Approach to Language Teaching Behaviorist and Cognitivist

A.    Cognitive Approach

Cognition refers to mental activity including thinking, remembering, learning and using language. When we apply a cognitive approach to learning and teaching, we focus on the understaning of information and concepts. If we are able to understand the connections between concepts, break down information and rebuild with logical connections, then our rention of material and understanding will increase.

When we are aware of these mental actions, monitor them and control our learning processes it is called metacognition, which varies from situation tosituation, will greatly effect how individuals behave in a given situation.

B.     BEHAVIOURIST APPROACH

In the 19th century in the field of psychology, some behaviorists conduct a research on animals and children how they learn language (Pavlov’s classical conditioning; stimulus – response) trial and error. (The Behaviourists made research by looking at the behaviour of the objects being researched. E.g. behaviour of dog, cat, child, ect.)

·         The Behaviourist View of Language learning

The process of language learning according to the behaviourists can be explained in terms of conditioning. The child begins to hear during the 1st year of his life a large number of speech sound produced by his parents. Gradually his learns to associate these sounds with the situations, which accompany them. For instance, the child learns to recognize the sound of endearment, which his mother produces when she feeds him.

After sometime, these sounds become pleasurable in themselves even when they are not accompanied by food. At this stage, conditioning to language has begun. The more frequently the child is exposed to this process of conditioning, the stronger its effect. However its strength of the associative bound between the sounds and the situations accompanying them depends upon the satisfaction, which the child obtains from the conditioning process.

Before long, the child begins to imitate some of speech sounds that he has heard; the child does so in an attempt to control the environment and to invite the attention of his mother. The mother may fail to response to the majority of these random signals, but if the child, by chance, produces the vocal stimulus, which the mother recognizes as the appropriate, she responses. We say that his behaviour pattern has been rewarded or reinforced while all the inappropriate behaviour patterns have been neglected.

When a behaviour pattern is rewarded, this deals to the formation of the bound of association, say between the utterances (stimulus) and milk (response). Initially learning takes places through a random association but once it has been formed it is rapidly strengthened through repetition. The child is able to confirm that a certain vocal utterance is the correct stimulus for the desired response; he can then repeat the utterance each time it is needed.

On the other hand, a behaviour pattern that is not rewarded gets extinguished (will not be repeated by the child). The child will not continue to produce the utterance for which the mother does not take any notice of it. This is said to be the natural process of language learning, which a language-teaching program should try to stimulate. For the teacher, the following implications of the behaviour model of learning are relevant:

1. Language is learnt only through use or practice. The more the learner is exposed to the use the better the chances of learning it.

2. The production of language depends on the situation, which makes its use necessary. Language cannot be taught in divorce from situation; the teacher has to introduce each new pattern of language in a meaningful situation.

3. Producing the correct linguistic response also requires effort. If the learner is not called upon to make this effort there is no learning.

4. Producing the correct response also requires attention. Attention is bound to slacken after a time to prolong. So prolonged practice is less useful than spaced practice.

5. The spoken language comes earlier than the written, and the receptive (passive) experience of language is necessary before any productive (active) use can begin.

6. Learning takes place faster if the correct response toward stimulus is confirmed. The learner must know at once if his effort is right or wrong (rewarded).

7. Learning is still faster if the learner is placed to the situation where he can produce only the correct response. Each incorrect response builds up a faculty behaviour pattern, which interfere with the process of conditioning.

8. Every new item learnt must be reinforced by further practice before further learning begins.

Most of the methods used during the past 70 years for teaching language made use of these assumptions from Behaviorism. They emphasized, repeated but spaced-practice of language material in meaningful situation, in imitation of a given model, first orally and then writing.

Behaviorism does not distinguish between the language of human being and that of animal.

References :

http://purwarno-linguistics.blogspot.com/2005/12/behaviourist-approach.html

http://web.cortland.edu/andersmd/COG/COG.HTML

The Relationship between Language and Cognition and The Role of Formal Teaching of Language Acquisition

       I.            The Relationship between Language and Cognition

The relationship between language and cognition has long intrigued scholars. Many different and often incommensurable notions of the relationship have been advocated, as a result generating an enormous amount of dispute and stimulating a considerable body of experimental, observational, and theoretical research in fields as diverse as linguistics, psychology, anthropology, and philosophy.

The American linguist Benjamin Lee Whorf (1897-1941) in particular proposed that a deep relation exists between language and thought. Known as the Whorfian hypothesis (or the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis), in its strongest formulation this hypothesis has it that the structure of one’s native language determines one’s conceptual categorisation of the world. The Whorfian hypothesis generated a good deal of debate and empirical testing in the 1950s and 1960s. Following a relative lull of a couple of decades in the late twentieth century, the hypothesis has reappeared in scholarly debate, and stimulated emergence of a rash of new formulations and methodologies. The language-cognition interface has once again become a productive and engaging field of enquiry.

