ON SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

Language acquisition is one of the most fascinating and impressive aspects of human development. We listen with pleasure to the sounds made by a three-month-old baby (Lightbrown, 2006: p. 1). We are pleased to hear children utter new words, phrases or sentences wondering how they learn it and from whom they got those words. Many believe that it is the home that feeds information to these children who acquire and apply language in different contexts.

The video entitled The Human Language Series part 2, which featured several language experts, showed that children uttered words, phrases and sentences which they did not hear from their mother, peers and people by whom they are surrounded. An example of this was when a mother used the words Pajamas repeatedly, the child copied it saying bajamas. The mother corrected the child a number of times but the child insisted on saying bajamas .

In this paper, I will discuss, based on my understanding of the readings/videos and my experiences as a teacher and an English learner, the factors that affect second language acquisition. I will also discuss the impact of these factors on learning second languages successfully. Along with this, I will describe three of the five hypotheses of Stephen Krahens and their relevance to teachers of English Language Learners. After the discussion of these factors and these hypotheses, I will mention some of my classroom experiences and what I will possibly do after reading and viewing the topics following this introduction.

FACTORS AFFECTING SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITON AND THEIR IMPACT ON SUCCESSFUL LANGUAGE LEARNING

There are many factors affecting second language acquisition. Each of the many possible factors can affect language learning on different levels. I would like to focus on two major factors affecting second language acquisition. My focus is on the psychological and socio-cultural factors. They seem to play an integral role in the language acquisition of human beings.

A) Psychological Factors

Psychological factors involve the background, the socio-emotional state and the cognitive ability of the language learner. These psychological factors have great influences on second language acquisition. The success of second language acquisition will be contingent upon the status of these factors.

I would like to limit my discussion of the Learners’ background to only the name, previous second language experience, preferences and age. The background of the learner may be a contributing factor towards a success for language acquisition. An example is when people are called by their names. They feel validated if their names are treated with respect and not with prejudice (Diaz-Rico, 2006: p. 5). Teachers who make an effort to correctly enunciate students’ foreign names give a message that they care for the children and the children in the classroom feel a sense of belonging. The children’s feeling that they belong makes them comfortable so they will willingly join class activities and acquire and learn a language.

When I was teaching at the British School Manila, an international school in the Philippines where students come from approximately 40 different countries, I felt that the previous second language experiences of the child can be a contributing factor influencing success in learning a second or additional language. Students use patterns of their language and translate thoughts from their own language to English. As a teacher, I understood the meanings of their utterances or writings, but in the back of my mind, I knew there was strangeness. An example of this was “Edward touched me or make palo (beating in Filipino) but it is like this strong, it hurts (referring to Edward hitting him/her).” One can assume, in this scenario, that the child knows some English but he lacked enough words to sustain a purely English conversation. As a result, the child resorts to acting the words and/or using non-English words. If I am not mistaken, this is called code-switching in the academic language.

Another factor that I believe is important is to know the preferences/interests of the language learners. Due to modern technology, a great number of children have different preferences and interests. These vary from televisions, computers, music players, mobile phones, play stations, Hollywood, and many others. I remember my Korean student who was highly interested in cars. He took pride in Hyundai, a Korean company. He believed that Hyundai makes the best car in the world. Although I did not agree and I honestly was not interested, I encouraged him to tell me about Hyundai cars and what made them special. I did not remember the advantages of having a Hyundai car because I was not interested ... not to mention that I was not a car owner at that time. Regardless of my disinterest, I used his interest to make our individualized instruction communicative and cooperative. I laugh each time I remember it.

On the other hand, another factor that affects second language acquisition is age. Although many people believe that children acquire a second language more rapidly than adults, recent research counters this notion (Diaz-Rico, 2006: p. 7). It is also the case that reaching high levels of second language proficiency involves aptitude, motivation, and the appropriate social conditions for learning (Lightbrown, 2006: p. 73). What this means for me is that age is not a determining factor for the success of second language acquisition and learning. There are variables such as aptitude, the willingness and the environment of the language learner. A case in point is that all language learners of the same grade level in the same classroom do not absorb the same amount information when learning a language. Some fall behind and some excel. As professor Hakuta mentioned in his Introductory Video part 2, “there is specific part of your brain, usually located in the left hemisphere for most people, in which, if that area is damaged, for unfortunate, various reasons, you have difficulty in acquiring language.” His statement refers to the aptitude and the cognitive ability of a child to acquire language.

