Introduction to Applied Linguistics, Introduction to Language Learning Theories , Behaviorism , Behaviorist Theory , proponents and tenants of Behaviorism, stages of child language acquisition.

1. Syeda Aeliya Raza
INTRODUCTION TO LANGUAGE
LEARNING THEORIES &
BEHAVIORIST THEORY

2. Introduction of Applied Linguistics.
Applied Linguistics and Language learning.
Introduction Behaviorist Theory.
Behaviorist Theory and Language Learning.
Behaviorist Theory
Proponents of Behaviorist Theory
Theoretical Assumptions
Basic Tenants
Counterarguments
Conclusion
Reference list
LIST OF CONTENTS

3. Man is a Social Animal.
Every single action of man is accomplished by
some language, either it is associated with:
The propose communication.
Expression of thoughts.
Expressions of body.
Thought process and etc.
INSIGHT OF TERM

4. Man needs language in every field of life.
Language as general or language as particular.
Each and every problem and issue that deals
with language and man in any direction of real
life or in any field of real life is discussed and
suggested in Applied Linguistics.
MAN AND LANGUAGE

5. The term “Applied linguistics” refers to the
interdisciplinary field that aims to:
seek out
identify
 provide solutions to real-life problems that result
from language-related causes.
APPLIED LINGUISTICS

6. We distinguish the problem-based view of applied
linguistics from other views which begin from theory.
The applied linguist is deliberately eclectic, drawing on
any source of knowledge that may illuminate the
language problem.
[Davis(2007), an introduction to applied linguistics]

7. oProceeding eclectically is legitimate because for the applied linguist language
problems involve more than language. They involve (some or all of) these
factors:
othe educational
othe social
othe psychological
othe psycho-linguistic
othe anthropological
othe political
othe religious
othe economic
othe business
othe planning and policy aspect
o and, of course, the linguistic, including the phonetic.
AL- A DIVERGING FIELD

8. Human
MIND
Discovery and
innovations
Malfunctioning
Maladaptation
Education and
learning
Society
Community

9. This research encompasses a wide variety of fields including
Neurolinguistics
psycholinguistics
language acquisition and learning.
Speech Pathology
Forensic linguistics
Lexicography
Computational linguistics.
AL- AN OVERARCHING TERM

10. Language learning and teaching is one of the most
important and most focused area to be covered in
Applied Linguistics, as far as we are trying to probe and
solve the issues related to the very basic problem,
“Learning”, that is common to each and every individual
and every disciple.
To teach is to learn.
Learning is primary to teaching.
LANGUAGE TEACHING AND
LEARNING

11. Second-language acquisition research:
 what are the stages of second-language learning?
 Language proficiency testing: what are the markers of
successful language learning?
 Teaching of LSP: what does the learner need to
know?
 Curriculum design: what does the teacher need to
know?
[Davis(2007), an introduction to applied linguistics]
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND
LEARNING

12. That is “to learn a language”.
How to learn a language?
What specific framework should be there to work on?
What Strategy should we follow?
Rodgers and Richards in their book have explained
and exemplified that every language teaching
methodology framework is comprises of two theories
with other important components:
Theory of Learning.
Theory of Language.
LANGUAGE LEARNING

13. To summarize the claim in one statement:
 What strategy/Theory of Learning should we
adopt to learn the structure of Language.
So to explain that phenomena and to expand it ,
different theorist and psychologists proposed different
theories of learning.
Primarily these two are:
Behaviorist Theory.
Mentalist Theory.

