Language Teaching: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing - Thesis Example

?Second Language Acquisition Details of the assignment I belonged to a nation where English is not the mother tongue of the citizens. It is not an English speaking nation. But in my case the circumstances made me to learn English, and to take English as my medium of instruction. Though I have never been a language person, I can better be called as a bilingual person. It is because I know more than one language. I can speak Cantonese, Mandarin, and English. I also know French a little bit, though I am not much fluent in French. Second Language or English language acquisition was not my choice at all. English is regarded as lingua franca and so notwithstanding your educational and cultural background, you have to obtain a minimum level skill in spoken and written English, if you want to be a global person. “For better or worse, by choice or force, English has ‘traveled’ to many parts of the world.” (Sharifian 2009) It is the circumstances which led me to become a multi lingual person. Learning English thoroughly and being a language teacher had never been my choice of career. English was not a completely new language for me as my parents knew English very well. I acquired the language in a quite easy and unconscious manner, as I had been learning English from the age of 6. I was born in Malaysia and later on my family transferred to Hong Kong, when I was just one year old. My kindergarten education was in Chinese medium. When we shifted to Hong Kong, my parents sent me to an International school. English then became my first language. The entire atmosphere in my school was utterly cosmopolitan. The students in our international school had come from different parts of the world. The teachers were from UK and they spoke to us in pure English. So we had an exposure to what we call a “Queen’s English.” I did not have to take much effort while learning English. It was a traditional method of teaching which the teachers used. Apart from that, it would not be difficult for me to grasp English. It was because the entire culture in my school was English. The books prescribed in our curriculum were typical language books, which consisted of innumerable pictures. It was really wonderful to read them and to watch the pictures. We would be having different tables, quizzes, games as our exercises. I was learning English very comfortably and naturally like I learnt my mother tongue. The medium of instruction was English, hence every subject was taught in English itself. Though I have never been a language person, I could speak English fluently. I could read English very comfortably. My listening skill developed automatically, as I was hearing English constantly in my school, and later, in the places where I travelled. As long as writing is concerned I was a little bit behind. For me, English had been the source of communication with my peers. I had absolutely no problem in speaking English. The atmosphere in the school was global and multicultural. We had no choice but to communicate in English with each other. I was accompanied by the children from different parts of the world. Among them, some children were from India, Philippines, Korea, and Japan. Some of them were also from United States and England. When we were in school, we used to learn lots of nursery rhymes and Christian rhymes as it was a Christian school. When the teachers would sing the rhymes, we would repeat them. We would follow the same accents. Thus we got acquainted with the accents and pronunciation without any effort. Acquisition of English as a foreign language was really not a matter of concern for me. In our school, French was another language for study. To be frank, I used to get bored. I was not good in French. Consequently, I know French very little. English and French actually are the language of same family. But like English I could not be fluent in French. It might be firstly because I was not a language person and secondly because we taught French as other language and it was not our medium of instruction. I feel that language should not be taught as a subject but it should be taught to attain the purpose of language and that is communication or interaction. My mother tongue is Cantonese and I know Mandarin too. Both of these languages are from same families. At home we speak Cantonese. Hence it had never been a problem to speak and understand both of these languages. My parents had appointed a tutor to teach me Mandarin. But it was I think not sufficient to practise any language. The main thing is that you have to have frequent exposure to the language. My relatives spoke Mandarin, so when I visited them, the conversation would happen in Mandarin. I think that was an additional advantage for me to have exposure to Mandarin. But at home, we would never speak Mandarin. I was supported by my family to grasp English. My parents were from English medium school, so it was absolutely not a problem for them to speak English. Like vernacular medium students, it was not a deliberate learning, but unconsciously I was acquiring English. I did not learn grammar directly but I hardly make any mistake of grammar while speaking. My objective was not to learn language and be a language teacher or do my career in the field of language. I was so much interested in music and decided to make my career in Music. After passing out from school, I went to Australia for my further studies. I completed 11 and 12th from Australia. After that I wanted to take admission in University for music. I came back to Hong Kong, and completed my Post Graduate Diploma in English. Music has always been there in my mind. It was my passion that made me to secure Masters Degree in Music. For some or other reason, I decided to complete M.Ed. in English language. The objective is to teach English to those students who are keen to secure a recognized degree of English and who have not secured their first degree in English. My students are average students and they have not come from well-off family. Unfortunately they get less motivation and help to establish the habit of reading, writing, speaking the language. These students have to struggle a lot to acquire L2. While