The lessons that are new to this study include the variations in the areas of concentration of the theories of second language acquisition. It is new to learn that the early theories considered second language learning to be attributed to the innate principles that could guide the acquisition process, while the current theories give emphasis on the cognitive nature of the second language acquisition (Einstein, 1996). The cognitive nature of second language learning looks at the mental processes like attention and the memory capacity of the learner, while the innate principles focus on the social nature of the process of second language acquisition. The innate principles are structuralism in nature, where they give emphasis on the forms and structures of the second language as opposed to the cognitive nature of the process, which gives emphasis on the functions of the language, which is also a behaviorist perspective.
The most appealing theory of second language acquisition is the Contrastive Analysis hypothesis, which consists of the assertion that the major constraint to process of second language learning is interference. The theory is the most appealing because it defines the cause effect resolution to the problems of second language acquisition. For instance, the major objective of the theory is carrying out the structural analysis of the first language and the second language, which is the target language as a way of determination of the linguistic experts. The theory identifies these areas of contrast as the precise platforms for the prediction of the difficulties experienced by the second language learner (Einstein, 1996). The theory is also the most appealing because it identifies the areas of similarity between the first language and the second language as the prediction of easy second language acquisition process. The contrast within the theory also applies, where the areas of contrast were considered as the areas of difficulty. The theory could help the learner to concentrate on the areas of difficulty by starting with areas of similarity.
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The theory that was least appealing was the natural order hypothesis. The theory stipulates that the elements of the second language are acquired essentially in a fixed predetermined manner (Einstein, 1996). The theory is based on the fact that the learners of the second language from the first language backgrounds tend to acquire the second language morphemes in a predetermined sequence. The best example morphemes are the letter “s” in English which us a plural before the third person “S”. The reason why the natural order hypothesis tends to be least appealing is that it is complicated to the levels that it cannot help a learner know the weaknesses and strengths within the second learning process. The theory is also least appealing s it only explains the why part, while it ignores the how part that can help the learners explain their difficulties.
Overly, the theories are helpful in understanding the process of second learning acquisition, where they give statements about the natural phenomenon of L2 acquisition and they also explain why this phenomenon exists in the way it is (Einstein, 1996). Most of these theories are accurate since their predictions correspond to the experimental results, while they are also consistent with the currently accepted norms about the phenomenon of second language acquisition. For instance, the theories identify the difficulties that the second language learner may have, while these difficulties are associated with the social and psychological factors. The theories are also simple to understand as the correlate information from research and give explanations why there are variations on the principles of second language learning. The theories have been fruitful in showing the nature of simplicity and difficulty in SL learning.
Reference
Einstein, A. (1996). Theoretical perspectives: Past and Present. It is the theory that decides what can be observed. , 1-43.
