Transfer, Interference, and overgeneralization

It is a general term describing the carryover of previous performance or knowledge to subsequent learning

There are two types of transfer

-Positive transfer

-Negative transfer

Interference

It is common for SLT to emphasize on the role of interference –

The interfering effects of the native language on the target language (second language)

Some people viewed second language learning as exclusively involving the the overcoming of the effects of the native language.

People will use whatever knowledge that they had in language to facilitate the second language learning process.

Generalization

It is important in human learning the second language.

To generalize means to infer or derive a law, rule. Or conclusion, usually from the observation of particular instances.

Generalization = Ausubel concept of meaningful learning

Meaningful learning is generalization: items are generalized under higher order categories for meaningful retention

Examples of generalization:

-The learning of concepts in early childhood is a process of generalization.

-A child who has been exposed to various kinds of animals gradually acquires a generalized concept of “animal”.

-In this stage, a child may generalize his or her familiarity with dogs see a horse for the first time and overgeneralize the concept of “dog” and call the horse a dog.

-They might generalize other similar animals as dogs until the the general attributes of a larger category which is “animal” have been learned.

Generalization in SLA

In SLA, it is a process that occurs as the second language learner acts within the target language, generalizing a particular rule or item in the second language.

For example, Children in learning English as a second language overgeneralize regular past tense endings (walked, opened) as applicable to all past tense forms (goed, flied).

Until they recognize a subset of verbs that belong in an irregular category. Overgeneralization is committed by learners of English from almost any native language background.