Theory of language learning
[…] specific theories of the nature of language may provide the basis for a particular teaching method,
other methods derive primarily from a theory of language learning. A learning theory underlying an
approach or method responds to two questions: (a) What are the psycholinguistic and the cognitive
processes involved in language learning? and (b) What are the conditions that need to be met in order
for these learning processes to be activated? Learning theories associated with a method at the level of
approach may emphasize either one or both of these dimensions. Process-oriented theories build on
learning processes, such as habit formation, induction, inferencing, hypothesis testing, and
generalization. Condition-oriented theories emphasize the nature of the human and physical context in
which language learning takes place.
(Richards, Jack C., Rodgers, Theodore S. Approaches and Methods in Teaching English, p. 18, 1999)