The impact of usage-based approaches on second language learning and teaching

Abstract

The application of usage-based models of language learning began to gain ground in the early twenty-first century, particularly in the field of first language acquisition, and, more recently, are gaining traction in second language acquisition studies. Central to a usage-based model is the idea that in order to meet social needs, we agree on and use linguistic conventions to create meanings, and that, subsequently, structural conventions emerge from these meanings. This is at odds with theories of language acquisition which propose an overarching abstract set of principles from which to create structures, and transcend the distinction of competence and performance found in traditional language acquisition studies.