Interlanguage: learners form self-contained linguistic systems intermediate between native and target language¶

Theory · All theories
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

Interlanguage, a term Selinker (1972) adopted from "interlingual", names the second language learner's system that "has a structurally intermediate status between the native and target language learners". The article describes it as having its own legitimate system, being dynamic, and reflecting the psychological process of foreign language learning. It became the basis of error analysis, reframing learners as creative beings proceeding through systematic acquisition stages rather than producers of malformed language.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Requires viewing the learner's second language system as legitimate rather than as a defective copy of the target language

Constraints¶

• The article notes contrastive analysis overemphasized environmental interference and neglected learners themselves, which interlanguage was intended to correct

Target Learners¶

• Second/foreign language learners

Target Learning Objectives¶

• Second language acquisition; understanding learner errors as evidence of learning processes

Claims¶

Related Theories¶

• Contrastive analysis hypothesis: first-language interference as the principal barrier to second language acquisition

Examples¶

• Address Mother Tongue Interference

Key Sources¶

• XIE Fang, JIANG Xue-mei. (2007). Error analysis and the EFL classroom teaching. US-China Education Review. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Error+analysis+and+the+EFL+classroom+teaching