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48              Ezenwa-Ohaeto & Ugochukwu 

LANGUAGE LEARNING THEORIES: BEHAVIOURISM, MENTALISM AND 

AFFECTIVISM 

 

 

Professor Ngozi Ezenwa-Ohaeto 

Department of English Language & Literature 

Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka 

Email:info@ezenwaoheto.org 

& 

Eucharia Nkechinyere Ugochukwu 

School of General Studies 

Federal Polytechnic Nekede, Owerri 

Email: euchay74@gmail.com 

 

Abstract 

This work focuses on the pedagogical implications of language learning theories, namely 

behaviourism, mentalism, and affectisim, and their applications in the learning of English as a second 

language. The behaviourist emphasized on observable traits in learning language through imitation, 

repetition and memorization. The mentalist is of the view that language learning is a mental concept 

that involves an innate processing machine in an individual that enables one to learn a second 

language known as language acquisition device (LAD). From affectivist’s point of view, the 

emotional needs, motives and attitudinal disposition of the learner are the primary factors in language 

learning. Exposure to this work will enable both learners and teachers of language to differentiate 

learning theories and adopt the most suitable ones into teaching and learning.  

Keywords: Behaviourism, Mentalism and Affectivism 

 

Introduction  

The learning theory of language acquisition suggest that children learn a language much like they 

learn to tie their shoes or how to count; through repetition and reinforcements. According to this 

theory, children learn language out of a desire to communicate with the world around them. The 

process of speech and language development in children is complex and interrelated. For normal 

communication to develop, there must be an integration of anatomy and physiology of the speech 

systems, neurological development, and interactions that encourage them. Language development 

includes both receptive and expressive language (Yule, 1996).  

                                                                                                                                                                                    

Language is specie-specific. That is, only human beings possess the capacity to use language. The 

genetic make-up of human beings makes language acquisition, and comprehension is unique to man. 

Pinker (1975), asserts that the shape of human vocal tract seems to have been modified in evolution 

for the demands of speech. Also, (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2010), says that young children have 

certain characteristics that predispose them to learn language. These characteristics include the 

structure of the vocal tract which enables children to make the sound used in language and the ability 

to understand general grammatical principles, such as the hierarchical nature of syntax. Moreover, a 

look at animal communication reveals a rigid pattern of signs. Chimpanzees used in language learning 

experience are taught in a contrived way by humans to acquire rudimentary abilities to request for 

food and to tickle. This contrasts sharply with the natural ability of children to acquire language in a 

seamless unencumbered manner. No animal has been trained to learn human language.  Animal 

vocalism remains fixed as it was ages before history. Human beings usually learn or gain knowledge 

either in a conscious or sub-conscious way. Learn is a relatively permanent change in a behavioral 

tendency and is a result of reinforced tendency. There are actually few theories that has been used to 

describe the language that is acquired or learned. This work will dwell on behaviorism, mentalisim, 

and affectivism as learning theories and their pedagogical implication to language learning.  

  

Concept of Learning  

According to Alhassan (1985: 17), learning is the totality of the acquisition of factual information, the 

mastering of skills and means to aid further study (understanding); the entire socialization process, the 



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49              Ezenwa-Ohaeto & Ugochukwu 

acquisition of behaviour patterns, the styles of tackling problems of everyday life and more. Learning 

is a dynamic process whereby, through interactive experience, insights or cognitive structures of life 

spaces are changed and so becomes more useful for future guidance. Gagne (1970:3) attempts a 

definition which seems to have a wide appeal when he writes that learning even takes place when the 

situation affects the learner in such a way that his/her performance changes from a time before being 

in that situation to a time after being in it. The change in performance is what leads to the conclusion 

that learning has occurred. Thus, learning is a change in human disposition of capability which can be 

retained, and which is not ascribable to the process of growth. It is important for you to note that all 

changes in performance that brought about by the environment may properly be referred to as 

learning. This view of learning is identical to the definition that says that learning is a modification in 

behaviour due to experience. When you look at the stages of a child’s development, you can see that 

