THEORY OF LEARNING

Theory of Learning

          The startinng point for all language teaching should be an understanding of how people learn. But it is too often the case that learning factors are the last to be considered. ESP has been particularly guilty in this regard.

          Development in learning theory have followed a similar pattern to those in language descriptions, and each has had some effect o the other. Certainly there were empirical observations, such as Comenius studies made in the sixteenth century and the preepts of the Direct Method at the end of the nineteenth century (see e.g. Stern, 1983).

          We can identify five main stages of development since then, which are of relevance to the modern language teacher ( see Littlewood, 1984, for an excellent survey of theories of learning).

1.    Behaviourism : Learning as Habit Formation

The first coherent theory of learing was the behaviourist theory based mainly on the work of Pavlov in the Soviet Union and of Skinner in the United State.

The simplicity and directness of this theory had and enormous impact on learning psycology and on language teaching. That second language learning should reflect and iitate the perceived processes of mother tongue learning. Some of these precepts were :

- Never translate.

- New language should always be dealt with in the sequence : hear, speak, read, write.

- Frequent repetition is essential to effective learning

- All errors must be immediately corrected.

     The basic exercise technique of a behaviourist methodology is pattern practice, particularly in the form of language laboratory drills.

2.    Metalism : thinking as rule – governed activity

Language learners would not conform to the behaviourist stereotype : they insisted on translating things, asked for rules of grammar, found repeating things to a tape recorder boring, and somehow failed to learn something no matter how often they repeated it (see Allwright, 1984).

The first succesful assault on the behaviourist theory came from Chomsky (1964). His conclusion was that thinking must be rule-governed : a finite, and fairly smallm set of rules enable the mind to deal with the potentially infinite range of experiences it may encounter.

3.    Cognitive code : Learners as thinking beings

Whereas the behaviourist theory of learning portrayed the learner as a passive receiver of information, the cognitive view takes the learner to be an active proccessor of information (see e.g. Ausubel et al., 1978).most recently, the cognitive view of learning has had a significant impact on ESP through the development of courses to teach reading strategies. The cognitive code view of learning seems to answer many of the theoritical and practical problems raised by behaviourism.

4.    The affective factor : learners as emotional beings

People think, but they also have feelings. It is one of the paradoxes of human nature that, although we are all aware of our feeeling and their effects on our actions, we invariably seek answers to our problems in rational terms.

5.    Learning and Acquisition

Learning is seen as a conscious process, while acquisition proceeds unconsciously.

6.    A Model for Learning

Well, we will provide a practical source of reference fo the ESP teacher and course designer.

There is no limit to the number of links possible. Indeed the more links  a place already has the more it is likely to attract. (see figure 14).

a.     Individual items of knowledge, like the towns, have little significance on their own.

b.    It is the exsting network that makes it possible to construct new connections.

c.     Items of knowledge are not of equal significance.

d.    Roads and railways are not built haphazardly.

e.     A communication network is a system.

f.      Last, but by no means least, before anyone builds a road, crosses a river or clims a mountain, they must have some kind of motivation to do so.

Conclusion

In conclusion we get two points :

a.     We still do not know very much about learning. It is important, therefre, not to base any approach too narrowly on one theory.

b.    As Corder (1973)says : thus behaviourist theory of learning does not have to sccompany a structure view of language, Nor is there any casual link between a functional view of language and a cognitive learning theory.

Having now considered the tow main theoritical based of course design, we also look in the characteristic as the distinguishing feature of ESP-need analysis.

Question

1.    What is the meaning of language learning ?

2.    What is the difference of learning and acquisition ?

3.    What is the definition of cognitive code ?

4.    How many percepts have behaviourm held ? mention it !