dealing with them, I strongly feel that their upbringings are completely contradictory from me. The upbringing matters a lot in developing the language skill. Unfortunately their upbringing is not encouraging and it has affected their language acquisition process. They have no practice of speaking L2, as they don’t speak in English when they are out of the class. After school their communication takes place in other language. English has just been the language of their study. They learn it because they have no choice. English has always been a foreign language in my life. But I travelled out of my country like China, Australia. I visited many places, got in touch with many people. This extensive travel to different countries gave me a certain outlook and my language skill was automatically developing. I would say that I am quite fortunate that I do not have to take extra efforts to learn any language which my students are taking. Section 2 My experience during the acquisition of English made me understand that two major factors influence the Second Language Acquisition Process: Internal Factors and External Factors Internal Factors: 1. Age 2. Personality 3. Motivation 4. Experiences 5. Cognition 6. Native language External Factors: 1. Curriculum 2. Instruction 3. Culture and Status 4. Access to English speaking people Internal Factors: 1. Age: I was from English medium since my childhood. So it was not difficult for me to acquire English as a language. The vernacular medium children on the other hand actually start learning English as a language when the complete their schooling. It is too late for them to learn the second language. They already cross the early age of their life which is an ideal age for learning any language. I strongly believe that L2 should be taught at the very early age of the child’s life. The child can easily speak mother tongue because he listens to it at the phase of infancy. “Most children learn a second language in a natural setting, whereas adults learn in a formal classroom setting. Because adults possess many inhibitions and attitudes about speaking a foreign language, they are less likely to attempt meaningful learning.” (Jennifer Wagner) This was the main reason why the students from vernacular medium cannot learn the second language naturally. The English medium students learn English as their first language and so their acquiring process is quite spontaneous. So we have already developed certain attitudes in our mind about speaking English and it hampers the learning skill. “The critical period hypothesis suggests that age, and accompanying changes in the brain, place a natural limit on second language acquisition.” (Brown, 2007) 2. Personality: I am not good in language. One reason might be because I am not an outspoken person. So I could not acquire French. For other languages I had no choice but to use them to interact with the people. Introvert people get conscious while talking and so it becomes hard for them to possess the skill of second language. According to Krashen “traits relating to self-confidence (i.e., lack of anxiety, outgoing personality, and self-esteem) will relate to second language acquisition.” (Krashen 1981). Clement (1980) adopts a similar position, proposing that self-confidence will be important in multicultural settings where contact with members of other ethnic groups is possible.(Clement 1980) Motivation and second language acquisition: The students who get proper encouragement and motivation from their parents and teachers can learn the second language quickly. But when this variable diminishes, the process gets halted. While stating the importance of motivation in second language acquisition, Gardner says, “language is an integral part of growing up (which provides motivation in its own right), and is necessary to communicate and participate in ones environment. Often, this is not the case for second languages, especially those “learned” in school. There are many advantages for knowing other languages but they are not absolutely necessary, and as a consequence, motivation (as well as ability) can play an important role in learning a second language.” (Gardner) As per the model of Gardner four major variables are important in Second language acquisition, among which one is motivation. The variables include “the variables of intelligence, language aptitude, motivation and situational anxiety.” (Giles and Coupland 1991). I got the motivation of learning English when my parents sent me in an international school. The vernacular language students get motivation from their school to learn English as a subject, but when they actually start using English as a means of communication, the motivation factor starts lessening and consequently it becomes hard for them to develop their speaking, listening, reading and writing activities. Experiences According to Sonja Knuston, “In the field of second-language acquisition (SLA), the experiential approach encourages learners to develop the target language skills through the experience of working together on a specific task, rather than only examining discrete elements of the target language.” (Knuston 2009) Some of the learners have a wide experience and knowledge and they also have an ability to use the experience and knowledge while developing their second language skills. Travelling overseas, reading extensively helps to enhance the language skill. Cognition Cognition is associated with mental activities. They include comprehension, problem solving, decision making and creativity. Some of the children are by born language people. Their memory inclined towards verbal ability. So they can easily grasp any language. In school some children are good in mathematics while some are good in languages. Hence their grasping of second language is totally dependent upon their cognitive skill. Native Language influence: At the initial stage of language acquisition process, the person is likely to translate the sentence from L1 to L2, and then he/she speaks. It is because the learner has a great influence of his mother tongue. “When writing or speaking the target language (L2), second language learners tend to rely on their native language (L1) structures to produce a response. If the structures of