Language acquisition theories are similar to learning theories. Learning theories are frameworks that explain how people receive, process, and store knowledge. Alternatively, language acquisition theories are frameworks that explain how people learn or acquire language. The name truly says it all.

In this post I’m going to break down 6 different language acquisition theories. Who developed them (and when), the main characteristics and focus, how they can be applied in the classroom, as well as any criticisms that have been made about them.

Behaviorism

Starting off with one of the most well-known theories in the educational sphere. Behaviorism was developed in the early to mid-20th century (1920s-1950s) originally by John B. Watson, and later refined by B. F. Skinner. At the time, educational psychology was focused on introspection and the study of the mind’s internal processes, which were unobservable and therefore thought of as unscientific by behaviorists.

Building off the groundwork of Ivan Pavlov’s work on classical conditioning and Edward Thorndike’s Law of Effect, Watson laid out in his 1913 paper, “Psychology as the Behviorist Views It,” a radical new vision that saw the field [of psychology] as a ‘true’ science that only focuses on phenomena that can be objectively measured and quantified, i.e. observable behaviors. Beyond that, Skinner further developed these concepts with his addition of operant conditioning.

Operant conditioning, unlike classical conditioning, is about voluntary behaviors that are influenced by their consequences. Within this concept there are two types on consequences; reinforcement (consequences that increase behavior) and punishment (consequences that decrease behavior.)

In regards to education, behaviorism posits that learning is the formation of habits through a stimulus-response-reinforcement cycle, meaning students learn from repeated practice and positive reinforcement. This is done through the memorization of short, structured dialogues and drills, where the teacher provides a pattern (stimulus), and students repeat it over and over again (response) until it becomes automatic. Points, praise, or prizes are used to reward correct responses and create ‘good habits’. Whereas mistakes are corrected immediately and explicitly by the teacher, preventing any ‘bad habits’ from forming.

Classroom activities based on Behaviorism:

• “Repeat and Reward” Drills: The teacher holds up a flashcard of an object (e.g., a cat) and says, “It’s a cat.” The students repeat the sentence altogether. The teacher continues presenting the flashcards, eventually letting students repeat individually and praising them if they do it correctly or correcting and asking them to try again if they make a mistake.
• “Listen and Clap”: The teacher says a word or phrase, and if the students hear a specific sound or key vocabulary word, they clap.
• “Sentence Chain Drill”: The teacher starts a sentence (e.g., “I like to eat…”), then the first student finishes it (“…pizza.”) The next student repeats the full sentence and adds a new item (“I like to eat pizza and apples”), and so on.
• “Picture and Word Match”: Students are given a worksheet with pictures and a separate list of corresponding words. They draw a line to match the picture to the correct word. Correct matches are then reinforced by the teacher’s praise.

The main criticism of behaviorism is that it’s too simplistic and neglects the role of cognition, emotion, and social factors in human behavior.

Key Words for Behaviorism: Repetition, Reinforcement, Stimulus-Response, and Habit.

Innatism

Innatism was proposed in the 1950s-1960s by linguist Noam Chomsky. (Side note: I LOVE this man! He is infamous for being anti-war, and a leading critic of U.S. foreign policy, contemporary capitalism, U.S. involvement and Israel’s role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, corporate influence on political institutions and mass media. He was arrested multiple times for his activism and was even placed on President Richard Nixon’s list of political opponents. My ideal man, for real.)

The main principle of Innatism is that language acquisition is an innate biological ability, meaning we’re born to learn languages. The reason for this is that, according to the theory of innatism, we have a biological tool that allows for unconscious grammar learning called the Language Acquisition Device (LAD).

In education, Innatism focuses on a natural exposure and input rather than explicit teaching. The teacher’s role is to facilitate the “discovery” of this device rather than to teach rules. For the most part they are meant to stay silent, using gestures, pointing, and objects to elicit language from their students. On the other side, students are encouraged to figure out grammar rules or sound-to-meaning connections on their own, as well as correct each other’s errors, rather than wait for their teacher to provide the ‘right’ answer. The idea is that students will eventually develop their own ‘inner criteria’ for correctness.

Classroom activities based on Innatism:

• “Mystery Story Time”: The teacher uses props or acts out a simplified, engaging story with a repetitive structure (e.g., “The hungry monster wants an apple. The hungry monster wants a banana. The hungry monster wants a cookie.”) After a few readings, the teacher leaves out a word or phrase, and the students fill in the blank.
• “Puppet Talk”: The teacher uses a puppet to have a simple, natural conversation with a student. The conversation provides a steady stream of comprehensible input, allowing the student to pick up on the patterns of dialogue.
• “Read and Respond”: The teacher reads a simple picture book and then asks open-ended questions with no ‘right’ answer. For example, a story about a little bird and the teacher asks, “Why do you think the bird was scared?”
• “Skit Creation”: Students watch a short cartoon or video clip in English and then, in small groups, create a short script to act out a similiar situation. They are not given a script; they encouraged to create their own dialogue, inspired by the language they heard in the video.

