History of Second Language

Learning in 1970s
The Birth of Error Analysis
The Concept of Interlanguage
Morpheme Studies and Second Language Learning

Presented by : Siti Mutia Cayarani

Fascillitated by: Mutia Dara Authari
Written by : M. Abrar and Cut Fajar Agusriana
The Birth of Error Analysis
• Error Analysis replaced Contrastive Analysis by the early 1970s
because of developments in first language acquisition and
disillusionment with Contrastive Analysis theory.
CA  Over/under prediction of errors:
Different language construction will make students difficult/easy in
learning language.
Ex: placement object pronouns in English and French is different.
ENGLISH FRENCH
VS
I - like - them Je les aime
(S – P – O) (S – O – P)
Ex:
ENGLISH KOREAN
VS
I - like - you Nan - neoleul – joh ahae
(S – P – O) (S – O – P)

ENGLISH INDONESIAN
VS
I - like - you Saya - suka – kamu
(S – P – O) (S – P – O)

In fact, these differences or similarities of L1 and L2’s language

construction, were NOT THE CAUSES of students difficulties and
easiness in learning language.
Error Analysis
• Researchers and teachers became increasingly interested in the
language produced by learners, rather than the target language or the
first language. Error Analysis

• The systematic investigation of second language learners’ error

• Include internal focus on learners’ creative ability to construct
language
So, where do errors come from?
• Researchers started trying to classified these errors and compare
them with errors made by children learning their mother tongue.

INTERLANGUAGE
• Was coined by Selinker (1972)
• the type of language or linguistic system used by second- and foreign-
language learners who are in the process of learning a target language

L2
L1

Interlanguage
Morpheme Studies and SLL
• The L2 morpheme studies of the 1970s were inspired by the work of
Brown (1973) in L1 acquisition.
• Researchers in second language acquisition set about investigating
the acquisition of the same grammatical morphemes by L2 learners.
• (Dulay et al., 1973) conclude that children of different language
backgrounds learning English in a variety of host country
environments, acquire eleven grammatical morphemes in a similar
order.
• The morphemes studies conducted by Dulay et al, attracted criticism
mainly about the elicitation technique used, which thought to bias
the result.
• Then this criticism survived by the context of learning concept
(classroom, naturalistic, mixed)

• Next studies shown that systematic staged development could be

found in a number of syntactic domain as well. (ex: the acquisition of
negative structure in English L2 and Germany L2 is in the same stage)
• From studies and investigations conducted in the 1970s,
It can be concluded that L2 learning is also systematic, independent of
L1, and has many similarities at the level of acquisition, although there
are slight differences.

This is what then rejects the behavioristic theory of how L2 is obtained.

Thank you,
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