Historical Historical Theories of Theories of Language Language

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Prescriptive GrammarDescriptive LinguisticsBehaviorismTransformational GrammarKrashen's Monitor ModelCommunicative CompetenceDiscourse TheoryMeaning-Centered vs. Commonsense ApproachesContributions of SemioticsContributions of Research about the Brain

Prescriptive GrammarPrescriptive Grammar A set of norms or rules governing how a language should or should not be used rather than describing the ways in which a language is actually used.

A prescriptive grammar is a set of rules about language based on how people think language should be used.

In a prescriptive grammar there is right and wrong language.

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Prescriptive GrammarPrescriptive Grammar There are certain “correct”

forms when using a language

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Grammarians who proposed this method used Latin Grammar as a model and ignored the syntactic differences between Latin and English and tried to force English to fit Latin description.

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Prescriptive grammarians limited themselves to using classical grammar to prescribe how language should be used.

No effort was made to describe the nature of language or how people use it.

Led to the Grammar-Translation method of instruction

Descriptive Descriptive LinguisticsLinguistics

Started in 18th and 19th century when scholars started to notice similarities that existed among some ancient languages

Descriptive linguists traced the origin of words and sounds and attempted to show particular changes languages had undergone over time and the historical relationships among various languages

Descriptive Descriptive LinguisticsLinguistics

Focused on the analysis of sound units of a language, how these units were organized and described the structure of sentences.

Descriptive linguists developed a method for identifying the speech sounds of languages, for analyzing words into morphemes, and for analyzing the forms of sentences.

Descriptive Descriptive LinguisticsLinguistics

Diagramming sentences is an important tool.

Involves the analysis of sentences by dividing them into parts.

Descriptive Descriptive LinguisticsLinguistics

Believes that a thorough understanding of the phonetic basis of the first language could help to contrast the phonemic constituents of the target language.

Involves the analysis of sentences by dividing them into parts.

Descriptive Descriptive LinguisticsLinguistics

Knowing about the structure of the first and second language was an important part of the teacher's role, so that the second language could be explained in terms of the first.

Goals of Descriptive LinguisticsGoals of Descriptive Linguistics A description of the phonology of the language in question.

A description of the morphology of words belonging to that language

A description of the syntax of well-formed sentences of that language.

A description of lexical derivations.

A documentation of the vocabulary

Behaviorist TheoryBehaviorist TheoryBehaviorists claim that the mind is

a “blank slate”, a learner must be filled with content during the course of teaching.

Principles of timing, repetition, and reward led to classroom methodology that incorporated extensive drill and practice of language components- from sounds to complex sentence

Behaviorist TheoryBehaviorist Theory

A basic assumption of his was that all language, including private, internal discourse, was a behavior that developed in the same manner as other skills. 

In 1957, Skinner published his book, Verbal Behavior, in which he attempted to apply his form of operant conditioning to language learning.  

Behaviorist TheoryBehaviorist Theory

Oral language practice is believed to be the primary means to language learning.

The audiolingual method of language learning is based on behavioral principle.

There should be the provision of constant oral pattern drills that are based on specific grammatical forms.

Meaning is not specifically addressed only the appropriate form.

Skinner believed that a sentence is merely part of “a behavior chain, each element of which provides a conditional stimulus for the production of the succeeding element”

Behaviorist TheoryBehaviorist Theory

The probability of a verbal response was contingent on four things: reinforcement, stimulus control, deprivation, and aversive stimulation. 

The interaction of these things in a child’s environment would lead to particular associations, the basis of all language.

Skinner proposed that language could be categorized by the way it was reinforced.  He claimed that there were five general types of speech: echoic behavior, mand, tact, interverbals and autoclitic. 

Echoic behavior is the primary form of verbal behavior of language learners.  These verbalizations include repeated utterances, as in:

(1)    PARENT: [pointing to cookie] That’s a cookie. Can you say ‘cookie’?CHILD: Cooookie Mands (short for deMANDS) are defined as utterances that are reinforced by the elevation of deprivation.  So for instance, if a child were hungry or cold, her requests

(2)   Cookie.

Directives such as “Stop,” “Go,” and “Wait” also count as mands.

Utterances that are produced when the speaker is not deprived are called tact (short for conTACT).  Tacts are verbalizations that the speaker produces to provide information instead of attending to states of deprivation.  While on the surface, tacts and mands may seem similar, their underlying motivations (stimuli) and their reinforcements  are different.  When a mand is reinforced, the need is sated.  When a tact is reinforced, there is no need to sate.

The child may be simply naming the object or stating what she likes.             (3) Cookie!

The fourth type of utterance is the interverbals.  These include such things as “Please” and “Thank you.”  These utterances are not necessary to provide information. Rather, they are used in discourse situation and pertain to the interactive nature of dialog. So for example, in (4), the second utterance, the response to the question, is an interverbal. 