he first knows how to eat, then sit, to crawl about, to be able to stand, to walk, to run about, and to 

speak. The child is now capable of doing some things which he could not do earlier in his life. It may 

be said that in these respects, the child has learned because ‘observed changes in behaviour are 

evident of learning’ (Balogun, 2001:43). Many psychologists agree that learning is a general term for 

relatively lasting or permanent changes in performance or behaviour caused or produced directly by 

experience. O’Connor (1993) submits that a study of learning is part of the larger study of 

psychology, which may be defined as the scientific study of human experience and human and animal 

behaviour. Olaitan (1992) defines learning as a collection of experiences which a person progressively 

acquires to be regarded as educated in his/her society. Behaviour theorists define learning as nothing 

more than the acquisition of new behaviour based on environmental conditions. According to 

behaviorist thinking it wasn’t really necessary for learners to internalize rules; instead they learn the 

right patterns of linguistic behaviour, and acquire the correct habits.                                                                                              

 

Language is considered to be determined not by experimentation or self discovery, but by selective 

reinforcements from speech and language models, usually parents or other family members. This 

means that there are external forces that shapes a child’s language acquisition and learning, which   

sees the child as a reactor of these forces (Cohen et al, 1996). 

 

Concept of Language Learning Theories                                                                                                 

Cohen et al (1996), posits that learning theories differ in method and conclusion because the theories 

focused attention on certain aspects of the total learning processes. Difference in the results are 

uninspiring if it is remembered that psychologist have used animals of nearly every species, are 

generated no less than six theories of learning. In addition, theoretical approaches to the study of 

behaviour are bye-product of such experiments. The engineer has theories of light, electricity, and 

matter, the medical doctor has theories of genetics, just as the teacher/ educator is in command of 

learning theories. Particular attention will be paid to behaviourism, mentalism and affectivism as 

language learning theories in this section.   

 

Hutchison and Waters (1987) speak about “learning theories’ which provide the theoretical basis for 

the methodology, by helping us to understand how people learn’’ (Hutchison & Water, 1987, p.23). It 

is the psychological processes involved in language use and language learning. It is natural that 

learning strategies vary and corresponds with learners’ their age, level or for what reason they study 

English. The ways adults acquire language differ from the way children do. Advanced group expects 

different attitudes from beginners, and teachers determine which aspects of ESP learning will be 

focused on to meet learners’ needs and expectations successfully. Some of these theories are: (a) 

Behaviourism (b) Mentalism (c) Affective/Humanistic Theory.                                                 

 

Behaviorism                                                                                                                                                

Behaviorism focuses on observable behaviours which are changed as the symptoms of learning. 

According to Brown (1987:17), the behaviouristic approach focuses on the immediately perceptible 

aspects of linguistic behaviour- the publicly observable responses. Learning only occurs when there 

are changes in behaviour and observable as an evidence of changing. Feeling and mental processes 

are not acceptable in Skinner’s human behavior’s theory.  However, he still accepted the existence of 

mind. Behaviorists consider learning a language as a set of mechanical habits which are formed 



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50              Ezenwa-Ohaeto & Ugochukwu 

through a process of imitation and repetition. Humans learn a language through repeating the same 

form and text until it becomes a habit. Children imitate the sounds and patterns which they hear 

around (Lightbown & Spada, 1999). So, it was proposed that learners would repeat words they heard 

and tried to use it in their conversation until it becomes regular basis of life. Behaviorists therefore 

think learning a language especially second language (L2) should be learnt through extensive drill and 

practice. Besides that, behaviorists also justified that learning a new language is learning a new set of 

habit.                                                                         

 

