Second Langauge Learning - Assignment Example

?The Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis Learner in the perspective of the contrastive analysis hypothesis The basis of contrastive analysis hypothesis is the behavioral psychology that reflects in Skinner’s theory of stimulus response. Another psychological basis of contrastive analysis hypothesis is associationism. Learning of all kinds leads to formation of the habit. Learning fundamentally occurs through reinforcement. The contrastive analysis hypothesis supposes that the learners develop an understanding of the second language through the lens of their first language. As a result of this, they easily comprehend and develop competence in the forms and structures of the second language that are similar to or the same as those of the first language, but learners face difficulty in learning and developing fluency in the forms and structures that differ between their first language and the second language. In this context, the contrastive analysis hypothesis essentially underestimates the learners’ ability to see, understand, analyze, and interpret the forms and structures of the second language that lie outside the canvas of their first language. Although the contrastive analysis hypothesis does not completely disbelieve in the learners’ tendency to do it, yet it does suggest that certain level of difficulty is bound to be experienced by the learner of the second language. The contrastive analysis hypothesis assumes that learners of the second language tend to incorporate their first language’s formal features into the utterances of the second language. The notion of incorporating essentially means “carrying over the habits of his mother-tongue into the second language” (Corder, 1971, p. 158). Ellis (1965) proposes that transfer theory is the psychological basis of contrastive analysis hypothesis as the learners’ first language is substituted for the prior learning whereas their second language is substituted for the learning that takes place subsequently. For instance, when individuals whose first language is French attempt to learn English as the second language, they tend to skip the sound “h” from such words as “hut” or “horse”. Likewise, individuals whose first language is German and try to learn English as the second language tend to replace the sound of the letter “d” with the sound of “t” when they utter such words as “old”. In the same way, second language learners of different nationalities find it difficult to produce the voiced consonant of the article “the” as well as the voiceless counterpart of this article as in “thin”. Grammatical errors that the learners of second language make can, in part, be attributed to interference between the first language and the second language. Nevertheless, at the phonological level, there is a certain level of reliability. Differences between other languages and English are often the major reason behind the interference. The process of learning is considerably simplified as the phonological differences or similarities between the first language and the second language become greater. Use of contrastive analysis hypothesis in the teaching of second language Inaccuracy of the learner’s language imparts the need for the teacher to ascertain if the error is related to pronunciation or grammar. In spite of all the controversies and criticisms that the use of contrastive analysis as a way of teaching second language has gained, many teachers still find the insights provided by the contrastive analysis hypothesis quite useful and helpful in comprehending the problems commonly faced by the students, and for making students understand what they need to learn. The contrastive analysis hypothesis provides the learners with the awareness of the differences between their first language and the second language. This helps the learners realize what speech habits of their native language can be transferred to the second language. “It seems desirable, then, that teachers be familiar with the significant differences between the English sound system and that of the language or languages their students habitually use if they are to help them acquire a pronunciation acceptable and comprehensible to a native speaker of English” (Rivers and Temperley, 1978, p. 152). The contrastive analysis hypothesis is also quite helpful in the determination of the factors responsible for causing errors in learning. Teachers may interpret certain errors as grammatical failures if they are phonologically based. For example, in the Italian language, except for the loan words, the final consonant clusters are not featured. This causes the Italians to skip the last letters of such words as “liked” and “eats” so that they are pronounced as “like” and “eat” respectively. This leads the teacher to the conclusion that learners have failed to master the third person singular or the past tense formation. Nevertheless, a contrastive analysis hypothesis based study suggests that differences in phonotactics causes the error as the Italian language does not allow multiple consonants in a final position whereas the English language does. A teacher may think that effective communication is not impeded by a certain error, so there is no need to pay remedial attention toward the error. Locating the fundamental and root-cause of a problem is very important for a teacher to handle successfully when there is need of a corrective treatment. The Interaction Hypothesis Michael Long, the expert of Second Language Acquisition proposed the interaction hypothesis that explains a potential way in which learners of the second language can successfully learn. The distinctive feature of the interaction hypothesis is that it visualizes the process of conversation as much more than just a medium of practice; it considers conversation as a means through which learning occurs especially when the meaning is to be negotiated between the