More evidence on competing cognitive systems
- 1 June 1985
- journal article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Interlanguage studies bulletin (Utrecht)
- Vol. 1 (1), 47-72
- https://doi.org/10.1177/026765838500100104
Abstract
This paper deals with the question of why adults, as a rule, fail to achieve native-speaker competence in a second language, whereas children appear to be generally able to acquire full command of either a first or second language. The Competition Model proposed in this paper accounts for this difference in terms of different cognitive systems or modules operating in child and adult language acquisition. It is argued that the child's learning process is guided by a language-specific module, roughly equivalent to Universal Grammar (cf. Chomsky, 1980), while adults tend to approach the learning task by utilizing a general problem-solving module which enters into competition with the language-specific system. The crucial evidence in support of the Competition Model comes from a) the availability of formal operations in different modules and b) from differences in the types of utterances produced by children and adults.Keywords
This publication has 6 references indexed in Scilit:
- THE EFFECT OF FORMAL LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION ON THE ORDER OF MORPHEME ACQUISITION1Language Learning, 1975
- IS THERE A “NATURAL SEQUENCE” IN ADULT SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING?Language Learning, 1974
- Errors and Strategies in Child Second Language AcquisitionTESOL Quarterly, 1974
- NATURAL SEQUENCES IN CHILD SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION1Language Learning, 1974
- The Biological Foundations of LanguageHospital Practice, 1967
- The developmental psychology of Jean Piaget.Published by American Psychological Association (APA) ,1963