SECOND-LANGUAGE LEARNING: A PSYCHOLINGUISTIC PERSPECTIVE 1978
survey reprinted in V. Kinsella (1982) Surveys 1, CILTR the
early 1960s we were satisfied that we knew all about how people
learnt a second language. Then the impact of Chomsky's ideas
exposed the extent of our ignorance. Some people's reactions
were that we should stop interfering with the learner, since
nature knew best (Newmark & Reibel, 1968). Others admitted the
error of their ways in principle but in practice continued to
use the same teaching techniques; by and large the changes in
the content of language teaching from 'structures' to
'functions' were not accompanied by any changes in teaching
methods. However, in the past few years the question of second-
language learning has been reopened; this review attempts to
give a critical account of some directions that research in this
field is taking. Our ignorance is not quite as boundless as it
once was; before long we may be able to base language teaching
at last on a solid foundation of knowle