As a result of Chomsky's rejection of Behaviourism, there is now a widespread
supposition that there is nothing whatever of any theoretical validity or
pedagogical value in behaviourist thinking. Widdowson (1990, p.ll), however,
points out that total rejection of Behaviourism is no more reasonable than total
acceptance. It is clear that there must be some aspects of language learning
which have to do with habit formation. Widdowson (1990, p.ll) states: "Effective
communication depends on the immediate and automatic access to linguistic
forms so that the mind can consciously engage in the more creative business of
negotiating meaning. If these forms were not internalized as habitual mental
patterns independent of thought, they could not be readily accessed and
language could not function effectively as a means of thinking and
communicating".