To What Extent Can Teach Methodologies Overcome the Difficulties and Obstacles Related to Children - Essay Example

Children second language learning Student name Instructor name Institution Date of submission Abstract Teaching methodologies tend to concentrate on communication strategies and effective methods of imparting essence of second language among children in schools. Different scholars argue that learning a second language is an effective tool of exposure for school children. The success of a strategy will depend on success factors in curtailing obstacles which impede successful factors in learning a second language. Communication strategies involve impartation of thought which is inadequate in some forms of communication. Some parent discourages children in learning a second language. Young children face little difficulties in second language learning. Late age learning of second language is coupled with speaking although they may be experts in writing a second language. Children will construct meaning and nature of interaction to others in the same setting. Balance of bilingualism will determine children interest to learn other languages and this is unlike in learning non-native languages. Second language will enhance proficiency of first language. Teaching methodologies face obstacles in relation to children learning a second language. Stakeholders need to strategize on how to contribute to the success of children second language learning. The learning of second language adds to the young children oral interactions with target language. Thesis statement The learning of the second language for students has become inevitable in the current world. Globalization has introduced cultural convergence which necessitates the essence of teaching a second language. Teaching methodologies face obstacles in relation to children learning a second language. Stakeholders need to strategize on how to contribute to the success of children second language learning. The learning of second language adds to the young children oral interactions with target language. There exists natural order in which strategies in the learning of second language are developed. This paper will focus obstacles, strategies and benefits of learning a second language. This will adopt a diverge scholarly approach to the development of content Introduction Acquisition of second language presents a language competence among children. This is necessary especially before critical periods in life of a person. Second language will give grammatical competence and ability to learn quickly among children. Communication competence will evolve in children learning cultures from native languages. Ability to learn more than one language is referred to as bilingualism. Children will construct meaning and nature of interaction to others in the same setting. Balance of bilingualism will determine children interest to learn other languages and this is unlike in learning non-native languages. Second language will enhance proficiency of first language (Wong, p146). Statistics shows that children below age of 12 are easy to learn a second language as compared to children above this age. Statistics show that this age determines critical period of cognitive development of a child. Differences in biological factors will determine ability of a child to learn a second language. Children below this age are likely to be free to interact with their peers so as to learn the other language (Asher, pg.123). Obstacles to effective learning of second language Age of a child affects ability to learn a second language. Obstacle relating to learning of second language relates to age of introduction. Age determines emotional state of learner and it will intervene in learning of second language among children. Learning of a second language involves public practice and verbal conversation with others and this involves people making mistakes. Age of exposure to second language will determine how quick the child will learn the second language. Public mistakes for children are not a big deal. Children with high self-consciousness are reluctant to expose their weaknesses. Fear of embarrassment deters learning of second language among adult children as compared with the young ones. Bilingual children are able to learn 2 languages independently. Adult children are often demoralized with pronunciation difficulties and this is common in use of a second language. Later introduction to second language will affect learning of second language by a child. Introversion is an obstacle to developing second language. When children interact with children of different language; it is easy to learn the second language. Introverted children fear making mistakes and this is an obstacle in learning of second language. Introverted children will take more time in learning second language as compared to extroverted children in the same environment. They will take more time to gain proficiency in learning a second language. Some parent discourages children in learning a second language. Young children face little difficulties in second language learning. Late age learning of second language is coupled with speaking although they may be experts in writing a second language (Swain, p164). Family and cultural factors are obstacles in learning of a second language. Family and parental support is necessary in learning of a second language among children. Interaction with children will guide learning of a second language. There is fear among some families of children loosing native language competence. There is prestige associated with native language. The native language is seen to be more beneficial to a child later in life. This perception will deter efforts to learn a second language among children. Native language is a form of identity and losing it is detrimental among some families. There are negative attitudes towards some elements of second language. Families