Figure and Ground in SLA theory
Michael Harrington · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · 1999
Input-matching models of second language (L2) development assign a primary role to the environment in shaping learning outcomes. The input-maching perspective characterizes language development as an emergent process resulting from the interaction of the learning environment and general learning capacities. In this talk distinguishing features of the input-matching perspective are described and contrasted with other approaches to L2 development. Two kinds of input-matching models in the SLA literature, the Competition Model and connectionist simulations, are then examined. A key destinction is made between the approach as a theory of learning and as an approach to modeling. The scope of the models in accounting for L2 development is evaluated on the basis of this distinction.