Aside from the background of the language learners, socio-emotional components of the learner’s psychology affect second language acquisition. Socio-emotional components may take the form of self-esteem, motivation, anxiety level and attitudes.

Diaz-Rico mentioned that self-esteem is particularly at risk when learning second language because so much identity and pride are associated with language competence (2006: p. 11). In many cases, if a language learner starts acquiring or learning language in an unreasonably challenging way, they are not motivated to continue learning. They fear that they might be labeled as intellectually inferior especially when, as professor Hakuta mentioned in his follow up video lecture part one, English acquisition is used as a proxy for doing well in school. My observation in the Philippines was that English acquisition is associated with intellectual competence and this results in either over-performance or underperformance by the students, neither of which is beneficial. This fosters a competitive environment rather than a cooperative learning environment.

Motivation affects second language acquisition. Motivation can be both personal and professional. Some learners do well in acquiring second language because they would like to connect with their relatives whose native language is the second language. Professional ends, like in the Philippines, bring more honors to learners in the job market, in schools and in the community because Filipino culture believes that English is the language of the elite and the learned.

The level of anxiety and the attitudes of the learners towards second language also affect language acquisition. Anxiety can cause learners to feel defensive and can block effective learning (Diaz-Rico, 2006: p. 13). The attitudes of the learner towards the language may result into the failure or success of language acquisition. For example, Filipinos regard the English language as very valuable because its acquisition will lead to professional success. However, according to the parents of my former French students, French nationals take so much pride in their language that the use of English in France between two French nationals or even with visitors might create tension.

Another interesting psychological factor that affects second language acquisition is the learner’s cognitive ability. Cognitive ability refers to cognitive style, learning style and learning strategies of the language learners. Many believe that immersion of children in classrooms that only use English language as a medium of instruction facilitates faster language acquisition. This might be true on some levels. Moreover, the speed of acquiring language is not only dependent on the nurturing environment but also on the nature of the child. It is a case of nature and nurture. Each can only do so much, but a combination of both is stronger than either one. Such combinations account for the cognitive style, learning style and learning strategies of the language learners when acquiring second language.

B) Socio-cultural Factors

Language learning occurs within social and cultural context. As one masters a language, he is also becoming a member of the community that uses this language to interact, learn, conduct business, love and hate and participate in a myriad of other social activities( Diaz-Rico, 2006: p. 19). I believe that language and culture are intertwined. Learning a language is also learning the culture. When one learns only the language excluding its cultural component, he/she will end up just translating words from first language to second language without regard to how such a translation will affect people whose native language is the second language being studied. This also means that language affects behavior and behavior affects language. People interact through verbal and non-verbal language on some occasions. Each ethnic group interacts with certain pattern of words and non-verbal communication to convey their meanings. This statement is supported by Diaz-Rico on page 20 which stipulates, “when two cultures come into contact, misunderstanding can result because members of these cultures have different perceptions, behaviors, customs and ideas. Thus, socio-cultural factors-how people interact with one another and how they carry out their daily business-play a large role in second language acquisition.”

Among the socio-cultural factors is acculturation, which is defined by Diaz-Rico as the process of adapting to a new culture. The author mentioned that the degree to which a learner acculturates to the target language group will control the degree to which he acquires second language. For example in the United States, immigrant children acquire English; however, the kind of English which these children will acquire depends on the group which surrounds them. As I communicate with Americans, I notice differences in English. depending on their personal demography. Some would say I don’t want anything, some would say I don’t want nothing and others would say, I ain’t want nothing. All statements are English but have different patterns.

DISCUSSION ON THREE KRASHEN’S HYPOTHESES AND THEIR RELEVANCE TO TEACHERS OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS

Allow me to discuss in this paper, three of the five theories of Stephen Krashen hypotheses and their relevance to teachers of English language learners. I chose to briefly discuss the Acquisition-learning hypothesis, the input hypothesis and the affective filter hypothesis.

