Aspects of Language Development - Essay Example

Name of Student Instructor’s Name Course Name and Number Date Language Development Introduction (Greetings with special mention to important personalities sitting in the audience). I am here today to talk about salient aspects of language development. I will try to discuss second language learning benchmarking from concepts discussed by various authors and complementing it with my own experience in learning English as a second language. As a start let me introduce myself, I am an immigrant to Australia. I came from a country that does not speak English as its first language. I am a naturally born Arabic speaking citizen. Thus, I can label myself as one of those people who learned English as a second language. I learned English as a second language in my birth country as early as Fifth Grade. It is also a compulsory language used in the University I have attended. However, I do not use English as a means to converse outside the classroom since I usually converse in Arabic with my family, friends and other people I interact with. Migrating to Australia changed all that. I am required to speak it in every aspect of my interaction with others. I have to use English in speaking with my neighbour and with my co-workers. I have to use it in speaking with people I met the grocery, in the bank, at school and everywhere else. Aspects of language development At first it was hard for me adjusting on my own language development experience given the contrasting scenario of its use while I was still in my native country and when I am already here in Australia. However, my motivation and capability to further learn English as my second language have helped me get pass through all of the challenges I faced. I have learned that these are exactly some of the factors that have to be considered in language development. Experiments on the hypothesis of teachability of second language developed by Pienemann (1984, cited in Heinsch, p.3, 1994) showed evidences that “motivation, age, capabilities and previous knowledge” (p. 7) of the second language affects the learning process of second language. Motivation is important in second language learning and mastery since it drives the openness of the learner to master the second language. Age is evidently a factor affecting second language learning process. Older children and adult have higher ability to quickly learn a second language (Long, 1990 cited from Heinsch, p. 9, 1994). Knowledge of the native language can become difficult in learning a second language particularly if the structures involve between the two languages are different from each other. This would entail a longer learning period for the student. Lastly, gaining and access to knowledge (Heinsch, 1994) pertaining to second language learning are important factors for its teachability. Implication to classroom second language teaching and learning What are the implications of these aspects of language development to classroom teaching and learning of second language? Lightbrown and Spada (2006) stated that “Knowing more about the development of learner language helps teachers to assess teaching procedures in the light of what they can reasonably expect to accomplish in the classroom” (p.71). Thus, knowing your students’ individual background, comprehension and experiences on the second language would help create a better classroom environment for teaching. This is exactly the basic tenet of scaffolding. Scaffolding is a term normally used in construction or building which has been metaphorically used in language development to refer to the structural role of teachers in assisting their students “develop new understanding, new concepts and new abilities” (Hammond, J & Gibbons, P., p. 4) while they are still not operationally proficient with the second language they are studying. As students master each of these aspects of structural assistance, teachers move into providing further assistance in understanding higher level of concepts in second language learning. Mercer (1994) cited that teachers specifically find the idea of scaffolding relevant to their role of providing intervention in facilitating second language learning of their students (cited in Hammond & Gibbons, p.4). I believed the concept of scaffolding is the core of second language teaching and learning. Both teachers and students are work together when scaffolding is at work in the classroom. The guidance provided by teachers helps students analyse and properly receive the inputs they provide so that they can create an effective output in second language acquisition as evidenced by the effective interaction they have with other people. Input, output and interaction are common terms that you will encounter in language development. I myself have been exposed to these terms while I was starting out in my formal learning of second language. Further, as I went along the process of learning English as a second language I realized that these three terms are intertwined within the three key features of scaffolding namely, (1) extending understanding, (2) its being temporary, and (3) focus on both macro and micro aspects of secondary language learning (Hammond, J & Gibbons, P). Teachers in providing guidance to effective learning of their second language students have to either arrange or ensure quality of their guidance in relation to the learning activities they conduct in the classroom. It involves various instructional inputs given by teachers that take into account factors such as age, previous knowledge, motivation and teachability to assess what types of input or scaffolding styles best address the current profiles of their students. Comprehensible input hypothesis upholds that inputs should be understandable to students modifying it from time to time depending on their level of comprehension (Swain, M., 2000). Thus, there is no fixed input applicable to every class. Classroom activities can also use alternative reference or inputs for discourse through newspapers, discussion of movies, television programs, and articles from the internet to help students improve their second language comprehension. In my experience, my English comprehensions have been improved tremendously by watching English movies. Thus, I believed using this medium as one way of improving students comprehension of English and discussing in the classroom students experience and understanding while watching such movies using English language will tremendously helped students practice their language skills and helped teachers correct any errors of understanding as well as help students practice what they learn from their structured lessons. Students of second language have the tendency to be attentive on the output of what they learn. For