2
It is, rather, internally guided; although language
the process of language acquisition, which they
input activates the inborn mechanism of langu-
regard as being fundamentally bi-directional.
age acquisition, it has no effect on the way in
The process is also linked with competence
which acquisition occurs. Underlying the
in other developmental areas. “Language
development of nativist theory is the assump-
development is a process that begins in early
tion that the language to which the child is
infancy, and depends crucially on skills from
exposed provides an inadequate and insuf-
a variety of domains including perception,
ficient stimulus for learning and cannot
cognition, motor development, and socialisa-
adequately explain the speed and uniformity
tion. The interactionist view includes not
of the acquisition process. Empirical studies
only the emergence of single words and their
show, however, that the quality and quantity of
meanings, but includes also the more strictly
language input does indeed have an impact on
linguistic areas of phonology and grammar.”
language acquisition (see chapter 2.1).
(Bates and MacWhinney 1987: p. 150).
Developmental psychology approaches tend
According to interactionist theory, language
instead to consider general learning mechanisms
acquisition occurs in the context of social
as key to language acquisition. Two variants, the
interaction, is embedded in the process of
cognitivist and the social interactive theories,
socialisation and refers not only to socio-
have determined the research to date (Grimm
communicative but also to formal linguistic
and Weinert 2002; Klann-Delius 1999). According
aspects of language.
to Grimm and Weinert (2002) various theories of language acquisition agree that language is
1.2. Second language acquisition
specifically human and has a biological basis, that language acquisition is not possible without
In the sphere of L2 acquisition, diverse theories
a language environment and that the inner
and hypotheses have been developed since the
preconditions contributed by the child and the
1940s that attempt to explain the acquisition
environmental factors must “work together in the
process. Following are a selection of hypotheses
interest of a successful fit” (Grimm and Weinert
referring mostly to successive1 L2 acquisition.
2002: p. 537; my translation). Interactionist
explanatory models combine the contributions
The behaviouristically oriented ‘contrastive
of various research directions and emphasise
hypothesis’ (Fries 1945; Lado 1957) assumes that
in particular the significance of the exchange
existing structures created in the learning of a
between the child and the social environment in
first language are employed in L2 acquisition.
1
Successive second language acquisition occurs when learning of the second language begins after acquisition of the first language
has already started. It can be distinguished from bilingual language acquisition, which involves the parallel acquisition of two languages from birth.