Language Learning in Context and Relationships - Essay Example

We have the main reason why some children and adults are finding it hard to learn a second language, or even their first language if the education system insists on teaching language outside its context.

I also find it intriguing how Savage-Rumbaugh emphasizes that if we talk to someone with the expectation that they will understand, then they will understand us, if not now, but eventually. This approach in language acquisition is applicable, not only to those who have language problems because of mental illness but also to those who are learning the first or second language. The belief that they will learn the language because of assuming positively that they will learn is not based on optimism or faith (though those will not hurt the communication process at all), but on the insight that language is more easily learned when it comes from an empowering viewpoint. For example, for a class of Arabic students learning English as their second language, if I teach to them as if they understand, the more they can understand because I use an empowering teaching tone that facilitates them in learning something that I believe they can learn, using the right tools and strategies.

Moreover, from Savage-Rumbaugh, I learned that I can help my students learn English better if I teach it in connection to their local surroundings and relationships. If I make language learning, contextual, relational, and functional for them, the easier it can be for them to learn a second language. Rote learning will not work because it cannot motivate students to learn the second language deeply. One of the keys to language learning is connecting the language, not merely to the first language, but to actual uses and conditions that are present and meaningful to students. Through this approach, I can apply the joint process of language learning. Joint processing means that teachers help students make sense of language from a viewpoint that is understandable to them, which in turn, they use to interpret and learn language. Thus, I learned a great deal from Savage-Rumbaugh regarding how language is learned and how it can be effectively taught.