communicating partners. “Especially negotiation work that triggers interactional adjustments by the Native Speaker or more competent interlocutor, facilitates acquisition because it connects input, internal learner capacities, particularly selective attention, and output in productive ways” (Long, 1996, pp. 451-452). Learner in the perspective of the interaction hypothesis The interaction hypothesis defines the learner in terms of the “non-native speaker” and posits that when a non-native speaker interacts with a native speaker of the language which is second language for the learner or when he/she interacts with another non-native speaker who speaks the second language effectively and fluently, the interaction helps in the development of a naturalistic environment of Second Language Acquisition. When this is achieved, the non-native speaker learns the second language by means of negotiating the meaning and identifying the potential grey areas or gaps in his/her knowledge of the second language. The interaction hypothesis assumes the learner to be in a continuous cycle of learning. The quality and amount of learning is directly linked with the variety of experiences that the learner has in the everyday life. Learner in the eyes of interaction hypothesis is a person with receptive personality traits. The curiosity of learning is assumed to be ingrained in the learner. However, the quality of learning is fundamentally associated with the hold of the other person in communication with the learner over the second language of the learner. The learner might be able to learn more as a result of the interaction with another individual who is also a non-native speaker of the language in which the communication takes place because the learner can then identify with the communication partner and might thus be better able achieve hold over the weak areas. During the process of communication, the learner negotiates in the second language which reveals gaps in his/her abilities. Such abilities may include but are not limited to grammar, syntax, vocabulary, and pronunciation. One of the most fundamental conclusions of the interaction hypothesis is that the self-realization caused as a result of the authentic interaction between the communication partners encourages the learner of the second language to produce the output of the target language through negotiation of the meaning. Use of interaction hypothesis in the teaching of second language Interaction hypothesis is one of the best ways to teach second language particularly in a classroom setting because it provides both the teacher and the students with a lot of flexibility, relaxation, and focus. “This interaction between the ESOL (ESL, EFL) learner and other students or the learner and the ESOL (ESL, EFL) teacher, results in language acquisition on the part of the learner, meaning they have internalized this chunk of language and will be able to produce it later when needed” (Goddess, 2009). For the teacher, use of interaction hypothesis reduces the stress teachers normally take in the class by speaking all the time. Since interaction hypothesis emphasizes upon learning through interaction, the teacher can make students work in groups where they can speak to and learn from one another while the teacher can observe the discussions and review and analyze them so that students can learn their mistakes and take their understanding of the second language to the next level. Moreover, group work in which students learn from one another also sparks interest in the students to learn because they have a variety of sources of learning and information within the classroom rather than just the teacher. The best way to use interaction hypothesis to promote learning is by designing such groups where certain students are fluent in the second language whereas the others are not. Part 2 (b) One of the biggest hindrances in the acquisition of second language learning in the classroom by students is anxiety. You might have frequently experienced calling a student that apparently seemed to be understanding everything you had been teaching upon stage and would have observed that all the confidence was gone. It is not that the students showing poor academic performance are not interested in learning the second language; they might be just as, if not more, motivated to learn the second language, as the excellent performing students are. But they can’t just help themselves as there is some unexplainable but overwhelming feeling of discomfort that they feel when they try to engage in the lessons or participate in the lectures. That is what we call “anxiety”. “Anxiety is the subjective feeling of tension, apprehension, nervousness, and worry associated with an arousal of the autonomic nervous system” (Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope, 1986). Anxiety has been frequently identified as a fundamental factor hindering integration of immigrants in the host society in general and their acquisition of the foreign language in particular. Schumann (1978 cited in Block, 2003, p. 52) analyzed that anxiety caused Alberto, a Costa Rican immigrant in the US to lack development of competence in English. According to MacIntyre and Gardner (1991), there are three basic perspectives to investigate anxiety; namely the trait anxiety, the state anxiety, and the situation specific anxiety. The trait anxiety can be defined as a general personality trait which remains relevant in a lot of situations. The negative effects of the trait anxiety are that it causes impairment of the cognitive functioning, avoidance behavior, and disruption of memory in the second language learner. The state anxiety “is interested in “here-and-now” experience of anxiety as an emotional state” (Dogil and Reiterer, 2009, p. 107). The situation specific anxiety refers to the particular forms of anxiety that are consistently experienced at different times in the same situation. Of the three perspectives, the