structures are from a psychological processing point of view, defined as the
extent to which linguistic material must be re-ordered and re-arranged
when mapping semantics and surface form. The psycholinguistic processing
devices acquired at one stage are a necessary building block for the following
stage. This implies a teachability hypothesisas well, since structures cannot
be taught successfully if the learner has not learned to produce structures
belonging to the previous stage.learnability theory n
any of a class of theories that attempt to explain how children can learn the
language that they are exposed to, under the assumption that children do
not receive systematic information about sentences that are ungrammatical
(see evidence). One proposal that has been advanced within generative
grammaris the subset principle, which posits that language learners choose
options that allow the smallest number of grammatical sentences. In general
nativism, the same effect is achieved by the conservatism thesis, the idea
that children make use of available concepts to formulate the most conser-
vative hypothesis consistent with experience, and the trigger requirement,
the principle that no change is made in the grammar without a triggering
stimulus in the environment.
learner autonomy n
in language teaching, the principle that learners should be encouraged to
assume a maximum amount of responsibility for what they learn and how
they learn it. This will be reflected in approaches to needs analysis, content
selection, and choice of teaching materials and learning methods.
learner beliefs n
also learner belief systems
ideas learners have concerning different aspects of language, language learning
and language teaching, that may influence their attitudes and motivations in
learning and have an effect on their learning strategies and learning outcomes.
Learners’ belief systems are relatively stable sets of ideas and attitudes about
such things as how to learn language, effective teaching strategies, appropriate
classroom behaviour, their own abilities, and their goals in language learning.
Identification of learner beliefs (e.g. through interviews or administration
of questionnaires) sometimes constitutes part of a needs analysis.
see also teacher belief systems
learner-centred approach n
in language teaching, a belief that attention to the nature of learners should
be central to all aspects of language teaching, including planning teaching,
learnability theory