Explaining second language learningThe behaviorists perspective The behaviorists believe that FLL consists of learners imitating what they hear and develop habits in the FL by routine practice. In this view, the learners are thought to relate what they know of their L1 to what they recognize in the L2. "Positive transfer" is a result of similarities between the L1 and the L2, because habits used in the L1 easily transfer to the L2. On the other hand, "negative transfer is caused by differences between the L1 and the L2, because errors result from using habits from the L1 in the L2. Problems with this view of FLL include the fact that imitation does not help the learner in real-life situations. Learners are continually required to form sentences they have never previously seen. A finite number of pre-practiced sentences is not enough to carry on conversation, not even with an intructor. Another problem with this view is that many of the errors made by FL learners are not based on the L1. Instead, the problems most often encountered by learners resemble errors made by children during the period of L1 acquisition