Unit 2.

General theories on foreign language learning and

acquisition. The concept of Interlanguage.
The treatment of error.

INTRODUCTION.

Perhaps the most essential thing humans learn, since it constitutes the basis for further learning,
is language, be it our mother tongue or a second or third language. Much effort and resources are
devoted to this task. In spite of that, there is still no ultimate description of language learning
processes which can be assumed as comprehensible and infallible.
Concepts as interlanguage, or the meaning and influence of errors in language learning and
teaching do still spark academic controversy. The present unit endeavours to provide an account of
the general theories on language learning and their influence on second language learning theories.

1. A BRIEF HISTORY OF LANGUAGE TEACHING.

The history of foreign language teaching goes back to the earliest educational systems whose main
aim was to teach religion and to promote the traditions of the people. Roman education provided the
Western world the Latin language, classical literature, engineering, law, and the administration and
organization of government, but learning Greek was also highly valued then, as it was the language of
great philosophers, as well as classical poets and playwrights.
Therefore, in the context of language teaching and learning, a clear influence of the Greek and
Latin language is present. In Greece, Plato, Aristotle, and the Stoics examined carefully the structure
of language as part of the general study of ‘dialectic’. This study had a major influence on subsequent
grammatical thinking which was taken over by the Romans with very little change. In the sixteenth
century the status of Latin changed from a living language that learners needed to be able to read,
write in, and speak, to a dead language which was studied as an intellectual exercise (Richards &
Rodgers 1992). The analysis of the grammar and rhetoric of Classical Latin became the model
language teaching between the 17th and 19th centuries, a time when thought about language teaching
crystallized in Europe.
It was not until the eighteenth century that “modern” languages began to enter the curriculum of
European schools where they were taught using the same basic procedures that were used for
teaching Latin.

2. GENERAL THEORIES ON FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING AND ACQUISITION.

2.1. Key issues in language learning.

Many theories about the learning and teaching of languages have been proposed from a historical
perspective, and have been influenced by developments in the fields of linguistics, psychology,
anthropology, and sociology. The study of these theories and how they influence language teaching
today is called applied linguistics.
The extent and importance of the teaching of English as a foreign language, and therefore, the
development of language learning theories, make it reasonable to define some key concepts within
this issue.

Acquisition vs. learning

According to Stephen Krashen there are two distinctive ways of developing skills and knowledge
(competence) in a second language. Thus, acquisition refers to the “natural” way of picking up a
language by using it in natural, communicative situations. This term is used to refer to an
unconscious process by which language is acquired similarly as children acquire their first language.
The term learning, by contrast, means having a conscious knowledge about grammar, and in turn an
explicit awareness of language rules and forms which grants the ability to put said knowledge into
words. In this context, formal teaching and correction of errors are necessary for “learning” to occur.

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 Unit 2. General theories on foreign language learning and acquisition. The concept of Interlanguage.
The treatment of error.

Mother tongue, second and foreign language acquisition.

A mother tongue is considered to be the first language one learns as a child whereas a second
language is acquired under the need of learning the language of another country. On the other hand,
when languages are acquired in school, they are considered as foreign languages.

Competence vs. performance

According to Chomsky (1965), competence consists of the mental representation of linguistic rules
which constitute the speaker-hearer’s internalized grammar whereas performance consists of the
comprehension and production of language. Language acquisition studies –both first and secondare
interested in how competence is developed. However, because second language acquisition focuses
on performance, there is no evidence for what is going on inside the learner’s head. This is one of the
major weaknesses of second language acquisition research.

