Eventually, I was introduced to the scholar Chomsky through this book. When I studied at university, he had been known as a great scholar in the field of linguists.
I’ve been really curious about his approach towards linguistic theory. Chomsky claimed there is an innate domain-specific language faculty for L1. His view and the term LAD is well known known by the students who study linguistics. I already knew the term LAD, but I really didn’t know the definition or how LAD operated as a cognitive mechanism in a person.
According to his opinion, we, as second language learners, cannot achieve certain levels of speaking and understanding like a native does. We don’t need to be a native, but Chomsky’s theory is that we can’t reach some extent of a native speaker’s cognitive mechanism as a second language. Chomsky says everybody has their innate domain-specific langue faculty for their native language. It is not affected by external environments. All native speakers already have this mechanism process in their own innate system. That is implicit, unconscious, and intuitive. It is a quite different way compared with acquiring language skills as a second language learner.
That is why Noah, who is working with me at school, can’t spontaneously answer some of the grammar questions which I ask. He knows what the proper answers are, but he finds it difficult to explain to me as a second langue learner. Even though he tried to explain in English, I often cannot understand what he is saying. That is Chomsky’s point. We have different cognitive-langue mechanisms. The same thing happens in Korean. I know some grammatical aspect of a sentence. If Noah ask me “Why do I it this way?” I would say, “Just because, there is no specific reason, it sounds more natural.” This is just like what he did for my questions.
According to Chomsky’s theory, if his theory is correct, it is really bad news for me. According to his theory, even though I tried with all my effort to learn English, I can’t reach my wish of communicating through spoken and written language naturally like natives.
My wish will be just a dream which can’t come true. Oh Dear.~~
Bely-Vroman’s claims agreed with my opinion that second language learners can approach the ability of native speakers. That is relief to me anyway. Bely-Vroman says that adult L2 learners also differ from children acquiring the L1 in terms of “Fossilization.” Because of this, adult learners cannot surpass a certain level no matter how hard the individual may try to overcome it. OMG, the enemy comes again. However, I admit that certain parts of Chomsky’s claims are true though. There exists a core grammar, a Universal Grammar or UG, of each native speaker. His opinion is quite different from behaviorism. Chomsky says that the acquisition of an innate knowledge of formal grammatical properties of language is unaffected by time and experiences is the focus of his theory.
I have one question which is based on behaviorism. Let’s say there is one baby without a person to provide linguistic stimuli, such as a mother’s speech, which would support the baby’s cognitive process. How would the baby’s innate LAD operate without any input environment?
So I agree with Bley-Vroman’s claim. He claimed that L2 acquisition is guided by general human cognitive learning capacities rather than by the same domain-specific module which guarantees child success in first language acquisitions.
I did not finish Johnson’s whole book yet, but I hope that some incredible theory will appear against Chomsky’s. Chomsky’s theory has been threatening to me as an adult second language learner and gave a fear that the way I studied may not be successful in the end.
The mainstream of this book, history of SLA theory, is very interesting. It seems like black and white movies to me as it gives nostalgic memories to remind me like old movies, to sneak what happened in the past while I am writing this vignette.
I would like to communicate more with famous, reliable scholars even though they will not answer to me instantly. Anyway it is very interesting and makes me excited.
No stress, more compelling, more expectation for what’s comes next~~~
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