7 Great Theories About Language Learning

Theories of language learning have been bandied about since about as far back as one
would care to look. It may be surprising to know that the problems that philosophers in Ancient
Greece and 16th century France were concerned about are largely still relevant today. To get a
quick rundown of early language learning theory, let’s take a quick look at the ideas of three
brilliant philosophers who you’ve probably already heard of.
1. Plato’s Problem
The writings of Plato stretch all the way back to the beginnings of Western philosophical
thought, but Plato was already posing problems critical to modern linguistic discourse. In the
nature versus nurture debate, Plato tended to side with nature, believing that knowledge was
innate. This was his answer to what has become known as Plato’s Problem, or as Bertrand
Russell summarizes it: “How comes it that human beings, whose contacts with the world are brief
and personal and limited, are nevertheless able to know as much as they do know?” Being born
with this knowledge from the get-go would naturally solve this little quandary and consequently
he viewed language as innate.
2. Cartesian Linguistics,
by Descartes Centuries later, the French philosopher Descartes took a crack at linguistic
philosophy. In his opinion, language acquisition was a simple and easy process, barely worthy of
his attention. Like Plato he believed in the innateness of language because he thought it reflected
the general rationality of human beings. But rather than Descartes himself, it was the rationalist
movement that he symbolized and that was thriving in the time period when he lived that was
most important for linguistics. This “Cartesian” movement, according to Chomsky (who we’ll get
to later), noted the creativity involved in everyday language and presented the idea that there
were universal principles behind every language.
3. Locke’s Tabula Rasa
Most people familiar with Locke’s philosophy have heard of his concept of tabula rasa, or
the blank slate. To state it briefly and in a simplified manner, this is the idea that all knowledge
comes from outside ourselves through sensory experience rather than through innate knowledge
that 34 we have at birth. This naturally carried over to language theory with Locke rejecting the
idea that there was an innate logic behind language. Obviously these theories don’t touch too
much on the practical, everyday level of language learning. They’re far less detailed and more
philosophical than the modern scientific theories we’re used to. But they have important
implications. If Plato and the Cartesians are right, then the emphasis in language learning must
lie on what we already know, using our innate abilities to come to an understanding of the
particularities of a specific language. If Locke is right, then we must focus our attention on sensory
input, gaining as much external input as possible. In the practical, everyday world, all of this can
easily be done with FluentU. FluentU takes real-world videos with familiar formats—like movie
trailers, music videos, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language
lessons.
4. Skinner’s Theory of Behaviorism
In the middle of the 20th century, B.F. Skinner took Locke’s ideas of sensory input and ran
with them. According to behaviorism, a radical variant of which was put forward by Skinner, all
behavior is no more than a response to external stimuli and there’s no innate programming within
a human being to learn a language at birth. What differentiates Skinner from those who came
before him is the level of detail he went into when connecting behaviorism and language learning.
In his concept of what he called “operant conditioning,” language learning grew out of a process
of reinforcement and punishment whereby individuals are conditioned into saying the right thing.
For instance, if you’re hungry and you’re able to say “Mommy, I’m hungry,” you may be rewarded
with food and your behavior will thereby be reinforced since you got what you wanted. To put it
another way, Skinner described a mechanism for language learning that hadn’t existed before on
the tabula rasa side of the language acquisition debate. What this means for us as language
learners, should his theory be even partially true, is that a process of conditioning must be
achieved for us to succeed. When we say the right thing, we must be 35 rewarded. When we say
something incorrectly, that too must be made clear. In other words, we need feedback to succeed
as language learners.
5. Chomsky’s Universal Grammar
Around the same time as Skinner there came another linguistic powerhouse who would
leave a lasting impression on the field of linguistics. Namely, Noam Chomsky. The theory that
Chomsky proposed would be called Universal Grammar and it would assert nearly the exact
opposite of what Skinner had offered in his theory. Where Skinner saw all learning coming from
external stimuli, Chomsky saw an innate device for language acquisition. What Skinner
understood to be conditioning according to particular events Chomsky, understood to be the result
of the universal elements that structure all languages. In fact, one of Chomsky’s major bones to
pick with Skinner’s theory had to do with Plato’s problem, as described above. After all, if Skinner
is right, how is it that children can learn a language so quickly, creating and understanding
sentences they have never heard before? Universal Grammar has been around for roughly a half
a century by now, so it’s hardly the last word on the subject. It has also received plenty of criticism.
