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d. The primary units of language are not merely its grammatical and structural features, but categories of functional and communicative meaning as
exemplified in discourse. Therefore, the goal of a language courseis to meet the needs of language
learners, to help them develop and improve their communicative ability in the language. Harlow 1990:348 cited in Erton, 2007 states that “...Most importantly,
both teachers and textbooks alike need to emphasize to the learner that language is composed of not just linguistic and lexical elements; rather, language reflects also
the social context, taking into account situational and social factors in the act of communication.” Erton 1997:7 suggests that “The functional study of language
means, studying how language is used. For instance, trying to find out what the specific purposes that language serves for us, and how the members of a language
community achieve and react to these purposes through speaking, reading, writing and listening.”
2. Theories of Language Learning
The theory of language learning is an account of the psycholinguistic and cognitive processes involved in learning a language and of the conditions that
need to be met in order for these processes to take place. Generally, language is learned and culturally transmitted from generation to generation. The process
varies considerably from culture to culture and from one individual to another. After many studies have been done on language learning, researchers are of the
view that any normal child from any part of the world can, if exposed early enough, easily learn any language, thereby suggesting a universal genetic basis for
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language acquisition. All people are successful in the acquisition of their first language, and people are capable of learning a number of languages in their
lifetime. Consequently, foreign or second language acquisition is the study of how learners learn an additional language after they have acquired their mother tongue.
In this way, Ellis 1986 provides an excellent definition of acquisition and learning:
The term ‘acquisition refers to picking up a second language through exposure, whereas the term ‘learning’ is used to refer to the conscious
study of a second language...The term second language ‘acquisition’ refers to the subconscious or conscious process by which a language other than
the mother tongue is learnt in a natural or a tutored setting Ellis, 1986: 6
The key word, “learning” needs further explanation. According to Klein 1996:2 learning is an experiential process resulting in a relatively permanent
change in behavior that cannot be explained by temporary states, maturation, or innate response tendencies.
“Learning, is a relatively permanent change in behavioral tendency and is the result of reinforced practice Kimble and Garmezy
1963 : 133.” Permanent change in behavior is brought about by practice and experience, hence,learning is the process of acquiring or getting knowledge of a
subject or a skill by study, experience, or instruction. It is an educational process involving some form of practice, perhaps reinforced practice and a change in
behavior. Brown 1994 summarizes the definition of learning: 1.
Learning is acquisition or “getting”. 2. Learning is retention of information or skills.
3. Retentions imply storage system, memory and cognitive organization.
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4. Learning involves active, conscious focus on and acting upon events outside or inside the organism.
5. Learning is relatively permanent, but subject to forgetting. 6. Learning involves some form of practice , reinforced practice.
7. Learning is a change in behavior. Language learning is a complex whole, the mastery of which requires the
learner’s total commitment for life, especially if the standard sought is the educated native speaker. The whole person is affected as one struggles to reach
beyond the confines of his first language and into a new language, a new culture, a new way of thinking, feeling, and acting. It is a process which takes time under
the best of circumstances, when the learner is motivated and has everything available to help him to reach hisher goals. Language learning is a process that
takes place from childhood to adulthood and language learners are exposed to some levels of bilingualism.
Bilingualism is a language situation where individuals learn additional language either as a foreign language or as a second language in order to
communicate with others in the same society or in other societies. Valdez and Figueora 1994 define bilingualism as “knowing” two languages, Bloomfield
1933says a bilingual is an individual who has full fluency of two languages. Grosjean 1988 describes a bilingual as someone who can function in each of the
languages according to given needs. Language learning is not only a linguistic phenomenon but involves several sociolinguistic and psychological factors which
all intertwined in unique ways in the case of each learner. The learners are
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expected to learn about the language and also to use the language in proper communication because language is conceived as communication. They are
requiredtoengagein communicative processes such that information sharing, negotiation of meaning, and interaction are involved.
Language learning involves motivations.Gardner 1985 who has done extensive research on motivation for learning language states that:
The type of motivation answers the question of why the individual is studying the language. It refers to the goal. Many reasons could be listed:
to be able to speak with members of that language community, to get a job, to improve one’s education, to be able to travel, to please one’s
parents, to satisfy a language requirement , to gain social power, etc.. It may even be that there are as many reasons for studying a second as there
are individuals 1985:51.
Gardner defines motivation as “the extent to which an individual works or strives to learn the language because of a desire to do so and the satisfaction experienced
in this activity” Gardner 1985:10. Gardner conceptualized motivation to include three components, motivational intensity, desire to learn the language, and an
attitude towards the act of learning the language. Gardner’s socio- educational model identifies a number of factors which are interrelated when learning a
second language. These include the social and cultural milieu, individual learner differences, the setting or context in which learning takes place and linguistic
outcomes Gardner 1982. According to Gardner, integrative orientation toward language study reflects a sincere and personal interest in the people and culture
represented by the other group, while an instrumental orientation emphasizes the practical value and advantages of learning a new language Lambert, 1974: 98.
The integrative orientation stresses an emotional involvement with the other
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community, whereas the instrumental orientation does not. In instrumental orientation, learners are studying a language in order to further a career or
academic goal. The integrative and instrumental orientations motivations, Brown 2000 argues are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Learners rarely
select one form of motivation when learning a second language, but rather a combination of both orientations.
The intensity of a learner to reach a certain motivation could be high or low depending on a number of factors. Using interesting texts can help to increase
the motivation level of students in the classroom. Unfortunately, many texts often contain material which fails to capture the interest of students due to the heavy
emphasis on vocabulary and grammar. It is important teachers include other stimulating materials and topics toachieve higher motivation in students and a
great deal of classroom interaction to help motivate students develop their language skills.
To this regard, Harmer 1988 provides some reasons for language learning as; a being in the obligation of learning a foreign language because the
learner is living in the target language community, b needing it for specific purpose especially for occupational purpose, c being compulsory because of
school curriculum, purpose, d being attracted by the culture of the target language, e being in the hope of getting a better job. In a study, Coleman 1996
found some reasons UK university students learn modern languages.These are: ‘For my future career’, ‘Because I like the language’, ‘To travel in different
countries ’, ‘To have a better understanding of the way of life in the country or
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countries where it is spoken ’, and ‘Because I would like to live in the country
where it is spoken ’. Another answer comes from the expectations of the
educational systems in various countries. It can be concluded that people learn at least a foreign languageforany of the following reasons: 1. For pleasure, 2 For
general cultural value, 3. For studying abroad, 4. For commercial purposes, 5. For travel purposes,6. For their contribution to international education,7. For
pursuit of research, 8. For development of understanding of people who come to our country as tourist,9. For attending some university departments which
require English as language of instruction,10. For getting a job easily. Stern 1992, cited in Khadak Bahadur K. C., 2003 presents four types of
goals for language learners : proficiency goals, cognitive goals, affective goals, and transfer goals. Proficiency goals include general competency mastery of the
four language skills speaking, reading, listening and writing, or mastery of specific language behaviors. Cognitive goals include mastery of linguistic
knowledge and mastery of cultural knowledge. Affective goals include achieving positive attitudes and feelings about the target language, achieving confidence as a
user of the language, and achieving confidence in oneself as a learner and transfer goals involve learning how to learn so that one can call upon learning skills
gained in one situation to meet future learning challenges. In doing so, the linguistic components the learner and the teacher need to delve into are syntax
sentence structure, phonology sound system, lexicon vocabulary, semantics meaning, and pragmatics usage.
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1. Theories of Language Teaching
