a mentalist approach that refers to the initial process of childhood,
where a child acquires his/her knowledge of native language unconsciously. The
process is considered effortless assimilation of linguistic knowledge because of its
sub-consciousness.
The notion that acquisition is the unconscious process claims that it has nothing to
do with intelligence i.e. all children of different degrees of intelligence go through
the same process of acquiring their native language. Main features of language
acquisition (Mentalist Approach) include:
1. Presence of Language Acquisition Device (LAD) as an inherited ability.
2. Children appear to be ‘hard-wired’ to acquire the grammar.
3. It lacks evidence of grammatical errors in children.
4. A child would notice if an ungrammatical sentence is uttered.
5. It generates awareness of what is grammatical or ungrammatical.

Learning (Behaviourist Approach):

Learning belongs to behaviourist approach and deals with a mechanical process of
habit formation. As opposed to acquisition which is a subconscious process,
learning involves both explicit (learner’s is aware of modification of his/her
knowledge base) as well as implicit (change in the learner’s knowledge base but
outside his/her conscious introspection) learning processes.
1. Drill, imitation, and repetition are the basic elements of learning.
2. features of learning (Behaviourist Approach) include:
3. Learning is entirely a product of experiences.
4. It is controlled by the conditions under which it takes place.
5. Variations in learning do exist.
6. Language learning is practice based.
7. Imitation, repetition, reinforcement and retention have significant roles in
language learning.

BEHAVIORISTIC LEARNING THEORY:

HISTORY:
Behaviourism was formally established with the 1913 publication of John B.
Watson's classic paper, "Psychology as the Behaviourist Views It." It is best
summed up by the following quote from Watson, who is often considered the
"father" of behaviourism:"
Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to
bring them up in and I'll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to
become any type of specialist I might select doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief
and, yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants,
tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors."
From about 1920 through the mid-1950s, behaviourism grew to become the
dominant school of thought in psychology. Some suggest that the popularity of
behavioural psychology grew out of the desire to establish psychology as an
objective and measurable science.
Explanation:
Behaviourism, also known as behavioural psychology, is a theory of learning
based on the idea that all behaviours are acquired through conditioning.
Conditioning occurs through interaction with the environment. Behaviourists
believe that our responses to environmental stimuli shape our actions.
Strict behaviourists believed that any person can potentially be trained to perform
any task, regardless of genetic background, personality traits, and internal
thoughts (within the limits of their physical capabilities). It only requires the right
conditioning.
 It stresses on students’ observable behaviour to create automatic learning includes
the use of instructional cues, practice, and reinforcement. In this case, the role of
the teacher in behaviourism theory is determines what type of cues that could
produce the desired response, to create conducive situation to reach the target
stimuli and to create environmental condition. Critics believe that it does not
provide learners with the ability to solve problems and opportunities for
improvement. Some examples of behaviourist theory are:
1. Drill/ rote work
2. Repetitive practice
3. Bonus points (incentive to do more)
4. Participation points (incentive to participate)
5. Verbal reinforcement (such as ‘well done’)
6. Establishing rules
Two Types of Conditioning:
According to behaviouristic theory, there are two major types of conditioning,
classical conditioning and operant conditioning:
Classical Conditioning:
Classical conditioning is a technique frequently used in behavioural training in
which a neutral stimulus is paired with a naturally occurring stimulus. Eventually,
the neutral stimulus comes to evoke the same response as the naturally occurring
stimulus, even without the naturally occurring stimulus presenting itself.
Throughout the course of three distinct phases, the associated stimulus becomes
known as the conditioned stimulus and the learned behaviour is known as
the conditioned response.
Operant Conditioning:
Operant conditioning (sometimes referred to as instrumental conditioning) is a
method of learning that occurs through reinforcements and punishments. Through
operant conditioning, an association is made between a behaviour and a
consequence for that behaviour.
When a desirable result follows an action, the behaviour becomes more likely to
occur again in the future. Responses followed by adverse outcomes, on the other
hand, become less likely to happen again in the future.
Pavlovian Conditioning:
Russian Physiologist, Ivan Pavlov is the founder of ‘Pavlovian Conditioning’. He
discovered it accidentally during 1890s. He conducted an experiment on a dog and
learnt that a dog would salivate in response to the ringing of a bell. The Pavlovian
conditioning follows:
Unconditioned Stimulus (food) > Unconditioned Response (Salivate)
It introduced the Law of Temporal Contiguity, whereby two stimuli were
presented together to develop association. Temporal Congruity occurs when two
stimuli are experienced close together in time and, as a result, an association may
be formed. In Pavlovian conditioning, the strength of the association between the
conditioned stimulus (CS) and the unconditioned stimulus (US) is largely affected
by the phenomenon of temporal congruity.
Key features of Pavlovian conditioning are:
1. Stimulus
2. Response
3. Unconditioned Stimulus
4. Conditioned Stimulus
5. Conditioned Response
6. Extinction
7. Spontaneous Recovery
8. Generalization
9. Discrimination
Classical Conditioning:
John Watson (1913) took the lead from Pavlov’s idea of conditioning that a
neutral stimuli becomes conditioned due to specific response and proposed that
process of learning may also be referred to as the process of classical
conditioning (based on Pavlov’s observations).
Similar to the Pavlovian conditioning, the Classical Conditioning supports the
habit formation and opposes the idea of consciousness as responsible factors for
learning. The theory of Classical Conditioning is a scientific theory that follows
three stages: Before, During, and After Conditioning as the concrete processes of
learning.