Likewise, the associative response in number (5) is also an interverbal.

            (4) SPEAKER A: Who’s your favorite graduate student?

                 SPEAKER B: You

            (5) WORD: CAT                 RESPONSE: Dog

With the final category, autoclitics, Skinner attempted to deal with internal speech, or thought.  Autoclitics, by his account, are subject to the same effects of reinforcement as verbalized speech and that previously reinforced internal, or thought behaviors, will influence not only current and future thought but also current and future verbal behavior.

The following implications of the behaviour model of learning are relevant:

1. Language is learnt only through use or practice. The more the learner is exposed to the use the better the chances of learning it.

2. The production of language depends on the situation, which makes its use necessary.Language cannot be taught in divorce from situation; the teacher has to introduce each new pattern of language in a meaningful situation.

3. Producing the correct linguistic response also requires effort. If the learner is not called upon to make this effort there is no learning.

4. Producing the correct response also requires attention. Attention is bound to slacken after a time to prolong. So prolonged practice is less useful than spaced practice.

5. The spoken language comes earlier than the written, and the receptive (passive) experience of language is necessary before any productive (active) use can begin.

6. Learning takes place faster if the correct response toward stimulus is confirmed. The learner must know at once if his effort is right or wrong (rewarded).

7. Learning is still faster if the learner is placed to the situation where he can produce only the correct response. Each incorrect response builds up a faculty behavior pattern, which interfere with the process of conditioning.

8. Every new item learnt must be reinforced by further practice before further learning begins.

Transformational Transformational GrammarGrammarAssume that language consists of a set of rules that

human beings unconsciously know and use

Believes that human beings, once exposed to the languages of their environment use their innate ability to understand and produce sentences they have never before heard because the mind has the capacity to internalize and construct these rules.

Human beings do not need prior experience with a particular sentence in order to produce or understand it.

The rules help native speakers distinguish whether a group of words forms a sentence in their language.

The goal of transformational grammar is to understand and describe these internalized rules

Krashen's Monitor Krashen's Monitor ModelModelKrashen's theory includes five hypotheses:

1. Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis

2. Natural Order Hypothessis

3. Monitor Hypothesis

4. Input Hypothesis

5. Affective Filter Hypothesis

Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis

Defines acquisition and learning as two separate processes in mastering the second language.

Learning

Knowing about the language.

The formal knowledge one has of a second language.

Formal teaching promotes learning about the rules of the language.

Acquisition

An unconscious process that occurs when language is used for real communication.

Formal teaching of grammatical rules is not a part of acquisition.

Acquirers gain a “feel” for the correctness of their own utterances but cannot state any specific rules as to why such utterances are “correct”

Natural Order Hypothesis

This hypothesis draws on studies done in first and second language acquisition of children.

Certain rules of the language tend to be acquired before others.

Second language researchers have discovered that there appears to be a natural order of acquisition of English morphemes for child second learners.

Critics argue that there is insufficient evidence for the natural order hypothesis claiming that there is too much variability in the learner's contexts to support the notion of a predictable order of acquisition.

The importance of this hypothesis is that learners go to a process to achieve full control of the structure and that language learners seem to find order by seeking patterns fro the input they see and hear.

The Monitor Hypothesis

States explicitly the relationship between acquisition and learning. Acquisition initiates an utterance and is responsible for fluency while learning serves to develop a monitor, an editor.

The monitor is an error-detecting mechanism; it scans utterances for accuracy in order to make corrections.

The Input Hypothesis

Claims that language is acquired in an “amazingly simple way- when we understand messages.

Language is acquired not by focusing on form but by understanding messages

In order to be understood, language must contain comprehensible input.

The relevance of this hypothesis lies in its emphasis on “comprehensible”.

When working with English learners, teachers need to use a variety of techniques and modalities, including visual and kinesthetic, to ensure their speech is comprehensible.

The Affective Filter Hypothesis

This relates to emotional variables , including anxiety, motivation, and self-confidence.

These are crucial because they can block input from reaching the LAD.

Communicative Competence

t h e a b i l i t y t o u s e t h e l a n g u a g ec o r r e c t l y a n d a p p r o p r i a t e l y t o a c c o m p l i s hc o m m u n i c a t i o n g o a l s

The term was introduced by Hymes (1972). It is the aspect of langauge users' competence, their knowledge of the langauge, that enables them to convey and interpret messages and to negotiate meanings interpersonally within specific contexts.

Canale (1983) identifies four components of communicative competence.