Perhaps the major difficulty in undertaking research in this domain has been the lack of serious dialogue and exchange of ideas among scholars representing the various disciplines, and failure to appreciate their respective methodological and working expectations — and limitations. One of the principal aims of this conference is to confront this problem head-on by bringing together researchers actively working at the disciplinary interfaces. Thus contributions, both pro and con, have been invited from leading scholars in cognitive science, neuroscience, psychology, anthropology, linguistics, animal cognition, and philosophy.

From the wide range of issues that could be addressed, the following have been selected for particular focus in the conference, as most likely to yield productive discussion and results:

·         language and the conceptualisation of space, motion, events, number, colour, and time;

·         theory of mind;

·         ontogenetic and phylogenetic emergence of language and conceptualisation;

·         universal and language-specific aspects of (categorical) perception;

·         neurological aspects of language and conceptualisation

·          When we analyze the role of language processing in its cognitive aspects, we must first

·          remember that cognitive psychology is the study of learning. This learning involves and

·          encompasses perceptions, reasoning, thinking and decision making. With these processes one

·          must take into account the conscious and the unconscious mental activities. For one to learn it is

·          a necessity that one understands the concepts of language to allow one to relate to the world

·          around them is not always an easy task. If one cannot understand how the structure of the

·          language works then one cannot comprehend the sounds such as the phonemes nor the words

·          that makeup the language. Without the proper understanding one cannot understand the

·          semantics of the language therefore one cannot speak and put things into proper context to relay

·          those perceptions, reasoning`s and decision making processes. If one understands the structures

·          within the language then one can use the context to move forward to the various levels that one

·          must take to mature and grow as an individual. From here it is easy to see without knowledge

·          and understanding of the structures one cannot mature and mentally come to terms with all those

·          things that influence and change who one is and who they will become. (Willingham, 2007) (Dale, 2004)

Conclusion to this language and cognitive psychology phenomenon is that as new levels of cognitive psychology are reached and understood so should the levels of the English language. If our language had not changed and developed then mankind would have not developed and became a civilized species. Like cognitive psychology there are limits to the behavioral methodology so there must too be limits in the English language of what are proper and accepted methods for the language. Language and cognitive psychology really do go hand in hand because both deal with memory and thoughts with a emphasis on the mental processes to think and inform those around us.  (Anderson, 2004) (Weismer, Thordardottir, 2002) 

    II.            The Role of Formal Teaching in Language Acquisition

a.   Types of Language Learning

There are two types of language learning, naturalistic and formal learning. The first naturalistic, is natural and unconsciously. It occurs in the environment of society and started from the beginning (when a child has not mastered any language) and the development of language acquisition is in line with the physical and psychological development. For instance, there is a child who learns their mother tongue. He studied it since they were very young, they learned it from their parents, family and environment naturally without force. If they make an error it will be corrected by their environment so they will more fluently to produce their language.

The second one is formal learning. It takes place in the classroom by helping of teacher, media and also the materials that will support student’s progress in their second language acquisition.

We can not prevent if formal learning of second language acquisition is really important because recently there is interdependence between one country and to another. We need to learn a second language for many benefits of the education sector, tourism, politics and economics.

Second language acquisition is not same with the first language acquisition. Here students had to master their first language well and the development of second language acquisition is not in line with the physical and psychological development. It conducted formally and the motivation of students in general is not too high because a second language is not used for everyday communication in their community. But exactly it affects some badness for them. Actually, in Indonesia second language acquisition is still has low quality. The students who study their second language Bahasa Indonesia or English are not still achieve the real goal yet, to communicate with the others fluently. It because the lack of motivation that is given.

b.      The Role of Formal Teaching of  Second Language Acquisition

Formal instruction plays an important role in the second language acquisition, although it does not affect the development route, it fosters more rapid development. For many learners, adults or children, natural setting only afford exposure environment, and can’t enable acquisition to take place. Formal instruction helps enhance development of second language acquisition. The role of formal instructions can be considered as an important issue in second language acquisition. The purpose of formal instruction is to teach the learners the formal system of second language acquisition. It is an assumption that by using instructional method, which is focusing on lingustics form, aids the acquisition of grammatical knowledge. And it can greatly raise the learners’ consciousness about the nature of target language rules which can help the learners to internalize them. Studying the role of formal instruction of second language acquisition is important both for developing theoritical of second language acquisition and for language teaching.

