LANGUAGE ACQUISITION – 212

WEEK 6

What I’ve learnt this week was that first language acquisition and second
language acquisition occur in different ways.While all children acquire
their first languages “naturally” by the help of their environment,second
language learners show significant efforts to manage it.

What I had difficulty in figuring out was that how do we take into
consideration the acquisition of first and second languages in our teaching
process?How can I relate them to my lesson?

I need to focus more on how can I make Skinner’ theories,which are

programmed learning,operant conditioning and animal behaviour,useful
for my teaching.I do not agree that learning takes place in a conditioned or
reinforced atmosphere. Giving positive feedback to learner’s responces
makes them aware of their learning so that they can be more willing to
learn the language.

I believe I may use the theory in my teaching to some extent although I do

not agree it at all for example;behavioristic approaches say that every
learner is born with empty minds and they shape them according to the
events of their environment. What I can conclude from this information is
that students will learn what I teach to them when it comes to the second
language learning or acquisition. Instead of making learning a habitual
process, I prefer not to teach it because it doesn’t help children force their
brains to learn the language. When there is a mistake in my teaching I
may search for another ways to teach it or when there is a good process in
my teaching (instead of making it a conditioned or a habitual process ) I
may give chances to my children to practise it as it does not mean that
one situation will lead to the same situation accordingly. Moreover,I have
really a lot of things to do with abstractations. I can not teach every
aspects of language as an observable data.