Diane Larsen-Freemans Second Language Acquisition Research: Staking out the

Territory (1991) article discussed about the emergence of the field of SLA which
focused on two areas; the nature of the language acquisition process and the
factors which affect the language learners.

The following are my top 5 insights:

1. The behaviourist view of language acquisition that through conditioning we

can learn the language is possible to do so especially if the materials are well
prepared. However, there is a downfall that the students will over-generalize
the rules and can commit mistakes. I also agree that redundancy reduction,
and lack of communicative strategies can result to learner errors.
2. In second language acquisition, the learners will always compare their L1 to
the TL which can lead to confusion because the L1 has another structure
comparing to their TL. It is difficult for learners to disregard the L1. Hence,
they tend to do translation of words and depend so much on translation apps.
3. Although there are different kinds of learners, I do agree that they learn
through different developmental stages. Larsen-Freeman (2011) discussed
the findings on other research by which learners were creatively constructing
the L2 through the process of gradual complexification.
4. Second language acquisition is a broad topic and so there were issues raised
like the L1 transer, input to learners, and IL (interlanguage) variation.
According to Taylor (1975), learners rely on what they know. Therefore, we
question what effect it has to the language learner. The perspective of input
and output of the learners too can affect the acquisition. A learner can either
be getting input from NNS or NS of English. Lastly, the variation perspective
is significant in learning a new language since our languages differ from each
other. Thus, the learners attitude, motivation, and performance too.
5. Learning a language is a complex process. However, it should not hinder
anyone from acquiring or learning it. Researchers and teachers should
continuously look for better ways and strategies to impart and simplify the
learning process.