Baliwag Polytechnic College

Dalubhasaan Kong Mahal

2nd Semester
A.Y. 2022-2023

COURSE OUTLINE
Course Name Principles and Theories of Language Acquisition and
Learning
Course Code EL 103
Course Credit 3 units
Contact Hours/Week 3 hours
Module 1 (Week 1) Nature of Language & Learning

Definition of Language
Nature of Language
Ways of Studying Language
Phonetics and Phonology
Grammar

Learning Exercises/Activities
Rating Guide

Module 2 (Week 2)
What is Learning?
Nature of Learning
Language Acquisition Vs Language Learning
First Language Acquisition VS Second Language
Acquisition

Learning Exercises/Activities
Rating Guide
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EL 103- Principles & Theories of Language Acquisition & Learning

Module 3 (Week 3) Principles and Theories of Language Acquisition and
Learning: The Functional Approaches

Instrumental Function
Regulatory Function
Interactional Function
Personal Function
Representational/Informative Function
Heuristic Function
Imaginative Function

Learning Exercises/Activities
Rating Guide

Quizzes
Preliminary Exam

Module 4 (Week 4) Principles and Theories of Language Acquisition and

Learning: Philosophies of Education

How Do We View Learning as Teachers?

Education philosophies
Idealism
Realism
Pragmatism
Existentialism

Learning Exercises/Activities

Module 5 (Week 5) Principles and Theories of Language Acquisition and

Learning: Reading Approach

Why is Reading Important in Language Acquisition?

Brief History of Reading Approach
Different Approaches in Reading
The Intensive and Extensive Reading

Learning Exercises/Activities

Quizzes
2

Mid-Term Examination
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EL 103- Principles & Theories of Language Acquisition & Learning

Module 6 (Week 6) Approaches to Language Teaching

Present-day Teaching Methods

Learning Exercises/Activities
Rating Guide

Module 7 (Week 7) Approaches to Language Teaching

Present-day Teaching Methods

Learning Exercises/Activities
Rating Guide

Quizzes
Pre-Final Examination
Module 8 (Week 8) Teaching English as a Second Language

Educational Process: Classroom Perspectives

Module 9 (Week 9) Second Language Acquisition:
A Framework and Historical Background on Its
Research

Quizzes
Final Examination
Module 10 (Week 10) Approaches to Language Teaching

Present-day Teaching Methods

Learning Exercises/Activities
Rating Guide

Quizzes
Pre-Final Examination
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EL 103- Principles & Theories of Language Acquisition & Learning

 Module 1

Definitions of Language
Language, a system of conventional spoken, manual (signed), or written symbols
by means of which human beings, as members of a social group and participants
in its culture, express themselves. The functions of language
include communication, the expression of identity, play, imaginative expression,
and emotional release.

Language is the process of exchanging messages and creating meaning.

Language is a part of culture.

Language is also intertwined with human biology.

Nature of Language
Many definitions of language have been proposed. Henry Sweet, an
English phonetician and language scholar, stated: “Language is the expression of
ideas by means of speech-sounds combined into words. Words are combined
into sentences, this combination answering to that of ideas into thoughts.” The
American linguists Bernard Bloch and George L. Trager formulated the following
definition: “A language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols by means of which
a social group cooperates.” Any succinct definition of language makes a
number of presuppositions and begs a number of questions. The first, for example,
puts excessive weight on “thought,” and the second uses “arbitrary” in a
specialized, though legitimate, way.
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Language Acquisition vs Language Learning

A number of considerations (marked in italics below) enter into a proper

understanding of language as a subject:

Every physiologically and mentally typical person acquires in childhood the

ability to make use, as both sender and receiver, of a system of communication
that comprises a circumscribed set of symbols (e.g., sounds, gestures, or written
or typed characters). In spoken language, this symbol set consists of noises
resulting from movements of certain organs within the throat and mouth. In signed
languages, these symbols may be hand or body movements, gestures, or facial
expressions. By means of these symbols, people are able to impart information, to
express feelings and emotions, to influence the activities of others, and to
comport themselves with varying degrees of friendliness or hostility toward persons
who make use of substantially the same set of symbols.

