Universal Grammar and Second Language Learning

 The universal grammar is the idea or thesis, that support there are similar characteristics in all languages, all languages have ways to ask questions, to count, to say positive and negative sentences, to use singular and plural nouns, and there are ways to refer whether a male or female, and many other rules.

     Chomsky ´s work affirms that a man, have many knowledge inside of him that is not learned through the experience of the world, then it comes from the own mind of the man. That is the situation of a child, when they use the language; there are things they express that nobody has taught to them. From this example they say that the universal grammar is made by the language properties inherent to the human mind.

     Watched a video from Chomsky related to the same topic he uses an example of a child taken from a tribe in Africa if the boy is educated in a university, he will become a graduate in science because according to Chomsky we all have the same genetic capacity, this capacity is about being human and have the specific characteristic we have. He says if someone from other planet observes us, he would say that we are all the same people and the same language, just with a minor variation. The grammar is the same for everybody, he affirms, with different rules and organization of the sentences but at the end we, as human being, we use similar patterns of communication.

     Talking about the second language learning the students can use their basis they have in the universal grammar coming from the L1 and interpret the L2. According to the text, Chomsky has queried about the importance of the L1 as a mediator, because when you have a language is easier to learn other. Also what happen with the universal grammar is that at certain age does not work anymore due to the physical or cognitive maturation of the learner according with a theory seen in this article.

     They conclude by saying that development is not a reliable evidence for the acquisition of L2, they say that the development in L2 reflect the reestablishing of the channel capacity for using the language and not the acquisition per se.

     In order to consider valid the acquisition of L2, is needed the support of the relation between the development, channel capacity and other cognitive processes. 

Reference

Cook, V. (1985). Chomsky's Universal Grammar and Second    Language Learning, Applied Linguistics.