Krashen (1982) states that the classroom can do much better than informal environment. Long (1983) also states that formal instruction ougth to show a greater effects on beginners than on advanced learners, however advanced learners can bennefit from formal instructions, although the classroom aids the beginners more than the advanced learners. And the formal instructions also leads to improve scores on interegative tests.  

REFERENCES :

Anonim.(2012).The Relationship between language and cognition.[Online].Tersedia: http://lic.au.dk/. [29 Juni 2012].

Anonim.(2012).Psych-Cognition of Language.[Online].Tersedia: http://jdec.hubpages.com/hub/Psych-Cognition-of-Language[29 Juni 2012].

The Role of Formal Instructions of Second Language Acquisition. [Online]. Tersedia: http://wenku.baidu.com/view/9452248bcc22bcd126ff0cb9.html###[29 Juni 2012].

Second Language Acquition (Principles, Theories, and Practice)

A.    Definition of Second Language Acquisition

The systematic study of how people acquire a second language (often referred to as an L2) is a fairly rec phenomenon, belonging to the second half of the twentieth century.

At first sight, the meaning of the term ‘second language acquisition’ seems transparent but, in fact, it requires careful explanation. For one thing, in this context ‘second’ can refer to any language that is learned subsequent to the mother tongue. Also, ‘second’ is not intendedd to contrast with ‘foreign’. Whether you are learning a language naturally as a result of living in a country whether it is spoken, or learning it in a classroom through instruction, it is customary to speak generically of ‘second’ language acquisition. (Rod Ellis, 1997)

So that, the definition of second language acquisition and learning is learning and acquisition of a second language once the mother tongue or first language acquisition is established. Second language acquisition or SLA is the process of learning other languages in addition to the native language. For instance, a child who speaks Hindi as the mother tongue starts learning English when he starts going to school. English is learned by the process of second language acquisition. In fact, a young children can learn a second language faster than an adult can learn the same language.

B.     Principles of Second Language Acquisition

Clear understanding of the principles of language acquisition is a basis for modifying and improving one's teaching. Many have been studied and researched about language acquisition, yet as for the general principles of language acquisition, it is a fruitful and promising prospect. Therefore the following may be just a narrow mind about the language acquisition, so it is an urgent matter to which much attention should be paid.

1.      Language is Changeable and Vocabulary has an Important Role in Acquisition

All languages are a tool which can be manipulated to serve the needs of those who use it. But language is always changeable; it caused there is no language can develop without the development of the society.  So that when the society develop, certaintly language also develop.Natural language has limitless vitality while artificial language shortens.

Anyone who has lived a reasonably long time will know that his children and their contemporaries are not using the same words, grammar and pronunciation that he learned as a child, because each generation has a different attitude to its language. Young people, especially, use a vast amount of new idioms, slang, and expressions. As time goes on, the introduction of widespread education, radio, television, mobile phone, the Internet and the greater mobility of the population, have sped up the process of language changing.

We know that language, oral and written, come from different varieties. Language varies according to person, topic, purpose, cultural background and context situation. Everyone is proficient in more than one of these social varieties of their native language. Language also varies with respect to regional, social class, and ethnic group differences. Such language varieties are characterized by distinctive structural and functional characteristics, and they constitute legitimate varieties and functional systems of communication within their respective socio-cultural niches. (Rod Ellis, 1997)

Language acquisition involves the study of vocabulary. Vocabulary has proved particularly important and certainly the most difficult sometimes.

Wilkins (1972) asserted, “Without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed.” The lexicologist McCarthy (1990) echoed the same message that no matter how well the student learns grammar, no matter how successfully he masters the sounds of a second language, without words to express a wide range of meanings, communication in that language cannot happen in any meaningful way. In most cases, language and words are linked together closely.

2.      Language Acquisition is also Cultural Acquisition

Raymond Raymond Williams thought that “culture” is one of the most complicated several words. A. Kroeber & Clyde Kluckhohn listed about 300 definitions for culture in a book Culture Concept and Definition Statement. Among the definition, there is one which concerns about culture and language: Language is the composition of culture, is the load of culture. In short, language and culture are merged tightly.

Patterns of language usage vary across cultures and reflect differences in values, norms, and beliefs about social roles and relationship in each culture. When children learn their first language, they learn the cultural values, norms, and beliefs that are characteristic of their cultures. To learn another language is to learn new norms, behaviors and beliefs that are appropriate in the new culture, and thus to extend one's socio-cultural competence to new environments. To add a new language, therefore, is to add a new culture.