Different systems of communication constitute different languages; the

degree of difference needed to establish a different language cannot be stated
exactly. No two people speak exactly alike; hence, one is able to recognize the
voices of friends over the telephone and to keep distinct a number of unseen
speakers in a radio broadcast. Yet, clearly, no one would say that they speak
different languages. Generally, systems of communication are recognized as
different languages if they cannot be understood without specific learning by
both parties, though the precise limits of mutual intelligibility are hard to draw and
belong on a scale rather than on either side of a definite dividing line. Substantially
different systems of communication that may impede but do not prevent mutual
comprehension are called dialects of a language. In order to describe in detail,
the actual different language patterns of individuals, the
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term idiolect, meaning the habits of expression of a single person, has been
coined.

Typically, people acquire a single language initially—their first language, or

native tongue, the language used by those with whom, or by whom, they are
brought up from infancy. Subsequent “second” languages are learned to
different degrees of competence under various conditions. Complete mastery of
two languages is designated as bilingualism; in many cases—such as upbringing
by parents using different languages at home or being raised within a multilingual
community—children grow up as bilinguals. In traditionally monolingual cultures,
the learning, to any extent, of a second or other language is an activity
superimposed on the prior mastery of one’s first language and is a different
process intellectually.

Language, as described above, is species-specific to human beings. Other

members of the animal kingdom have the ability to communicate, through vocal
noises or by other means, but the most important single feature characterizing
human language (that is, every individual language), against every known mode
of animal communication, is its infinite productivity and creativity. Human beings
are unrestricted in what they can communicate; no area of experience is
accepted as necessarily incommunicable, though it may be necessary to adapt
one’s language in order to cope with new discoveries or new modes
of thought. Animal communication systems are by contrast very tightly
circumscribed in what may be communicated. Indeed, displaced reference, the
ability to communicate about things outside immediate temporal and spatial
contiguity, which is fundamental to speech, is found elsewhere only in the so-
called language of bees. Bees are able, by carrying out various conventionalized
movements (referred to as bee dances) in or near the hive, to indicate to others
the locations and strengths of food sources. But food sources are the only known
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theme of this communication system. Surprisingly, however, this system, nearest to

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human language in function, belongs to a species remote from humanity in the
animal kingdom. On the other hand, the animal performance superficially most
like human speech, the mimicry of parrots and of some other birds that have been
kept in the company of humans, is wholly derivative and serves no independent
communicative function. Humankind’s nearest relatives among the primates,
though possessing a vocal physiology similar to that of humans, have not
developed anything like a spoken language. Attempts to teach sign language to
chimpanzees and other apes through imitation have achieved limited success,
though the interpretation of the significance of ape signing ability remains
controversial.

In most accounts, the primary purpose of language is to facilitate

communication, in the sense of transmission of information from one person to
another. However, sociolinguistic and psycholinguistic studies have drawn
attention to a range of other functions for language. Among these is the use of
language to express a national or local identity (a common source of conflict in
situations of multiethnicity around the world, such as in Belgium, India, and
Quebec). Also important are the “ludic” (playful) function of language—
encountered in such phenomena as puns, riddles, and crossword puzzles—and
the range of functions seen in imaginative or symbolic contexts, such
as poetry, drama, and religious expression.

Language interacts with every aspect of human life in society, and it can
be understood only if it is considered in relation to society. This definition attempts
to survey language in this light and to consider its various functions and the
purposes it can and has been made to serve. Because each language is both a
working system of communication in the period and in the community wherein it
is used and also the product of its history and the source of its future development,
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any account of language must consider it from both these points of view.

EL 103- Principles & Theories of Language Acquisition & Learning

 The science of language is known as linguistics. It includes what are
generally distinguished as descriptive linguistics and historical linguistics.
Linguistics is now a highly technical subject; it embraces, both descriptively and
historically, such major divisions as
phonetics, grammar (including syntax and morphology), semantics,
and pragmatics, dealing in detail with these various aspects of language.