the two languages are distinctly different, then one could expect a relatively high frequency of errors to occur in L2, thus indicating an interference of L1 on L2” (Dechert, 1983 and Ellis, 1997). So in mind the learner first thinks it in his mother tongue and then translates it into the Second language. This translation method hampers the communication process. It is because some expressions are there which cannot be translated or sometimes the learner cannot find the appropriate word in the second language. Jacob Mey says, “An important way in which L2 learning is different from L1 learning is the influence of the mother tongue on second language learning.” He further says “The mother tongue or L1 plays an important role in the process of L2 acquisition.” (Mey 2009) External Factors: 1. Curriculum “If it is true that we acquire languages via comprehensible input, and if language acquisition is central, not language learning, then it follows that the most important element in any language teaching program is input. Language is best taught when it is used to transmit messages, not when it is explicitly taught for conscious learning.” (Krashen and Terrell 1983: 35) The input here means proper curriculum which should aim at acquiring the language and not just learning it as a subject. Learning Second language and Acquisition of the languages are two opposite phenomena in language learning process. “Children acquire language through a subconscious process during which they are unaware of grammatical rules. This is similar to the way they acquire their first language. They get a feel for what is and what isn’t correct. In order to acquire language, the learner needs a source of natural communication. The emphasis is on the text of the communication and not on the form. Young students who are in the process of acquiring English get plenty of “on the job” practice. They readily acquire the language to communicate with classmates. Language learning, on the other hand, is not communicative. It is the result of direct instruction in the rules of language. And it certainly is not an age-appropriate activity for your young learners. In language learning, students have conscious knowledge of the new language and can talk about that knowledge. They can fill in the blanks on a grammar page.” (Haynes Julie) When the child learns in English medium school, he/she unconsciously acquires the language in school. At home also he can easily grasp his/her mother tongue. According to Stephen Krashen, “Language acquisition does not require extensive use of conscious grammatical rule, and does not require tedious drill.” (Ricardo Schtutz Stephen Krashen 2007) Unfortunately during second language acquisition, students are continuously made aware of the grammatical rules and so they get stuck in grammar and cannot develop the real language skill. The second language learning process includes the curriculum which is based on grammar and translation method. So English is taught just in a grammar and translation method. This method is a traditional method of learning language. In our text books grammar rules were introduced at the beginning itself. Unlike the students of vernacular medium, the English medium children learn grammar structure and skill unconsciously, probably they cannot explain the rules of grammar but they learn it. “Rivers (1972: 17-18) observes that, in the Grammar-translation method, little stress is laid on accurate pronunciation and intonation. Communication Skills are neglected; there is a great deal of stress on knowing grammatical rules and exceptions, but little training in using the language actively to express one’s own meaning even in writing.”(Byram Michale) It was the major problem of the second language learning process as this traditional method is still prevalent in most of the vernacular medium schools. 2. Instructions: Lack of proper methodology and pedagogy is another factor which hampers the second language acquisition process. If the training is going through one way traffic, the students never interact in the class and without interaction; acquisition of second language is not at all possible. Non native speakers cannot get a chance to practise spoken language while learning the second language. The second language learners cannot get this advantage which the native speakers or the English medium school children get. Everywhere the non Englihsh medium students have to communicate only in their mother tongue. There is no exposure of Second language for them at school level. The students get hardly any opportunity of interaction. “One factor was that, for various reasons, the students spent little time in actually speaking English in a typical way, i.e. there seemed to be little opportunity to practise.” ( Jordan R) 3. Cultural Status: The major advantage to the native students or the students, who have been learning English as a first language in school, is that they are quite familiar with the culture in which English flourishes. They have been made acquainted with the culture. Their daily prayers, day today activities everything resemble with English culture. But for non native speakers the culture is totally alien to them and they are likely to undergo many cultural shocks. “Learning a new language while living in the culture involves coming to terms with the new ocean you are swimming in.” (Spackman C.) The students who are learning second language have to have some sort of English cultural underpinning. “Thus, acculturation support at the classroom or at least at the school level would help maximize learners' mastery of the new language. (Spackman C.) Access to English speaking people One more pathetic situation about vernacular medium school is that the teachers even are not fluent in spoken English. I never saw any teacher, teaching English in English but all of them used to speak vernacular language in the classroom. The students understand the chapter the teachers teach them but the objective of learning English cannot be attained just by teaching chapters of prescribed syllabus. The students while learning English as a second language always discuss in their vernacular language, with friends, and teachers. They have very less availability of books and CDs in their