from low social economic status do not support learning of a second language. Low financial status deters parents from enrolling their children in learning a second language. Textbooks of second language are difficult to afford and this is a barriers to acquisition of second language. The materials are very expensive and this will cost learners the cost of effective acquisition of a second language (Asher, p.324). Strategies in effective teaching methodologies of second language among school children Communication strategies refer to systematic attempts in expression of meaning and efforts in learning a second language. Communication strategies refers to well thought attempts to communicate what the learners thinks and this is when there are inadequacies in inter-language structures. Strategy is an end product of planning process and it is meant to handle communication problems. Communication strategies are used in situations where there is lack of inter-language structures. Young children are quick learners of second language as compared to old children. Strategies for learning second language include repetition, memorization, formula expression, verbal attention getter, answer in unison, talk to self, elaboration, anticipatory answer, and monitoring. Repetition involves echo of words modeled by others in a previous structure by way of utterance. Memorization strategy involves recall of words by way of rhymes, songs, sequences and related numbers. Formulation of expression involves use of speech units to give impression of target language. Verbal attention getter involves initiation of interaction by means of speaker attraction. Children respond in unison and answering loudly with others in class. Target of second language trough talking to a person involves modification of verbal behavior which is directed to a learner. Elaboration involves provision of a lot of information to the learner in relation to the second language. Anticipatory answers develop from guess work and learners respond to anticipated questions from the teacher. The strategy of monitoring involves verbal correction and recognition of a Lerner’s error in grammar, style, and vocabulary. Teachers should encourage learners to seek for assistance in solving language problems. Request for clarification seeks to ask speaker to explain previous statement to enhance learning of target language. Role paly involves a learner taking role of another and this engages him or her in spontaneous practice of target language of interaction (Wong p.234). Benefits of second language Learning a second language for children offers new opportunities and source of enjoyment. Second language is like an invitation for exploration, pleasure and playground for school children.it assists to pick the first language rapidly. Students score highly in standardized test scores like GCSE EXAMS. Children improve literacy skills as reading a second language widens experience for children. Learning of new things inculcates sense of confidence among children. Cognitive skills such as critical thinking and problem solving are enhanced with learning of a second language. Children develop a native like accent and improve words pronunciation as they experience a slight difference in sound and tone due to second language (Gordon, 2006). The process of learning of a second language is beneficial to the children learning it. There is development of social, cognitive, emotional, neurobiological, and cognitive systems. Interaction with other children will enhance sociability of children. Personality of children will be enhanced as they are willing to expose their weakness and face the wrath of public embarrassment among their peers. Second language presents wide range of opportunities to children. Children will be exposed to global cultures and exchange programs with children in the global setting. Conclusion Obstacles in learning second language include cultural and family factors, interruption from first language, pedagogical factors, interference from surrounding factors, inadequacy of learning resources and attitude of educators in a given institution. There is fear among some families of children loosing native language competence. There is prestige associated with native language. The native language is seen to be more beneficial to a child later in life. This perception will deter efforts to learn a second language among children. Native language is a form of identity and losing it is detrimental among some families. There are negative attitudes towards some elements of second language. Families from low social economic status do not support learning of a second language. Low financial status deters parents from enrolling their children in learning a second language. Strategies for learning second language include repetition, memorization, formula expression, verbal attention getter, answer in unison, talk to self, elaboration, anticipatory answer, and monitoring. Repetition involves echo of words modeled by others in a previous structure by way of utterance. Memorization strategy involves recall of words by way of rhymes, songs, sequences and related numbers. References Asher, J., & Price, B. (2007). The learning strategy of total physical response: Some age differences. Child Development, 38, 1219-1227. Swain, M (1988). 'Manipulating and complementing content teaching to maximize Second language learning' TESL Canada Journal 6 68-83 Reprinted in R Philipson, E Kellerman, L Selinker, M Sherwood Smith, and M Swain (eds) 1991 Foreign/Second Language Pedagogy Research Clevedon, Avon Multilingual Matters Swain, M. (1993) The output hypothesis Just speaking and writing aren't enough' The Canadian Modem Language Review 50 158-64 Wong Fillmore, L. (in press). Learning a language from learners. In C. Kramsch & S. McConnell- Genet (Eds.), Te.vt and conte.vt: Cross-disciplinary perspectives on language studies. Lexington, MA:Heath. Read More