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How is language learnt?

 

     In general, one of the most extraordinary features of human beings is language acquisition. When we say language acquisition, that is mean either the first language acquisition or the second language acquisition. In this domain, we should distinguish between the first language and the second language. The first language which acquires by a very young child (mother tongue), the second language which acquires by older learners, and it includes any language which learners acquire except their first language (mother tongue). In this paper I will illustrate the main point views in language acquisition; also I will talk about my experience in learning English language as the second language and about my experience in teaching language at the ministry of education of English language in my home country Jordan.

Behaviorism point view:

     Behaviorists consider language basically a system of habits, so the language acquired by reaction to the stimulus and receiving the reinforcement. According to Lightbown and Spada (1999), the first appear of the Behaviorism was in United States of America as a psychological hypothesis in language learning. Lightbown and Spada argue that children acquire language as fast as they hear more and more from the environment, and receive more reinforcement, so when children start to select what they hear that mean they started to realize the concepts of the language which they are learning. Lightbown and Spada indicates that behaviorists consider that language learning process is “imitation, practice, reinforcement (or feedback on success) and habit formation” (p. 35).

     Crystal (1992), points out that language acquired by imitation and reinforcement, in this operation learners of language imitate the environment around them, and by practice what they hear constantly, they achieve habits in that language. Crystal indicates that the quality of the habits, which transfer from the first language to the second language through the learning process affect the results of the learning process positively or negatively. Crystal illustrates that if the habits from first language are well match to the second language that called positive transfer, but if the habits from the first language make mistakes in the second language that called negative transfer. On the other hand, crystal shows that imitation only insufficient because learners from time to time will face new concepts, so they have to understand and realize unfamiliar utterances.

Innatism point view:

     Most of researchers argue that Innatism appeared as a reaction to the behaviorism. Noam Chomsky formulated a theory to illustrate how human acquire language, so he considered as the spiritual father to the innatisim. Konieczna (2001) talks about Chomsky’s point view in language acquisition says ” in his view, language is not a set of habits, but it is rule-governed; subsequently, the mind is responsible for the perception and processing of linguistic data because it is genetically equipped with devices that make language acquisition possible”. According to Lightbown and Spada (1999), Chomsky believed that human beings are born with the ability to learn language as they born with the ability to learn anything refer to the innate, like walking or the desire to eat. Although the differences in the environments cause some differences in the range of language learning, but language develop at the children gradually in the same manner.

     Lightbown and Spada, indicate that Chomsky attributed this ability to learn language to what he called a language acquisition device (LAD), which always describe as an imaginary “black box” occurs in certain place in human brain. Lightbown and Spada illustrates that Chomsky explained that this “black box” has a group of concepts which are general to any language, and enable human being to acquire any language; this group called universal grammar (UG). According to Lightbown and Spada, Chomsky explained that children will learn language by expose to utterances of a natural language, which lead to operate the LAD. By operated the LAD, children start to find relationships between the UG which they already have and the grammatical concepts of the specific language around them,” A major task for the first language (L1) acquirer is to arrive at a linguistics system which accounts for the input, allowing the child to build linguistics presentations and to understand and produce language”(white,2003)

On the other hand, Lightbown and Spada, indicate that some linguists have discussed that UG may be helpful in second language acquisition, but others have argued that although UG serve in first language acquisition, it does not help in second language acquisition after a critical time in language acquisition.

Krashen and his five hypotheses about language acquisition:

     Stephen Krashen (1982) is linguistic, specializing in theories of language acquisition and development. He suggests five hypotheses to explain how the language acquisition process occurs. These hypotheses are the acquisition learning distinction, the natural order, the monitor, the input and the Affective filter. In his first hypotheses the acquisition learning distinction krashen argues that the language acquisition occurs mostly in the same way like the children acquire their first language, because in his point view language acquisition is a subconscious operation, In this term learners are not actually conscious that they are acquiring language, but they conscious they are interact through the language, so we are not aware to the structure of the language we have acquired. Krashen illustrate that some researchers suppose distinguish that children acquire language while adult learn it, but in his point view the adult also acquire language, but not like the native speakers.

     In The second hypotheses Krashen indicates that learner acquire the grammatical structures occur after predictable order, so they acquire some grammatical rules lately than others. The third hypothesis is the monitor, in this hypothesis Krashen distinguishes between the acquisition and the learning, because usually acquisition show our speech in second language and the responsible about our fluency in second language, while the learning work only as a monitor. The Input is the fourth hypothesis, through it Krashen argues that input relate to the acquisition, not to the learning, also we acquire language by our comprehension for the structure which beyond our current stage of competence. In the fifth hypothesis the Krashen emphasize that the variation in affective variable result in successful in second language acquisition.

     In my own experience as learner of English language as a second Language, I learnt English for first time when I was eleven years old, and it was so difficult because it totally different from my first language, put the most difficult thing is, I had receive it with out any chance to practise it, except few word in class room. So when I became a teacher of English language, I tried to make my students to practise English in their daily life as possible as they can.