According to Ellis (1999), learning could be a manipulation of the environment to provide the 

required experience. This theory formation of habit is related to the environment where learning is 

recognized as Stimulus-Response (S-R) by Pavlov and Skinner. In 1950s, schools of psychology 

successfully prevailed S-R in the form of behaviorism to ensure the connection between both 

elements. Behaviorists might consider effective language behaviour to be the production of correct 

responses to stimuli (Brown 1987). According to the theory, behavior happens in casual, associative 

chains; all learning is thus characterized as associative learning, or habit formation, brought about by 

the repeated association of a stimulus with a response Hadley (1988 cited in Rubeling 1993, p.45). So, 

its best known proponent, B.F. Skinner used rats to conclude that conditioning has a 3-state 

procedure: stimulus, response and reinforcement. From here, Skinner presumed that human learning 

and animal learning are parallel; thus, L2 learning is also similar as well as other kinds of learning can 

be explained by the same laws and principles. Every process of learning has to be followed by 

reinforcement. Every learning is the establishment of   habits and the result of reinforcement and 

reward (Demirezen: 1988). In behaviorism, there are two different types of reinforcement, where the 

response or behavior is strengthened and positively augmented by praise or reward. For instance, 

when a student answers a question correct, and the teacher awards him/her a star, then the student will 

try to answer another question because he/she is more confident and motivated. In contrast, the second 

reinforcement will be negative reinforcement If a student is  been scolded by his/her teacher after 

getting an  answer wrong, he/she would tend not to give an  answer by the next question and answer 

session because it would make him/her feel embarrassed. In short, positive reinforcement helps 

learners develop correct habits. Furthermore, behaviorist learning theory also claimed that old habits 

interfere with the acquisition of new ones. Learning of the L2 would be facilitated since all the 

learners had to do was to transfer L1 habits (Ellis: 1990). That means errors in first language learning 

(L1) are the results of interference in L2. It has to be avoided and prevented. L1 interference should 

be avoided as well as corrected on the spot if they do occur. One of the examples of extensively 

drilling in learning is Audio-Lingual Method, which is an American method. Audio Lingual Method 

focuses on accuracy (pronunciation and intonation). Ellis (1990: 23), asserts that “for learning to be 

effective, habits have to become automatic.” In short, language learning pattern has to be “over-

learnt” and the contents based on common day’s dialogues as well as expression, followed by the 

positive reinforcement which will help students to develop correct habits. Learning the structures of 

language is more emphasized if compare to the vocabulary. Hutchinson and Waters (1987) speak 

about “learning theories’ which provide the theoretical basis for the methodology, by helping us to 

understand how people learn” (Hutchison & Waters, 1987, p. 23). It is the psychological processes 

involved in language use and language learning. It is natural that learning strategies vary and 

corresponds with learners’ groups, their age level, or for what reason they study English. The ways 

adults acquire language differ from the way children do. Advanced group expects different attitudes 

from beginners, and teachers determine which aspects of ESP learning will be focused on to meet 

learners’ needs and expectations successfully. Behaviorism is a learning theory that focuses on 

objectively observable behaviours and discounts any independent activities of the mind, such as 

classic conditioning and behavioural operant conditioning. 

 

1. Classic conditioning occurs when a natural reflex responds to a stimulus. We are biologically 

“wired” so that a certain stimulus will produce a specific response. One of the more common 

examples of classical conditioning is the educational environment is in situations where students 

exhibit irrational fears and anxieties like fear of failure, fear of public speaking and general school 

phobia.  



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51              Ezenwa-Ohaeto & Ugochukwu 

2. Behavioural or Operant Conditioning occurs when a response to stimulus is reinforced. 

Basically, operant conditioning is a simple feedback system: if a reward or reinforcement follows the 

response to a stimulus, then the response becomes more probable in future. For example, leading 

behaviorist B.F. Skinner used reinforcement techniques to teach pigeons to dance and bowl a ball in a 

mini-alley. This is like reinforcing a child each time he does something right. Behaviorism does not 

account for all kinds of learning, since it disregards the activities of the mind. Behaviorism does not 

explain some learning-such as the recognition of new language patterns by young children-for which 

there is no reinforcement mechanism. Research has shown that animals adapt their reinforced patterns 

to new information. For instance, a rat can shift its behaviour to respond to changes in the layout of a 

maze it has previously mastered through reinforcements. Behaviorism can also be thought of as a 

form of classroom management. Behaviorists believe that if teachers should provide positive 

reinforcement or rewards whenever students perform a desired behaviour, they will learn to perform 

the behaviour on their own. The same concept applies to punishments. 

