Behaviorism, Mentalism, and Interlanguage:
An Analytical Study in SLA and Language Teaching
Mohammad Zahed
Abd Alhannan Altaha
Bayan Sarmini
Master of Arts in TEFL
Psycholinguistics
Module 1 Assignment 1
April 2023
Higher Institute of Languages
University of Aleppo
Superviser:
Rahaf Alsekhnii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction
1.1 General Backgrounds for the theories
2.0 Literature Review
2.1 The Behaviorist Approach With Teaching Examples
2.2 The Mentalist Approach With Teaching Examples
2.3 Interlanguage View in SLA With Teaching Examples
3.0 Conclusion
4.0 References
1.0 Introduction
Many theories were invented for teaching, acquiring L2 and helping the
students to learn a language. Such theories were developed through years by
psycholinguists who have made it applicable on the field of Applied
Linguistics.
For decades, language acquisition is highly an important concern in learning a
language especially that of L2, so views extended for the same reason in this
process, be it as a second language or as a foreign language. For example,
previously Watson in 1930 invented the Behaviorist Theory to look at animals`
behavior in the field of study by making experiments on them. Then, it has
been developing by Skinner. Therefore, "For behaviorists there is not a theory
of a language learning as such, but merely an application to language of general
principles of learning"(Harley, 2009).
On the other hand, in Mentalism by Noam Chomsky who insisted that the rules
of language can be acquired in the cognitive and the internal ladders of the
brain especially for that of Children. "In Mentalism Everybody learns a
language not because they are subjected to a similar conditioning process as the
behaviorist suggested, but because they possess an inborn capacity which
permits them to acquire a language as a normal maturational process". (Wilkins,
168) Another
theory in the language learning is the interlanguage. Larry Slinkier
is the first one who talked about this view in 1972. In addition, it is the term for
a dynamic linguistic system that has been developed by a learner of a second
language (or L2) who has not become fully proficient yet but is approximating
the target language preserving some features of students` first language and
creating wrong innovations. The term interlanguage was first used by an
American professor “Larry Selinker“(1972). Various alternative terms have
been used by different researchers to refer to the same phenomenon. First,
interlanguage refers to the structured system which the learner constructs at any
given stage in his development (i.e. an interlanguage). Second, the term refers
to the series of interlocking system. (Ellis,2015).
This paper will identify the key aspects of these views regarding teachers' role
in teaching a second language. Also, it will focus on the implications of using
each with in the language instruction environment within students of L2. Plus,
It seeks to afford multiple examples of methods in dealing with students such
as reinforcement, imitation, evaluation, and assessment on classroom
management and practice.
1.1 General Backgrounds of the theories
Behaviorism theory is a habit formation on the learner`s behave because it was
developed as a means for acquiring a language. Of course, as we said above, it
was developed by B. F Skinner who was one of the founders of the Behaviorist
psychology since 1950 and who wrote a book in 1957 called Verbal Behavior
discussing the children`s behavior while acquiring the language. It is also
proposed children learn through imitation, reinforcement, etc. After two years,
Chomsky published a book called Review of the Verbal Behavior in replying to
Skinner and his Behaviorism saying that "language is a complex cognitive
system that cannot be acquired through mechanism"(Chomsky,1959) According to
Skinner, we can describe the punishment as a way to decrease a specific
behavior. "It also involves presenting a negative reinforce, such as spanking
and scolding which some refer to as a positive punishment, or it can involve the
removal of positive reinforce, such as taking away a favored toy known as a
negative punishment"(Cherryhttps://www.verywellmind.com/b-f-skinner-biography-1904-19902795543).
Apart from the behaviorist view which was about habit formation, the mentalist
view was against the of practice and giving responses. However, it was about
natural factors in learning a language i.e. innate properties of our minds.
"According to this theory, only human beings are capable of learning
language". (Harley, 2009). Also, the human mind is equipped with a faculty of
learning a language, referred to as a Language Acquisition Device (LAD). This
devise is separate from the faculties responsible for other kinds of cognitive
activity. Supposedly in logical reasoning, this faculty is the primary
determinant of language acquisition, so input is needed, but only to "trigger"
the operation of the language acquisition device. As a proof, when a child at a
very early age, he observes the speech of his parents and tries to imitate them.
Of course, this situation is called' exposure to language'.
As for Interlanguage, with simple words we can define interlanguage as a
linguistic system used by second language learners and they create this kind of
language when they attempt to communicate and learn new or what we call it
target language (TL). Also, interlanguage affected by the learner’s native
language as they use their native language knowledge to understand the second
language. However, interlanguage is entirely different from both learners first
language (L1) and the target second language (L2).
