Influence of Behaviourist and Cognitivist Theories in Adult Language Acquisition

  • V Devaki National Institute of Technology Tiruchirapalli, Tiruchirapalli, India
Keywords: Behaviourist, Cognitivist, Adult Language Acquisition, Second Language Learning, Critical Period Hypothesis

Abstract

Linguistics and psychological schools of thought had a great influence on language acquisition theories It is still under discussion whether second language acquisition is easy or effortless for adults to learn or not.  In non-teaching environments, children can learn their native language quickly, whereas adults cannot. Many researchers believe that adults can quickly acquire a second language due to their high level of cognition clear, logical thinking and strong self-observation skills, while some linguistics researchers consider that it is difficult for adults to develop a second-language acquisition. Therefore, this paper explores to what extent the theories of behavioral and cognitive influence adult acquisition in the second language process. This study considered that these theories have highlighted the difference between the way that children and adults learn to the point that adults appear to “lift the bar” unrealistically when they try to learn an additional language. The novelty of this study is in how the analysis gave a new direction for adult language acquisition theorists to guide adults to mimic children’s way of acquisitioning their first language.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.
Published
2021-02-26
How to Cite
Devaki, V. (2021). Influence of Behaviourist and Cognitivist Theories in Adult Language Acquisition. Elsya : Journal of English Language Studies, 3(1), 38-44. https://doi.org/10.31849/elsya.v3i1.5620
Abstract viewed = 3565 times
PDF downloaded = 3058 times