HUMAN

MEMORY
SENSORY MEMORY
 The shortest term element of memory
 The ability to retain impressions of sensory
information after the original stimuli have ended
 Decays or degrades very quickly (200 – 500
milliseconds)

Iconic Echoic Haptic

memory memory memory

Gustatory Olfactory
memory memory
ATTENTION

Short term
memory
SHORT TERM MEMORY
 Working memory
 The ability to remember and process information
at the same time
 Holds a small amount of information (7 or less) in
mind in an active, readily-available state
 Lasts for a short period of time (10-15 seconds, or 1
minute)
 Examples: do a multiplication, simultaneous
translation
 Has limited capacity (Magical number)
Factors affecting memory capacity and
duration
1. The type of characteristics of
information
2. Articulated aloud vs sub-vocally
3. Chunking of information
LONG TERM MEMORY
 The ability to store information over log period of time
 Stores unlimited amount of information

Short-term Long-term

 The process of consolidation (rehearsal and meaningful

association)
 Divided into two main types: explicit (declarative) and
impilcit (procedural)
 EPISODIC MEMORY
(IT’S ALL ABOUT ME)
 Receives and stores information about
temporally dated episodes or events and
temporal spatial relations among these events

 Memory of autobiographical events (times,

places, associated emotions and other contextual
knowledge)
 Information is recorded into the store directly

 Does not include the capabilities of inferential

reasoning or generalisation

 Support and underpin semantic memory

EXAMPLE:
 I remember seeing a flash of light a short while ago,
followed by a loud sound a few seconds later.

 One of the words I am sure I saw in the first list I

studied was LEGEND.
SEMANTIC MEMORY (JUST
THE FACTS)
 Structured record of facts, meanings, concepts
and knowledge about the external world
 Is necessary for the use of language
 Does not register perceptible properties of
inputs, but rather cognitive referents of input
signals
 Input into semantic sources has two sources
-Perception
-Thought
 Semantic memory can be recorded indirectly
or in a piecemeal fashion
 Permits the retrieval of information that was
not directly stored in it
 Methods of utilization of information
-Inferential reasoning
-Generalization
-Application of rules and formulas
-Use of algorithms
EXAMPLES:
 I remember that the chemical formula for
common table salt is NaCl.

 I know that summers are usually quite hot in

Katmandu.
SUMMARY
Episodic Memory Semantic Memory

Involves Involves knowing

remembering
Recent in evolution Evolved earlier

Develops after Develops first before

semantic memory episodic memory
Oriented to the past Oriented to the past
PROCEDURAL MEMORY
(IMPLICIT)
 The unconscious memory of skills and how to
do things (the use of objects or movements of
body)
 Example: Riding a bike, tying shoelace
 Acquired through repetition and practice
 “Body memories” – allow us to carry out
ordinary motor actions AUTOMATICALLY
DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN ‘INTAKE’
AND ‘INPUT’
INPUT INTAKE

 The knowledge that  The particular

an environment amount of input that
offers to a learner a learner successfully
 Cannot be fully to build up internal
processed by learner understanding of L2
due to several factors  The part of input that
(affective factors, stays in the stores of
educational long-term memory
approach, interest,
capacity)
Second language
acquisition theory
The acquisition- The natural
The monitor
learning order
hypothesis
hypothesis hypothesis

The affective
The input
filter
hypothesis
hypothesis
ACQUISITION-
LEARNING
HYPOTHESIS
DISTINGUISHES BETWEEN THE PROCESSES OF
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND LANGUAGE
LEARNING
 • occurs passively and unconsciously through implicit,
informal, or natural learning
• resulting in implicit knowledge and acquired
competence of a language
Acquisition • “pick up” a language by relying on “feelings” of
correctness rather than conscious knowledge of
language rules.

• occurs actively and consciously through explicit or

formal learning and instruction
• resulting in explicit knowledge about a language
learning
ACQUISITION-LEARNING
HYPOTHESIS

 Both children and adults acquire

language via access to an innate
language acquisition device (LAD)
regardless of age as well as that
learning cannot become acquisition.
The idea that children learning their first
language acquire grammatical structures
in a pre-determined, 'natural' order, and
that some are acquired earlier and others,
late.
 Applies to both first language acquisition and
second language acquisition
 The order of acquisition often differs between
first and second languages
 The order of acquisition of a first language is
different from the order of acquisition of that
same language as a second language
 Learners acquire the grammatical morpheme -ing and
plural –s before the morpheme third person -s.
 John is going to work. (-ing)
 The two girls are beautiful. (plural –s)
 He lives in New York. (third person –s)
 John’s hat is very expensive. (possessive –s)
 Learners acquire the grammatical structure of yes-no
questions before the grammatical structure of wh-
questions.
THE MONITOR
HYPOTHESIS
THE MONITOR HYPOTHESIS
The monitor hypothesis states the
relationship between acquisition and
learning.

• Acquisition is far more

• Used as an editor
important.
or monitor
• Responsible for fluency in
second language.
 ACQUISITION AND LEARNING
SECOND LANGUAGE
PRODUCTION
We use conscious learning to
make corrections, to change
the output before we speak and
write, or sometimes after we
speak or write (self-correction)

Learning (Monitor)

Acquisition Output
THREE NECESSARY
CONDITIONS
Time

All three must be met

Focus to allow effective
on Form grammar use but even
this is no guarantee.

Know
the Rule
REFERENCES
Krashen, Stephen D. 2009. Principles and practice in
second language acquisition, 1st internet edn. Oxford:
Pergamon.
http://www.sdkrashen.com/Principles_and_Practice/Princ
iples_and_Practice.pdf.