L I N G U I S T I C S O C I O C U L T U R A L

D I S C O U R S E S T R A T E G I C

C O M M U N I C A T I V E C O M P E T E N C E

t h e a b i l i t y t o u s e t h e l a n g u a g ec o r r e c t l y a n d a p p r o p r i a t e l y t o a c c o m p l i s hc o m m u n i c a t i o n g o a l s

• E n t a i l s n o t s o l e l y g r a m m a t i c a la c c u r a c y b u t a l s o a k n o w l e d g e o fs o c i o c u l t u r a l r u l e s o fa p p r o p r i a t e n e s s , d i s c o u r s e n o r m s ,a n d s t r a t e g i e s f o r e n s u r i n g t h a t ac o m m u n i c a t i o n i s u n d e r s t o o d .

C O M P O N E N T S O F C O M M U N I C A T I V E C O M P E T E N C E

1 . L i n g u i s t i c c o m p e t e n c e i s k n o w i n g h o w t o u s et h e g r a m m a r , s y n t a x , a n d v o c a b u l a r y o f al a n g u a g e .

This type of competence focuses on the skills and knowledge necessary to speak and write accurately.

2 . S o c i o l i n g u i s t i c c o m p e t e n c e i s k n o w i n g h o w t o u s e a n dr e s p o n d t o l a n g u a g e a p p r o p r i a t e l y , g i v e n t h e s e t t i n g , t h et o p i c , a n d t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p s a m o n g t h e p e o p l ec o m m u n i c a t i n g .

S o c i o l i n g u i s t i c c o m p e t e n c e a s k s :W h i c h w o r d s a n d p h r a s e s f i t t h i s s e t t i n g a n d t h i s t o p i c ?H o w c a n I e x p r e s s a s p e c i f i c a t t i t u d e ( c o u r t e s y , a u t h o r i t y ,f r i e n d l i n e s s , r e s p e c t ) w h e n I n e e d t o ? H o w d o I k n o ww h a t a t t i t u d e a n o t h e r p e r s o n i s e x p r e s s i n g ?

• R e f e r s t o t h e l e a r n i n g o f p r a g m a t i c a s p e c t o fv a r i o u s s p e e c h a c t s , n a m e l y , c u l t u r a l v a l u e s ,n o r m s a n d o t h e r s o c i o c u l t u r a l c o n v e n t i o n s i ns o c i a l c o n t e x t s . T h e y a r e t h e c o n t e x t a n d t o p i co f d i s c o u r s e , t h e p a r t i c i p a n t ’ s s o c i a l s t a t u s ,s e x , a g e a n d o t h e r f a c t o r s w h i c h i n f l u e n c es t y l e s a n d r e g i s t e r s o f s p e e c h .

S O C I O L I N G U I S T I C C O M P E T E N C E

3 . D i s c o u r s e c o m p e t e n c e i s k n o w i n g h o w t o i n t e r p r e t t h el a r g e r c o n t e x t a n d h o w t o c o n s t r u c t l o n g e r s t r e t c h e s o fl a n g u a g e s o t h a t t h e p a r t s m a k e u p a c o h e r e n t w h o l e .

D i s c o u r s e c o m p e t e n c e a s k s :H o w a r e w o r d s , p h r a s e s a n d s e n t e n c e s p u tt o g e t h e r t o c r e a t e c o n v e r s a t i o n s , s p e e c h e s ,e m a i l m e s s a g e s , n e w s p a p e r a r t i c l e s ?

This involves the ability to combine and connect utterances (spoken) and sentences (written) into meaningful whole.

4 . S t r a t e g i c c o m p e t e n c e i s k n o w i n g h o w t o r e c o g n i z ea n d r e p a i r c o m m u n i c a t i o n b r e a k d o w n s , h o w t o w o r ka r o u n d g a p s i n o n e ’ s k n o w l e d g e o f t h e l a n g u a g e , a n dh o w t o l e a r n m o r e a b o u t t h e l a n g u a g e a n d i n t h e c o n t e x t .

S t r a t e g i c c o m p e t e n c e a s k s :H o w d o I k n o w w h e n I ’ v e m i s u n d e r s t o o d o r w h e ns o m e o n e h a s m i s u n d e r s t o o d m e ? W h a t d o I s a y t h e n ?H o w c a n I e x p r e s s m y i d e a s i f I d o n ’ t k n o w t h e n a m e o fs o m e t h i n g o r t h e r i g h t v e r b f o r m t o u s e ?

It involves the manipulation of language in order to meet communicative goals. It involves verbal and nonverbal behaviors.

Canale (1983) notes that speakers employ this competence for two main reasons:

1. to compensate for breakdowns in communication (as when speaker forgets or does not know a term and is forced to paraphrase or gesture to get the idea across)

2. To enhance the effectiveness of communication ( as when a speaker raises or lowers the voice for effect.)

Building on Strategies for Communicative Competence

Repetition- imitating a word or structure used by another.

Memorization- recalling by rote songs, rhymes, or sequences

Formulaic expressions- using words or phrases that function as units, such as greeting (“Hi! How are you?”)