2.2. General theories on language learning.

Today English is the world’s most widely studied foreign language, five hundred years ago it was
Latin, for it was the dominant language of education, commerce, religion, and government in the
Western world. In the mid-late nineteenth century, opportunities for communication increased
among Europeans and there was a high demand for oral proficiency in foreign languages. Throughout
the history of language teaching, we find several attempts to make second language learning more
like first language learning. The importance of meaning in learning, and the interest on how children
learn languages as a model for language teaching were the first approaches to a language learning
theory. In the sixteenth century, the Frenchman Montaigne described his own experience on
learning Latin for the first years of his life. He was followed by individual language teaching
specialists like the Frenchman C. Marcel, the Englishman T. Pendergast and the Frenchman F.
Gouin.
Pendergast was one of the first to record the observation of children in speaking, followed by Gouin.
Attempts to develop teaching principles from observation of child language learning were made but
these new ideas were not sufficient within the educational movement at that time. However, toward
the end of the nineteenth century, the interests of reform-minded language teachers, and linguists,
coincided and first attempts to language learning theories were to be taken into consideration.
Nowadays three main theories have approached, from different perspectives, the question of how
language is learnt. Behaviorism emphasizes the essential role of the environment in the process of
language learning whereas mentalist theories give priority to the learners’ innate characteristics from
a cognitive and psychological approach. A third approach claims for relevant concepts such as a
comprehensible input and a native speaker interaction in conversations for students to acquire the
new language.
Beginning in the 1950s, Noam Chomsky and his followers challenged previous assumptions
about language structure and language learning, taking the position that language is creative (not
memorized), and rule governed (not based on habit).
Krashen studied the way that children learn language and applied it to adult language learning. He
proposed the Input Hypothesis, which states that language is acquired by using comprehensible
input (the language that one hears in the environment) which is slightly beyond the learner's present
proficiency. Learners use the comprehensible input to deduce rules. Krashen's views on language
teaching have given rise to a number of changes in language teaching, including a de-emphasis on the
teaching of grammatical rules and a greater emphasis on trying to teach language to adults in the way
that children learn language.

2.3. General theories on second language acquisition.

2.3.1. Six theories on second language acquisition.

1. The acculturation model.
It was developed by Brown in 1980. Acculturation is the process whereby the attitudes and/or
behaviours of people from one culture are modified as a result of contact with a different culture.
Acculturation implies a mutual influence in which elements of both cultures mingle and merge.

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 Unit 2. General theories on foreign language learning and acquisition. The concept of Interlanguage.
The treatment of error.

2. Accommodation theory.
This theory, first developed by Howard Giles, deals with the strategies of convergence, divergence
or maintenance by which speakers modify their communication to reduce or increase the difference
between speakers in social interaction.

3. Discourse theory.
It is proposed by Halliday and his view of first language acquisition. Language development should
be considered in terms of how the learner discovers the meaning potential of language by
participating in communication. the development of the formal linguistic devices for basic language
grows out of the interpersonal uses to which language is
put.

4. The Monitor model.

It was proposed by Krashen. It consists of five central hypotheses, and related to them, a number
of factors which influence second language acquisition:
1. the acquisition-learning hypothesis where the terms ‘acquired’ and ‘learnt’ are defined as
subconscious and conscious study of language.
2. the natural order hypothesis which affirms that grammatical structures are ‘acquired’ in a
predictable order.
3. the monitor hypothesis, where the monitor is the device that learners use to edit their language
performance.
4. the input hypothesis by which ‘acquisition’ takes place as a result of the learner having
understood input a little beyond the current level of his competence.
5. the affective filter hypothesis, where the filter controls how much input the learner comes into
contact with, and how much is converted into intake.

5. The Variable Competence Model.

This model is proposed by Ellis (1984). It claims that the way a language is learnt is a reflection of
the way it is used. Therefore, two distinctions form the basis for this model, one refers to the process
of language use, and the other to the product. The product of language use deals with unplanned and
planned discourse. Unplanned discourse is related to the lack of preparation or forethought, and also
to spontaneous communication. On the other hand, planned discourse requires conscious thought
and gives priority to expression rather than thought.

6. The Universal hypothesis.

In the words of Ellis (1985), this hypothesis states that second language acquisition is determined by
certain linguistic universals. There is a Universal Grammar that constrains the kind of hypotheses
that the learner can form and that it is innate. The relationship between Universal Grammar and
acquisition of the first language is, in fact, a necessary one.