Ways of Studying Language

Languages are immensely complicated structures. One soon realizes how

complicated any language is when trying to learn it as a second language. If one
tries to frame an exhaustive description of all the rules embodied in one’s
language—the rules by means of which a native user is able to produce and
understand an infinite number of correct well-formed sentences—one can easily
appreciate the complexity of the knowledge that a child acquires while
mastering a native vernacular. The descriptions of languages written so far are in
most cases excellent as far as they go, but they still omit more than they contain
of an explicit account of native users’ competence in their language, whether
that language is English, Swahili, or Japanese Sign Language (nihon shuwa).
Likewise, ongoing work in the study of language has underscored just how much
effort is needed to bring palpable fact within systematic statement.

Phonetics and Phonology

The most obvious aspect of language is speech. Speech is not essential to

the definition of an infinitely productive communication system, such as
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is constituted by a language. But, in fact, speech is the universal material of

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most human language, and the conditions of speaking and hearing have,
throughout human history, shaped and determined its development. The study of
the anatomy, physiology, neurology, and acoustics of speaking is
called phonetics. Articulatory phonetics relates to the physiology of speech, and
acoustic phonetics relates to the physics of sound waves—i.e., their transmission
and reception.

Phonetics covers much of the ground loosely referred to in language

study as pronunciation. But, from a rather different point of view, speech sounds
are also studied in phonology. Spoken language makes use of a very wide
range of the articulations and resultant sounds that are available within the
human vocal and auditory resources. Each spoken language uses a somewhat
different range, and this is partly responsible for the difficulty of learning to speak
a foreign language and for speaking it “with an accent.” But mere repertoires of
sounds are not all that is involved. Far fewer general classes of sounds are
distinctive (carry meaning differences) in any language than the number of
sounds that are actually phonetically different. The English t sounds at the
beginning and end of tot and in the two places in stouter are all different,
though these differences are not readily noticed by English speakers, and,
rightly, the same letter is used for them all. Similar statements could be made
about most or all of the other consonant and vowel sounds in English.

What is distinctive in one language may not be distinctive in another or

may be used in a different way; this is an additional difficulty to be overcome in
learning a foreign language. In Chinese and in several other languages loosely
called tone languages, the pitch, or tone, on which a syllable is said helps to
distinguish one word from another: ma in northern Chinese on a level tone
means “mother,” on a rising tone means “hemp,” and on a falling tone means
“to curse.” In English and in most of the languages of Europe (though not all—
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Swedish and Norwegian are exceptions), pitch differences do not distinguish

EL 103- Principles & Theories of Language Acquisition & Learning

one word from another but form part of the intonation tunes that contribute to
the structure and structural meaning of spoken sentences.

Languages differ in the ways in which consonant and vowel sounds can
be grouped into syllables in words. English and German tolerate several
consonants before and after a single vowel: strengths has three consonant
sounds before and three after a single vowel sound (ng and th stand for one
sound each). Italian does not have such complex syllables, and in Japanese
and Swahili, for example, the ratio of consonant and vowel sounds in syllables
and in words is much more even. Speakers of such languages find English words
of the sort just mentioned very hard to pronounce, though to a native speaker
of English they are perfectly natural, natural in this context meaning “within the
sounds and sound sequences whose mastery is acquired in early childhood as
part of one’s primary language.”

All these considerations relating to the use of speech sounds in particular

languages fall under the general heading of phonology, which may be defined
as the sound system of a language; phonology is often regarded as one
component of language structure.

Grammar

Another component of language structure is grammar. There is more to

language than sounds, and words are not to be regarded as merely sequences
of syllables. The concept of the word is a grammatical concept; in speech,
words are not separated by pauses, but they are recognized as recurrent units
that make up sentences. Very generally, grammar is concerned with the
relations between words in sentences. Classes of words, or parts of speech, as
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they are often called, are distinguished because they occupy different places in
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sentence structure, and in most languages some of them appear in different

EL 103- Principles & Theories of Language Acquisition & Learning

forms according to their function (English man, men; walk, walked; I, me; and so
on). Languages differ in the extent to which word-form variation is used in their
grammar; Classical Chinese had almost none, English does not have much, and
Latin and Greek had quite a lot. Conversely, English makes much more use of
word order in grammar than did Latin or Greek.

Module 2

What is Learning?