Verbal attention getters- using language to initiate interaction

Answering in Unison- responding with others.

Talking to self- engaging in subvocal or internal monologue

Elaboration- Providing information beyond what is necessary.

Monitoring- correcting one's own errors in vocabulary, style or grammar.

Appeal for Assistance- asking another for help

Request for clarification- asking the speaker to explain or repeat.

Role play- interacting with another by taking on roles.

The Social Context for Language Learning

Lev Vygotsky emphasized the role played by social interaction in the development of language and thought.

Teaching must be matched in some manner with the student's development level, taking into consideration the student's zone of proximal development”.

Zone of proximal development- the distance between the actual development level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development...under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers.

Discourse TheoryDiscourse theorist have analyzed conversation to understand how meaning is negotiated.

Face to face interaction is a key to second language acquisition.

By holding discourse/conversations, nonnative speakers acquire commonly occuring formulas and grammar as they attend to the various features in the input they obtain

Teachers need to provide many opportunities for nonnative speakers of English to interact with native speakers in a variety of situations.

Top-Down Approaches (Meaning-Centered)

Support the view about language that it is a complex system for creating meanings thorugh socially shared conventions.

Language is social in that it occurs within a community of users who attach agreed upon meaning to their experiences.

The notion of meaning-making implies that learners are generating hypothesis from and actively constructing interpretations about the input they receive, be it oral or written.

Language is learned not from drills and worksheets but, rather, from the active process of seeking meaning through learners exchanging information.

This view about language learning underlies a constructivist perspective.

Constructivist-oriented classrooms tend to be those in which students' lives and experiences are valued, and where children explore the multiple functions of literacy, reading and writing to satisfy their own needs and goals. Skills and strategy lessons emerge from students' needs.

Bottom-Up Approaches (Commonsense)

Advocates of bottom up approaches are concerned that learners connect the individual sounds of language with its written form as soon as possible , leading to the ability to decode whole words. Once words are identified, meaning will take care of itself.

The students are exposed to regularly spelled words from which to unconsciously infer common spelling/sound patterns.

Emphasis is on skills for identifying words and sentence patterns, rather than on strategies for creating meaning from text.

Semiotics

A discipline that studies the ways in which humans use signs to make meaning.

Symbols- are signs in which there is an arbitrary relationship between the object and its sign. Ex. The word table is arbitrarily linked to the object “table”.

Icons- are signs that resemble what they stand for, such as a drawing of a table.

Indexes- are signs that indicate a fact or condition, Ex. Nimbus clouds indicate rain.

Semiotics

A discipline that studies the ways in which humans use signs to make meaning.

Symbols- are signs in which there is an arbitrary relationship between the object and its sign. Ex. The word table is arbitrarily linked to the object “table”.

Icons- are signs that resemble what they stand for, such as a drawing of a table.

Indexes- are signs that indicate a fact or condition, Ex. Nimbus clouds indicate rain.

Contributions of Research about the BrainNeurofunctional theories attempt to explain the connection between language function and neuroanatomy- to identify which areas of the brain are responsible for language functioning.

Principles and Implications for Brain-Based Instruction

1. The brain can perform multiple processes simultaneously.

2. Learning engages the entire physiology

Learning experiences can be multimodal. As students perform experiments, develop a play from a text etc, many facets of the brain are involved.

Stress management, nutrition, exercise, natural rhythms and timing should be taken into consideration

3. The search for meaning is innate.

4. The brain is designed to perceive and generate patterns

5. Emotions are crucial to memory

Language learning should involve a focus on meaning.

The ideal teaching process presents information in a way that allows brains to extract patterns and create meaning rather than react passively.

Interaction should be marked by mutual respect and acceptance.

6. The brain processes parts and wholes simultaneously.

7. Learning involves both focused attention and peripheral perception

Language skills are best learned in authentic language environments in which parts (specific language skills) are learned together with wholes (problems to be solved)

Music, art, and other rich environmental stimuli can enhance and influence the natural acquisition of language.

8. Learning always involves conscious and unconscious processes

9.There are at least two types of memory, spatial memory and rote learning systems.

Students need opportunities to review what they learn so they can reflect, take charge, and develop personal meaning. This encourages and gives shape to unconscious learning.

Teaching techniques that focus on the memorization of language bits-words and grammar points- use the rote learning system. Teaching that actively involves the learner in novel experiences taps into the spatial system

10. Learning occurs best when facts and skills are embedded in natural, spatial memory

11. Learning is enhanced by challenge and inhibited by threat.

Discrete language skills can be learned when they are embedded in real-life activities (demonstrations, field trips, performances, drama, visual imagery

Teachers need to create an atmosphere of acceptance. There should be a balance of support and challenge.

12. Each brain is unique Teaching should be multifaceted. English learners can express their understanding through visual, tactile, emotional and auditory means.