interlanguage-theory-中介语理论

InterlanguagetheoryInterlanguagetheory1.BehavioristlearningtheoryThedominantpsychologicaltheoryofthe1950sand1960awasbehavioristlearningtheory.Accordingtothistheory,languagelearningislikeanyotherkindoflearninginthatitinvolveshabitformation.Habitsareformedwhenlearnersrespondtostimuliintheenvironmentandsubsequentlyhavetheirresponsesreinforcedsothattheyareremembered.Thus,ahabitisastimulus—responseconnection.Learningtookplacewhenlearnershadtheopportunitytopracticemakingthecorrectrespondtoagivenstimulus.ItshouldbeclearthatbehavioristaccountofL2acquisitionemphasizeonlywhatcanbedirectlyobservedandignorewhatgoesoninthe‘blackbox’ofthelearner’smind.Learnersfrequentlydonotproduceoutputthatsimplyreproducestheinput.Inshort,learningisnotjustaresponsetoexternalstimuli.2.Amentalist（精神第一性论者）theoryoflanguagelearningTheobviousinadequaciesofbehavioristexplanationsofL2acquisitionledresearcherstolooktowardsanalternativetheoreticalframework.Fromapreoccupationwiththeroleof‘nurture’(养育)(i.e.Howenvironmentalfactorsshapelearning),researchersswitchedtheirattentionto‘nature’(i.e.howtheinnatepropertiesofthehumanmindshapelearning).Thisnewparadigmwas,therefore,mentalist(or‘nativist’)inorientation.Inthe1960sand1970samentalisttheoryoffirstlanguageacquisitionemerged.Accordingtothistheory:1)Onlyhumanbeingsarecapableoflearninglanguage.2)Thehumanmindisequippedwithafacultyforlearninglanguage,referredtoasaLanguageAcquisitionDevice.Thisisseparatefromthefacultiesresponsibleforotherkindsofcognitiveactivity.3)Thisfacultyistheprimarydeterminantoflanguageacquisition.4)Inputisneeded,butonlyto‘trigger’theoperationofthelanguageacquisitiondevice.3.Whatis‘interlanguage’（中介语）?Theterm‘interlanguage’wascoinedbytheAmericanlinguist,LarrySelinker（拉里●塞林格），inrecognitionofthefactthatL2learnersconstructalinguisticsystemthatdraws,inpart,onthelearner’sL1butisalsodifferentfromitandalsofromthetargetlanguage.Alearner’sinterlanguageis,therefore,auniquelinguisticsystem.TheconceptofinterlanguageinvolvesthefollowingpremisesaboutL2acquisition;1)ThelearnerconstructsasystemofabstractlinguisticruleswhichunderliescomprehensionandproductionoftheL2.Thissystemofrulesisviewedasa‘mentalgrammar’（精神语法）andisreferredtoasan‘interlanguage’.2)Thelearner’sgrammarispermeable（有渗透性的）.Thisis,thegrammarisopentoinfluencefromtheoutside(i.e.throughtheinput).Itisalsoinfluencedfromtheinside.3)Thelearner’sgrammaristransitional.Learnerschangetheirgrammarfromonetimetoanotherbyaddingrules,deletingrules,andrestructuringthewholesystem.Thisresultsinaninterlanguagecontinuum（连续体）.Thisis,learnersconstructaseriesofmentalgrammarsorinterlanguagesastheygraduallyincreasethecomplexityoftheirL2knowledge.4)Someresearchershaveclaimedthatthesystemslearnersconstructcontainvariablerules.Thatis,theyarguethatlearnersarelikelytohavecompetingrulesatanyonestagedevelopment.However,otherresearchersarguethatinterlanguagesystemsarehomogeneous（同种的）andthatvariabilityreflectsthemistakeslearnersmakewhentheytrytousetheirknowledgetocommunicate.Theseresearchersseevariabilityasanaspectofperformanceratherthancompetence.5)Learnersemployvariouslearningstrategiestodeveloptheirinterlanguags.Thedifferentkindsoferrorslearnersproducereflectlearningstrategies.6)Thelearner’sgrammarislikelytofossilize（僵化）.Selinkersuggestedthatonlyaboutfivepercentoflearnersgoondevelopthesamementalgrammarasnativespeakers.Themajoritystopsomewayshort.FossilizationdosenotoccurinL1acquisitionandthusisuniquetoL2grammars.4.Acomputationalmodel（计算模式）ofL2acquisitionFigure1representsthebasiccomputationalmetaphorthathasgrownoutof‘interlanguage’andthatinformsmuchofSLA.Thelearnerisexposedtoinput,whichisprocessedintwostages.First,partsofitareattendedtoandtakeintoshort-termmemory.Therearereferredtoasintake.Second,someofintakeisstoredinlong-termmemoryasL2knowledge.TheprocessesresponsibleforcreatingintakeandL2knowledgeoccurwithinthe‘blackbox’ofthelearnermindwherethelearner’sinterlanguageisconstructed.Finally,L2knowledgeisusedbythelearnertoproducespokenandwrittenoutput(i.e.whatwehavecalledlearnerlanguage).input→intake→L2knowledge→outputFIGURE1AcomputationalmodelofL2acquisitionSocialaspectsofinterlanguageRightfromthebeginning,SLAhasalsoacknowledgedtheimportanceofsocialfactors.1.interlanguageasastylisticcontinuum（语言连续体）Drawingonworkonvariabilityinlearnerlanguage,ElaineTarone（伊莱恩●塔龙）hasproposedthatinterlanguageinvolvesastylisticcontinuum（语体连续体）.ShearguesthatlearnersdevelopacapabilityforusingtheL2andthatthisunderlies‘allregularlanguagebehaviors’.Atoneendofthecontinuumisthecarefulstyle（细心语体）,evidentwhenlearnersareconsciouslyattendingtotheirchoiceoflinguisticforms,aswhentheyfeeltheneedtobe‘correct’.Attheotherendofcontinuumisthevernacularstyle（随意语体）,evidentwhenlearnersaremakingspontaneouschoicesoflinguisticform,asislikelyinfreeconversation.AnothertheorythatalsodrawsontheideaofstylisticvariationbutwhichismoreobviouslysocialisHowardGiles’s（霍华德●贾尔斯）accommodationtheory（调节理论）.Thisseeksexplainhowalearner’ssocialgroupinfluencesthecourseofL2acquisition.ForGilesthekeyideaisthatof‘socialaccommodation’.Hesu