We know that the human brain is immensely complex and still somewhat of
a mystery. It follows then, that we understand learning—a primary function of the
brain—in many different ways. Learning is much deeper than memorization and
information recall. Deep and long-lasting learning involves understanding,
relating ideas and making connections between prior and new knowledge,
independent and critical thinking and ability to transfer knowledge to new and
different contexts.
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 1. “A change in human disposition or capability that persists over a period of
time and is not simply ascribable to processes of growth.”
— From The Conditions of Learning by Robert Gagne
2. “Learning is the relatively permanent change in a person’s knowledge or
behavior due to experience. This definition has three components: 1) the
duration of the change is long-term rather than short-term; 2) the locus of
the change is the content and structure of knowledge in memory or the
behavior of the learner; 3) the cause of the change is the learner’s
experience in the environment rather than fatigue, motivation, drugs,
physical condition or physiologic intervention.”
–From Learning in Encyclopedia of Educational Research, Richard E.
Mayer
3. “We define learning as the transformative process of taking in information
that—when internalized and mixed with what we have experienced—
changes what we know and builds on what we do. It’s based on input,
process, and reflection. It is what changes us.”
–From The New Social Learning by Tony Bingham and Marcia Conner
4. “It has been suggested that the term learning defies precise definition
because it is put to multiple uses. Learning is used to refer to (1) the
acquisition and mastery of what is already known about something, (2)
the extension and clarification of meaning of one’s experience, or (3) an
organized, intentional process of testing ideas relevant to problems. In
other words, it is used to describe a product, a process, or a function.”
–From Learning How to Learn: Applied Theory for Adults by R.M. Smith
5. “Acquiring knowledge and skills and having them readily available from
memory so you can make sense of future problems and opportunities.”
From Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning by Peter C.
Brown, Henry L. Roediger III, Mark A. McDaniel
6. “A process that leads to change, which occurs as a result
of experience and increases the potential of improved performance and
future learning.”
From How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart
Teaching by Susan Ambrose, et al.
7. “The process of gaining knowledge and expertise.”
From The Adult Learner by Malcolm Knowles
8. “Learning involves strengthening correct responses and weakening
incorrect responses. Learning involves adding new information to your
memory. Learning involves making sense of the presented material by
attending to relevant information, mentally reorganizing it, and
connecting it with what you already know.”
From eLearning and the Science of Instruction by Ruth C. Clark
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and Richard E. Mayer

9. “A persisting change in human performance or performance
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potential…[which] must come about as a result of the learner’s

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 experience and interaction with the world.”
From Psychology of Learning for Instruction by M. Driscoll
10. “Learning is a process that occurs within nebulous environments of shifting
core elements – not entirely under the control of the individual. Learning
(defined as actionable knowledge) can reside outside of ourselves (within
an organization or a database), is focused on connecting specialized
information sets, and the connections that enable us to learn more are
more important than our current state of knowing.”
From Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age by George
Seime

Nature of Learning

Learning is a key process in human behavior. All living is learning. If we

compare the simple, crude ways in which a child feels and behaves, with the
complex modes of adult behavior, his skills, habits, thought, sentiments and the
like- we will know what difference learning has made to the individual.

The individual is constantly interacting with and influenced by the environment.

This experience makes him to change or modify his behavior in order to deal
effectively with it. Therefore, learning is a change in behavior, influenced by
previous behavior. As stated above the skills, knowledge, habits, attitudes,
interests and other personality characteristics are all the result of learning.

Learning is defined as “any relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs

as a result of practice and experience”. This definition has three important
elements.

a. Learning is a change in behavior—better or worse.

b. It is a change that takes place through practice or experience, but changes

due to growth or maturation are not learning.
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c. This change in behavior must be relatively permanent, and it must last a fairly
long time.
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All learning involves activities. These activities involve either physical or mental
activities. They may be simple mental activities or complex, involving various
muscles, bones, etc. So, also the mental activities may be very simple involving
one or two activities of mind or complex which involve higher mental activities.

Types of Learning:
1. Motor learning:
Most of our activities in our day-to-days life refer to motor activities. The
individual has to learn them in order to maintain his regular life, for example
walking, running, skating, driving, climbing, etc. All these activities involve the
muscular coordination.