perspective of situation specific anxiety is the most integrally linked with the learning of a second language and communicating in it such events as class participation and public speaking examinations, and is thus most likely to be the focus for language teaching research. There are mixed implications of anxiety in the learning of second language in a classroom. On one hand, anxiety impedes students’ engagement in the lectures. On the other hand, anxiety to a certain extent, has been discussed by various experts, educationalists, and authors as a positive element that facilitates the learning of second language in a classroom setting. According to Scovel (1978), facilitating anxiety, on one hand, spurs a motivation in the learners of the second language to fight the tasks and activities of new learning, and gears them emotionally toward the approach behavior. On the other hand, the debilitating anxiety spurs a motivation in the learners to flee the tasks and activities of new learning, thus emotionally stimulating them to avoid the avoidance behavior. While two students might feel anxious in the class of second language learning to the same extent and for the same reason, they are very likely to differ in their understanding of second language and their ability to speak it. The reason is; there are certain personality traits that aggravate the problem when a student is anxious that include but are not limited to shyness, lack of confidence, low self-esteem, and over-sensitivity. There is not much you can do to really change these personality traits of the students to enhance their experience in the class, but there are certain ways in which you can nullify the effect of these personality traits. As a teacher, you can make a difference in the students’ learning process with creative ways of teaching the second language. You should try to design such activities for the students that have a lot of resemblance with the kinds of situations your students are likely to be when they have to speak the second language outside the classroom. “language teaching is viewed not just in terms of providing comprehensible input, but rather as helping students enter into the kinds of authentic social discourse situations and discourse co m m unities that they would later encounter outside the classroom” (Yanling and Guizhen, 2006).One of the essentials of teaching second language in a classroom setting is to have interaction through group work. This not only provides the students with an escape from being singled out, but they also happen to engage in the learning activities more since group work is like a mission they are on with their friends. Alongside, when they listen to one another speak, they notice that they are not the only ones with a poor understanding of the second language. You should encourage the students to speak in second language no matter how many mistakes they make while doing that. You should inculcate this perception in the students that making mistakes is a pre-requisite of realization of mistakes and their ultimate avoidance. Your teaching experience can lead you to developing the best strategy to help students cope with anxiety in the class of second language learning. For example, by reflecting upon your past experiences, you should think what a fictitious student would do if you asked him/her to, let’s say, narrate a memorable personal experience in the class in the second language. “The purpose of the case example [should be] to sift through the confusion and identify characteristics or symptoms that underlie the anxiety problem” (Ottens, 1991, p. 14). Understanding the most typical and usual responses can lead you to modifying your strategies in such a way that students find them appealing and interesting. Last but not the least, developing the interest is fundamental to overcoming the anxiety of the students. The more interesting your lectures are, the more participative the audience i.e. the students become. You, of course, are not expected to be able to make each and every student in your class “happy” and “relaxed” all the time, but there is a lot that you are expected to do and that you can easily do to reduce the anxiety and stress of the students in general and develop such a climate in the classroom where students feel comfortable, confident, and at home. References: Block, D 2003, The Social Turn in Second Language Acquisition, UK: Edinburgh University Press. Corder, SP 1971, Idiosyncratic dialects and error analysis, IRAL, Vol. 9. Dogil, G, and Reiterer, SM 2009, Language Talent and Brain Activity, Berlin, Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG. Ellis, HC 1965, The Transfer of Learning, New York: MacMillan. Godess, T 2009, The Interaction Hypothesis: What it is and How it Naturally Occurs in the ESL Classroom, viewed 19 December 2012 at http://voices.yahoo.com/the-interaction-hypothesis-it-naturally-3354692.html. Horowitz, E, Horowitz, M, and Cope, J 1986, Foreign language classroom anxiety, Modern Language Journal, Vol. 70, No. 2, pp. 125-32. Long, M 1996, The role of the linguistic environment in second language acquisition, In W. Ritchie and T. Bhatia (eds), Handbook of Second Language Acquisition, San Diego: Academic Press, 413-68. MacIntyre,PD, and Gardner, RC 1991, Methods and results in the study of anxiety and language learning: A review of the literature, Language Learning, Vol. 41, No. 1, pp. 85-117. Ottens, AJ 1991, Coping With Academic Anxiety, NY: The Rosen Publishing Group. Rivers, WM, and Temperley, MS 1978, A Practical Guide to the Teaching of English as a Second or Foreign Language, New York: Oxford University Press. Scovel, T 1978, The effect of affect on foreign language learning: a review of the anxiety research, Language Learning, Vol. 28, pp. 129-142. Yanling, Z, and Guizhen, J 2006, Anxiety in Foreign Language Classroom, CELEA Journal, Vol, 29, No. 6, pp. 96-103. 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