A cognitive theory of learning:

HISTORY:
Cognitivism as a theory of learning studies about the process occurs inside the
learner’s mind has the own history about how it happens or the development of it.
The development of cognitivist theory is famous with the term “cognitive
revolution”. The cognitive revolution is the name for an intellectual movement in
the 1950s that began with what are known collectively as the cognitive sciences. It
began in the modern context of greater interdisciplinary communication and
research. Although cognitive psychology emerged in the late 1950s and began to
take over as the dominant theory of learning. It wasn’t until the late 1970s that
cognitive science began to have its influence on instructional design (Mergel,
1998).
From the assumptions of the two experts, I can infer that the development of
cognitivism happened in the 1950s as the dominant theory of learning.
Unfortunately, the impact of it in the language learning occurred in 1970s.The
development of cognitive theory in psychology is as the response of
behaviourism. As we know that, behaviourism is the theory of language learning
which emphasize in observable behaviour. The answer why cognitivism theory
appears as the response of behaviourism theory was because the behaviourist
psychologist tried to avoid the use of mental process in our mind. They tried to
erase the cognitivism theory. In other words, they just would like to explain
something which is observable, not the unobservable one (cognitivism).
EXPLAINATION:
A cognitive theory of learning sees second language acquisition as a conscious
and reasoned thinking process, involving the deliberate use of learning strategies.
Learning strategies are special ways of processing information that enhance
comprehension, learning or retention of information. This explanation of language
learning contrasts strongly with the behaviourist account of language learning,
which sees language learning as an unconscious, automatic process.
It stresses on the process happens inside the human mind, acquisition of the
language, and internal mental structure. In this case, the role of teacher is to
understand the position of the students who have different experience that will
influence to the learning outcome, to determine the manners that mostly used and
which one is effective to organize the new information, to provide feedback in
order to make the new information will be more effective and efficient.
Chomsky‘s Cognitivism and LAD:
Chomsky’s (1965) idea of innateness has been a hallmark of language learning
mechanism. It attempts to explain the child’s mastery of a native language in such
a short time despite the highly abstract nature of the rules of language. He
introduced language acquisition device (LAD) which, according to him, contains
the innate knowledge, fundamental rules for language, similarity of language
acquisition across humanity/cultures, and expected errors in children.
MacNeill (1966) supported appropriateness of LAD and justified its existence
based on the following:
1. The ability to distinguish speech sounds from other sounds in the environment
2. The ability to organize linguistic data into various classes that can later be
refined
3. Knowledge that only a certain kind of linguistic system is possible
4. The ability to engage in constant evaluation of the developing linguistic
system to construct the simplest possible system out of the available linguistic
input.
Chomsky’s Criticism on Behaviourism:
Chomsky, in A Review of B F Skinner’s Verbal Behaviour (1959), used language
as a tool for critique of Skinner’s behaviourism. According to Chomsky, learning
is not possible only through repetition and reinforcement as advocated by Skinner.
Chomsky believes that a child has the ability to use finite set of rules to construct
infinite sentences, and s/he can create phrases which they have never heard before.
Key Features of Chomsky’s Criticism of Behaviourism:
Not specifically a criticism of Skinner’s speculations regarding language, but
rather as a more general behaviourist critique of speculation regarding the nature
of higher mental processes. Reason for discussing Skinner’s book in such detail
was that it was the most careful and thoroughgoing presentation of such
speculations.
Tenets of Cognitive Theory:
Chomsky claimed that a new born child must be born with some peculiar
preordered ability to learn language. He called this particular biological
characteristic of human as the language acquisition device.
Language acquisition device is basically hard-wired (Chomsky’s principles and
parameters approach) into human brain that helps an infant to learn and
understand language rapidly. Children are born with full understanding of basic
rules for language learning he just needs to learn new word and vocabulary.
Chomsky proposed some fundamental evidence to support his claim. He said that
language is similar for all human beings. Every language consists of noun and
verb to arrange them for a meaningful conversation.
Chomsky also claimed that children do not make errors that we expect from their
side, during the time of learning language. Children understand that all
grammatically correct sentences have a structure of a “subject, verb, object” even
before speaking full sentences.
Chomsky also said that, before reaching level of fluency in language, children
would also notice that whether their elder around them spoke grammatically
incorrect or correct sentences. He also noticed that children apply grammatical
rules to such words which are considered as exception in language. For example
furniture, sheep, fish etc. are the words by with children also use the rules of
pluralizing as “furniture to furniture’s ,‟sheep to sheeps and „fish to fishes‟.
Chomsky also called the set of rules used in language acquisition device as a
Universal Grammar.
Children possess an innate cognitive ability of “grammar template” or UG that
allow them to make grammar of their own native language. In this way children
start constructing grammar with hypothesis testing. For example, when children
came to know about the past tense that is made by the addition of “ed” with all
