摘要：In second language teaching and learning, acquisition of knowledge is a multidimensional concept. Several concepts have been advocated by different theorists. All the theories are grounded in peculiar philosophical underpinnings that seem to have sound bases. This current paper critically examines the theories of representation and acquisition of linguistic knowledge from the standpoints of the rationalists and the empiricists. The method used in this paper is qualitative content analysis. With this analysis, the paper is segmented into five themes. These are the introduction, the method, review of literature, pedagogical perspective, and the conclusion. The literature review critically examines the viewpoints of the rationalists and the empiricists on the ultimate source of knowledge, mechanisms of acquisition, and characteristics of the initial state. These parts constitute the pivotal thematic areas of the main argument of the two schools of thoughts.
关键词：RationalismEmpiricismTheory of KnowledgeMechanisms of AcquisitionSource of KnowledgeInitial StateLanguage Acquisition Device
