THE NEW PARADIGM FOR SLA IN THE 21ST CENTURY: NLA

Many drawbacks in the traditional foreign language educational

system have made it urgent for SLA advocators to develop a new
paradigm. The Grammar- Translation Method became obsolete. The
coinage of terms such as “implicit linguistic competence” and
“contextualization” have become of paramount importance not only for
Cognitive Psychology, which states that implicit competence is achieved
by putting explicit competence into practice, but for the neurolinguistics
perspective, which proclaims the ability to communicate is only achieved
by the intermingling of explicit knowledge and implicit competence.
Neuroscientists like Netten and Germain began to focus their attention on
meaning rather than on form, through the (re) using of language
structures to finally succeed in developing implicit competence. Closely
hand in hand with total immersion programs, NLA is being used in China
and France. NLA is solidly based upon five principles that we shall
consider. Finally, we should revise some limitations and the necessary
modification in the current practices its application would imply.

Firstly, it is based on the goal of attaining internal grammar, i.e,

acquiring a limited set of structures by using and reusing a functional unit
until they become automatized by procedural memory. Each function is
taught at a time and, by the end of the unit, the students should be able
to combine those sets for further discussions on the topic. Speech makes a
starting point, when the teacher speaks out in a fluent and correct way,
providing a model which contains the message intended to be
communicated. Then, the teacher starts asking out for the students to
learn how to construct replies. Finally, students begin to ask their
classmates and their fellows can comment. The whole process is redone
but with a successive function. An aspect that should be highlighted is the
use of complete sentences instead of patterns in isolation. The teacher
acts monitoring and correction to ensure accuracy. By producing
sentences by their own, it has been proved that students increase their
self-confidence and self- esteem.

Secondly, it is pedagogically based on literacy, that is, the formation

of habits rather than knowledge, accompanied by extra-linguistic features
such as gestures and mimicry. Speech is considered as an instrument to
develop internal grammar. It goes in accordance with the fourth principle,
providing authentic communicative situations. Language functions are
chosen according to the learners’ interest and teachers provide them the
opportunity to reflect upon their own message. Debates are real instances
of self- projecting to others while putting forms into practice. A next step
from speech practice is reading, where the students have the possibility of
recognizing what they have previously heard in written texts. Now, they
are able to make their written productions, based on what they had
previously internalized. Whereas spoken contributions are made implicit,
reading and writing are explicitly taught, with the teacher focusing on
recognition and production. The attention is gradually placed from
meaning to form, to make them observe and hypothesize about the new
structures while distinguishing them from the old ones. After the teacher
reads in an accurate way, students are encouraged to do the same. It is by
fluent reading that comprehension is enhanced.

Thirdly, it is an approach that praises on interaction as a teaching

strategy. The goal is to engage students in real communicative activities
and the frequent use of language weaves the interactive texture necessary
for spontaneous oral production. Thus, interest is not lost and negotiation
of meaning takes place. In these interactions, students find the
opportunity to ask for clarification or express inner states. As a corollary,
the fifth principle claims that interaction facilitates the path to group
projects, vital in order to enrich themselves by the others’ contributions.

As the common saying goes, “it is too good to be true”. It is so

demanding to extrapolate it to current Argentinean English classrooms. It
can only be applied to countries where English is heavy as part of the
curricula. As long English as a subject is considered only a “filler” subject,
the application of this approach would remain a utopia. Given the case, it
should require teachers to dismantle their traditional pedagogical
perspectives and readjust years of years of training in the traditional
grammar-based indoctrination. it would also demand a reduction in the
time schedule from other subjects, which undoubtedly would meet
resistance.
 To sum up, as Netten and Germain quote Segalowitz (2010) in
“Research in cognitive neuroscience has demonstrated the importance of
transfer appropriate learning (TAP) in enabling students to use skills in
similar contexts. The authors conclude with a sentence which summarizes
the ultimate goal of NAP (Netten & German; “A New Paradigm for the
Learning of a Second or Foreign Language: the Neurolinguistic
Approach:109) “complex reorganization of the brain rather than simple
storage of new information”.

Serrano, Clara Isabel

San Martín, Sabrina Eliana

Sanchez, María Luján