How do we acquire meaning: the bottleneck hypothesis

In this video, Roumyana Slabakova begins to consider what is hard and what is easy in learning a second language.

She starts out by considering the more problematic aspects of language learning and she suggests her own hypothesis – ‘the bottleneck hypothesis’ for helping us to understand how humans acquire meaning in language.

When you have posted your comments, have a look at the extra resources at the bottom of this page.

What do you think about this hypothesis? Does it seem to fit your own experience of language learning?

Remember to read and reply to other learners’ comments. Do you agree with the other opinions expressed?

References

Roumyana published a book about her hypothesis in 2016. It is called Second Language Acquisition and is published by Oxford University Press as part of their Oxford Core Linguistics series. This link takes you to the book on Amazon.co.uk.