example, I remember that when I was just starting learning English as my second language, I am very conscious whether I speak and wrote English sentences and paragraphs correctly as what was taught to me in class. I am always conscious whether the message that I want to say is correctly relayed to the people I am in communicating with. Thus, I continuously analyse my written and speaking skills related to the English language. Merril Swain (1995, p. 128) supported such tendency of second language students by outlining the three functions of output in second language learning. According to him, output helps students to be (1) attentive of their progress, (2) test their own assumptions, and (3) reflect on what they have learned. As students practice what they have learned through speech and written materials they will realize what areas they need improvement, creates feedback and assess whether they are using the inputs provided in class appropriately. Teachers scaffolding role are crucial in students’ action towards the roles of output in their progression in second language learning. Finally, interaction is necessary to bridge the gap between input and output in the students’ learning of second language. Interaction is needed to successfully facilitate acquiring the skills and knowledge of second language (Ellis, R., 1995). According to Ellis (1998) interaction helps in students’ progress in second language learning. Through discoursing with a teacher, fellow students or other people outside of the classroom, students will be able to practice the concepts of second language. Along the way he will be able to realize what areas of second language knowledge he is not yet competent with such as grammar and vocabularies. Ellis (1995) illustrates three phases of classroom interaction namely (1) initiation of teacher, (2) response of students, and (3) feedback of teacher (p. 127.). Both input and output are clearly seen in these phases resulting to knowledge of students of second language. Thus, the scaffolding role of teachers in second language is very important to facilitate interaction within the classroom thereby arming students with necessary knowledge on second language. Their ability to provide and modify learning environments for students is very crucial. In modifying learning environments to accommodate extension of learning of students is one key feature of scaffolding. However, the role of teachers in students learning is temporary which is limited to equipping students the necessary skills in second language proficiency. Conclusion The role of second language teachers in language development is very crucial particularly if interlanguage is influenced by student’s previous knowledge of the second language they are learning. Interlanguage, a term created by Larry Selinker for “learners’ developing second language” (1972, Lightbrown et al, 2006, p. 74). It continuously evolves as the process of the student’s learning continuously improved within a classroom setting. Inputs provided by teachers and by those informal settings are crucial in this process of evolvement. The formal lessons provided by teachers such as subject verb agreement and sentence structuring are complemented by the student’s experience of the second language outside the classroom such as in his neighbourhood, in his work, in the grocery or department stores. Per my experience my ability to speak the language and practice the formal lessons I learned from my English classes from my schools prior to my migration to Australia is constrained in an informal setting since English is not spoken in my native country. My family does not use it in casual conversations. These are natural settings that would have been helpful for me to practice the inputs I learned from my classes had English been used as the medium of conversation. This was not the case when I migrated here in Australia. English is the primary language of this country which makes it easier for me and my children to continuously practice what we have learned from our English classes in school. However, given the natural flow of conversation in our natural environment we do not have control on the various words and sentence phrasing used by people whom we regularly interact with. Thus, sometimes we learn more vocabularies outside of the classroom and met people who use the English language efficiently than us. To complement this learning experience of students on English language with a formal English curriculum, it is best that curriculum designs must capture these natural experiences in the examples or scenarios provided by natural settings to bridge the gap between formal and informal learning of second language such as English. Also, it would be best approach to a student’s learning to require a journal of English words and sentences that he learns outside of the classroom for synthesis or discussion during classes. It will help facilitate better understanding of the words, arrest any inaccurate learning captured particularly slang or informal words, and create an intervention from teachers to correct or affirm the learning of the students outside the classroom. Another way of complementing these natural settings within the classroom is the conduct of course activities simulating these natural settings within formal settings such as the conduct of briefings, forums or symposiums that will show students the use of various vocabularies and formal English conversations. References Heinsch, D.P., (1994). New Directions in Second Language Acquisition Research: Some Implications for Curriculum Development, Teaching and Learning. University of New Castle. Lightbrown, P.M. and Spada, N. (2006). How language are learned. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Hammond, J & Gibbons, P. What is scaffolding? Swain, M. (2000). The output hypothesis and beyond: Mediating acquisition through collaborative dialogue in Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning, Lantold, J (ed), Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 97-114. Swain, M (1995). Three functions of output in second language learning. Principle & practice in applied linguistics: studies in honour of H.G. Widdowson, Guy Cook & Barbara Seidhofer (eds.), Oxford, Oxford University Press, pp.125-144. Ellis, R (1995). Input and interaction and second language acquisition. The study of second language acquisition, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 243-292. Ellis, R (1998). Types of interaction and their role in the classroom. Classroom second language development, Prentice-Hall, Hemel Hempstead, pp. 95-133 Ellis, R (1995). Individual learner differences. The study of second language acquisition, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp.471-493. Read More