14. Learning is a psychological process so there is a dire
need to trace the psychological events and process that
are involve to learn a language.
Analysis of learning theories in depth will be helpful
to enhance the learning of language in a desired and
fruitful way.
WHY THERE IS A NEED OF
LEARNING THEORIES

15. How the language is acquired and taught.
Native Language Learning and Acquisition Theories
(NLLAT):
1. Behaviorist Theory
2. Mentalist theory
Foreign Language Acquisition Theories(FLLAT):
1. Rationalist theory
2. Empiricist Theory
3. Cognitive –Code Theory
LANGUAGE LEARNING THEORIES

16. Stern( 1983) has described the relationship between
NLLAT and FLLAT in such words:
“The objectives of second language learning are not totally
determined by native language competence inevitably serves
as a foil against which to set the second language learning.”
Dr. Mehmat in (1988) has explained that the former pave
the way for the latter, but with the acceptance of the fact
that these two processes are not identical and maintain
dissimilarities.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THESE
TWO

17. • Stimulus
• Reaction
• Association b/w two.
Behavioristic
• Innate ability of mind
• LADMentalistic
NLLAT

18. David Carroll (2004), The psychology of Language:
“Early psychological approaches concern
language as a simple device that can generate sentences
by moving from one state to another.”
These two strands are these:
1. Informational Theory
2. Behaviorist Theory
BACKGROUND OF BEHAVIORIST
THEORY

19. “To behaviorist learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior that
occurs through experience”.
LEARNING FOR BEHAVIORISTS
Experience
Change in
behavior
Learning
Experience
No change
in behavior
No learning

20. The behaviorist theory believes that “infants learn oral
language from other human role models through a process
involving imitation, rewards, and practice. Human role models in
an infant’s environment provide the stimuli and rewards,”
(Cooter & Reutzel, 2004).
“The behaviorist theory of stimulus- response learning,
particularly as developed in the operant conditioning model of
skinner, considers all learning is a process of habit formation, as
a result of reinforcement and reward.”
(Wilga Rivers, 1968, 73).
BEHAVIORIST THEORY
DEFINITIONS

21. Behaviorists school of thought has four basic pillars:
1. Learning is associated with the change of behavior.
2. Learning process of animals and humans is similar
3. Learning can only be accomplished by imposition
and by the implication of force.
4. Humans born with the empty brain.
John Locke, 17th century philosopher’s conception of
“Tabula Rasa”.
BASIC PRINCIPLES

22. 1. Ivan Pavlov 1890s talked about behaviorism and is
undoubtedly famous for his experiments on “Dog”
and proposed Classical Conditioning in
behavioral learning.
“Classical Conditioning occurs when a neutral reflex
responds to a stimulus”.
PROPONENTS AND
ADVANCEMENT

23. 2. J.B. Watson in 1924 wrote a book on behaviorism ,
Behaviorism and since then behaviorism gained written
worth and value, he incorporated the works that were
being done by Pavlov and extended and expanded the
idea by giving his own concepts and experiments. His
famous experiment is of “Little Albert”.

24. 3. Thorndike ,pupil to Watson and Father of
Educational Psychology , expanded the concepts explained
by Watson. He is famous for his Theory of Trial and
Error. He also presented Laws of Learning according to
Behavioristic Approach.
Laws of Learning:
I. Law of Readiness
II. Law of Practice
III. Law of Effect
Thorndike,(2000)
CONT..

25. Lawofreadiness
physically
cognitively
Socially
Emotionally
LawofPractice
Use
Disuse
LawofEffect
Reinforcement
Punishment

26. 4. B.F. Skinner , pupil to Thorndike, expanded the Law of
Effect and proposed the concept of “Operant
Conditioning” in behavioral learning.
Operant Conditioning occurs when a response to a stimulus is
reinforced or withdrawal to make it a habit.
 Skinner proposed the concept of “Language as a verbal
behavior.”
 To say that language is a behavior, just like the any other
behavior exists and the conditions to learn this behavior is
same just like many others.
LAW OF EFFECT

28. 1. Stimulus-response interaction and the association
between them.
Blank state of mind of child.
He learn everything by receiving stimulus (words in
the form sound) from his parents ,imitate them by
giving response (babbling or coeing), repeat responses
when frequently stimulated and with the passage of
time goes for the Generalization of these words.
THEORETICAL ASSUMPTIONS

