Contrastive Analysis

Source: Mitchell, Rosamond and Myles, Florence (1989). Second Language

Learning Theories.OUP

What is contrastive analysis (CA)?

• Contrastive analysis is the process of pinpointing areas of difference in pairs of languages (p. 25)

Why?

• The theory was, that if you knew the characteristics of the L1, you could predict what errors the students would be making in their L2. Fries, C. (1945). Teaching and learning English as a foreign language. Ann Arbor: Univ. of Michigan Press

• This was influenced by the Behaviorist school of psychology promoted by B. F. Skinner and others which said learning was based on habits from a stimulus and a response to that stimulus. Skinner, B. F. (1957). Verbal Behavior. New York: Appleton-Century Crofts

How useful is it?

• Chomsky and his Universal Grammar (Language) helped to displaced CA as the important methodology, after Chomsky wrote his criticism of Skinner’s book two years after it was published.

• Error Analysis (EA) became popular as a result.• Differences?• In studies using EA, it was found that only about

30% of learners’ errors could be traced back to the L1 (Mitchell p. 30)

Questions

• What other classes are you taking that are of a similar nature?

• What classes have you already taken that are of a similar nature?