Interlanguage Theory: Why It Makes or Doesn’t Make Sense

Those structures that are similar will be easy to learn because they will be transferred and may function satisfactorily in the foreign language. Those structures that are different will be difficult because when transferred they will not function satisfactorily in the foreign language and will therefore have to be changed. We can say that the degree of control of these structures that are different is an index to how much of the language a person has learned.”

Pragmatics in more recent years has begun to take relevance in the study of language and

When learning a L2, the learner is engaged in the acquisition of sounds, words, structures, and discourse through conscious attention to these units, but s/he may also acquire them subconsciously (Van Polen, 2013a). Alternatively, and especially in the classroom setting, the conscious, deliberate type of learning usually prevails. Drawing upon this distinction in L2 acquisition, two views have been formed. First, incidental learning that is most often defined as “picking up” words and structures when a L2 learner engages in a communication task such as listening or reading, and when s/he focuses on the meaning of the language. Secondly, intentional learning, referred to as “the deliberate committing to memory of thousands of words (their meaning, sound, and spelling) and dozens of grammar rules” (Hulstijn, 2003, p.349). The terms have received various interpretations from researchers (Ellis, 1994b; Huckin & Coady, 1999; Gass, 1999), which are also sometimes identical with the two more general terms of implicit and explicit learning indicating the degree of involvement of consciousness (or awareness) in the act of learning. Although all

Kasper and Roever (2005) asserted that to foreign and second language learners the understanding of second language pragmatics could be an important difficulty because it typically entails learning “not only how to do things with target language words but also how communicative actions and the ‘words’ that implement them are both responsive to and shape situations, activities, and social relationships” (p. 317).

Pragmatics is "the study of the purposes for which sentences is used, of the real world conditions under which a sentence may be appropriately used as an utterance" (Hatim, Basil (1992), p.59). Pragmatic Equivalence as a theory demonstrates the close relation between the meaning of a text in the source language and the target language. Speech Act Theory and Grice's Cooperative Principle set the basics of linguistics related with translation studies in terms of the meaning and its effect between two different languages, the meaning and intentionality are primary elements to any translator seeks to transfer the exact message of the text in the source language .

There has been a lot of research in Second Language Acquisition and there has many theories in this field. Since the 1970s more scholars have been very keen to explain the acquisition process. Particular attention has been given to the way we process information and this involves input and output. The major debate on this subject is what takes place in between the two stages. This essay will consider the contributions made by each of the above named scholars on the models of SLA. They each have their different versions of the model. Generally, the classic model of SLA is believed to be Input-Developmental system-Output. However, these two scholars have offered their own take on this classic model. The essay will first discuss the similarities of both of their models and later explain the differences between the two models.

Patsy Lightbrown and Nina Spada (2013) explore various second language processing theories in Chapter 4 of ‘How Languages are Learned’ through behaviourist, innatist, cognitive, and sociocultural perspectives.

A plethora of scholars (e.g., Carter & McCarthy, 1988; McCarthy, 1990; Nation, 2010; Nation & Laufer 2012; Schmitt, 2010) in vocabulary learning, however, argue that vocabulary acquisition is the basic foundation of language learning because words are the building blocks of communication and without them, learners will not be able to express themselves and communicate by using a target language. Lexical errors are the most common among second language learners. In fact, vocabulary errors seem to be not only the most serious ones for students, but also the most disruptive ones for native speakers in terms of interpretation. As Gass (1988) observes, grammatical errors still result in understandable structures (e.g., she a girl), whereas vocabulary errors may interfere with communication (e.g., He tried to hold the

Many people believe that children have the ability to become with a native-like proficiency in a second language almost within a night because during childhood knowledge is absorbed like a sponge by children’s brain (Genesee, Paradis and B. Crago, 2004, p.133). In contrast, only few adults can achieve a desirable result in their attempt to acquire a second language (European Science Foundation, 1993, p.8). In addition the learning environment is separated into two the formal and the informal both of them are efficient, but the last one seems to be more accepted than the other as a better way of language learning because of its faculty to develop knowledge and skills to people without any predestinate rules. (Bahrani, 2011, p.372). However the process of acquiring a second language is not only affected by the age, but by the learner’s stimuli during this process as well.

Making mistakes is inevitable for the language learners who are trying to communicate in target language. Krashen (1982) argues, corrective feedback may be useless if learners are not ready to learn. Corder (1967) and Selinker (1972) considered errors as a part of the learners’ interlanguage and an evidence of progress. On the other hand, if the teachers don’t correct learner’s errors in the classroom, may the other students of the class consider them as a correct form and it could lead to fossilization.

Acquisition of any language is a subconscious procedure or process that is similar to learning or acquiring the basics of any first language. Herrell & Jordan (2008) suggests that the subconscious process of understanding and acquisition of the fundamentals of any language are much superior to any direct instructions received in a classroom. Learners whose native language is not English are in most cases faced with double challenges. They need to first master the content and study the language that is inherently presented. Instructors have for a long time viewed it as a tedious process. This is because it involves transmitting words and rules to learners, something that is quite distinct and different from

Consequently, I truly believe that the core of language learning is understanding the source of errors as an essential step in the process of correcting it, and never making it again. Therefore, I think that establishing comparative analysis studies

1998; Norrish, 1983; Ellis, 1995; Ziahisseiny, 1999; Keshavarz, 2003, 2006; Darus, 2009). Results of these studies were applied in the second and foreign language teaching and learning. It was assumed that (Corder, 1967, 1971 & 1974) the learners learn the second and foreign language in the same way, to some extent, as the children acquire their first language. While acquiring their first language, children also make a lot of errors and mistakes. Corder made a distinction between the error and mistake (Corder, 1974: 259). The difference is listed below:

In order to analyse the sentences part of our study, it is paramount to take into account the five central processes Selinker accounts for the different erroneous utterances a learner produce within his interlanguage; and which may become fossilized affecting the learner for a lifetime. Selinker (1972) classifies those process as:

Hughes and Allen (61) define pragmatics as a branch of linguistics mandated with handling language use and contextual uses. For both the first and second language learners, pragmatics aim at addressing issues related to text