Educational programs must be based on acknowledgement of, understanding of, respect for, and valuing of diverse cultural backgrounds. It is important for all language learners to develop attitudes of additive bilingualism and biculturalism. Without language, culture would not be possible; On the other hand, language is influenced and shaped by culture and it reflects culture. Second language acquisition must understand their “language of the mind” because language acquisition, in fact, is inseparable from culture acquisition.

3.      Language Acquisition is A Long–term Process

We know that language acquisition is inseparable from its culture and culture acquisition can't be acquired in a short time. So language acquisition needs a reasonably long time. Language acquirer must go through different developmental stages and gradually grow in proficiency. Individual acquirer, however, move through these stages at variable rates. Rates of acquisition are influenced by multiple factors including an individual's educational background, first language background, learning style, cognitive style, motivation, personality and so on.

       Educational programs must recognize the length of time it takes to acquire the language skills necessary for success in school, college or university.

       The philosopher and scientist Francis Bacon said that Language acquisition is just like the understanding of the proverbs which needs time and knowledge. Deep knowledge of culture must connect with the true mastering of Deep the language.

4.      Motivation is the Stimulation of Second Language Acquisition

       Motivation is the generator to do something. Good motivation can improve work or study of something. Language acquisition is not a simple job but an affordable work, which needs long and sometimes painful process. Without everlasting motivation for it, it is impossible to study well.  Of course, it is no use only with motivation but also hard work.

       Some experiments show that holding of motivation can be great help for something. Motivation has always played as a central place in language acquisition.  When acquirer has a strong need for language acquisition, they will probably prosper, and vice versa. For inspiring the motivation is an important and useful way for language acquisition.

5.      Native Language Proficiency is of Benefit to Second Language Acquisition

       In the world, different nations normally have different languages; however, any language proficiency including native language surely contributes to second language acquisition because there is no language that exists without any rules. One can use one rule in this language and that at some cases.  So that it is useful for mastering the other language by comparison or imitation. And, in return, in learning a new language students also learn more about their own native language surely.

       Normally speaking, translator or interpreter with good knowledge of native language can do better than those of worse. Native language literacy abilities can assist to construct the meaning of second language. They bring this knowledge to the task of second language acquisition.

6.      Social Factors Affect the Second Language Acquisition

       Everyone knows that different people have lived in our society in one way or another. And the social factors affect our lives and also have a great impact on second language acquisition but probably do not influence it directly.  Instead, their effects are mediated by a number of variables. One of the variables is the acquirer's attitudes towards the language. Generally speaking, different attitudes will lead to different result.  Positive attitudes will certainly lead to successful learning of the language which will make the attitudes reinforced; in return similarly, negative attitudes towards the language will lead to bad result, and in return, consolidate its negative attitudes.

       Another variable is social contexts. Among them there is international language context.  Many languages-in particular English-are now widely used as international languages. They serve as a means of communication between speakers of different languages in a wide range of contexts: business and trade, academic and scientific, media and the arts, travel, tourism, and literature.  Learners who engage in international communication that involves the full resources of the standard language are more likely to develop a higher level of proficiency.

7.      Individual Acquirer Differences Differ in Second Language Acquisition

       There are five general factors that contribute to individual acquirer differences in some depth. These are age, aptitude, cognitive style, motivation, and personality. The commonly held view that children are more successful acquirers than adults is possibly because children have a greater memory capacity and are also able to acquirers focus more easily on the purely formal features of a language.  Fathman (1975) found that the order of acquisition twenty grammatical items remained constant in her sample of two hundred children aged from 6 to 15 years.

       Gardner (1980) has reported that aptitude is a major factor determining the level of success of second language acquisition.

Little is known about how personality and cognitive style influence second language acquisition, although there is a general belief that both are potentially extremely important.  Cognitive style is a term used to refer to the manner in which people perceive, conceptualize, organize, and recall information. Each person is considered to have a more or less consistent mode of cognitive functioning. “Open” or “close” person in character is different from acquisition of language.

C.    Theories of Second Language Acquisition

Stephen krashen's theory of second language acquisition (SLA)

             "Language acquisition does not require extensive use of conscious grammatical rules, and does not require tedious drill." Stephen Krashen.

             "Acquisition requires meaningful interaction in the target language - natural communication - in which speakers is concerned not with the form of their utterances but with the messages they are conveying and understanding." Stephen Krashen.

Krashen's theory of second language acquisition consists of five main hypotheses:

1.      The Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis

Krashen has concluded that there are two systems of language acquisition that are independent but related: the acquired system and the learned system.

·         The acquired system relates to the unconscious aspect of language acquisition. Krashen privileges the acquired system over the learned system.

·         The learned system relates to formal instruction where students engage in formal study to acquire knowledge about the target language.