One critique that particularly concerns us is that it may have little to do with learning a second
language, even if it’s how we learn a first language. There are certainly theories about applying
this concept to organize syllabi for language learning, but this seems unnecessarily complex for
the average, independent learner. In short, while Chomsky’s theory may be still be important in
the linguistics field as part of an ongoing discussion, it offers little help for learning a second
language other than to provide you with the confidence that the grammar for all languages is
already inside your head. You just need to fill in the particulars. Over the past half century or so,
a slew of other language learning theories have cropped up to try to deal with the perceived flaws
in Chomsky’s theory and to fill in the cracks for more specific areas of language learning (i.e.
areas of particular interest to us). Next up are two theories that, while not the philosophical
bombshells like the ones listed above, arguably have more of a practical edge.
6. Schumann’s Acculturation Model
John Schumann’s Acculturation Model describes the process by which immigrants pick
up a new language while being completely immersed in that language. This theory doesn’t deal
with the process of language learning as we normally think of it (such as how we acquire grammar
or listening skills), but rather focuses on social and psychological aspects that influence our
success. For instance, an immigrant is more likely to acquire their new target language if their
language and the target language are socially equal, if the group of immigrants is small and not
cohesive and if there is a higher degree of similarity between the immigrant’s culture and that of
their new area of residence. The obvious takeaway is that language learning is not an abstract
subject like physics that can be learned out of a book regardless of the world around you. There
are sociological factors at play, and the more we do to connect with the culture on the other end
of our second language, the faster and easier it will be for us to learn that language.
7. Krashen’s Monitor Model Stephen Krashen’s Monitor Model in fact consists of several
distinct hypotheses which make up what is probably the most cited theory in second language
acquisition. There’s so much to take away from Krashen’s theory that I’ll just let you peruse the
link given for details and give a rundown of the highlights here. Language acquisition is
subconscious and results from informal, natural communication. Language learning is conscious
and driven by error correction (more formal). Grammar structures are acquired in a predictable
order. Language acquisition occurs with comprehensible input (i.e. hearing or reading things that
are just slightly above our current language level). A monitor is anything that corrects your
language performance and pressures one to “communicate correctly and not just convey
meaning” (such as a language teacher who corrects you when you make a grammatical mistake).
It should be noted that this is just Krashen’s theory. While this theory is quite popular, there has
been criticism and direct contradiction of certain parts of it (particularly his idea about the
predictable order of grammar structures). Still, it’s useful to get ideas for language learning. This
theory suggests that we should both strive to increase our second language inputs (like by
watching video clips on FluentU and going through books for reading) and make sure we receive
proper error correction in one form or another. As this selection of important theories should make
clear, the subset of linguistics which deals with language learning is both wide and deep. Some
of it is highly theoretical and complex and is most relevant to scholars of the field. Other parts are
extremely zoomed in and tell us highly specific details about how to learn a language. Regardless,
it’s all connected. By understanding more bits and pieces of it all, you’ll gradually begin to
understand yourself and your own language learning process better than ever before.
The philosophy of education examines the goals, forms, methods, and meaning of
education. The term is used to describe both fundamental philosophical analysis of these themes
and the description and analysis of particular pedagogical approaches. Considerations of how the
profession relates to broader philosophical or sociocultural 38 contexts may be included. The
philosophy of education thus overlaps with the field of education and applied philosophy. For
example, philosophers of education study what constitutes upbringing and education, the values
and norms revealed through upbringing and educational practices, the limits and legitimization of
education as an academic discipline, and the relation between educational theory and practice.
