Behaviorism in the second language

acquisition

B ehaviorism or the behavioral learning theory is a popular concept

that focuses on learners’ second language acquisition. It puts forward that all
behaviors are learned through connections with the environment. This theory
states that behaviors are learned from the environment. And also says that
inborn or inherited factors have very little impact on behavior.
Behaviorism is the key for educators because it impacts how learners react
and behave in the classroom. According to this theory, teachers can directly
influence how their learners behave. It also helps teachers understand a
learner’s home environment and lifestyle can influence their behavior, by
helping them see it objectively and work to assist with improvement.
The origin of Behaviorism

Behaviorism started as a reaction against meditative psychology in the 19th

century. Meditative psychology relied heavily on first-person explanations.
J.B. Watson and B.F. Skinner refused meditative methods for being subjective
and unscientific. These psychologists wanted to focus on observable, scientific
events and behaviors. They said that science should take only observable
indicators into account. Furthermore, they helped bring psychology into
higher relevance by showing that it could be accurately determined and
perceived.
Pavlov’s experiment

Pavlov’s Dog is popular behaviorist research. Pavlov monitored a dog’s

wisdom to show how learning takes place. Pavlov was monitoring that a dog
salivates when he gave it food. However, his big step forward came about
when he discerned that the dog would salivate simply when the assistant who
regularly fed the dog went into the room. So, what did he realize from this? He
found that: The assistant (stimulus) caused salivation (response). The dog had
learned to do something based upon a stimulus (the assistant entering the
room). There were cause and effect.
Pavlov didn’t bring it to an end there. Then, every time he rang a bell the dog
was likely to eat. By doing so, he wanted to see whether the bell would also
cause the dog to salivate. Besides, he rang the bell any time he wanted and the
dog would salivate straight away. He didn’t even need to give the dog food.
The bell simply would cause salivation.
The stimulus-response cycle is one of the key factors of understanding
behaviorism. For example, when the bell rings, it creates a stimulus and the
response is what happens next, a dog salivates. Behavioral learning theory
argues that you can break down even a multifacet action into stimulus-
response.
In the classroom, the behavioral theory is the explanation for understanding
how to motivate and help learners. One can convey information from teachers
to learners, from a response to the right stimulus. Learners are passive
participants in behavioral learning – teachers give them the information as an
element of stimulus-response. Teachers use behaviorism to show learners how
they should act in response to certain stimuli. They can do it in a recurring
way to remind learners regularly what behavior a teacher is on the lookout for.
Motivation plays a dominant role

Motivation plays a significant role in behavioral learning. Positive and

negative reinforcement can act as motivators for learners. For example, a
learner who gets praise for a good test score is much more likely to learn the
answers effectively than a learner who doesn’t receive praise for a good test
score. The learner who gets no praise is experiencing negative reinforcement –
their wits tell them that though they got a good grade, it didn’t really matter.
Therefore, the matter of the examination becomes minor to them. On the
contrary, learners who get positive reinforcement become aware of a direct
connection to continuing excellence, entirely based on that reaction to a
positive stimulus.
Teachers can put into practice behavioral learning methods in their classroom in a number of ways, including:

 carry out skills using drill models to help learners see the repetition and
reinforcement that behavioral learning theory exercises.
 make use of questions as a stimulus and answers as a reaction,
gradually getting harder with questions to help learners.
 directly involve themselves in helping learners get through problems to
give them the reinforcement and behavioral manifestation they want
them to follow.
 Feedbacks are important to behaviorism. Going back over the material
and giving positive feedbacks will help learners hang on to information
much better.
 Behaviorist classroom environment makes use of positive support
regularly. This can be in the form of verbal reinforcement and praise,
reward systems, further opportunities.

While behaviorism is an enormous choice for many teachers, there are some
disapprovals of this theory. Behaviorism is best for certain learning results,
like foreign languages and math, but isn’t as useful for methodical and all-
inclusive learning. Many reviewers of behavioral learning say that the theory
doesn’t include sufficient human learning and behavior and that it’s not fully
developed.

    Behaviorists believe that people learn a new language according to the very same principles

that they identified to child language acquisition-they imitate small bits of the new language ,
are rewarded when people understand what they say(positive reinforcement) and thus use the

same bits of language again and soon, these bits become “habits” and are therefore learned.

