International Journal of Educational Spectrum (Feb 2020)
An Analysis of Rationalism in English Language Teaching
Abstract
Several theories have been formulated so far regarding language acquisition, learning and teaching processes. The standpoints of these theories on language acquisition and learning process differ from each other in terms of the factors they focus on. Some theories focused on inner factors while others focused on external and environmental factors and tried to explain the learning process in light of these factors. The purpose of this study is to examine the basic principles of rationalist theory which is one of the main theories in the second language acquisition process and especially in English language education and to examine its contribution to the processes of language acquisition and learning. The study first examines the background of rationalist theory and compares it with empiricism, which is seen as a rival theory of rationalist theory. Then, the study explains various theories related to rationalist and empiricist theory and scrutinises the criticisms directed to the rationalist theory by considering both the strengths and weaknesses of the theory. Finally, the contributions of the rationalist theory and related theories to language teaching and English language education are reviewed. In the study, it was concluded that both theories were complementary rather than competing with each other and that a one-sided approach could not adequately explain the language acquisition and learning process.