A) Acquisition-learning hypothesis

Krashen believed that acquisition and learning are two different terms. For him, acquisition is a result of language learners’ exposure to the situation using the second language without a deliberate effort from a learner. He compared acquisition to a child learning first language without a conscious attention to language form. On the other hand, we learn through our deliberate/conscious effort to understand the second language. We become conscious of the rules, vocabularies, usage, etc.

The relevance of this to teachers of English Langauge Learners is that teachers should be aware that learners both acquire and learn language. There are unconscious and conscious types of exposure to second language. Since I teach severely handicapped students who are all non-verbal, this theory might not apply in my classroom as much as in my previous teaching roles and possibly in my future teaching assignments. What I believe is that teaching second language should be task-based and communicative. There should be a growing emphasis on the substance prior to addressing the form. Children need to learn fluency and when they master fluency, they will be confident enough to learn accuracy.

B) Input hypothesis

Input hypothesis states that acquisition occurs when one is exposed to language that is comprehensible and that contains i+1. The letter “I” represents the level of language already acquired and the “+1” is a metaphor for language (words, grammatical forms, aspects of pronunciation) that is just a step beyond that level (Lightbrown, 2006: p. 37).

For the classroom teacher, Diaz-Rico mentioned, “the relevance of this hypothesis lies in its emphasis on comprehensible. When working with English Learners, teachers need to use a variety of techniques and modalities, including visual and kinesthetic, to ensure that their speech is understandable” (2006: p. 58).

Given the above, I like to become aware of the zone of proximal development of my English learners. I continue to build their confidence for fluency while polishing their accuracy by giving lessons that have meaningful relationships and connections to them. I might ask students to write essays, compose a song that they’d like to perform, or interview someone to emphasize what they have already acquired while providing additional lessons. I will design lessons in such a way that there is cooperative learning rather than competitive learning so that students and teachers will learn from each other while having fun.

C) Affective filter hypothesis

In the book How Languages are learned, the authors stated that “some people who are exposed to large quantities of comprehensible input do not necessarily acquire a language successfully. This is accounted for by Krashen’s affective filter hypothesis. The affective filter is a metaphorical barrier that prevents learners from acquiring language even when appropriate input is available. ‘Affect’ refers to feelings, motives, needs, attitudes and emotional states. A learner who is tensed, anxious or bored may filter out input, making it unavailable for acquisition” (Lightbrown: 2006: p. 37).

The relevance of this hypothesis for teachers of English Language is that the classroom environment should be non-threatening and encouraging. This promotes active learning which students increasingly enjoy and appreciate.

I have been doing this as a teacher, especially now that I am serving the severely handicapped student population. I arrange my classroom in a way that will facilitate functional learning by communicating through pictures, playing soothing instrumental music and learning by doing. These activities will make them physically engage while they actively use all their senses.

CONCLUSION

Language acquisition and learning has been a mystery for me until now. Different experts have expressed conflicting beliefs concerning language acquisition and learning. In spite of the many factors that affect success of learners in second language acquisition, I believe that they are not determining factors but rather contributing factors in the success or failure of second language acquisition.

I stand firm in my belief that the success of learners in second language acquisition is dependent on the level of nurturing in the child’s environment and also his cognitive ability to learn. The job of the teacher is to provide a nurturing learning environment for children regardless of the cognitive ability of his/her students.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Ellis, R. Principles of Instructed Language Learning. Asian EFL Journal, 7(3). Available at http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/sept_05_re.pdf.
2. Lightbown, Patsy M., & Spada, Nina. (2006). How languages are learned. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chapters 1–3 (pp. 1–75). [book]
3. Diaz-Rico, Lynne & Weed, Kathryn. (2006). The Crosscultural, Language, and Academic Development Handbook (3rd ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc. Ch. 1 (p.2–30), Ch.3 (p. 50–72).
4. Searchinger, Gene (Producer/Writer/Director). (1995). The human language series. NY: Ways of Knowing, Inc. [Documentary video series]. Pay special attention to Part 2: Playing the language game: Acquiring the human language. If time permits, you are also encouraged to watch Part 1: Colorless green ideas: Discovering the human language. (These documentary videos can be found online.)