Cognitive hypothesis:

     According to the crystal (1992), cognitive theory appeared as a substitute to the behaviorism theory in language acquisition. Crystal argues that learners of the language depend on their cognitive skills to build their own concepts about the grammar of the second language, thus they forming the principles, examine these principles, and then change the insufficient principles which show no availability. In this term, Crystal explains that, learners of second language, while they develop in language acquisition from one level to another, they handle on the first language or the second language, which called (interlanguage). Piaget claimed that “children construct new knowledge by applying their current knowledge structures to new experiences and modifying them accordingly” (Encarta online, 2008). Crystal indicates that cognitive hypothesis considers the error analysis as a main important tool in this hypothesis, because it shows how language acquisition process develops and that by revealing the mistakes which learners do while they are acquiring language. From crystal point view, error analysis become a difficult issue, it includes some elements interfere than the cognitive, like insufficient material, or lacking in teaching process, and the interfere of the first language, which is in my point view as a learner of English as second language acquisition the main element.   

     Dakin “We must design our lessons and language laboratory tapes so as to invite the learner to make the minimum number of mistakes consonant with, and conducive to, learning new rules” (Power, 2008). So that, the errors which occur by the learners important to develop the methods of teaching, because any new errors will indicates to new issue in language learning process.

Integractionists hypothesis 

     According to the beller (2008) “Interactionists believe that L2 learners are able to absorb the grammar of a second language incidentally and implicitly even while focusing on meaning and communication in personal interactions, Language learning is seen as the result of the interaction of the learner’s mental ability and the verbal environment”.

      Lightbown and Spada (1999), argue that many researchers like Teresa Pica (1994) and Michael Long (1983), discussed that

Second language acquisition occurs in communicative with the environment. Lightbown and Spada mention Michael Long’ point view in language acquisition that “in his view, what learners need is not necessarily simplification of the linguistics forms but rather ban opportunity to interact with other speakers, in ways which lead them to adapt what they are saying until the learner shows sign of understanding”. And also, they mention that Michael Long finds out that the best way to interact and communicate obviously for the native speakers is to change their speech to in such a way to suit the non native speakers understand, and that include not only the change linguistically but also in the rate of speech, postures, gestures and provide more relative signs to the conversation. Lightbown and Spada indicate that  Long emphasize that the alteration and changing in speech manners important for language acquisition, because the alteration in speech manners, makes the learner input more understandable, and understandable input advance the language acquisition, thus the changing in speech manners upgrade language acquisition.  Another psychologist was an important contributor to this view mention by Lightbown and Spada, Vygotsky argued that human mental processing Language develops entirely from social interaction. So the children will reach to a high level in their cognition and performance than they would be competent individually. In my own experience as a learner of English as a second language the social communication important in language acquisition, because my proficiency in English language become better from day to day and the reason is my existence in Australia and interact with the native speakers. While when I was in Jordan the chance to practice English is rarely, since the main language is Arabic language.

     In this paper, I have briefly explained some hypotheses about language acquisition. the Behaviourism hypotheses, the innatism hypothesis, and Krashen’s five hypotheses, The Cognitive  hypothesis and interactionist hypothesis,    some theories of language acquisition Development, the language acquisition device, Social Constructivism, and imitate learning, theories of language acquisition. I have also draw a little bit of attention to my experience as second language learner in learning English language

 

References

Lightbown, P. and Spada, N. (1999). How Language are Learned. Oxford: OUP. Ch 2 Theoretical approaches to explaining second language learning.

 

Crystal, D. 1992, ‘theories of language learning’ in the Cambridge Encyclopeadia of language, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 372-375.

 

Konieczna, E. 2001, “first language Acquisition: Piaget’s constructivism versus Chomsky’s Innateness hypothesis”. P 46. Zeszyty naukowe wysszej szkoly pedagogicznej w rzeszowie. Seria filologiczna. Zeszyt 42/2001. studia anglica resoviensia 2, Available from:

http://www.univ.rzeszow.pl/fil_ang/wsar2/sar_v2_05.pdf

 

White,  L. 2003. “universal grammar in L1 acquisition”

Second Language Acquisition and Universal Grammar, p. 2 – 3

 Available from:

http://books.google.com.au/books?id=2Q25nuAQ-oQC&dq=language+acquisition&pg=PP1&ots=YHGg3BNUp-&source=citation&sig=OqGlAliLIwaiBdHvsmnIljzRGQ&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=11&ct=result#PPA3,M1

 

Krashen, s.1982, ‘second Language Acquisition theory’, Principles and practices in second Language Acquisition, Pergamon press, 9 -32.

 

Microsoft Encarta, ‘Child Development’. Online Encyclopedia 2008 Available from:

http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761557692/Development_Child.html#p10.

 

Power, T. 2008, “English Language Learning and Teaching”

Available from:

http://www.btinternet.com/~ted.power/esl0312.html

 

Beller, S. (2008) Fostering language acquisition in daycare settings: What does the research tell us? Working Paper No. 49. The Hague, The Netherlands: Bernard van Leer Foundation.

Available from:

http://www.bernardvanleer.org/publication_store/publication_store_publications/fostering_language_acquisition_in_daycare_settings_what_does_the_research_tell_us/file

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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