2. Verbal learning:
This type of learning involves the language we speak, the communication
devices we use. Signs, pictures, symbols, words, figures, sounds, etc, are the tools
used in such activities. We use words for communication.

3. Concept learning:
It is the form of learning which requires higher order mental processes like
thinking, reasoning, intelligence, etc. we learn different concepts from
childhood. For example, when we see a dog and attach the term ‘dog’, we
learn that the word dog refers to a particular animal. Concept learning involves
two processes, viz. abstraction and generalization. This learning is very useful in
recognizing, identifying things.

4. Discrimination learning:
Learning to differentiate between stimuli and showing an appropriate response
to these stimuli is called discrimination learning. Example, sound horns of
different vehicles like bus, car, ambulance, etc.
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5. Learning of principles:
Individuals learn certain principles related to science, mathematics, grammar,
etc. in order to manage their work effectively. These principles always show the
relationship between two or more concepts. Example: formulae, laws,
associations, correlations, etc.

6. Problem solving:
This is a higher order learning process. This learning requires the use of cognitive
abilities-such as thinking, reasoning, observation, imagination, generalization,
etc. This is very useful to overcome difficult problems encountered by the
people.

7. Attitude learning:
Attitude is a predisposition which determines and directs our behaviour. We
develop different attitudes from our childhood about the people, objects and
everything we know. Our behaviour may be positive or negative depending
upon our attitudes. Example: attitudes of nurse towards her profession, patients,
etc.

Theories of Learning:
Psychologists have tried to explain how people learn and why they learn. They
have conducted many experiments on animals and children and come to
certain definite conclusions which explain the modes of learning.

These are called as theories of learning. In many books, these explanations are
treated as kinds of learning. In a sense it is true. But the term learning is very
comprehensive. It covers a wide range of activities which cannot be explained
within a limited framework. There are many theories explaining modes of
learning. Important among them are:
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Trial and Error Learning Theory:
This theory was developed by an American psychologist EL Thorndike (1874-
1949). He argues that learning takes place through trial and error method.
According to him learning is a gradual process where the individual will make
many attempts to learn. The essence of this theory is-as the trials increase, the
errors decrease.

This is possible because of association formed between sense impressions and

impulses to action. Such an association comes to be known as a ‘bond’ or a
‘connection, because it is these bonds or connections which become
strengthened or weakened in making and breaking of habits. According to this
theory when an individual is placed in a new situation, he makes a number of
random movements. Among them, those which are unsuccessful are eliminated
and the successful ones are fixed.

These random movements are not eliminated at once. In the first attempt their
number is very large, in the second attempt the number of errors diminishes and
the range of activity becomes narrower. Gradually the individual learns to avoid
unnecessary movements and reaches the goal. Improvement takes place
through repetition.

Thorndike studies the character of trial and error learning in a number of

experiments on cats-using a box which he called ‘puzzle box’. In one of the
experiments a hungry cat was placed in the box and the door was closed
which could be opened by pressing a Latch. A fish was placed outside the box
in a plate.

The cat could see this fish. The cat was given 100 trials-ten in the morning and
ten in each afternoon for five days. The cat was fed at the end of each
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experimental period and then was given nothing more to eat until after the next
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session. If, succeeded in opening the door in any trial by chance, he went to eat

EL 103- Principles & Theories of Language Acquisition & Learning

food (fish). A complete record was made of the cat’s behaviour during each
trial.

In the beginning the cat made a number of random movements like biting,
clawing, dashing, etc. gradually in subsequent trials the cat reduced the
incorrect responses (errors), as it was in a position to manipulate the latch as
soon as it was put in the box.

This experiment revealed that the random movements were decreased

gradually, that is-as the trials increased the errors decreased. As the trials
increased the solution to open the door (pressing the latch) was discovered and
at the end, the cat could open the door with zero error. The time taken in each
trial was eventually reduced.

Thorndike conducted many experiments with maze and puzzle box learning in
which cats and rats were used. He has demonstrated that through numerous
trials the animal learns much and gradually improves his effort.

We all learn many skills like swimming, cycling, riding, etc., through this method.
Children learn to sit, stand, walk, and run by this method only. However, this
method involves considerable waste of time and effort.