 

Mentalisim                                                                                                                                                                        

The leading proponent of this theory is Noam Chomsky, who criticized the behaviorist theory of 

language learning. He contradicted that “if all language is a learned behaviour, how can a child 

produce a sentence that has never been said by others before?”  According to Chomsky, language is 

not a form of behaviour, rather it is an intricate rule based system and a large part of language 

acquisition in the learning of this system. He argues that thinking is rule-governed. It is a finite, and 

fairly small sets of rules that enable the mind to deal with the potentially infinite range of experience 

it may encounter. He insisted that learning consists not of forming habits but of acquiring rules, a 

process in which individuals experiences are tested and modified by subsequent experience 

(Chomsky, 1965). The hypothesis that language acquisition and learning is not random but systematic 

is evidenced on the fact that all normal children are endowed with similar brains and mental capacities 

that direct the way and order language is used irrespective of the variations in the sample they are 

exposed to. Furthermore, the mentalists call attention to the fact that no adult has to teach a child that 

language is organized according to general principles or rules. This is apparent when a child makes 

“mistakes” on the generalization of a given concept like the word “brought”. The child says “bringed” 

instead of “brought”, having no knowledge of an exception to the rules he has learnt. This 

generalization occurs in the learning of syntax and semantics.   

 

The view that every child is born with innate characteristics or a disposition to acquire the language of 

his immediate environment, is in the assertion that within every human person, there is an innate 

processing machine which is concerned with linguistic information. This processing machine or 

device is known as Language Acquisition Device (LAD). This LAD is known currently as Universal 

Grammar (UG). UG is located in human mind or brain. One important fact about UG is that it is 

exclusive to humans alone and it is capable of giving every human being the grammar of his 

language. The device also explains why children master their language/s at a fairly good speed, being 

able to handle new linguistic situations that arise (Otagburuagu and Anyanwu, 2003). Another credit 

to the mentalist theory is the view that the human child is creative and is capable of churning out new 

expressions which the adult had not given the child to imitate. This disputes the behaviorist theory 

that human being is a tabula rasa, a blank and recipient entity that depends entirely on the adult input. 

The human being is seen as a dynamic and creative participant in both word processing and structural 

ordering (Lyons, 1981). 

 

This theory is of the opinion that thinking is rule governed. Chomsky sees learners  are thinking 

beings who are capable of coping with infinite range of possible situations from a finite range of 

experience. The mentalist acknowledges that the mind use individual experiences to formulate 

hypothesis. For example, knowing that words which ends in ‘-y’ take ‘-ies’ to form their plural, while 

those that ends in ‘-f ’ will change to ‘–ives’, the learner given these rules can form a lot of plurals for 

words they have not seen  before.   

 

 

 



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Affectivism  

This school of thought sees learning, particularly the learning of a language as an emotional 

experience. They believe the feelings that the learning process evokes will have a crucial bearing on 

the success or failure of such learning. The emotional reaction to the learning experience is the 

essential foundation for the initiation of the cognitive process. According to cognitive theory that has 

an affinity with Affectivism, learning is a process in which the learner actively tries to make sense of 

data. This theory treats learners as thinking beings and puts them firmly at the center of the learning 

process, by stressing that learning will only take place when the matter to be learnt is meaningful to 

the learners. Hence, it is the emotional feelings of the learner towards what is being learnt that will 

enhance his thoughts about the learning processes (Corder, 1973). The affective hypothesis stipulates 

that anxiety, worry, distress and so on will hinder the improvement of language learning. (Bialystok, 

1990).  

 

Pedagogical Implications                                                                                                                            

Behaviorism relies only on observable behaviour and describes several universal laws of behaviour. 