2.3.2. The Natural Approach and Language Acquisition.

In 1977, Tracy Terrell and Stephen Krashen developed a language teaching proposal that
incorporated the statements of the principles and practices of second language acquisition. Their
method focuses on teaching communicative abilities and the primacy of meaning, following a
communicative approach. Since they see communication as the primary function of language, they
rejected earlier methods of language teaching which viewed grammar as the central component.
Krashen and Terrell’s view of language consists of lexical items, structures, and messages.
The term “natural” refers to the principles of language learning in young children in the Natural
Method.
However, the fact that the Natural Approach was related to the older Natural Method does not mean
that they are synonymous terms. In fact, the Natural Method became known as the Direct Method by
the turn of the century. Although they share the same tradition and the same term “natural”, there
are important differences between them. Thus the Direct Method places emphasis on teacher
monologues, direct repetition, and formal questions and answers, focusing on accurate production of
target language sentences. In the Natural Approach there is an emphasis on exposure, or input, rather
than practice, that is, what the language learners hear before they try to produce language.

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 Unit 2. General theories on foreign language learning and acquisition. The concept of Interlanguage.
The treatment of error.

We will introduce now the four principles on which this theory is based, and then, the five
hypotheses that account for this method.
The first principle is that comprehension precedes production. The second principle accounts for
production to emerge in stages, where students are not forced to speak before they are ready. The
third one is that the course syllabus consists of communicative goals, organizing classroom activities
by topics, not grammatical structures. The final principle is that activities must foster a lowering of
the affective filter of the students, encouraging them to express their ideas, opinions, emotions and
feeling. A good atmosphere must be created by the instructor.

The five hypotheses represent the principal tenets of Krashen’s theory :

1. The Acquisition/Learning Hypothesis

It claims that there are two independent systems of second language performance: the acquired
system and the learned system. Acquisition refers to a natural and subconscious process very
similar to the process children undergo when they acquire their first language in order to develop a
language proficiency.
Learning refers to a process of conscious rules for meaningful communication which results in
conscious knowledge about the language.

2. The Monitor Hypothesis.

The Monitor Hypothesis emphasises the role of grammar, as the learned knowledge to correct
ourselves when we communicate, but through conscious learning.
According to Krashen (1983), the role of the monitor should be used only to correct deviations from
speech and to polish its appearance.

3. The Natural Order Hypothesis.

The acquisition of grammatical structures takes place in a predictable order in which errors are
signs of naturalistic developmental processes. In general, certain structures tend to be acquired early
such as grammatical morphemes, or “function words” and others to be acquired late such as the third
person singular morpheme or the ‘s possessive marker.

4. The Input Hypothesis.

This hypothesis points out the relationship between the learner’s input and the language acquisition
process and it claims that listening comprehension and reading are of primary importance in a
language program, and that speaking fluently in a second language come on its own with time.

5. The affective filter hypothesis.

Here Krashen gives a framework to the learner’s emotional state or attitudes that may pass, impede,
or block the necessary input to acquisition. It means that the performer, having the right attitudes,
such as confidence and encouragement, will be succesful in second language acquisition.

2.3.3. Factors that influence second language acquisition.

1. Second Language Aptitude.
the idea of second language aptitude is related to rapid progress in second language classes, and for
those students that have this aptitude, a better performance in foreign language classes.
2. The Role of the First Language.
The role of the first language in second language performance is closely related to the term
Interference. This concept implies that second language acquisition is strongly influenced by the
learner’s first language when we try to speak a second language. When students try to express
themselves in the target language beyond their acquired ability, they will tend to fall back on the L1.
3. Routines and Patterns.
Routines and patterns are sentences spoken by performers who have not acquired or learned the
rules involved, thus ‘What’s your name?’ They may be helpful for encouraging input in the real world.
Correctly used, routines and patterns can help acquirers gain more input and manage conversations,

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 Unit 2. General theories on foreign language learning and acquisition. The concept of Interlanguage.
The treatment of error.

