Universal Grammar

Running Head : The Role of Universal Grammar in Second Language Learning

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The Role of Universal Grammar in Second Language Acquisition

Introduction

Universal Grammar has been one of the most debated s in linguistics since its inception in 1976 . As to its role in first language acquisition , UG has already established a name because it has fully explained why children are able to learn their mother tongue or any other language in such an easy and rapid way . However , in terms of second language acquisition

, more debates are still in progress . The bright side in all of these is that despite the uncertainties and speculations on the role of UG in second language acquisition , it has been developed into a fruitful approach towards second language teaching in the principle of minimalism . In this approach , second language practitioners have acknowledged the fact that all languages share a common denominator which is consistent in all languages except for various parameters . This approach has based its technique on developing competence in lexicon which is one of the most important parameter that needs to be learned and mastered in to achieve a native-like competence in second language acquisition

Universal Grammar as a Concept

The concept of the Universal Grammar (UG ) is famous to be postulated by Noam Chomsky in 1976 as the system of principles , conditions , and rules that are elements or properties of all human languages . the essence of human language (Cook et al , 1996 . Within this theory , it...