            Conversely, when they use a wrong pattern in the new language, they are “punished”

by others not understanding them, so they do not use the pattern again. However,

behaviorists recognize that L2 learning must logically differ from L1 acquisition where one of

the most crucial assumptions is the learners are older and hence no longer tabula rasa. The

language patterns learned from their first language have already become habits.

            Where the new language is very similar to the L1, this is not a problem. But when the

new language is quite different from the L1, this leads to the problem of L1

transfer and interference. The learner applies his L1 patterns to the new language out of habit,

and this leads to using wrong patterns in the new language. If uncorrected, these errors

become habits in the new language, and thus, the learner fails to learn the language correctly.

The Principle of the Behaviorist Theory The behaviorist theory believes

that “infants learn oral language from other human role models. through a
process involving imitation, rewards, and practice. Human role models in
an infant's. environment provide the stimuli and rewards,” (Cooter &
Reutzel, 2004).
What is the behaviorist view of language
development?
According to the behaviorist theory of language acquisition, children
learn language as they do any other behavior. They mimic
the language patterns of those around them, responding to the rewards
and punishments that follow from correct and incorrect usage,
respectively.
How does behaviorism apply to teach language?
Behaviorism can be applied through the teaching method such as
Audiolingual method, TPR,Silent way. The teacher can apply the
principles of behaviorism in the classroom that can be applied through
classical and operant conditioning.
Who supports behaviorism?
John B. Watson is known as the father of behaviorism within psychology.
John B. Watson (1878–1958) was an influential American psychologist
whose most famous work occurred during the early 20th century at
Johns Hopkins University.
What is considered a part of behaviorism?
The basic premise of behaviorism is that the study of behavior should be
a natural science, such as chemistry or physics.
Initially behaviorism rejected any reference to hypothetical inner states
of organisms as causes for their behavior, but B.F.
Today, we are going to see how the behaviorist theory can be related to learning and
acquisition of a laguage. I hope you enjoy the reading!

As we have already seen in a previous post about "Who was B. F. Skinner?", we

know that he is one of the pioneers of behaviorism. He made some importants
discoveries about human behavior and developed concepts, such as the operant
conditioning. In education, Skinner made some relevant assumptions about
acquisition and learning of laguages. For him a language is developed according to
the level of interaction between a person and the environment context.
One belief of behaviorism is that, children are born without any knowledge, that is, as
a blank slate, and they learn oral language by watching and imitating adults. When a
child is acquiring a language, she or he imitates the sound or speech patterns produced
by adults. However, the child will receive rewards (positive stimuli) or punishments
(negative stimuli) and this way the child's behavior will be gradually conditionated.

The process of learning over a behaviorist perspective supports the idea that learning
does not involve thinking. It is charecterized as being a mechanical process which has
as goal to train people to respond automatically without thinking. The teacher, for
instance, encourages the learner to construct phrases, clauses and sentences modeled
on previously settled set of rules and drills is thoughtto obstruct the instinctive
production of language. Rewards and Punishments are important in process of
learning, because they help to shape the learner's behavior.

In the classroom, the behavioral learning theory is key in understanding how

to motivate and help students. Information is transferred from teachers to
learners from a response to the right stimulus. Students are a passive
participant in behavioral learning—teachers are giving them the information as
an element of stimulus-response. Teachers use behaviorism to show students
how they should react and respond to certain stimuli. This needs to be done in
a repetitive way, to regularly remind students what behavior a teacher is
looking for. 
Positive reinforcement is key in the behavioral learning theory. Without
positive reinforcement, students will quickly abandon their responses because
they don’t appear to be working. For example, if students are supposed to get
a sticker every time they get an A on a test, and then teachers stop giving that
positive reinforcement, less students may get A’s on their tests, because the
behavior isn’t connected to a reward for them. 
Repetition and positive reinforcement go hand-in-hand with the behavioral
learning theory. Teachers often work to strike the right balance of repeating
the situation and having the positive reinforcement come to show students
why they should continue that behavior. 
Motivation plays an important role in behavioral learning. Positive and
negative reinforcement can be motivators for students. For example, a
student who receives praise for a good test score is much more likely to learn
the answers effectively than a student who receives no praise for a good test
score. The student who receives no praise is experiencing negative
 reinforcement—their brain tells them that though they got a good grade, it
didn’t really matter, so the material of the test becomes unimportant to them.
Conversely students who receive positive reinforcement see a direct
correlation to continuing excellence, completely based on that response to a
positive stimulus.  

ehaviorism and social learning theory.