The main criticism of innatism is that it disregards the role of a parent or caregiver in language acquisition, and as we know, interaction is key for language acquisition.

Key Words for Innatism: Innate Ability, LAD, Natural Imput, and Unconscious Learning.

The Monitor Hypothesis

The Monitor Hypothesis was developed by Stephen Krashen in the 1970s-1980s, building off the ideas from the Nativist Revolution (Innatism and Noam Chomsky). It is one of the 5 central hypotheses within the Monitor Model, and is directly dependent on the Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis. This hypothesis distinguishes that “acquisition” and “learning” are two separate things.

Acquisition is the subconscious, natural process of language development. It is how we develop our first language as a child; being exposed to and interacting with meaningful language in a low-anxiety environment. Learning, on the other hand, is the conscious, formal process of language study. It involves explicitly learning grammar rules, vocabulary lists, and syntax. The main principle of this theory is that the “learned” language (grammar, vocabulary, etc.) acts as a “monitor” or “editor” for our “acquired” language (natural speech and fluency).

Normally in the classroom we focus on the learning or, in other words, teaching the students grammatical structures and vocabulary. However, we can use the student’s ability of acquisition to our advantage. By using comprehensible input that it is slightly beyond the student’s level, they can acquire that new language. This is referred to as I +1; what I know + something new.

To do this it is important to create a low-anxiety environment that lowers the students’ affective filter, meaning they feel less self-conscience while practicing the target language. This kind of environment allows the student to develop their fluency as they are more concerned with the flow of their language instead of the accuracy. Especially because the teacher avoids spending excessive time on explicit grammar rules.

Classroom activities based on The Monitor Hypothesis:

• ”Editing Detective”: The teacher provides the students a short paragraph containing common grammatical mistakes that they have previously “learned”. The students work in pairs to find and correct the errors. Afterwards, the pairs share what changes they made a nd why.

• “Writing Task and Peer Review”: Students write a short paragraph about a given topic, then switch with a partner that uses a checklist to identify and correct any errors.

• ”Content-Based Activities”: A lesson that revolves around an engaging topic (e.g., history, science, pop culture) and the language is simply the medium for learning about the topic.

• ”Sentence Builder with Cards”: The teacher gives students a set of color-coded cards that represent the parts of a sentence (blue for subject, red for verb, green for object). Students must arrange the cards to make a coherent sentence.

The main criticism of this theory is that you can’t clearly separate acquisition and learning. There is a lot of overlap and therefore neither can be concretely defined.

Key Words for The Monitor Hypothesis: Comprehensible Input, Monitor, Affective Filter, Fluency, and I+1.

Cognitive Development (Cognitivism)

The theory of cognitive development was developed in 1919 by Jean Piaget. His theory, often referred to as a constructivist approach, originated from his work in children’s IQ tests. Piaget was intrigued by the observation that children of the same age tended to make the same kind of mistakes on the test. This was proof, in his mind, that children do not lack intelligence, instead they simply think differently from adults.

Piaget proposed that children organize their knowledge into mental frameworks he called schemas. For example, a young child might have a schema for “dog” that includes all four-legged, furry animals. Through the processes of assimilation (using an existing schema to understand a new object/concept) and accommodation (changing an existing schema or creating a new one to fit new information that doesn’t fit) children adapt their schemas.

The main concept is that learning is an active mental process of organizing information, forming concepts, and solving problems. Learning is not about forming habits, but rather internal mental change. As for language development, the theory states that it reflects the development of their logical thinking and reasoning skills in stages.

The stages include:

1. Sensorimotor (0-2 years): language is learned through physical interaction and sensory input.
2. Pre-operational (2-7 years): there is rapid vocabulary acquisition and language is starting to be used to express feelings and needs.
3. Concrete Operational (7-11 years): children begin to understand grammar rules and categorize vocabulary in a logical manner.
4. Formal Operational (12+ years): children develop abstract thinking and learn from discussions, critical analysis, and creative writing.

In the classroom, cognitivism can be used to complete problem-solving tasks, such as a task where you have a family of four to feed with $20 and you have to decide what to buy at the grocery store. It could be used by having the students create visual representations (like conceptual maps) to link new vocabulary and grammatical structures to existing knowledge. Even physical activities for younger students can be used as cognitive tool, connecting language to its meaning.

The key is to keep the activities age-appropriate according to the stage they are in.

Classroom activities based on Cognitivism:

• “Memory Matching”: the teacher creates two sets of cards, one with images pof objects and the other with the names of the objects in English. Students attempt to match pairs together while pronouncing the word correctly after each matched pair and, if applicable, use the word in a simple sentence.
• “Sorting Games”: students are given a set a cards with pictures of different items and they are tasked with categorizing them based on semantic relationships. Afterwards, the students are asked to explain their choices in English.
• “Riddles or Word Games”: the teacher presents a simple riddle in English (“I have four legs but I can´t walk. What am I?” -a table), and students must ude their logical reasoning to solve the riddle.
• “Story Mapping”: after reading a story, students work in groups to create a “story map” using pictures and simple words to identify the main characters, setting, problem, and solution.

