EDUC70090 Psychology of Language learning

Ellen Wilkinson Building Room C2.17

Tuesday 10:00 – 12:00

First 6 (or so) sessions introduces a range of theoretical perspectives

Last 5 sessions focuses on your EBL projects, and concludes with your presentations

Popular ideas about language learning

Languages are learned primarily through imitation

Languages are learned primarily through interaction

Parents usually correct young children when they make grammatical errors

People with high IQ are good language learners

The most important factor in second language acquisition success is motivation

The earlier a second language is introduced in school programmes, the greater the likelihood of success

Most of the mistakes which second language learners make are due to interference from their first language

Teachers should present grammatical rules one at a time

Teachers should teach simple structures before complex ones

Learners’ errors should be corrected as soon as they are made in order to prevent bad habits

Teachers should use materials that expose students only to language structures they have already been taught

When learners interact with each other in the classroom they pick up each others’ mistakes

Popular ideas about language teaching

Short History of Psychology

Willhelm Wundt

Psychology as a distinct science

‘Father’ of experimental psychology

Franz Brentano

Psychology as the study of mental life

‘Father’ of introspective psychology

Behaviourist Psychology Gestalt Psychology

Reductionist

Experimental

Stimulus & Response

Holistic

Focus on Phenomena

Perception

Wundt BrentanoEarly to Mid 20th Century

(A group of 12-year old learners of English as a foreign language)

T Repeat after me. Is there any butter in the refrigerator?

Class Is there any butter in the refrigerator?

T There’s very little, Mom.

Class There’s very little, Mom.

T Are there any tomatoes in the refrigerator?

Class Are there any tomatoes in the refrigerator?

T There are very few, Mom.

(etc.)

(from Spada & Lightbown 1999, pp. 118-119)

Two Problems with Behaviourism

The poverty of the

stimulus argument

>> Chomsky

Rewards have a tendency to

lose their effect over time

>> Social Psychology

Input & interaction

Computer metaphor

Motivationtheories

Sociocultural theory

Learning Strategies

Learning Styles

Continuing search for new perspectives

Connectionism

Formulaic Language

Intentionality

Ecological theory

Complexity theory

(Attribution and Self-efficacy)

There is no best theory

There may be more useful and less useful theory, depending on what language learning

puzzle you are trying to understand

You will outline a language learning puzzle which you have experience of …

… and then select a theory (or part of a theory) to understand this puzzle.

EDUC70090 Psychology of Language learning