Idealism
Idealism is the oldest system of philosophy known to man. Its origins go back to ancient
India in the East, and to Plato in the West. Its basic viewpoint stresses the human spirit as the
most important element in life. The universe is viewed as essentially non material in its ultimate
nature. Although Idealist philosophers vary enormously on many specifics, they agree on the
following two points; the human spirit is the most important element in life; and secondly the
universe is essentially non material in its ultimate nature. Idealism should not be confused with
the notion of high aspirations that is not what philosophers mean when they speak of Idealism. In
the philosophic sense, Idealism is a system that emphasizes the pre-eminent importance of mind,
soul, or spirit. It is possible to separate Idealism into different schools, but for our purposes we
shall be content to identify only the most general assumptions of the Idealists in metaphysics,
epistemology, and value theory, without regard to the idiosyncrasies of the various schools. If we
study the basic principles, Idealism puts forth the argument that reality, as we perceive it, is a
mental construct. It means that experiences are result of sensory abilities of the human mind and
not because reality exists in itself, as an independent entity. In the philosophical term this means
that one cannot know the existence of things beyond the realm of the intellect. Plato describes
“reality” in his Theory of Forms. For him the “Form” is actual substance of 'Things' which 'Formed'
matter and perceptible reality. Plato wants convey the message that matter is real and can be
experienced as a rational living entity; it is not a mere projection of consciousness. According to
Knight (1998) Augustine (354-430), Rene Descartes (1596-1650), George Berkeley and the
German philosopher Immanuel Kant and George William Hegel are the prominent names who
represent idealism. Berkeley and Kant have interpreted idealism in very different ways. Kant
described idealism as transcendent, whereas Berkeley called it 'immaterialism' which is
commonly termed as subjective materialism. George Berkeley says that the material world exists
because there is a mind to perceive it and that things which are not within the conceptual
framework of the human mind cannot be deemed real. Berkeley admits that objects exist, but their
presence in the physical realm is as long as there is a mind to perceive them. For this Berkeley
has used a Latin phrase 'Esse est percipi' (to be perceived).On the other hand Kant is of the
opinion that reality exists independently of human minds but its knowledge is inherently
unknowable to man because of sensory filters in our consciousness. These filters slow down our
ability to see the 'thing in itself'. Thus our ultimate perception of things is always through the mind's
fixed frame of reference (Shahid, 2008).
Idealism and curriculum
According to idealism the teacher is the symbol or model of good character, he is the
masters of all sort of knowledge, so the teacher has the central role in the teaching-learning
(Singh, 2007). The teacher has right to choose suitable content from the available literature and
to teach. The student is a passive receptor, who has to gain the knowledge transferred by the
knowledge. The teacher certifies the disciple at the successful completion of education as per the
above given age levels (Singh).
Idealism and aim of education
Plato says that to become a philosopher or king, a person has to go through all the
processes of education. He describes the aim of education as to drag every man out of the cave
as far as possible. Education should not aim at putting knowledge into the soul, but at turning the
soul toward right desires continuing the analogy (similarity) between mind and sight. The
overarching goal of the city is to educate those with the right natures; so that they can turn their
minds sharply towards the Form of the Good. The philosophers must return periodically into the
cave (society) and rule there. Aristotle says that education is essential for complete self-realization
as he says, “The supreme good to which we all aspire is the happiness. A happy man is the one
who is educated. A happy man is virtuous, virtue is gained through education.” Plato says that
Education is for the individual’s personal betterment and that of the society.
Idealism and stages of education
Plato has also divided the process of education into five major steps;
1. Age 7 to 18; study general mathematic, music, astronomy and so on,
2. Age 18 to 20; considers best for physical training,
3. Age 20 to 30; study of logic, knighthood, and mathematics
4. Age 30 to 35; study of dialectics
5. Age 35 to 50; practice of dialectics in various official affairs in the state
6. 50 years +; a person can become a philosopher or king as his tern comes.
Plato says that in each step the person is given with different sort of education. He
suggests screening those in each step who cannot perform well. The ones who can successfully
pursue all the six stages can be called philosophers who have the understanding of the form of
good.
Idealism and method of teaching
Idealism is traditional philosophy of education in which teacher has centeral role who has to be
role model so that the students will adopt his model to become good citizen. In idealism the lacture
method is considered the most important one in which a delivers lecture and students listen to
the teacher. Teacher selects any topic or issue for teaching first he teaches the topic then asks
the questions about that topic. Students answer the asked questions, Teacher provides the
feedback and students improve themselves according to the teacher’s feedback. This is teacher
centered approach therefore students do not participate in a well manner and do not understand
the taught content. This method of teaching is not suitable for young or elementary level of
students because they are not habitual for listening long time. This method is only used for adults.
Because their mind is mature and they can understand easily. The second method that suits
idealism the most is the Socratic Method in which the teacher involves the students in learning
activities. The teacher raises an issue and the students are encouraged to discuss it in a dialogue
form and reach to a conclusion.
