1. Second Language Acquisition Theory
1.1. Constructivist Theory: People are involved in constructing their own knowledge, in unique ways. Everyone takes new knowledge and stores different ideas from learning. These new ideas help modify prior knowledge.
1.1.1. Piaget is best known for known for genetic epistemology. Genetic Epistemology is the study of where knowledge is from.
1.1.1.1. The Constructivist hypothesis is around learners having a base understanding the idea of learning. A learner must be able to take part in cognitive development through forming guesses, speculations, and using intuition. There is also a necessary level of confidence needed for success in using experiences to form opinions on hypotheses.
1.1.1.1.1. Lexicon is the vocabulary that a person has or the branch of knowledge the individual has. This is related to the Constructivist Theory because everyone has different background knowledge in their life based on family, culture, and life experiences. Genetic Epistemology is related to this since it is the study of where the knowledge is from.
1.2. Socio/ Culturist Theory: Learning is a social process in which there is no seperperation between the individual and the context in which they learn.
1.2.1. Vygotsky is best known for the zone of proximal development and intrapersonal communication. The zone of proximal development takes the students prior knowledge but also includes the knowledge that can still be formed. Intrapersonal communication is defined as communication within ones self. This is commonly referred to as self talk.
1.2.1.1. The socio/ culturist hypothesis developed the idea of the zone of proximal development which relies on the interaction and negotiation with others to form knowledge. A learner must be faced with a slight challenge compared to what they are already able to do in order to grow. Memory, decision making and problem solving are heavily relied on.
1.2.1.1.1. Pragmatics would be beneficial with this learning method. Pragmatics is defined as the branch of linguistics dealing with language in use and the contexts in which it is used. This is related to intrapersonal communication because the way that an individual speaks to themselves is different than how they would speak to someone else. In addition, this supports the Zone of Proximal Development because students are always learning new ways to organize their writing and speaking, and in holding a conversation.
1.3. Behaviorist Theory: Emphasizes the importance of positive reinforcement/ rewards for desirable behavior. It argues that language is a habit and needs to involve repetition.
1.3.1. Skinner is best known for Operant Conditioning which is when there is an association between a behavior and a reward or punishment.
1.3.1.1. The Behaviorist hypothesis is that language is learned by imitation and a child or learner is a tabula rasa (blank slate). It argues that language is nurture and conditioning, not a choice. It involves language being developed through repetition/ drilling of information.
1.3.1.1.1. Phonology focuses on the dialects involved in language and the systematic organizations of sound. The Behaviorist Theory can align well in aiding with identification of the various organizations of sounds through the use of repetition. By developing the habit to listen and practice pronunciation of words students can better identify phonology.