The behavioral learning theory and the social learning theory stem from
similar ideas. The social learning theory agrees with the behavioral learning
theory about outside influences on behavior. However, the social learning
theory goes a step further and suggests that internal psychological processes
are also an influence on behavior. Students or individuals may see things
being done, but the social learning theory says that internal thoughts impact
what behavior response comes out. 
Behaviorism doesn’t study or feature internal thought processes as an
element of actions. Social learning argues that behavior is much more
complicated than the simple stimulus and response of behaviorism. It
suggests that students learn through observation, and then they consciously
decide to imitate behavior. There are underlying emotions like peer pressure
and a desire to fit in that impact behavior.

Behaviorist teaching strategies.

Teachers can implement behavioral learning strategy techniques in their
classroom in many ways, including:
 Drills. Teachers may practice skills using drill patterns to help students see
the repetition and reinforcement that behavioral learning theory uses.
 Question and answer. Teachers can use a question as a stimulus and answer
as a response, gradually getting harder with questions to help students.
 Guided practice. Teachers can be directly involved in helping students go
through problems to give them the reinforcement and behavior demonstration
you want them to follow.
 Regular review. Reviews are important to behavioral learning theory. Going
back over material and giving positive reinforcement will help students retain
information much better.
 Positive reinforcement. Behaviorist classrooms utilize positive reinforcement
regularly. This can be in the form of verbal reinforcement and praise, reward
systems, added privileges, and more. 