29. 1. The Babbling Stage: Child produces non meaningful
sequences of consonants and vowel.[pa ma da ta].
2. Holophrasic Stage: one word at a time.
3. The Two- Word Stage: two words put together.
4. The Telegraphic Speech Stage: utterances composed
of telegraphic words and generalization. E.g
Dranked, Gooed, cutted.
STAGES OF LANGUAGE
ACQUISITION

31. 2. (Wilga Rivers, 1968, 73) says that the implementation of Trial and error
process to enhance positive behavior by Reinforcement and Punishment leads
to habit formation.
That is to make the verbal behavior (language) a mechanical process (habit
formation), continuous correction is being done to get favored , expected and
accepted responses according to the society in which a child lives by
reinforcement of that expected responses or by punishment otherwise.
So , there occurs a stimulus- response chain and law of effect applied on it for
habit formation.
CONT…

32. 1. Language is a verbal behavior based on spoken language i.e.
primacy of speech.
2. It is a habit formation theory of language learning and
teaching, whose underlying force is conditioned reflex.
3. The stimulus response process , a pure form of conditioning.
4. Conditioning is Reinforcement or Punishment by the help of
which habits form.
5. Learning is same for all individuals as far as societal
conditions are concerned. ( case studies of Feral Childs)
BASIC TENANTS OF BEHAVIORIST
THEORY

33. 1. Hinders thinking and creativity:
Imitation, reinforcement and rewarding.
Difference in rate of imitative learning and natural
learning .
2. Obstructs instinctive production of language:
Development of Analogical learning.
Habit Formation.
COUNTERARGUMENTS

34. 3. Delayed intrinsic learning by postponing the acquisition of Threshold level
due to conditioned drills.
 Drilling and imitation is useful before attaining the Threshold level but the
continuous and repetitive exercises postpone the threshold level for natural
and intrinsic learning that pave road for creativity. Children slow rate of
speaking.
4. Societal rate of influence is not described.
5. Schemata and innate capacities ignored.
 Each and Every person has different mindset for reception and perception .
6. Cant stand for latter stages of language learning.
 Language of latter educational levels is not simple to be learnt by mere
imitation and drilling as it is impossible.
7. Intervening hidden variables are ignored in the process of communication.
 Language Learning is a complex process as it involves a lot different
phenomena: Language Pathology, Neurological factors.

35. “To behaviorist learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior that
occurs through experience”.
REMEMBER ME?
Experience
Change in
behavior
Learning
Experience
No change
in behavior
No learning

36. Failure to get scores because of two major reasons:
Individual’s Factors
Methodological Factor
GOT THE ANSWER
INDESPENSIBLE FOR ANY
PERSON
FOCUS ON IMITATION
AND ABSTRACT WAS
NOT THERE.

38. • Imitation
• Reward
• Drills
Memorization of
vocabulary
• Instant
recollection
• Actual meaning
• Storage
Threshold level
• Creativity
• Thinking
• Innovation
Natural/intrinsic
learning

39.  Behavioristic Theory is important as far as the early stages of
language learning is concerned as it paves for natural language
learning, but with the acceptance of the fact that prolonged
drilling and imitation hinders creativity, it cant be declared as
the one and only Theory of Learning and because of the
shortcomings in each tenant of theory.
 Behavioristic Theory has a great impact for a lot of language
Learning and Teaching Methodologies named as Audio-lingual
Method, Total Physical Response, Silent Way
 Its shortcomings gave a strong push for empiricist Language
learning.
CONCLUSION

40. How an illiterate person learn and use language?
Can a one years old child read and understand a philosophical book?
One can stand on a distinctive status in this era by merely focusing on
imitation and repetition of English language?
EXTENSION OF THE IDEAS

41. 1. Thorndike. E(2000) ,Animal intelligence.
2. David Carroll (2004), The psychology of Language.
3. Yanhua Xia, 2004, Language Theories and Language
Teaching—from Traditional Grammar to
Functionalism.
4. Demirezen Mehmet, 1988, Behaviorist Theory and
Language Learning.
REFERENCES