Learning by Conditioning:
In literal sense, conditioning means ‘getting used’ to, or ‘adjusted ‘to a new
situation, or a stimulus. It is a process of substituting the original stimulus by a new
one and connecting the response with it. There are two types of conditioning
theories:

1. Classical conditioning:
This method of conditioning got its name from the fact that, it is a kind of
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learning situation that existed in the early classical experiments of Ivan P Pavlov
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(1849-1936), Russian physiologist who was awarded Nobel Prize, in 1904 for his
experiments.

Pavlov designed an apparatus to measure the quantity of saliva produced in

response to food (meat power). At the beginning of his experiment Pavlov
noted that no saliva flowed when he rang the bell. He then trained the dog by
sounding the bell, and shortly afterwards presenting food.

After the sound of the bell had been paired with food a few times, he tested the
effects of the training by measuring the amount of saliva that flowed when he
rang the bell and did not present food. He found that some saliva was
produced in response to the sound of the bell alone. He then resumed the
training-paired presentation of bell and food a few times and then tested again
with the bell alone.

As the training continued, the amount of saliva on tests with the bell alone
increased. Thus, after training the dog’s mouth watered-salivated- whenever the
bell was sounded. This is what was learned; it is the conditioned response.

This theory states that CS (bell) becomes a substitute after pairing with UCS
(food) and acquires the capacity to elicit a response. It is because the
association (conditioning) is formed between CS and UCS. This may be
symbolically presented as follows:

UCS<———————————à UCR

(Food) (Saliva)

↓ (Conditioning)
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CS<————————————-à CR
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(Bell) (Saliva)

Sub-principles of Classical Conditioning:

There are certain sub-principles which explain the different phenomena of this
experiment.

a. Extinction and spontaneous recovery:

Extinction means cessation of a response. The strength of the CS gradually
decreases when it is presented alone and not followed by UCS for a number of
trails. This process is called ‘extinction’. In this experiment when only bell is
presented without food for a number of trials, the dog stopped salivation
gradually.

But when the CS (bell) was paired again with UCS (food) for some trials, the CR
(salivation) recovered. This is known as ‘spontaneous recovery’. In spontaneous
recovery the dog required less number of trials than the first time, because the
association between CS and UCS still existed in the brain of the animal.

b. Stimulus generalization:
A tendency to respond to a stimulus which is similar to original one is called
stimulus generalization, the greater the similarity, the more the generalization. In
this experiment, the dog started salivating even for the sound of a buzzer which
was similar to bell.

c. Stimulus discrimination:
When there is much difference between two stimuli, the animal can discriminate
between the two. For example, if the dog is conditioned to salivate at the signal
of red light, it will not salivate when green light is presented.

d. Higher order conditioning:

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If a ‘light’ is presented followed by bell and then by food for a number of trials,
the dog will start salivating to light itself. This phenomenon is called higher order
condition.

All these principles are very useful in behavior therapy. Conditioning is not
confined only to the laboratory.

In our day-to- day’s life we come across many instances of such learning. For
example, a small child who does not know, touches a burning candle, it gives
him a painful experience and withdraws his hand. Later this experience will
make him withdraw from burning objects and avoid them all together.

Conditioning is used as psychotherapeutic technique very effectively in the

treatment of abnormal behaviors such as phobias, alcoholism, enuresis, etc.
These are called behavior modification techniques. Watson and others have
conducted many experiments to prove the usefulness of this method.

2. Operant Conditioning:
This method of conditioning was developed by an American psychologist BF
Skinner. This theory is also known as ‘Instrumental conditioning’, because the
animals use certain operations or actions as instruments to find solution.

Skinner conducted his famous experiment by placing a hungry rat in a box

called after his name ‘Skinner box’. This box was containing a lever and a food
tray in a corner of the box. It was so arranged, that the animal was free to move
inside the box, but the pressing of the lever would get the animal a pallet of
food in the tray as reinforcement.

Arrangement was also made to record the number of pressings of the lever by a
mechanical device. It was found in the beginning that the rat pressed the lever
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occasionally and used to get food as reinforcement for each pressing.

