Theories of language learning: Behavirorism vs. Mentalism.

 Behariorism vs. Mentalism:

Yub Panthi, Nepal

ELC68YL: Teaching English to Young Learners.

Reflective Essay 1

October 01, 2011.

 

            There are two assumptions regarding language learning. The first one is “Behaviorism”. Behaviorism is a school of thought of psychological theory. This theory is based on philosophical theory of “empiricism”. The theory of learning was developed by B. F. Skinner, one of the famous American psychologists. He developed this theory from the early theoretical and empirical work of Ivan Pavlov and J. B. Watson. According to behaviorists child mind is Tabularasa (A blank sheet of paper) and the second one is “Mentalism”. This theory is based on the philosophical theory of “rationalism”. Noam Chomsky and Jean Piaget are the pioneer linguists to develop this school of thought. From mentalists point of view there is Language Acquisition Device (LAD) in the child mind (Chomsky).  There are different factors that affect language learning. Among them age is one of the factors.  According to Ellis, “Second language learners vary on a number of dimensions to do with personality, motivation, learning style, aptitude, and age” Ellis (1985:99).

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Deductive & Inductive Lessons: in ELT Class

 

Deductive & Inductive Lessons: in ELT Class

Abstract

Deductive learning and inductive learning, which help students articulate their mental processes, seem to incorporate many of the research studies propounded by ESL practitioners. These approaches have proved to give students the ability to rationalize what information is needed and, thereby, to make them conscious of the intent and content of the lessons presented to them. Although these kinds of learning appear to be widely used across age groups, reported evidence of their use in college classes has rarely been found. This article describes the implementation of deductive and inductive methods for two lessons I actually observed of 40 students of English Access Microscholarship Program (Access) who participated in this study. This paper discusses the identification of the instructional goals along with the cognitive tasks by which students internalize the concepts taught. The study concludes with some pedagogical

recommendations for ESL teachers to consider.

Introduction

Research into language learning has considerably enriched our understanding of the processes that take place in the classroom and the factors that influence them. Most researchers agree that, for optimal learning to occur, students need to exert a conscious effort to learn. Their teachers should activate the students' minds spontaneously and involve them in problem solving and critical thinking (Stoller, 1997). According to Anderson's (1990) cognitive theory, learners are better able to understand details when they are subsumed under a general concept. Anderson further states that the quality of learning depends on how well the basic concept is anchored. In short, greater stability of the basic concepts results in greater learning.

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