SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION ‘S RESUME
L1,L2,SLA CONCEPT
Concept
L1
L2
SLA
What it is
Native language
Second/foreign language
The process of learning L2
When
learned
From birth
After L1 (childhood or
adulthood)
Ongoing (varies by learner)
How learned
Naturally
Formally or informally
Studied through various methods
Main focus
Communication in early
life
Additional language skills
How learning happens, what affects
it
TWO MAIN THEORIES ABOUT FIRS LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
Aspect
Behaviorism
Nativism
Main Idea
Behaviorism says that children learn language by
copying others and practicing.
Nativism says that children are born with a natural
ability to learn language.
How
Children
Learn
Children learn by listening to adults, repeating
words, and being rewarded or corrected.
Children use an inborn tool called the Language
Acquisition Device (LAD) to understand language
rules.
Key Term
The main idea in behaviorism is habit formation,
where repetition creates learning.
The main idea in nativism is rule formation, where
children figure out grammar rules naturally.
Famous
Thinker
B.F. Skinner is the most well-known behaviorist
who explained language learning as
conditioning.
Noam Chomsky is the key figure in nativism who
introduced the idea of Universal Grammar.
FOUR MAIN THEORIES ABOUT SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
Theory
Key Figures
Main Idea
How Language is
Learned
How Language is Processed (in
simple words)
Behaviorism
B.F. Skinner
Language is a
habit, learned by
copying others
By repeating words and
getting rewards (like
praise)
The brain connects a word with a
response (like question → answer)
and builds habits through practice
Innatism
Noam
Chomsky
We are born ready
to learn language
By hearing language
around us (no need to be
taught rules)
The brain has a special tool (LAD)
that "figures out" grammar by
itself when we hear language
Cognitivism
Jean Piaget,
Anderson
Language is part of By understanding
thinking and
patterns and practicing
memory skills
The brain uses thinking, memory,
and attention to learn and
remember words and rules
Sociocultural
Theory
Lev
Vygotsky
We learn language
through talking
with others
First we use language with others
(like talking), then we slowly learn
to use and understand it on our
own
By learning together with
help from teachers or
friends