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Gradually, as the animal learnt the pressing of lever would give some food, it
repeated the responses very rapidly. This rapid increase in pressing the lever is
the indication of the animal conditioned to get food.

In day-to-day’s life also, much learning takes place in animals as well as in

human beings by this method. The reinforcement will be the motivating factor. It
will make the organism to repeat its action.

It is on the basis of these experiments, Skinner made his famous statement

“Rewarded behavior is repeated”. Instrumental conditioning involves more
activity by the learner than classical conditioning. Skinner conducted his
experiments on different animals like pigeons, rats, etc.

Reinforcement which is the most important aspect of this experiment is divided

into two types: positive reinforcement is used in reward training. Negative
reinforcement-like punishment is used to stop undesired responses or behaviors.
Operant conditioning is useful in shaping undesirable behavior and also in
modification of behavior.

This is also useful in training of mentally retarded children to learn dressing,

eating and toilet training skills, treatment of phobias, drug and alcohol
addictions, and psychotherapy and to teach needed behavior in children.
Further, these experiments have proved that intermittent reinforcement yields
better results than continuous reinforcement.

Learning by Insight:
Many times, learning proceeds by the more efficient process of trying those
methods which are seem to have a relation to solution. This is possible by
understanding or perception of the situation.
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Learning by perceiving the relationship in the scene and understanding the
situation is insightful learning. This theory was developed by a psychologist
known as Wolf gang Kohler, who belonged to Gestalt school of psychology.

According to Gestalt theory—perception of a situation as a ‘whole’ gives better

understanding than sum total of its parts. That is, the situation viewed as a whole
will definitely look different from that, viewed through its parts.

Kohler conducted his most famous experiments on chimpanzee- called Sultan.

In the experiment, Sultan was put in a cage and a banana was placed at some
distance outside the cage. Then the chimpanzee was given two sticks, so
constructed that one stick could be fitted into another and make the stick
longer.

The hungry Sultan first attempted with its hands to get the banana. Then he took
one of the sticks and tried to pull the banana nearer, then tried with other stick,
but failed to reach it. By this effort, the chimpanzee became tired and left the
attempts to reach banana and started playing with sticks.

While playing so, one of the sticks got fitted into the other and the stick became
lengthier. Immediately Sultan became elated and pulled the banana with this
long stick and ate it. This ‘sudden flash of idea’ to reach food with longer stick
was called as ‘Insight’, by Kohler.

He conducted many experiments to prove that learning takes place also by

insight and not only by trial and error. He concluded that the occurrence of
insight to find solution to a problem is possible by perception of the whole
situation.

Kohler conducted many experiments on this line of learning to prove that, just
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trial and error method is not enough to find solution for many complex problems.
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EL 103- Principles & Theories of Language Acquisition & Learning

Trial and error or association through connectionism and conditioning may
account for simple acquisition of knowledge, skills, interests, habits and other
personality characteristics. But it is absolutely insufficient for solving complex
problems.

It is here the method of insightful learning is very useful. Because it involves many
higher mental processes such as thinking, reasoning, intelligence, etc.

Insight occurs, when the individual sees in a flash, the solution to his problem or
difficulty. It is not blind or stupid learning. It is an intelligent way of learning. In
many occasions people try to size up the situation, things and arrive at a
conclusion. With experience man is able to solve problems better and sooner.

He exercises his discrimination ability in solving problems, and learning becomes

a matter of insight rather than of trial and error. Archimedes’s example of’ Aha’
experience (eureka) explained in creative thinking is the appropriate example
for occurrence of insight.

Learning by Imitation:
It is the simplest method of learning. Many of our day-to-day’s activities are
learnt by imitating others. For example, the way we eat, drink, walk, talk, dress,
etc, are all learnt by imitating others. We observe and watch what and how
other people do certain activities and imitate them.

We observe the demonstrations given by an expert, imitate his movements and

learn them. By copying the behavior of others, people avoid waste of time and
effort of trial and error method of learning. For example, a boy observes the way
of holding a cricket bat, the movements of an expert player, imitates the same
and learns.
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Psychologists like Millar and Dollard have tried to show that the tendency to
imitate is itself a learned response and if reinforced, the individual will be more
likely to continue to imitate.