verbs even (e.g. “go” to “goed”, “hit” to “hitted”) by considering the exception of
past tense of irregular verb. Children follow rules to create sentences rather than
by repeating heard sentences.
Cognitive theory is basically concerned with the acquisition of first language but
second language acquisition is also result of Universal Grammar. Second
language is also learnt in the same way as the first language has acquired.
As Chomsky puts it, “Evidently, development of language in the individual must
involve three factors:
1. Genetic Endowment; which sets limits on the attainable languages, thereby
making language acquisition possible.
External data, converted to the experience that selects one or another language
within narrow range.Principles not specific to the faculty of language. So,
different aspects of Universal Grammar are desirable with reference to particular
detail of cognition because different categorization of events and objects as a
separate classes of element in part of human cognition that directly results in noun
and verb. Hence it is evidence that different aspects of Universal Grammar are
basically part of cognition rather than part of language.
Thus, children have certain linguistic abilities by birth that motivates them to learn
not only a complex language but also help to create an immediate sort of linguistic
asset for communication. This is very clear example of second language
acquisition.
At the time of colonial establishment, many slaves came from different places
having different mother tongues but they developed a common form of new
language known as „pidgin‟, for their communicative purposes. This pidgin was
further updated as a new variety of language called as Creole. The cognitive
forces behind the acquisition of Pidgin and Creole (second language) were
basically innate language acquisition device that was the theory of Chomsky.
Introduction to Universal Grammar:
UG is defined by Chomsky as ‘the system of principles, conditions, and rules that
are elements or properties of all human languages.....the essence of human
language (Chomsky, 1978).’ Universal Grammar is usually defined as the ‘system
of categories, mechanisms, and constraints shared by all human languages, and is
considered to be innate.’ These are generally thought to include formal universals
(e.g. principles and parameters) as well as substantive universals (e.g. lexical
categories and features).
The arguments in support of UG are primarily concerned with its universality,
convergence, poverty of the stimulus, no negative evidence, child’s easy
acquisition, uniformity, maturational effects, dissociation between language and
cognition, and neurological separation. Chomsky’s UG attempts to explain what
constitutes knowledge of language, how it is acquired, and put to use.
Principles and Parameters:
Principles and Parameters are the key components of Universal Grammar. UG as
the system of categories, mechanisms, and constraints shared by all humans is
generally thought to include formal universals (e.g. principles and parameters) as
well as substantive universals (e.g. lexical categories and features). The concept of
Principles and Parameters explains that principles are universal, i.e. they apply to
all human languages, and parameters vary from one language to another, i.e. the
parameters of the language vary according to the language input that they receive
from the environment.
Principles are structure dependent which means that knowledge of language relies
onthe structural relationship in the sentence such as words and morphemes rather
than on the sequence of words. Parameters, as varied in nature, contain Pro-Drop
Parameter (whether subject pronouns can be dropped in a language or not), Binary
Parameter, Head–Initial Parameter, Head Final Parameter, and Governing
Parameters.
Based Approaches to SLA:
The focus of UG is native language and the way it is acquired. This is why, UG is
of significance in the field of linguistics. SLA’s importance as a study dealing
with learning a second language after a first language is already established.
Researchers have tried to find out whether L2 learners have access to UG or not.
Three models have been proposed:
1. The direct access model: looks into the availability of UG directly to the L2
learner.
2. The indirect access model: deals with availability of UG through L1
acquisition.
3. No-access model: Unavailability of UG to L2 learner.
Contradiction between Innateness and Behaviourism:
1. Theory of innatism claims that the language is also develop as like as other
biological functions but behaviourism say that language is learnt as like as
other human habits are learnt.
2. According to Innatism, language learning is a cognitive process while
behaviourism claims that second language learning is also a stimulus response
based process.
3. According to Innatism, language learning process of a child is successful only
when he himself is able to generate infinite grammatically correct sentences
but behaviourism say that this process of language acquisition is complete
when child is able to repeat what he has taught.
4. Innatism claims that there is no need to give basic formal education for
language learning but Behaviourism oppose this claim and emphasize on the
basic level of education for second language acquisition.
5. Innatism theorized that children are born with an innate hard wired language
acquisition device consisting of language learning tools, responsible for
language learning but behaviourism claims that like a blank slate at the time of
birth which is also known as Tabula Rasa.
6. Innatism theory is based on human experiment but behaviourism is based on
animal experiments like pigeon and rat.
7. Innatism is a result of nature but behaviourism is the result of nurturing.
8. Innatism is a theory in which knowledge is dynamic but in behaviourism
knowledge is constant
9. Innatism claims that language learning is a creative process but behaviourism
do not believes on creativity for language learning.
10. Innatism explains the whole procedure of language of language learning of a
child but behaviourism is unable to define the initiation of child language
acquisition.