Second Language Acquisition (SLA)
In background research to understand the positioning of Duolingo, I looked into the history of Second Language Acquisition (SLA). The field of SLA is a subdiscipline of applied linguistics, but also receives research attention from a variety of other disciplines, such as psychology, cognitive psychology, and education. Significant approaches in the field today are: systemic functional linguistics, sociocultural theory, cognitive linguistics, Noam Chomsky’s universal grammar, skill acquisition theory and connectionism (VanPatten & Benati 2010). There has been much debate about exactly how language is learned, and many issues are still unresolved. There are many theories of SLA, but none are accepted as a complete explanation by all SLA researchers. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the field, this is not expected to happen in the foreseeable future. Although attempts have been made to provide a more unified account that tries to bridge first language acquisition and second language learning research (Janciauskas & Chang, 2017).
Input Hypothesis
Duolingo has chosen to focus on gamification through the use of spaced repetition. However, linguist Stephen Krashen has suggested that the primary factor affecting language acquisition appears to be the input that the learner receives. The Acquisition-Learning distinction is the most important of all the hypotheses in Krashen’s theory and the most widely known and influential among linguists and language practitioner (Schütz, R (1998). Krashen’s input hypothesis makes a distinction between language acquisition and language learning (acquisition–learning distinction), claiming that acquisition is a subconscious process, whereas learning is a conscious one (Schütz, R (1998). Krashen divides the process of second-language acquisition into five stages: preproduction, early production, speech emergence, intermediate fluency, and advanced fluency. The first stage, preproduction, is also known as the silent period. Learners at this stage have a receptive vocabulary of up to 500 words, but they do not yet speak their second language (Haynes 2007, pp. 29–35).
Extensive Reading
Further evidence in favour of input derives from studies on reading. Large amounts of free voluntary reading have been shown to have a significant positive effect on learners’ vocabulary, grammar, and writing (Elley 1991). Most recently, Krashen has promoted the use of free voluntary reading, or what is known as Extensive Reading (Krashen, 1989). Here, extensive reading is contrasted with intensive reading, which is slow, careful reading of a small amount of difficult text, and which is “focused on the language rather than the text” (Waring, n.d.). While, the two approaches may be used concurrently, intensive reading is the more common approach, and often the only one used (Waring, n.d.). In order to meet the conditions needed for learning from extensive reading at the students’ proficiency levels, it is essential to make use of simplified texts (Nation, 2005). Language research shows that learners need to meet words and grammar patterns many times for them to learn them well. Typically, a new word needs to be met 10-20 times for it to be learnt forever, and grammar structures such as the tenses need to be met thousands of times before they are mastered (Waring, n.d.). This reinforces the premise for the use of spaced-repetition, but not the manner of its implementation.
References
Benati, Alessandro G. & VanPatten, Bill & (2010). Key Terms in Second Language Acquisition. London: Continuum.
Elley, W. B. (1991). Acquiring Literacy in a Second Language: the Effect of Book-Based Programs. Language Learning. 41(3), 375–411.
Janciauskas, M. & Chang, F. (2017, July 26). Input and Age-Dependent Variation in Second Language Learning: A Connectionist Account. Cognitive Science. 42, 519–554.
Krashen, S. (1989). We Acquire Vocabulary and Spelling by Reading: Additional Evidence for the Input Hypothesis. The Modern Language Journal, 73(4), pp. 440–464.
Nation, K. (2005). Children’s reading comprehension difficulties. In M. J. Snowling & C. Hulme (Eds.). The Science of Reading: A Handbook. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2013.
Schütz, R. (1998, April). Stephen Krashen’s Theory of Second Language Acquisition (Assimilação Natural – o Construtivismo no Ensino de Línguas). www.sk.com.br. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20171122150432/http://www.sk.com.br/sk-krash.html
Waring, R. (n.d). What is ER? Rob Waring’s Website. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20170715194841/http://www.robwaring.org/er/what_and_why/what_is_er.htm