and on the contrary, they can lead to trouble if not used effectively as they cannot be used for every
situation.
4. Individual variation.
According to the theory of the second language acquisition there is a basic uniformity in the way we
all acquire language. It also predicts that acquirers will vary only in certain ways, thus in the rate and
extent of acquisition. This is due to two factors: the amount of comprehensible input an acquirer
obtains, and the strength of the affective filter.
5. Age differences.
Age is the variable that has been most discussed when dealing with second language acquisition
because of the belief that children are better language learners than adults. There has been
considerable research on the effect of age on this field.
Rate and success of SLA appear to be strongly influenced by the age of the learner. Where rate is
concerned, it is the older learners who reach higher levels of proficiency. Literature research shows
that although age improves language learning capacity, performance may peak in the teens, and that
age was a factor only when it came to morphology and syntax. Where success of SLA is concerned, the
general finding is that the longer the exposure to the L2, the more native-like L2 proficiency becomes.

3. THE CONCEPT OF INTERLANGUAGE.

The term interlanguage was first coined by Selinker (1972) and refers to the systematic knowledge
of a second language which is independent of both the learner’s first language and the target
language. It is related to a theory of learning that stresses the learner-internal factors which
contribute to language acquisition.
The interlanguage identifies the stages of development through which L2 learners pass on their way
to proficiency. The question was to what extent the order of development paralleled that in L1
acquisition. Chomsky, claimed that the child’s knowledge of his mother tongue was derived from a
Universal Grammar which consisted of a set of innate linguistic principles to control sentences
formation.
Another mentalist feature that needs mentioning is that the child builds up his knowledge of his
mother tongue by means of hypothesis-testing. Corder (1981) suggests that both L1 and L2 learners
make errors in order to test out certain hypotheses about the nature of the language they are learning.
He saw the making of errors as a strategy. This view was in opposition to the view of the SLA
presented in the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis where L2 errors are the result of differences
between the learner’s first language and the target language.

4. THE TREATMENT OF ERROR.

The earliest records about the treatment of errors trace back to the seventeenth century when errors
were faced up with brutal punishment.
In the first half of the twentieth century, behaviourist accounts approached the concept of error as a
sign of non-learning, as they were thought to interfere with the acquisition of second language habits.
Error Analysis declined because of enthusiasm for Contrastive Analysis proposed by Chomsky. The
strong form of the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis claims that differences between learner’s first
language and the target language can be used to predict all errors whereas the weak form claims that
differences are only used to identify some of the errors that arise. In accordance with behaviorism,
the prevention of errors was more important than mere identification. It was not until the late 1960s
that there wa s a resurgence of interest in Error Analysis. It involves collecting samples of learner
language, identifying the errors in the sample, describing and classifying then according to their
hypothesized causes, and evaluating their seriousness. One of the dominant figures in this field was
Corder.
According to the Natural Order Hypothesis, proposed by Krashen (1983), the acquisition of
grammatical structures takes place in a predictable order in which errors are signs of naturalistic
developmental processes. Errors are no longer seen as ‘unwanted forms’ but an active learner’s
contribution to second language acquisition. This is one of the main tenets of our current educational

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 Unit 2. General theories on foreign language learning and acquisition. The concept of Interlanguage.
The treatment of error.

system where errors are seen as a positive contribution to language learning, and give LOGSE
students an active role on language learning process.

CONCLUSION.
As we have seen, many approaches and methods have been proposed through history to reach
the perfect way to learn a second language, many of them based on the way children learn their
mother tongue, that is, based on first language acquisition. Some of them have proved to be partly
successful, some others not so much. The conclusion is that none of these methods has proved to be
the best one, and the only one we should use. Maybe the best method to use when teaching a second
language might be a mixed method that would “pick up” the most succesful aspects of the methods
we know nowadays always introducing innovations that might help to reach the goal of making our
students proficient in the second language.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

- Richards, J., & Rodgers, T. 1992. Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.
- Howatt, A. (1984). A history of English Language teaching .
- Rivers, W. 1981. Teaching Foreign-Language Skills.
- Krashen, S. D., and Terrell, T. D. 1983. The Natural Approach: Language Acquisition in the
Classroom.