Language Teaching & Acquisition Concepts Flashcards
Language Teaching & Acquisition Concepts Flashcards (English)
- Audio-Lingual Method
- Focuses on repetition and drills.
- Emphasizes habit formation through listening and speaking.
- Relies on mimicry and memorization.
- Behaviorism
- Language learning as stimulus-response conditioning.
- Learning through repetition, rewards, and reinforcement.
- Blank Slate
- Learners start with no pre-existing knowledge.
- Language is acquired through input from the environment.
- Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)
- Focuses on meaningful communication.
- Encourages fluency over accuracy.
- Comprehensible Input
- Language slightly above the learner’s current level (i+1).
- Necessary for effective acquisition.
- Content-Based Instruction
- Language taught through subject content.
- Combines language learning with academic or thematic topics.
- Critical Period Hypothesis
- Suggests a time frame for optimal language acquisition.
- After puberty, acquiring a language becomes harder.
- Desuggestopedia
- Focuses on lowering psychological barriers.
- Incorporates music, relaxation, and visualization.
- Direct Method
- Immersion in the target language only.
- No translation; uses demonstration and real-life objects.
- Exposure
- The process of being surrounded by the target language.
- Key for natural language acquisition.
- Grammar Translation Method
- Emphasizes reading, writing, and translation.
- Focus on grammatical rules and vocabulary.
- Imitation
- Learning through copying speech.
- Essential in early language acquisition.
- Innatism
- Language ability is innate.
- Supported by Noam Chomsky’s theories.
- Interactionism
- Language develops through social interaction.
- Combines cognitive and environmental factors.
- Interactionist
- Theorists who stress the importance of interaction in language learning.
- L1 Acquisition
- Learning one’s first language.
- Usually effortless and natural.
- L2 Acquisition
- Learning a second language.
- Influenced by age, exposure, and motivation.
- Language Acquisition Device (LAD)
- Hypothetical brain mechanism for language.
- Proposed by Noam Chomsky.
- Language Teaching Methodology
- Techniques and approaches for teaching language.
- Includes grammar, communicative, and task-based methods.
- Motherese/Parentese
- Simplified, exaggerated speech to aid language learning.
- Common in talking to infants.
- Motivation
- Key factor in language acquisition success.
- Divided into intrinsic (internal) and extrinsic (external).
- Nature vs. Nurture
- Debate on whether language is innate or learned.
- Combines genetic predisposition and environmental factors.
- Neuroplasticity/Brain Plasticity
- The brain’s ability to adapt and form new connections.
- Critical for learning, especially in young children.
- Noam Chomsky
- Linguist who proposed Universal Grammar.
- Emphasized the innate nature of language acquisition.
- Recollection/Wisdom
- Refers to accessing previously learned language knowledge.
- (Stages of) Language Development
- Pre-linguistic, babbling, one-word, two-word, multi-word stages.
- Universal sequence across cultures.
- Steven Krashen
- Proposed the Input Hypothesis.
- Key figure in language acquisition theories.
- Target Language as Language for Learning
- Encourages exclusive use of the target language in class.
- Task-Based Learning
- Focuses on completing real-world tasks.
- Promotes meaningful use of the target language.
- The Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis
- Differentiates acquisition (subconscious) from learning (conscious).
- The Affective Filter Hypothesis
- Emotional factors like anxiety can block acquisition.
- The Input Hypothesis
- Comprehensible input is essential for acquisition.
- The Monitor Hypothesis
- Conscious learning acts as a “monitor” for output.
- The Natural Order Hypothesis
- Language features are acquired in a predictable sequence.
- The Participatory Approach
- Involves learners in decision-making and content creation.
- The Silent Way
- Learners take an active role; teachers stay silent.
- Uses visual aids and gestures.
- Total Immersion
- Learners are surrounded by the target language.
- Promotes rapid acquisition.
- Total Physical Response (TPR)
- Combines language learning with physical actions.
- Effective for beginners and children.
- Universal Grammar
- Innate set of grammatical principles shared by all languages.
- WUG Test
- Tests understanding of grammatical rules in children.
- Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)
- The range of tasks learners can do with support.
- Key concept in Vygotsky’s theory.
- Genie
- Case study of a girl isolated from language.
- Highlights the critical period in language learning.