2.1 The behaviourist approach
"The behaviorists feel that learning is led through a series of stimulus- response
situations which take him closer and closer to the desired goal. Learning takes
place as the bound between the stimulus and its associated response is being
formed “.(Compbell 1972)
Pretend that we have the stimulus and the response between the teacher and the
student, so students have the habit when someone ask them "How are you?"
They react with the stimulus in "I'm fine/ fine thank you" in this particular way.
Here the teacher needs to model the stimulus in the structural pattern that we
have by asking students to repeat again and again. They have a language habit.
After that, the reinforcement role of the students will take part.
If the teacher's feedback is positive, they will change it into a habit. In other
words, the teacher will help them to internalize the right structure of
information in their own linguistic system. They will repeat the same response
again and again in order to adopt with a new habit in a language. However, in
case the teacher's feedback is negative, he must correct the students' response
for the kind of structure they face with. This is also called negative
reinforcement.
As teachers, the teacher needs to model the stimulus in the structural pattern
that we have by asking students to repeat again and again. They have a
Language habit. We teach our students to make habits in the target language
starting with simple patterns, going up to more complex ones. We introduce
kind of patterns gradually. Pedagogically speaking, students in this approach
are recipient not being able to think about the structure they want to say, not
have they the right to choose one. i.e. imitators.
An illustration by Markle was risen. She said that the student who can response
to the "Paris is the capital of France" to the question "What's the capital of
France" cannot be expected to answer the question "What country is Paris the
capital of?" Although the stimulus the same, the answer on each case is
different. (Compbell 1972). This example leads us to the idea of conditioning
in teaching. Conditioning in this approach is to shape the new habit or to give it
a particular shape. It is of course not a kind of natural acquisition of the
language. The interlocutor gives this condition and the students should shape
this habit in his own way. Last but not least, between 1950s and 1960s, the
audio-lingual method developed its own rules and Principles in teaching
according to this theory which stands for habit formation, reinforcement,
imitation, etc.
2.2 The Mentalist approach
The mentalist approach is not a conditioned stimulus of language, but a
comprehensive storage of knowledge emphasized in the language acquisition
device. This device is like a box, and this box is set with Universal Grammar.
i.e. a Grammar activated when we exposed to a language. We have this ability
inborn in our cognitive system. In fact, acquiring a language is different from
other kinds of cognitive abilities like solving problems.
The language acquisition device helps us to process the data we receive. It is
just a box that has grammar or a set of rules also called internal factor. From
the point of view of the Mentalist approach, the human mind is equipped with a
faculty of learning a language, referred to as a Language Acquisition Device.
This devise is separate from the faculties responsible for other kinds of
cognitive activity. For example, logical reasoning; this faculty is the primary
determinant of language acquisition, so input is needed, but only to "trigger"
the operation of the language acquisition device. For example, when a child at
a very early age, he observes the speech of his parents and tries to imitate them.
Of course, this situation is called' exposure to language'.
By triggering his mind in this natural devise, he imitates unconsciously.
Students usually have similar stages in formulating their speech regarding two
classes of words. These wards are bound and unbound at the same time. "This
internal grammar passes through successive modification until it becomes the
complete grammar of the adult language. For instance, when a learner says; "I
break lorry. I better go to bed now, bettern I?" ( Harley , 2009). These
mistakes are of course not due to bad or inappropriate learning. They are
natural mistakes in a natural process.
In closing, one of the important ideas in Mentalism as well in the direct method
is the hypothesis testing. It means each learner formulate his hypothesis about
the language by acquiring the right form. They make mistakes until they
acquire the right form. For example, "In order for the learner to relate new
material to what he has learned previously, this material must be relatable to his
structure of knowledge on a nonarbitrary and nonverbatim basis. The
implication here is that the instructional materials should assist the student to
understand all that he is to learn and to relate all new material to prior
knowledge. This newly acquired knowledge must not be learned in an arbitrary
or verbatim fashion. In other words, the student must be able, after learning,
what he knows in his own terms." (Compbell 1972).
Finally, yet importantly, according to Chomsky, a learner of a new language is
a thinker. He thinks about the language before the output. When the learner
receives a negative feedback from his teacher, he can understand that he must
correct the mistakes he made especially in the grammatical structures. The
excessive modification is an instance about that which means that learners keep
modifying their speech till it becomes native like. Again, these mistakes are
natural and healthy until the students master the right forms.
2.3 Interlanguage view in SLA
The term interlanguage was first used by an American professor “Larry
Selinker “(1972). Various alternative terms have been used by different
researchers to refer to the same phenomenon. First, interlanguage refers to the
structured system which the learner constructs at any given stage in his
development (i.e. an interlanguage).