Behaviorism criticisms.
While behaviorism is a great option for many teachers, there are some
criticisms of this theory. Behaviorism is best for certain learning outcomes, like
foreign languages and math, but aren’t as effective for analytical and
comprehensive learning. 
Other critics of behavioral learning say that the theory doesn’t encompass
enough of human learning and behavior, and that it’s not fully developed.
Other theories have come forward that take behaviorism further, implying that
there are many additional factors to consider when evaluating behavior.
If you are hoping to one day become a teacher, it’s important to get the right
degree and credentials to help you be prepared for success. It’s also
important to understand learning theories to be ready to take on students and
the classroom. When you understand more about psychology and how
students learn, you’re much more likely to be successful as an educator. 
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF BEHAVIORISM
            According to Tomic , Behaviorism attempts to describe , explain  and
influence behavior. In this section, I would like to describe the features of
behaviorism.
1. According to behaviorist,  the most important causes of motivation for
behaviorism lie outside rather than within the individual.
2. The dualistic portrayal of mankind which distinguishes between mental
processes and observable behavior is scientifically unproductive. For
example” Mary loses control of herself because she is aggressive”. This
sentence means something. Mary is the cause of their observable behavior.
However, the only way  to detect the inner characteristics serving to explain
behavior in such pronouncements is to observe this behavior. We see that the
cause and effect have  the same source.
3. The scientific study of mankind should be restricted as much as possible  to
directly observable quantities.
4. Explanations of human behavior are simple in principle, as behavior arose out
the elementary learning processes, but in practice however , behavior is quite
complex. Both the behavioral  patterns of and the outside influences that
effect human beings  are complicated.
5. Man is generally a shallow  and imprecise observer of both his own  and
others’ behavior. The dualistic portrayal of mankind forces him to propose all
sorts of dubious explanations.
6. The attempt to influence behavior must be preceded by a thorough behavioral
analysis. If the attempt to influence behavior fails, then the analysis is
incorrect or incomplete and must be revised.
7. APPLICATION OF BEHAVIORISM FOR ELT
8.                Behaviorism offers a particular perspective on how learning
occurs and how teaching impacts that process. According to Beavers,
Eaglin, Green, Nathan and Wolfe (2002)) Learning is a persisting
change in performance or performance potential that results from
experience and interaction with the world. The importance  of
measurable and observable performance and the impact of the
environment comprise foundational principles of the  behaviorist
approach to learning.
9. Some things to remember when incorporating behaviorist principles
into your teaching:
10. • Write observable and measurable behavioral learning outcomes
 11. • Specify the desired performances in advance (the learning outcomes
serve this purpose) and verify learning with appropriate assessments
12. • Emphasize performance, and practice in an authentic context
13. • Use instructional strategies to shape desired skills
14. • Reinforce accomplishments with appropriate feedback
15. Behaviorism  can be applied through the teaching method such as
Audiolingual method, TPR,Silent way.
16. Behaviorism and Foreign Language Teaching
Methodology
17. Behaviorism theory is crucial in foreign language
learning.
18. The influence of this theory can be seen in the
implementation of
19. teaching learning process using Grammar
Translation Method
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22. (GTM), Direct Method (DM), Situational Language
Teaching (SLT)
23. and closely related to a particular language
teaching method
24. called Audiolingual Method (ALM). This ALM has
two principles:
25. (1) Stimulus-Response concept, and (2) an
assumption that
26. second language learning should reflect and
imitate the
27. perceived process of mother tongue learning.
28. According to Fauziati (2016) the application of
29. behaviorism theory in Audiolingual method is as
follows: (1) the
30. organism is the learner, (2) the behavior as verbal
behavior, (3)
31. the stimulus as what is presented of the foreign
language, (4) the
32. response as the learners’ reaction to the
stimulus, and (5) the
33. reinforcement as the extrinsic approval and praise of
the teacher,
34. fellow students, and self-satisfaction of target
language use.
35. Based on the relation between behaviorism
theory and
36. ALM, it is clear now that ALM is marked by
the following
37. characteristics: (1) new language should always be
dealt within
38. the sequence of listening, speaking, reading, and
writing with
39. emphasis on teaching receptive skills before
productive skills, as
40. what is claimed by Alexander (1986, as cited in
Johnson, 2001)
41. stating that nothing will be spoken before it has
been heard, and
42. nothing will be written before it has been read,
(2) habit
43. formation through frequent repetition, (3) errors are
avoided, (4)
44. the use of dialogues as the chief means of
presenting language,
45. (5) using mimicry, memorization, and pattern
drills techniques,
46. (6) discouraging the use of mother tongue in the
classroom, and
47. (7) the use of language lab in conducting teaching
and learning
48. process.
49. With regard to pattern drills technique in
behaviorism
50. theory, Brooks as cited in Fauziati (2014)
mentioned various
51. types of pattern drills as follows:
52. 1. Repetition: repeating utterances aloud as
soon as they were
53. sounded
54. 2. Inflection: replacing one word in an utterance
55. 3. Replacement: replacing one word in an
utterance
56. 4. Restatement: delivering utterances to
students, and asking
57. students to address it to someone else
58. 5. Completion: repeating utterances in complete
form
59. 6. Transposition: changing word order when a
word is added
60. 7. Expansion: adding a word in a certain place
of the utterance
61. 8. Contraction: changing the phrase or clause
with a single
62. word
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65.
66. 9. Transformation: transforming a sentence
into negative of
67. interrogative, or through changes in tense, mood,
voice, or
68. modality
69. 10. Integration: integrating two utterances
70. 11. Rejoinder: making appropriate response to
the given
71. utterance
72. 12. Restoration: asking students to restore a
sequence of words
73. taken from a sentence to its original form.
74.
75. In accordance with the foreign teaching
methodology,
76. behaviorism gives several implications in
languagelearning
77. process. Those are as follows:
78. 1. Shaping
79. Teachers usually teach simple behavior in the
school, they
80. do not teach complex behavior in teaching
learning
81. process. The complex behavior can be taught
through
82. shaping or successive approximations. Shaping
refers to
83. procedure in which successive approximation to
some
84. terminal behavior is reinforced. This process
begins with
85. the purposes of study, assignment analysis,
students’
86. activities and response to the reinforcement.
(Blankship,
87. 1981). Blankship (1981) states five steps of
students’
88. behavior in learning process:
89. a. Come on timein the class
90. b. Active in learningprocess
91. c. Show thegood resultof thetest
92. d. Doing their homework
93. 2. Modelling
94. Modelling is one of types of learning on
behaviorism. The
95. language teacher often uses this method in
language
96. learning process. A learner imitates the teacher’s
behavior
97. in learning process, ex: an English teacher reads
English
98. book regularly in the class in language learning
process.
99. Teacher is model for students in learning process
then; the
100. students will imitate the behavior. The students
will also

101. read regularly in the class like their teacher