Features of Behaviorism in Second Language Acquisition (SLA): An Empirical Excerpt from Applied Linguistics View

Abstract

Three decades thereabouts when Skinner proposed his behaviorist theory in the context of L1 acquisition exploiting sociolinguistic approach specifically. Subsequently, there have been dearth of studies conducted validating the claims of behaviorism in the field of applied linguistics. Thus, RQ1 highlights the principles of behaviorism towards L2 competence with tantamount research assumption. Taking into account the data presented, it reveals that there practically are features of behaviorism which contributed to the successful L2 acquisition by the L2 learners. This involves reward, habit formation as well stimulus-response linguistic processes leading to the acceptance of the first assumption. Reward fosters positive attitude to further explore the unknown. It leads to an affirmative language attitude necessary to discover the full details of the L2 learning. RQ2 delineates the possible linguistic factors that are contributory to the collective L2 performance during the investigation time frame. Primary linguistic factors could have been the minimal L2 exposure of the students to the target language due to transition phase which forced the students to switch codes occasionally to complete the cycle of communication. This study is valuable to the learners and teachers of ESL/EFL worldwide as it offers some pedagogical implications necessary to understand the learning pace, lexical index, comprehensible input (CI), and language attitude of L2 learners. EFL teachers could likewise provide appropriate teaching materials and communicative activities to bring the students to a high level of competence by degrees.

The CoP Theory in Reading Enhancement Programme(REP) from Pragmatic Lens of Language Development

“…By the same token, as to linguistic feature, phonological development has great impact on the reading prowess of learners. In fact, affirmative atmosphere seems to stimulate reading skills leading to fluency and successful reading of texts (Estremera, 2023a;2023b;2023c). The cooperative work cultivated between and among teachers in the school itself was accentuated as very essential to optimize the stimulation of phonological cognizance to learners (Veríssimo et al, 2021).…”

“…Likewise, the apparent importance of vocabulary for reading comprehension indicates that teachers should focus on improving the learners' vocabulary stockpile. However, it is important to stress that vocabulary must be looked at in the context of the other factors that have been shown to influence reading comprehension, such as reading fluency and general language ability (Estremera & Estremera, 2018;Estremera, 2023a;2023b;2023c) . As such, it would be prudent for teachers, even in the EFL context where there is often a greater focus on having students learn the content of the course rather than the language itself, to incorporate tasks that help students to improve their overall English language abilities as well as their reading fluency.…”

Exploring The Effects of English as a Foreign Language on First Language Development of Young Children: The Case of Greece

“…Additionally, generalization and discrimination play crucial roles in language acquisition, where children extend known words to new objects or contexts (overextension) and learn to differentiate between similar yet distinct words. Overextensions reflect the child's ongoing process of understanding and categorizing their world, demonstrating their attempt to use linguistic tools to make sense of new experiences (Banaruee et al, 2023;Estremera, 2023;Leeder, 2022;Melvin-Brown et al, 2022;B. F. Skinner, 1992).…”