Second, the term refers to the series of interlocking system. (Ellis,2015). As
teachers, we should understand the features of interlanguage theory. First
interlanguage is a dynamic process which serves as a bridge between (L1)
and(L2) that when learners lack knowledge and good mastery of rules, but
overtime they can progress and refine certain rules and obtain new ones. As
indicated, the learner may say at first: I no swimming which latter can become:
I don’t swimming, until it reaches to perfection: I do not swim. So, we can say
that interlanguage rules are not always fixed but they are: altered, deleted, or
added.
Second interlanguage is systematic where every learner has his/her different
interlanguage rules; they all have their own rules within their variations. The
system beings shaped by the mental rules the learner has established or
invented based on observations, experience, and inferences. The final one is
that interlanguage is variable. Learners performance is variable, so they may
apply the same rule differently in separate contexts. For example, in classroom
setting where the learner is focused on producing grammatically correct
sentences that he/she may say: I don’t eat meat, but in a spontaneous
conversation the same meaning can be expressed as: I don’t meat.
The concept of Interlanguage and fossilization is important for language
teachers and learners as well. For teachers, understanding interlanguage can
help them to better understand the language development process and to
provide good and appropriate instructions feedback to their students. For
learners, understanding interlanguage and fossilization can help them to set
realistic goals for their language acquisition and to understand why they may
be having difficulty with certain aspects of the target language.
Now we can say fossilization refers to the processes in which incorrect
language becomes a habit and cannot be easily corrected. Errors in general take
time to correct unless the learner sees a reason to do so. In this case, teachers
need to know how to deal with this issue if they face such students doing so.
Indeed, we have two reasons behind our language getting fossilized. The first
reason why our language is fossilized is once the learners of any language feel
that they don't have to develop their own language and are satisfied with their
former progression, this is called Fossilization where people can understand
their own messages clearly with mini mistakes.
The second one is when an error or a particular item is not corrected, it is
fossilized. This reason is related to neurology, the language acquisition device,
and the plasticity of our nervous system. As we get older, our nervous system
doesn't work in the same way as we were younger and children. Our LAD, with
great motivation and desire to improve our language, is always ready to work.
Whenever your language is fossilized, you will be able to learn a new language
with no full nativity but native like Proficiency. Fossilization is not always
negative. Suppose that we learn something correct, it is fossilized, so this is a
positive Fossilization.
Teachers can help learners notice their fossilization errors by for example
recording them speaking, or by asking them to keep recording written errors a
of language. In fact, fossilization usually happens because of keep taking rules
or structures from the L1 and applying them to the L2, also, it may happen
because of the lack of correction and inability to overcome fossilized errors.
Then we back to Selinker who talked about different process steps of
fossilization and we are going to talk about overgeneralization and language
transfer.
Overgeneralizing involves learner extending the application of a rule in L2
They group similar items together and try to predict their behavior based on the
rule that they already know. So, they use the same rule in every new situation
that leads to errors. For example, the rule of make plural says we have to put
“s”or “es” at the end of the nouns ;however, we have irregular plural forms
which can take “s” oe “es” so in this stage learner will make plural forms such
as, deer=deers, woman =womans, and man =mans.
Moving to Language Transfer, Odin (1989) defines language transfer as the
influence resulting from similarities and differences between the TL and NL.
There are two types of language transfer: positive transfer and negative
transfer.
Positive transfer: when the units and structures of two languages are the same,
linguistic interference can result in correct language production (positive
transfer). For instance, Japanese and Chinese are similar in written form;
French and English are similar in grammar system and Negative transfer: when
units and structures of two languages are not the same, errors are likely to be
generated as called negative transfer. The greater the differences between the
two languages, the more negative. Some examples of negative transfer include:
exchange, which involves borrowing sounds, words, etc. from L1 to operate
L2.
3.0 Conclusion
In short, the main purpose for all of these theories is to make the learners
acquire the second language and to develop the process of learning over the
years. However, they still have lack in methods and the way of conveying the
language. So, behaviorism theory depends on formation habit while mentalism
is about natural factors in learning a language and interlanguage talk about
mistakes that learner of second language may fall into it and try to correct these
mistakes.
Searching for the best ways to achieve the full proficiency in the field of a
foreign language is still developed nowadays. It is important to mention that
the use of varied ways, methods and techniques in teaching is required because
one usage is not always enough in the role of the instruction. Nevertheless,
finding one way for different techniques and strategies is the key aspect and
concern between researchers, students and even teachers. For most reasons, for
every time and situation we can use the most appropriate strategy in the most
effective time and place.
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