DEFINITIONS FOR LEARNING THEORIES AND APPROACHES

 

Which language learning 'theories' / 'approaches' would you match to these definitions?

 

DEFINITION
THEORY / APPROACH

1.
- Learning as habit formation
- Stimulus-response-reinforcement
- Repetition
- Emphasis on accuracy
- New language dealt with in sequence: hear, speak, read, write
- Learner = passive receiver of information

  
2.
- Chomsky - thinking is rule-governed
- Learning = acquiring rules
- A finite set of rules enables mind to deal with an infinite range of experiences
- We learn by thinking about and working out rules or patterns

 

3.
- The learner - an active processor of information
- Working out rules or patterns from data given
- Problem solving tasks
- Learning and applying reading strategies

  

4.
- Structure linked to situation
- Meaning comes from context
- Behaviourist learning theory
- Target language only
- Accuracy vital / errors to be avoided

  

5.
- Primary function of language - communication and interaction
- Communicative competence
- Communicative activities / info gaps
- Problem solving tasks

  
6.
- Meaning / the message more important than structure
- Acquisition more important than learning
- Comprehensible input
- Acquisition affected by an affective filter
- Trust, self-confidence and low anxiety lead to successful acquisition
- Learning = an emotional experience / the affective factor		  
7.
- Tape recorders and language labs essential
- Model dialogue repetition
- Oral/aural presentation
- Language learning mechanical, learners respond rather than think
- Behaviourist learning theory		  
8.
- Focus on reading and writing
- Grammatical rules / declensions
- Translation
- Individual study		  

9.
- Engages the 'whole person' of the learner
- Everything that is 'personally significant' will engage whole person and lead to deeper learning
- The learner as a feeling, thinking person, with own thoughts, opinions, experiences
- An 'attitude' rather than a 'technique'

  

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