Many people believe that imitation is a lower form type of learning. Still others
argue that imitation can never lead to novel responses and there will be no
chance to use individual’s creativity or originality. But at the same time many
educationists believe that only the imitative individual can learn better.
Whatever may be the opinion it is quite obvious that we learn many things by
imitation.

Laws of Learning:
EL Thorndike has explained three laws of learning called Primary laws and in
addition to these, he has also framed 5 subsidiary laws in connection with his trial
and error learning theory.

Primary laws:
These are the most important laws, which explain the basic aspects of learning.
They are:
1. Law of readiness:
By readiness means the organism is ready to respond or act. This is more
essential prerequisite for learning.

This indicates that the animal or human being is motivated to learn. This
condition of readiness has two effects— satisfaction and annoyance. When the
animal is ready to act- if permitted- it gives pleasure. If it is not permitted, it feels
annoyed.

In the same way when the animal is not ready to learn- if asked to learn- it is
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annoying. On the other hand, if it is prevented from learning it gives pleasure.

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EL 103- Principles & Theories of Language Acquisition & Learning

These points have been given below in the words of Thorndike:
a. For a conduction unit ready to conduct-to conduct is satisfying.

b. For a conduction unit ready to conduct-not to conduct is annoying.

c. For a conduction unit not ready to conduct- to conduct is annoying.

This law clearly shows that readiness of a person to learn is very important.
Hence motivate him to learn.

2. Law of exercise:
This law is also known as law of frequency. Frequency refers to number of
repetitions of learning. Thorndike believed that repeated exercising of a
response strengthens its connection with stimulus.

This aspect refers to law of use and disuse, which explains that, anything not in
use will perish. So, also if the response is not repeated, its bond with stimulus gets
weakened. This is also according to the statement that ‘practice makes man
perfect’.

In Thorndike’s experiment the cat becomes perfect after repeating the response
a greater number of times, i.e. it learnt to open the door without committing any
error.

3. Law of effect:
This law states that when a connection is accomplished by satisfying effect- its
strength is increased. By this, Thorndike meant that the probability of its
occurrence is greater. In his experiment if the hungry cat succeeded in opening
the door, would get its favorable dish to eat.
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This had a positive effect on its response. Rewards always strengthen
connections between stimuli and responses, and on the other hand, punishment
weakens connections.

Secondary laws:
In addition to the three primary laws explained above, Thorndike has given five
secondary or subsidiary laws also.

They are as follows:

a. Law of multiple response:
It means when a response fails to elicit a desired effect, the learner will try with
new responses until the goal is reached.

b- Law of set or attitude:

Mental set or positive attitude is very important in any learning.

c. Law of associative shifting:

This is nothing but shifting of the response to a new situation which is similar to the
earlier one. Because the fundamental notion is that, if a response can be kept
intact through a series of changes in stimulating situation, it may finally be given
to a new situation.

d. Law of prepotency of elements:

This law states that the learner is able to react in a selected way, only to the
salient elements of the problem and not for other unimportant elements.

e. Law of response by analogy:

It means comparing a new situation to the previously learned one and thus
giving a response by analogy.
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As stated above, Thorndike formulated these laws on the basis of his
experiments. According to the law of readiness, the cat was ready to learn,
because it was hungry. This hunger motivated the cat to learn to open the door.

According to the second law, the cat was repeatedly given trials and exercise
which strengthened its learning. Finally on each trial the cat was given
reinforcement in the form of fish.

This encouraged the cat to continue its effort to learn to open the door. The
secondary laws given by him support these findings. These laws are highly
relevant to the field of education. The teachers can make use of these laws in
order to make their teaching more effective.

Prepared by:

MA. CHARITO ROBLES-CRUZ, CESWEP, PhD

Part-time Faculty, Institute of Education

Noted by:

JOHN ERICK F. CAUZON, LPT, MAED

Program Director, Institute of Education

Checked by:

MARIA N. CUSIPAG, EdD

Dean, Institute of Education

Recommending Approval by:

AIDA S. RAMOS, EdD
VP for Academic Affairs and Research

Approved by:

EMITERIO L. TIBURCIO, EdD

College President
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