General learning strategies and the process of L2 acquisition: a critical overview

• Published in: International review of applied linguistics in language teaching, IRAL Vol. 36; no. 3; pp. 233 - 246
• Main Author: Kaplan, Tamar I
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin De Gruyter 01.08.1998; J. Groos Verlag; Walter de Gruyter GmbH
• Subjects: Adults; Adults. Performance, acquisition; Cognition & reasoning; Cognitive ability; Didaktische Grundlageninformation; English (Second Language); Erwachsener; Fremdsprachiger Spracherwerb; Grammar; Language acquisition; Language Research; Language Universals; Learning Processes; Learning Strategies; Lernprozess; Linguistics; Piagetian Theory; Problem solving; Production and comprehension processes; Psycholinguistics; Psycholinguistik; Psychological research; Psychological Studies; Psychology of language; Puberty; Publishing; Second Language Learning; Skills; Universal Grammar; Universalgrammatik; Zweitsprachenerwerbsforschung; New York; United States > US; Learning Strategy; Adult; Critical study; Psycholinguistics; Recent studies; Second language acquisition
• ISSN: 0019-042X; 1613-4141

One of the critical debates in (adult) L2 acquisition research surrounds the question of how L2 acquisition proceeds. Some argue that UG plays a significant role; others argue that instead it is general learning strategies which play the crucial role - i. e., L2s are learned in ways similar to learning any random skill. The paper reviews the literature on general learning strategies as they pertain to the "UG-or-not-UG" debate and the L2 acquisition process, and discusses this literature in the context of the literature on learning strategies from psychological research. It becomes apparent that general learning strategies do not play a notable role in distinguishing L2 from L1 acquisition: what few general learning strategies have been found to exist are present in both children and adults, with the result that general learning strategies cannot be the characteristic which distinguishes adult L2 acquisition. L2 researchers should thus abandon the notion that general learning strategies are what differentiate L1 from adult L2 acquisition, and focus instead on developing a theory of domain-specific strategies (i. e. strategies specific to language) which could account for the L2 acquisition process, and how these might be similar to or different from UG. (Verlag).