library. They are not able to get access to the native pronunciation as we had in our school. Whatever is pronounced by their teacher, they have to follow it. Consequently their progress in acquiring Second language is slow. Language acquisition and Language family: The concept Language Family is associated with the groups of languages which have emerged from the same proto-language or a parent language. It was my experience that I felt it very easy to acquire Mandarin. One of the reasons was that it was similar to my mother tongue. But acquiring English was all together a different thing. It was because the difference of proto language. All the European languages have emerged from Latin, while the languages such as Mandarin, Cantonese have emerged from Sino-Tibetan language family. Mandarin and my mother tongue Cantonese have many similar attributes. So it is comparatively easy to acquire the other language than your mother tongue if the language belongs to the same family. All these internal and external factors are always responsible for the acquisition of second language to the non native students. Section 3 Implications for SLA curriculum development The ideal way in L2 acquisition process is outcome-based curriculum. Pedagogy is the effort to involve the students in the learning process actively so that the language learning should be more easy and efficient. With this view the following pedagogy is designed for the acquisition of Second Language. The curriculum is based on 5 Cs. Communication Culture Connection Comparison Communities Communication How to engage in conversation: a. Obtain information b. Express feelings c. Exchange opinion Short conversations question answers biographical information personal feelings, likings, needs asking for repetition Understanding and interpreting written and spoken language Comprehension of written material Previous classroom experience Visual support material comprehension, understanding the main ideas of the selected material such as newspapers, magazines Presentation Reciting poems, songs, dialogues Writing and presenting a short narrative about the personal life Giving simple command, telling a simple story, Writing brief message to friends (Post card, letter, email) Culture: Understanding and Demonstrating the cultural practices Observation of the pattern of behaviour such as greetings or gesture used Participation in cultural activities: Listening, watching movies, songs, holiday celebrations, games etc. Understanding and demonstrating the Cultural objects Cultural symbols such as flags, currency, sculptor, monuments, historical figures, historical and contemporary influences Connections Connect with the other discipline and obtain information Weather, food, Geographical context etc. Unique characteristics Reading, listening and watching the materials intended for native speakers of the target language. Comparisons: Comparative study of the source language and the target language Differences and similarities between sound and writing system, various ways of expressing ideas Comparative study of cultural aspects Compare and contrast tangible product (toys, clothes, housing etc) of source and target culture, way of interaction, behaviour pattern, various social communities such as school, family, and contrast and similarities in manners and etiquettes. Communities: Use of target language beyond classroom and school Written and oral communication with members of target language regarding topics of personal interest, community or world, interact with the target community and learn how they use the target language in their personal and professional life. Language for enjoyment and enrichment Reading material and using media of the target language, playing sports, games of the target culture, planning real or imaginary travel to the target language country, view the cultural events and social activities via media The activities based on this curriculum contain the four modules of language: listening, speaking, reading and writing. The role of a teacher is just as a guide, mentor or an instructor. In the class he or she is supposed to use maximum target language. It is the responsibility of the teacher to make the students interactive and self-reliant in language learning process. The classroom atmosphere should be motivational and the teacher should always take care to make the students learn the second language in an unconscious manner. This curriculum will definitely help the students in their language acquisition process. Sources: 1. Brown, H. D. (2007). Principles of language learning and teaching (5th ed.). White Plains, NY: Longman. 2. Byram Michael, Routledge encyclopaedia of language teaching and learning, Pg.251 3. Clement, R. (1980), “Ethnicity, contact and communicative competence in a second language,” In H.Giles, W.P.) Robinson & P.M. Smith (Eds.), Language: Social psychological perspectives (pp. 147-154). Oxford: Pergamon Press. 4. Dechert, H.W. 1983, ‘How a story is done in a second language’ in Strategies in Interlanguage Communication, eds. C. Faerch and G. Kasper, Longman, London. 5. Farzad Sharifian (2009), “English as an international language: perspectives and pedagogical issues,” Pg.1 6. Gardner R.C. “Motivation and Second Language Acquisition,” University of Western Ontario 7. Giles, H., & Coupland, N. (1991) Language : Contexts and consequences. Open University Press 8. Jacob Mey (2009) Pg.53, “Concise Encyclopaedia of Pragmatics,” Elsevier 9. Jennifer Wagner, “Second Language Acquisition and Age,” Pg. 2 http://www.ielanguages.com/documents/papers/SLA%20Project%201.pdf) 10. Jordan R. R. “English for Academic Purposes: a guide and resource book for teachers,” pg. 45, Cambridge University Press Publication 11. Judie Haynes, “Language Acquisition vs. Language Learning” everythingesl.net 12. Knuston Sonja (2009), Experimental learning in Second language Classrooms, Pg. 2, 13. Krashen, S. (1981). Second language acquisition and second language learning. Toronto: Pergamon Press. 14. Ricardo Schtutz Stephen Krashen (July 2, 2007) “Theory of Second Language Acquisition, http://www.sk.com.br/sk-krash.html) 15. Spackman Christopher L., “cultural and second language acquisition,” pg 3, Ohio University, www.osugisakae.com Read More