Its positive and negative reinforcement technique can be very effective-such as in treatment for 

human disorders including autism, anxiety disorders, and antisocial behaviour. Behaviorism is often 

used by teachers who reward or punish student behaviours. Behaviorism is often seen in contrast to 

constructivism. Constructivists are more likely to allow for experimentation and exploration in the 

classroom and place a greater emphasis on the experience of the learner in contrast to behaviorist. The 

behaviorist postulates that language behaviours are learned by children through imitation, 

reinforcement and copying adult language behaviours. Other important concepts of behavioural 

theory are imitation, rewards and practice. This implies that a young child will try to imitate sounds 

and words it hears from its parents the best it can. When a child attempts oral language or imitates the 

sounds or speech patterns, they are usually praised or given affection. Behavioural theory is adapted 

to study children’s language by observing, describing and counting specific language behaviours. This 

basic stimulus-response model acquits a child to imitate sound and reinforces the sound production 

with verbal praise by the teacher or parents. The children’s sounds are shaped into increasingly closer 

approximations of the target sounds, and when they are able to produce the target sound correctly, the 

sounds are practiced in a variety of words and sound combinations. When children do not use certain 

language structures that are appropriate for their age they most likely have not acquired them naturally 

and would need to improve in therapy. Helping children learn how to combine words, phrases and 

sentences, make them convey massages to others. Also instructing about how to use language 

appropriately in different social contexts and environment, allows them to use appropriate pragmatics 

when communicating. 

 

Affective factors are emotional factors which influence learning. They can have a negative or positive 

effect. Negative affective factors are called affective filters and are an important idea in theories about 

second language acquisition. For instance, a learner’s attitude to English, to the teacher, to other 

learners in the group and to yourself as a learner are all affective factors that have impact on how well 

we learn. Affective factors may be as important for successful language learning, if not more so, than 

ability to learn. Teacher can reduce negative factors and develop positive ones by doing activities 

aspects of the course and choosing activities that are motivating for the age and interests of the 

learners. The cognitive theory tells us that learners will learn when they actively think about what they 

are learning. This pre-supposes the affective factor of motivation. Motivation is important in the 

development of ESP. Gardner and Lambert (cited in Hutchison & Waters, 1987) identified two forms 

of motivation: instrumental and integrative motivation. Instrumental motivation is the reflection of the 

external needs of the learners. The learners learn a language not because they want but because they 

need the language for something such as for study or work purposes, to transact business with the 

owners of the language, and learning a language for exam purpose and not for leisure, etc. 

 

Integrative motivation, on the other hand, derives from the desire on the part of the learners to be 

members of the speech community that uses a particular language. Integrative motivation, according 

to Hutchinson and Waters (1987) “is an internally generated want rather than an externally imposed 

need” (p.48). Example could be new trend of many parents speaking English to their children at home 



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53              Ezenwa-Ohaeto & Ugochukwu 

in order to hasten their children’s integration into English dominated prestigious social class in the 

society. This implies that the value of learning is determined primarily by the society. People learn 

what the social learning environment permits them to learn by way of subjects offered, quality of 

teachers/ instruction facilitators, quality of the curriculum, quality of the learning environment, and so 

on. It is important to note that what the learning society is capable of offering dose not suit its 

definition of an educated man, a vacuum is created which has to be bridged by making learning more 

meaningful and relevant to the societal perception of an educated man.  Dinkmeyer (1985) defines 

learning as a change in behaviour resulting from the interaction of the organism with its environment. 

Learning is dependent upon activity or special training and in this sense, differs from behavioural 

change which is as a result of experience.  

 

Human beings learn. This statement looks and sounds simple, yet it has generated as much 

controversy as any statement could in the behavioural, natural, or physical science. Travers (1996) 

points that man is a philosopher before he is a psychologist or an educator, and as he sees human 

nature, so he sees the nature of learning. Consequently, learning is viewed as a cognitive, problem-

solving process whereby man actively seeks and uses environmental clues that enable him to form 

concepts, solve problems, and think creatively. Travers opines that human learning depends upon 

three pre-conditions namely: a functioning biological organism; an on-going 

social/cultural/religious/political/economic environment, and an opportunity for a biological being to 

interact with any form or forms of the environment in two and thereby learn from it.  

