The impact of usage-based approaches on second language learning and teaching

The application of usage-based models of language learning began to gain ground in the early twenty-first century, particularly in thefield of first language acquisition, and, morerecently, are gaining traction in second language acquisition studies. Central to a usage-based model is the idea that in orderto meet social needs, we agree on and use linguistic conventions to createmeanings, and that, subsequently, structural conventions emerge from thesemeanings. This is at odds with theories of language acquisition whichpropose an overarching abstract set of principles from which to createstructures, and transcend the distinction of competence and performancefound in traditional language acquisition studies.