Post 74: Second Language Acquisition--The Learning View

Post 74: Second Language Acquisition--The Learning View

Second Language Acquisition looks at how babies and young children learn a second language. When babies are exposed to several languages, then babies can learn several languages resulting in a bilingual child. If a child is exposed to say Chinese and English like I was when I was little, I then grew up speaking fluent Chinese and English.

There are two views on how a person can learn a second language.

Learning View of SLA/Also Known as the Empirical or the Rationalist Approach to SLA

This is the traditional view of teaching a second language where a teacher stands in front of the class. She teaches grammar rules from a grammar book. Children are asked to memorize words given from a vocabulary workbook. Children memorize spelling rules and then have weekly spelling tests to test for spelling. The teacher's job is to have students memorize information, then the teacher conducts oral drills and correct any pronunciation, grammar, reading, spelling or any mistakes students may have. Students perfect their second language learning by learning from textbooks and oral drills.  The second language is taught in discrete units. You learn grammar unit by unit and once you have acquired a certain mastery of the language, then you start to learn content. Here are ways in which the Learning View was implemented in the teaching of a SL:

Grammar Translation Method

Grammar based learning of a second language is called The Grammar Translation method where you translate English or the first language of the student into the foreign language. So if I am studying French in America under the Grammar Translation Method, I would study French grammar in both English and French. On one side is the English translation of the French grammar and then on the other side is the actual French grammar. I remember learning my French grammar from a French grammar book written by Sylvie Cardunier. I also remember having weekly quizzes after we would spend a week learning a particular French unit.

We would learn French in French and English. We would discuss cultural aspects of French in English since our French was still too basic to discuss complex ideas such as French Art, French Literature, French History, and Francophone countries. So, I learned French in school by speaking both English and French. This is part of the Learning View of SLA, which is not used that much anymore.

Audio Lingual Method

Students learn pronunciation of the second language through repeated oral drills where for instance, the teacher would recite the conjugation of the verb 'etre', Je suis, Tu es, IL/Elle est, Vous etes, Nous sommes, Ils/Elles sont. Then the students would repeat  what the student had said. The teacher would then correct any mistakes the student makes in pronunciation. When I was in France, I learned French pronunciation by listening to tapes of native French speakers reciting French sounds or French sentences. I would repeat what the French speaker said on the tape word per word like a parrot. I would then memorize this input and get tested or corrected by the teacher.

The Learning Method was prevalent in the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's. I learned French using the Learning view. I remember my French teacher would have repeated oral drills for verb conjugations and she would have us transcribe what she was saying in French. Then we would translate that into English and vice versa.

The Learning Method is considered by Structural Linguists like Krashen as being outdated. Instead, modern day SLA teachers prefer to use the Krashen method of teaching SLA which involves the Acquisition View of teaching SLA. I will discuss the Acquisition View of teaching SLA in my next post.