 

Human learning is the ultimate goal of our educational systems. Man turns to several disciplines to 

discover what aids or hinders learning, and to grope towards a more adequate knowledge of the 

process itself. From biology, the student of learning takes information about growth and development, 

he utilizes facts about man’s activities in groups and what impact environmental forces have on 

learning. From anthropology, he derives insights into the meaning of cultural difference. What the 

specific cultural value its learning, and how the individual, reflecting his culture, has learned to learn. 

Cultural is the total way of life of a people. It includes everything from how people welcome a 

newborn baby to how the dead are buried. All disciplines can contribute to our knowledge about 

learning. Learning may involve many variables. Cohen (1998) similarly states that learning may be 

grouped into no less than five categories:  

a. The characteristics of the learner, such as developmental aspects;                                                     

b. Characteristics of the teacher/instructional facilitator;                                                                              

c. Classroom/study center interaction;                                                                                                              

d. Characteristics of the learners group, and                                                                                                   

e. The physical setting.                                                                                                                                                

 

This tends to indicate that the nature of learning may not be all that easy to comprehend. Cohen again 

attests to this when he writes that we do not as yet have any universally accepted description of the 

learning process application to all kinds of learning, in all human beings, at all age levels, and in all 

situations. It is important to note that the development of learning and intelligence and their great 

educability are what distinguish humans from all other living creatures. An important distinction 

between learning in lower animal and learning in humans is that even when simple association 

learning is involved, one rarely sees the building up of isolated connections between singles sets of 

stimuli and responses. Such connections occur, but in human learning we tend to notice their 

appearances only as they form chains of associations. The type of association learning common to 

humans, and the relative rapidity of the learning process, tends to obscure the observation of the 

learning of the links themselves.  In human learning, two particular abilities seem representative: the 

first of these is a consequence of a highly developed sensory ability and manual which enables us to 

learn the use of tools. This is variously referred to as sensor motor learning, motor learning or skill 

learning. It includes all related abilities from manipulating a pencil, learning to operate a complex 

machine, to playing a musical instrument with perhaps virtuoso ability. A second class of Human 

learning results from an equally coincidence of physical and mental endowment, the ability to learn to 

use verbal materials. As learning theory developed in the United States of America through the efforts 

of Thorndike, Hull and others, so also developed was the view that learning, human and animal 



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54              Ezenwa-Ohaeto & Ugochukwu 

learning, maze learning and language learning, could potentially be understood merely by the 

principles embodied in classical conditioning. This is one of the theories of learning discussed in 

several study units of the course material. For all such theories, psychologist carried out experiments 

mainly with the use of lower organisms such as rats, pigeons, chimpanzees, dogs, and such similar 

creatures. 

 

Conclusion  

There are misconceptions as to what learning is. Learning is part of almost every aspect of 

psychology.  In addition, the concept of learning was examined. You have also learnt some definitions 

of learning. Learning is the totality of the acquisition of factual information, the mastering of skills to 

aid further study, the acquisition of behaviour patterns and styles of tackling problems of everyday 

life. Observed changes in behaviour are evidence of learning. Speech involves the mental and 

physical behaviour expressed by human being in his communication with his environment. The 

learner has to articulate his physical and mental prowess in his bid to learn a second language. In 

schools, teachers try to develop the motor and mental skills of learners and guide them for better 

performance. For effective language learning to take place, all the language learning theories 

behaviourism, mentalism and affectivism have to be put together or combined. The learner’s emotion, 

physical and mental dispositions are accounted for in learning of a second language. With the 

National Language Policy that enjoins the learning of another Nigerian language apart from one’s 

mother tongue; the globalization and increasing multilingual needs of the world, it is beneficial to 

learn as many languages as possible. Children acquire language because they are biologically 

predisposed towards acquiring language of the immediate environment where they readily interact 

with people around them. 

                                                                                                                                                       

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