UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO AT HUMACAO ENGLISH DEPARTMENT JOANY MORALES FIOL THEORETICAL MODEL OF SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING
The Laces of Language Learning To learn a second language, there are so many theories that need to work together in order to achieve Communicative Competence. This is why I came with the idea of making The Laces of Language Learning Model. In this model every theory in which I believe interact with each other to achieve the goal, like when we are tying our shoes, the laces interact each other to make a tie. My theoretical model consists on a shoe that represents the human being, in which the whole process of language learning occurs in tying the shoelaces. One of the ends of the shoe lace represents meaningful learning and the other end represents social interaction. The first step on putting the laces on the shoe is the foundation in which the rest is going to be built. That foundation is the Nativist Approach which establishes that every human being is born with the capacity of learning a language. Then we cross both ends of the laces until we get to the top. Those connections between the two ends of the laces represent all the theories of the model interacting with each other. The first time we cross the laces represents the learning of a first language in which we need stimuli and positive reinforces that are part of B. F. Skinner’s Operant Conditioning Theory. The next time we cross the laces represents the differences between a child and an adult learner, which consists on the Critical Period Hypothesis which establishes that there’s a period in which we acquire most effectively a second language and the Lateralization theory that establishes that there is a certain age in which all the functions of the brain are lateralized into the right and left hemisphere. The next time we cross the laces it
represents the variations in styles, strategies and intelligences a learner has in which there is an interaction of all of them in order to create the best learning environment possible. The next time we cross the laces it represents the personality factors that enables the human to learn such as the Affective Domain in which there is an interaction between high self-esteem, motivation and low anxiety. And after all the laces have interacted with each other we are able to do the tie. The tie represents the higher step which we can achieve while tying our shoes and it represents the higher step that we should achieve when learning a second language that is Communicative Competence.
Legend: Nativist Approach
Laces Shoe Tie
Learning a first language - Operant Conditioning Differences between Child and Adult Learners - Critical Period Hypothesis - Lateralization Variations in style, strategies and intelligence Affective Domain - Motivation, self-esteem, low anxiety Meaningful learning and Social Constructivism Communicative Competence