Syeda H. Naqvi
Post University
Factors that Influence the Acquisition of a Second Language
Since the world has become a global village, people are more interested in learning a second language because of trade, economy, health, tourism, careers, education, and for many other reasons. Like other languages, there are countless people who want to learn English because English has become an international language. As a participant of TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) program, one should get as much knowledge as possible to teach those students whose primary language is not English. In the US schools every school has a presence of English Language Learners (ELL). A TESOL teacher should know how to best serve these ELLs to prepare them for their future success academically and professionally. In acquisition of a second language there are many things that play a key role in acquiring a new language, especially, when the acquisition is happening after the critical period from birth till seven years of age. The article which will be discussed is ‘The factors that influence the acquisition of a second language’ without author’s name.
This article presents the point that some learners of SLA acquire the language faster than others because there are some internal and external factors that influences the acquisition of SLA (Second Language Acquisition).
Some internal factors, the article mentions, are age, personality, internal motivation, experience, cognition, and native language. And some external factors are; curriculum, instruction, culture and status, external motivation, and access to native speakers.
Due to the limited scope of this paper, this discourse will focus only on the internal factors that play a key role in SLA.
The findings of this article are helpful to those who are entrusted of the people/students who have to learn the second language for different purposes, in this case the target language is English. The article asserts that the instructors/teachers if keep these factors in mind while teaching the second language, can teach more effectively than without paying attention to these factors.
The Factors that Influence the Acquisition of a Second Language
It is foretold that only the internal factors are under discussion here.
Age: The article says, “Second language acquisition is influenced by the age of the learner.” It can be observed easily anywhere in a social setting or a school setting that the children of a young age learn the language at a faster pace, and they are not afraid of taking risk of using the language they have learned so far. Sun (2019, p.1) said, “Generally, adults can do better on the initial stage for their better cognitive ability; while children can do better in pronunciation and standard accent, and after a long period of learning they can be more likely to succeed in acquiring the second language and communicating with it.”
Personality: It is a known truth that the people who got our attention are those who have the courage to present themselves before the world. These are the people who take a risk to come forward or do something or say something. Because of their forwardness, they are admired or sometimes face criticism but they do not sit back. Those who are afraid of taking a risk or shy moves forward slowly. This is true for language acquisition too, especially, for SLA. This article says that “Introverted or anxious learners usually make slower progress, particularly in the development of oral skills.”, and “More outgoing students will not worry about the inevitability of making mistakes. They will take risks, and thus will give themselves much more practice.” Biedron and Pawlak (2016, p.411) also made the same point, “Shy and introverted students, for example, may be less willing to communicate than extrovert and risk-taking ones, while analytical and conscientious learners are likely to do well in a traditional classroom.”
Motivation (intrinsic): Motivation is the spinal cord of any work done fantastically. Likewise learning a second language becomes fun when the learner has a strong inner motivation to learn it. This inner motivation could be a better grade/job/knowledge of the world/literature of other languages. The under discussion article states, “Intrinsic motivation has been found to correlate strongly with educational achievement. Clearly, students who enjoy language learning and take pride in their progress will do better than those who don’t.”
Takahashi (2018, p.70) stated, “Thus, intrinsically motivated learners take part in activities because they think the activities are enjoyable. By contrast, those who are extrinsically motivated do the activities because they think participation will bring desirable outcomes, for instance, praise from teachers or parents. Desirable outcomes include not only rewards but also avoidance of punishment. If parents are angry at a learner for not studying and then the learner studies in order to avoid being scolded, we can say that the learner’s action is extrinsically driven.”
Intelligence: The teachers face and observe every day in their classrooms that some students comprehend the instructions/word problems/stories/ faster than some other students. That demands the teacher to spend more time and attention on those who take more time in understanding the task. This is possible for teachers because of those students who catch the instruction faster. These quick to learn students sometimes become the helper of the teacher because they help other students in need. It can be observed easily in the classroom that the teachers make groups consist of some smart students with those who need extra help. So when a teacher is busy helping some other students, these smart students help the ones on their table who still need extra help. This article also maintains this point, “In general, it seems that students with greater cognitive abilities (intelligence) will make faster progress. Some linguists believe that there is a specific, innate language-learning ability that is stronger in some students than in others.”
Khan Academy video (2013, 1:23) stated: “Piget came up with a theory of cognitive development in children, and it was because of this and his observations of children that he believed that one child was able to think in a certain way, then they developed the language to describe those thoughts.”
Experiences: The students who bring more funds of knowledge about the topic or subject participate in the classroom actively. This is true for the language learners too. If the teacher creates a welcoming environment in the classroom, respects student’s languages, and allows them to share their knowledge in their languages or with their limited proficiency in the target language, then these learners of the second language learn the language faster to express their knowledge. The article says, “Learners who have acquired general knowledge and experience are in a stronger position to develop a new language than those who haven’t.” So, the only thing is required by the teacher is providing second language learners the meaningful opportunities to share their experiences and knowledge about the topic. This strategy motivates language learners to acquire the target language at a faster speed.
Native Language: “Students who are learning a second language which is from the same language family as their first language have, in general, a much easier task than those who aren’t. So, for example, a Dutch child will learn English more quickly than a Japanese child.”
I agree that it only happens when L1 and L2 are from the same language. However, if L1 and L2 are not from the same family, acquisition of the second language takes longer time. For example, English and Arabic are not from the same language, so the learners of these languages might take more time to acquire each other’s language.
Conclusion
The conclusion is that the teachers/instructors of the second language if they keep these factors in mind and know the role of these factors in language acquisition, they would teach the language effectively. I want to share my own experience which is related to the ‘personality’ factor. When I was doing my practicum for my TESOL certificate, I was working with a group of six ELL students. One of the students in that group had a quiet personality. It was almost one year and that specific student was not participating in the classroom or group activities. Because of her quiet personality, it was difficult to say if she was fluent in L1 which was Spanish. Even during recess, she played with her friends but hardly spoke to them. She did not want to participate in conversations. Her quiet personality slowed her down in her SLA. Another reason for her not participating in classroom group activities might be her poor academic language, as her teacher mentioned it to me.
I still see her in school, and she is still a quiet and shy girl. I cannot get information about her English proficiency level because of the confidentiality matters.
braintouse 