2.      The Monitor Hypothesis

The monitor hypothesis seeks to elucidate how the acquired system is affected by the learned system. When second language learners monitor their speech, they are applying their understanding of learned grammar to edit, plan, and initiate their communication.

The amount of monitoring occurs on a continuum. Some language learners over-monitor and some use very little of their learned knowledge and are said to under-monitor. Ideally, speakers strike a balance and monitor at a level where they use their knowledge but are not overly inhibited by it.

  

3.      The Natural Order Hypothesis

This hypothesis argues that there is a natural order to the way second language learners acquire their target language. The order that the learners follow has four steps:

a.        They produce single words.

b.      They string words together based on meaning and not syntax.

c.       They begin to identify elements that begin and end sentences.

d.      They begin to identify different elements within sentences and can rearrange them to produce questions.

4.      The Input Hypothesis

In its most basic form, the input hypothesis argues that learners’ progress along the natural order only when they encounter second language input that is one step beyond where they are in the natural order. Therefore, if a learner is at step one from the above list; they will only proceed along the natural order when they encounter input that is at the second step.

5.      The Affective Filter Hypothesis

This hypothesis describes external factors that can act as a filter that impedes acquisition. These factors include motivation, self-confidence, and anxiety. Students who are motivated, confident, and relaxed about learning the target language have much more success acquiring a second language than those who are trying to learn with the affective filter in place.

D.    Practice of Second Language Acquisition

There are many methods or ways that can be used to study a second language. Methods or means chosen will depend on how quickly the master a second language, where we live and how much can we allocate funds to achieve our goals are. Combination of the methods or ways below will certainly gave the students a more optimal learning outcomes compared to just using one method alone.

1.      Learning in The Classroom  

When we implement the learning of language both in the classroom, we are always assisted by a teacher who can provide materials, encouragement and feedback and can be opposed to practice our second language skills. In order to organize learning a second language is good in the classroom, teachers need the resources of an authentic language learning. It is especially needed when we study a second language in our own country. Sources of learning the language used should be authentic in terms of pronunciation, intonation, accent and idiom.

In the absence of language learning resources as such, would be very difficult for a teacher to be able to convey both feelings and thoughts of people who use such language as first language. For that when teaching a second language teachers should only use the voice recordings narrated by native speakers. Visual teaching materials such as videos or films should also display an authentic culture of the second person. Do not use a video or movie that only shows the beauty of the country speaking a second language, but it has nothing to do with cultural issues of second language speakers. Videos or movies like that are usually intended only to tourists only. In addition the teacher / the school is required to provide newspapers and magazines in both languages ​​because it is a valid reading of two sources and always provide the latest information about the culture of both.

2.      Learning Self-taught.

This method can be done in a way to buy a CD or DVD learning a second language that many are sold in bookstores / tapes or can be ordered online via the Internet. Fundamental weakness of this learning method is the absence of accompanying teachers, so that when students need to ask, no one can answer. However, CD or DVD learning a second language is currently being developed in such a way that students can learn on their own. Student success in learning a second language by using this method will depend on the seriousness of the students in the learning and the quality of a CD or DVD learning a second language students to buy.

3.      The Exchange of Langauge

Learning a second language by using this method requires students to find native speakers who are studying a second language and who want to learn the mother tongue or first language of students, so the two can teach each other their respective languages​​. This can be done by accessing several sites on the Internet that offer these services. Another alternative method is to look for native speakers as a friend to correspond.

A second language teachers should encourage students to correspond with people speaking a second language. With a lot of correspondence students can practice how to write the context of everyday situations. In addition students will be able to exchange thoughts with native speakers of both languages​​, understand the attitudes and behavior which is the image and culture. Correspondence can also provide motivation for students to travel abroad which is a method of studying the latter.

4.      Traveled and Lived for Some Time Abroad

By traveling abroad or even the opportunity to stay for some time abroad, students will be able to understand the culture of local people. He can see and realize the similarities nor the differences between people and the culture of the nation's culture whose language is being learned.

Besides traveling abroad will also make students able to communicate using a second language better than just relying on second language learning in the country, because in this new environment students find no one able to use the first language, so he "forced "should always use a second language to communicate with people around him in order to survive.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ellis, Rod. (1997), Second Language Acquisition, New Zealand:                              Oxford university Press;

Krashen, Stephen D. (1982), Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition,       University of Southern California: Pergamon Press Inc;

Krashem, Stephen D. (1987), Principle and Practice in Second Language Acquisition,       Hall International;

ZhangJianjia, Jianjia Zhang. (2005), General Principles of Second Language           Acquisition, Xiangnan University