The main criticism of Cognitivism is that it is just an approximation of the age groups mentioned, which makes it very one-note. Additionall, it pays no mind to culture and its impact on language learning.

Key Words for the Cognitive Development Theory: Stages, Development, Age-Appropriate, and Schemas.

Constructivism

Constructivism was developed in 1960 by Jerome Bruner, who built this theory off of Piaget´s work. This theory was a reaction against the behaviorist view of learning as a passive process. Within the framework of Constructivism, learning is thought of as an active process where learners actively construct new knowledge based on what they already know (prior knowledge), as well as their experiences and interactions with the world.

Along with this theory of self-discovery we have a few other concepts that should be highlighted. Spiral curriculum refers to a method of teaching where complex ideas/concepts should be introduced to the students in a simplified way in the beginning and then progressively get more complex after each lesson. You can think of this method as a spiral in which each lesson you revisit the same content but make it a little more challenging each time.

Similarly, the method of scaffolding refers to when we build concepts on top of each other, reinforcing these concepts and deepening the students´ understanding of them. Just like spiral curriculum, you can envision scaffolding as the scaffolding used in construction, temporary wooden and metal structures used to build each level of a building one at a time.

Rather than the neat age-related stages that Piaget proposed, Bruner theorized the modes of representation that categorize how information or knowledge is stored and encoded in memory. There are three modes of representation: enactive, iconic, and symbolic.

1. Enactive: action-based learning, learn by doing
2. Iconic: image-based learning, learn through images and visual aids
3. Symbolic: language-based learning, learn through language and symbols

These modes are integrated and only loosely sequential seeing as they “translate” into each other.

In the classroom, Constructivism can be seen in collaborative projects where students work together to create a product, when students generate their own questions about a topic, and when they are given time to reflect on their learning process through a journal or debate.

Classroom activities based on Constructivism:

• “Build a Story Together”: the teacher introduces a topic (going to the park) by first asking what they know about it. Students brainstorm related words and ideas, and then, in small groups, create a comic strip or a simple story uning new vocabulary.
• “Classroom Poster Project”: In small groups, students create a poster about a topic that they choose amongst themselves. They make their own research and write their own sentences. The teacher provides guidance but does not give them content.
• “Recipe Follow”: The teacher brings simple ingredients and tools to make a recipe like fruit salad or a sandwich. Students work together to do the recipe that is written in English.
• “Role-Play”: Students are given a real-world scenario (you want to buy a toy, but you don´t have enough money). They work in pairs to role-play the situation, coming up with their own dialogue.

The main criticism of Constructivism is that there is insufficient evidence that “learn by doing” actually improves the learning process.

Key Words for Constructivism: Self-Discovery, Prior Knowledge, Scaffolding, and Spiral Curriculum.

Sociocultural Theory

The Sociocultural Theory originated with the Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky in the 1920s-1930s. His work departed from the prevailing psychological theories of the time that focused on individual development and innate biological processes. This theory, in particular, was heavily influenced by Marxism, which emphasized the role of society and culture in shaping human behavior.

Based on this background, we can consider the main concept of the Sociocultural Theory is that learning is a deeply social process and is developed through interactions with others. Likewise, language is a social context developed by social interactions. The acquisition of language not only involves a child´s exposure to words, but also an independent process of growth between thought and language, which know become interconnected during this process.

With the Sociocultural Theory Vygotsky introduced three zones of knowledge develpment:

1. Out of Reach Zone: what I can´t do.
2. Zone of Actual Development: what I can do alone.
3. Zone of Proximal Development: what I can do with the help of someone else.

This “Zone of Proximal Development” is the key to Vygotsky´s theory. It postulates that children learn through guided participation with “the knowledgable other” or someone who understands the topic better than them be it a teacher, parent, or peer.

Scaffolding can be another example of this theory in practice in the classroom, seeing as the teacher provides temporary support to help a student until they can complete the task on their own. Apart from that peer tutoring, reciprocal teaching, and collaborative problem-solving are also used in the classroom.

Classroom activities based on the Sociocultural Theory:

• “Scavenger Hunt”: the teacher hides pctures of objects and questions around the classroom and the students must work together in small groupsto find the pictures and answer the questions.
• “Group Interview”: Students work in groups to interview eacho ther about a specific topic.
• “Partner Dictation”: Students work in pairs witha barrier in between them. One has a picture and must describe it to their partner, who then draws it.
• “Show and Tell, but without the show”: Students bring items from home and then have to decribe the items to the class.

The main criticism of the Sociocultural Theory is that it overemphasizes socio-cultural factors.

Key Words for the Sociocultural Theory: The Knowledgeable Other, Zone of Proximal Development, Social Interaction, and Guided Participation.

6 Learning Theories