Thursday, October 25, 2007

Second languages

Presented to the
Seminar in Learning Theory

Tribute to Noam Chomsky
A survey of the literature suggests that the same learning principles underlie both native and foreign languages. If the focus of instruction is on communicative intent, rather than phonological repetition, then learning a foreign language recapitulates the stages that children follow when learning their first language. Contrary to popular belief, adults may have an advantage over children. Chomsky’s review of Skinner’s ‘Verbal Behavior’ has been hailed as the most influential document in the history of psychology. Nowhere is this more evident than in the recent literature on language development ~>[Read more]