Theoretical Currents in SLA

By MaryKateJ
  • 400 BCE

    Confessions (Augustine of Hippo)

    L1 Latin vs L2 Greek
  • 60 BCE

    Quintilian

  • 1300

    Dante Aligheri

  • 1570

    Benedetto Varchi

    "significant [...] in the history of conceptualization of L2 aquisition" (Thomas)

  • Condillac

    Pre-linguistic children

  • Wilhelm von Humboldt

    Cartesian perspective

  • Bloomfield

    Sees linguistics as a science.

  • Contrastive Analysis

    Assigns strong role to first language.
    Fries 1945 and Lado 1957
  • Period: to

    Late 1960s

    Confidence in Contrastive Analysis starts to wane.

  • S. Pit Corder

    "The significance of learner's [sic] errors." (aka one of the most ironic titles ever...)

  • Duskova

  • Vygotsky

    Despite living from 1896-1934, it is only in 1970 that his ideas start to take hold in Europe and the Americas.

  • Larry Selinker

    "Interlanguage"

  • Dulay and Burt

  • Bailey, Madden, Krashen

  • Generative Theory via Chomsky

    GT gains "adherents and critics"

  • White

    Spanish vs French

  • Bley-Vroman

    Fundamental Difference Hypothesis

  • Schwartz and Sprouse

    "Full Transfer/Full Access"
    (Counterproposals "emerged rapidly" (Thomas, 34

  • Vainkka and Young-Scholten

    Minimal Trees Hypothesis

  • Eubank

  • Firth and Wagner

    "realistically idiosyncratic, non-idealized social contexts" (Thomas, 42)

  • Dekydtspotter, Sprouse, Anderson

  • Vygotsky via Snyder Ohta

    Amy Snyder extends Vygotsky's ideas to L2 aquistion in Japanese speakers

  • O'Grady

    Emergentism