ABSTRACT
This chapter begins (perhaps somewhat arbitrarily) by considering earlier conceptualizations of second language learning (i.e., pre-1970s) based on a behaviorist view in which the major driving force of language learning was the language to which learners were exposed (i.e., the input). Because it was held that learning a language involved imitation as the primary mechanism, the language that surrounded learners was of crucial importance as the source for imitation. To understand the role of imitation and hence the role of input, consider the following description from Bloomfield (1933) on how children learn their first language.
