标准
Interactional view
The interactional view considers language to be a communicative tool, whose main use is to build up and maintain social relations between people. Therefore, learners not only need to know the grammar and vocabulary of the language but as importantly they need to know the rules for using them in a whole range of communicative contexts.
These three views present an ever wider view of language. The structural view limits knowing a language to knowing its structural rules and vocabulary. The communicative or notional-functional view adds the need to know how to use the rules and vocabulary to do whatever it is one wants to do. The interactional view says that to know how to do what you want to do involves also knowing whether it is appropriate to do, and where, when and how it is appropriate to do it. In order to know this, you have to study the patterns and rules of language above the sentence level to learn how language is used in different speech contexts.
The understanding of the nature of language may provide the basis for a particular teaching method (Richard and Rodgers, 1986), but more importantly, it is closely related to the understanding of language learning. If language is considered to have a finite number of structural
文案
标准
items, learning the language probably means learning these items. If language is more than just a system of structures, it is more importantly a tool then to learn the language learning. If language is more than just a system of structures, it is more importantly a tool, then to learn the language means to use it, rather than just study what it is and how it is formed. The next section discusses some current theories about language learning.
1.3 Views on Language learning and learning in general
A language learning theory underlying an approach or method usually answers two questions; 1) What are the psycholinguistic and cognitive processes involved in language learning? 2) What are the conditions that need to be met in order for these learning processes to be activated?
Task3
Work in groups of 4. Brainstorm the answers to the two questions stated above.
When you are ready, join another group and share your ideas.
Although these two questions have never been satisfactorily answered, a
文案
标准
vast amount of research has been done from all aspects. The research can be broadly divided into process-oriented theories and condition-oriented theories. Process-oriented theories are concerned with how the mind organizes new information such as habit formation, induction, making inference, hypothesis testing and generalization. Condition-oriented theories emphasize the nature of the human and physical context in which language learning takes place, such as the number of students, the kind of input learners receive, and the atmosphere. Some researchers attempt to formulate teaching approaches directly from these theories. For example, the Natural Approach, Total Physical Response, and the Silent Way are based on one or more dimensions of processes and conditions. At this level, it is too early to formulate a specific approach, because some aspects are still too vague, for example, what is done in these processes.
Behaviorist theory
The behaviorist theory of language learning was initiated by behavioural psychologist Skinner, who applied Watson and Raynor’s theory of conditioning to the way human acquire language (Harmer, 1983). Based on
their
experiments,
Watson
and
Raynor
formulated
a
stimulus-response theory of psychology. In this theory all complex forms of behavior—motions, habits and such—are seen as composed of simple
文案
标准
muscular and glandular elements that can be observed and measured. They claimed that emotional reactions are learned in much the same way as other skills. The key point of the theory of conditioning is that ‘you can train an animal to do anything (within reason) if you follow a certain procedure which has three major stages, stimulus, response, and reinforcement’ (Harmer, 1983:30).
Based on the theory of conditioning, Skinner suggested that language is also a form of behavior. It can be learned the same way as an animal is trained to respond to stimuli. This theory of learning is referred to as behaviorism, which was adopted for some time by the language teaching profession, particularly in the U.S. One influential result is the audio-lingual method, which involves endless’ listen and repeat’ drilling activities. The idea of this method is that language is learned by constant repetition and the reinforcement of the teacher. Mistakes were immediately corrected, and correct utterances were immediately praised. This method is still used in many parts of the world today.
Cognitive theory
The term cognitivism is often used loosely to describe methods in which students are asked to think rather than simply repeat. It seems to be largely the result of Noam Chomsky’s reaction to Skinner’s behaviorist
文案
标准
theory, which led to the revival of structural linguistics. The key point of Chomsky’s theory is reflected in his most famous question: if all language is a learned behavior, how can a child produce a sentence that never been said by others before?
According to Chomsky, language is not a form of behavior, it is an intricate rule-based system and a large part of language acquisition is the learning of this system. There are a finite number of grammatical rules in the system and with a knowledge of these an infinite number of sentences can be produced. A language learner acquires language competence which enables him to produce language.
Though Chomsky’s theory is not directly applied in language teaching, it has had a great impact on the profession. One influential idea is that students should be allowed to create their own sentences based on their understanding of certain rules. This idea is clearly in opposition to the audio-lingual method.
Although people are pretty much still in the dark as to what language is and how language is learned, it is believed that general knowledge about language and language learning will help language teachers do a better job.
文案
相关推荐：
loading