Realism
If a tree falls in the woods and no one hears it, does it make a sound? You've probably
heard that question asked before and may have thought about it for a few minutes before coming
to an answer. Or you may have taken it as a silly question and laughed at it.
But the fundamental question behind that question is simple: is there a true reality, which
exists outside of human perception or is reality only what we perceive? Realism is a philosophy
started by the ancient Greek writer, Aristotle. It states that there is a true reality, and things exist
whether humans perceive them or not.
Educational realism is the belief that we should study logic, critical thinking, and the
scientific method to teach students to perceive and understand reality. As you might imagine,
there is a heavy emphasis on math and science, though the humanities can also be influenced
by educational realism.
What does educational realism look like in a classroom? To figure that out, let's imagine
a teacher, Henry, who is trying to plan his curriculum for the upcoming school year. Henry is a
realist and believes that Aristotle was on the right path all those years ago. So how can Henry
plan a year of learning to help students perceive and understand reality?
The first thing that Henry, as a realist, is likely to do is to include lots of opportunities to
study the natural world. Realists believe that the job of schools is to teach students about the
world around them. This means that Henry wants to teach his students how to use logical
processes to find truth in the natural world.
 For example, instead of teaching his students about gravity from a textbook, Henry might
take them outside and recreate Sir Isaac Newton's moment of clarity when he saw the apple fall.
Henry can climb a tree and drop objects of different masses to allow students to figure out how
gravity and mass work together.
Meaning of Pragmatism:
The word Pragmatism is of Greek origin (pragma, matos = deed, from prassein = to do).
But it is a typical American school of philosophy. It is intimately related with the American
life and mind. It is the product of practical experiences of life.
Pragmatism means action, from which the words practical and practice have come. The
idealist constructs a transcendental ideal, which cannot be realised by man. The pragmatist lays
down standards which are attainable. Pragmatists are practical people.
They face problems and try to solve them from practical point of view. Unlike idealists they
live in the world of realities, not in the world of ideals. Pragmatists view life as it is, while idealists
view life as it should be. The central theme of pragmatism is activity.
According to existentialism:
Existence is always particular and individual—always my existence, your existence, his existence,
her existence. Existence is primarily the problem of existence (i.e., of its mode of being); it is,
therefore, also the investigation of the meaning of Being. That investigation is continually faced
with diverse possibilities, from among which the existent (i.e., the human individual) must make a
selection, to which he must then commit himself. Because those possibilities are constituted by
the individual’s relationships with things and with other humans, existence is always a being-in-
theworld—i.e., in a concrete and historically determinate situation that limits or conditions choice.
Humans are therefore called, in Martin Heidegger’s phrase, Dasein (“there being”) because they
are defined by the fact that they exist, or are in the world and inhabit it.
Learning Exercises / Activities
I. Multiple Choice: Choose the letter of the correct answer.
1. This philosophy places the highest priority on students directing their own learning. Learning is
self-paced and includes a lot of individual contact with the teacher.
A. Essentialism B. Existentialism C. Progressivism D. Social
Reconstructionism
2. True or False: Teachers must reflect on societal values in order to target student learning and
behavior effectively.
A. True B. False
3. Which of the following philosophies emphasizes personal choice and individual freedom?
A. Realism B. Idealism C. Existentialism D. Pragmatism
4. According to Realism, human beings are rational beings and are expected to behave
accordingly.
 A. True B. False
5. Teacher A always starts her lessons with a real-life problem which the students have to solve
collaboratively by the end of the class period. What is the philosophy Teacher A is possibly
adhering to?
A. Existentialism B. Pragmatism C. Idealism D. Realism
6. Which of the following is important to an Existentialism?
A. Purpose B. Reason C. Ideas D. Individuality
7. According to Pragmatist, education is ___________ life.
A. Preparation for B. To support C. Analysis of D. Part of
8. Which of these is emphasized by Pragmatic education?
A. Abstract thinking B. Practicality C. Values formation D. Discipline
9. What should be the characteristics of teachers according to Confucianism?
A. Gentle and caring B. Firm and autocratic C. Intellectual and scholarly D. Loving and
committed
10. Which of the following virtues does Confucianism give a high regard?
A. Uprightness B. Tolerance C. Courage D. Curiosity