SLA Position Paper - Assignment Example

?POSITION PAPER Of all the areas of study related to human nature, the most baffling and most challenging until now, has been the nature of language and language learning. On account of it’s very complex nature, it has attracted philosophers, linguists, psychologists and researchers since earliest times. The more one delves into it, the more one gets caught into it. Research into one aspect leads to another and this has continued till date. Yet, nobody has successfully, completely and satisfactorily unraveled the business of language acquisition, language teaching/learning and the systems that are involved in bilingualism and multilingualism. Human nature prompts one to deal with whatever is mysterious and restless. Researchers continue to knock at one theory after another, state all kinds of hypotheses and strive to prove them. Based on an overview of research in the nature of language and pedagogical systems, and with a few additions from my own experience, I shall make some observations about these issues in this position paper. Normally, man as a social being, has a desire to know more and more people and associate with them. This process begins with introduction and can proceed to all kinds of relationships ranging from mere acquaintance to wedlock. Knowing the new person does not stop with knowing his name, background and a few other details. Knowing him better means knowing everything about him, including his past life, future ambitions etc. He has his own social identity; he is a part of his culture, belongs to some religious community and shares some beliefs and attitudes. He speaks a mother tongue which is part and parcel of his personality. I believe that a person’s character is shaped by the place and community where he is born, his religion, culture, socio-economic background, and of course, his mother tongue. Just as all these factors shape his perception of the world and the people around him, his first language or MT also influences his personality. The language, its nature, the thoughts and concepts expressed in it, the lexis and structure, phonological structure, all shape his views, attitudes and insights into the world and human life. Thus, indirectly and to a significant extent, language has a contribution in the formation of character and personality. Language is embedded in culture. Culture implies a number of things and language is one of them. In other words, language is one of the elements of culture. Language and culture are firmly bound to each other. A human being is a product of his culture. His thoughts and attitudes are fostered by it. Culture nourishes the character of an individual. If language is a part of culture, it follows logically that language lends social identity to the individual. An individual speaking a particular dialect is immediately identified as belonging to a certain geographical region, a social stratum, a cultural and linguistic community. One’s social status is decided by one’s language. I can thus say with some degree of conviction that personality of an individual revolves around two factors, language and culture. It is this understanding of the nature and importance of language that has led me to make a statement about language learning. Let us look at the whole issue of language learning from a different angle. An individual in the modern world is to be considered as a sum total of his character, views, opinions, beliefs, attitudes, socio-economic status, educational background and all other factors that make up his personality. This is chiefly shaped by his culture and language, which is his MT. In changing times, he does not (and cannot afford to) restrict himself to his MT. Just as he tries to know, understand and acquire the new global culture, he simultaneously comes in contact with the individuals representing social identities of their own, speaking and using other languages which are their MTs. An entire understanding and acceptance of new culture implies contact, understanding and acceptance of other languages as well. I want to emphasize here that both the things go together. One cannot acquaint oneself with a new community irrespective of its language and vice versa. This is perhaps the broadest way of looking at language. Learning a new language goes hand-in-hand with knowing and accepting a new culture. A positive attitude towards the new language is a basic assumption. This conforms to the ‘integrativeness’ theory of SLA suggested by Gardner and Lambert ( 1959). The MT, Then has a special position in the life of an individual. While approaching any second language, an individual approaches it with his knowledge of MT, his cultural background and everything else that makes up his personality. If at all there is a positive or negative transfer of the knowledge of MT while acquiring L2, there is also transfer of all other traits of his personality. This is not very different from the idea of ‘multi-competence’ in relation to SLA. (Cook, 1999 ). Vivian Cook has explained that ‘the term multi-competence was originally coined to reflect the totality in one mind, originally expressed as the compound state of a mind with two grammars’. ( Cook, 1991 ). The word ‘grammar’, however, restricts the knowledge of language to syntax. Nowadays, according to Cook, multi-competence is usually defined as ‘knowledge of two languages in one mind’. I would like to add, ‘knowledge of two languages and two cultures in one mind’. I have already stated that a given language is inseparable from culture. In this sense, we can also understand Cook’s view of seeing transfer as a two-way process, as something more than just L1 affecting L2 and vice versa. If C stands for culture, then C1 is also affected by C2 and vice versa. Hence: ? L1/C1? ? ( L2/C2 ) This ‘merging’ of two cultures along with two languages is termed as ‘inter-cognition’ by Cook. (p. 21). Cook says: “What happens if someone speaks two languages or has two cultures? Perhaps, the thinking style is so ingrained in their minds that they continue to use the same style after acquiring a second language. Or perhaps, they have some merged intermediate style that is neither the first, nor the second, but something in between ----. “ ( p.21 ). It is not just something ‘in between’, it is more than that. It is a new linguistic element or concept that is part of a new world culture, an additional insight into human life in some other part of the world. “Speech has both, individual and social side, and we cannot conceive of one without the other. ( Ferdinand de Saussure ( 1959, p.8). The mathematical concept of Lowest Common Multiple ( LCM ) can be applied to world cultures. Every cultural element can be considered as one multiple, and together, all elements in all cultures would amount to the LCM. Acquisition and acceptance of more and more cultures would lead towards globalization. I can thus conclude that language transfer is reciprocal. With this in view, second language teachers should make it a point to consider language and cultural aspects together. Learners must be exposed to culture through selected literary texts. I will try to illustrate here what I mean when I say that language is not restricted to grammar and syntax, and how thinking, perception, attitude, concept formation are all results of language acquisition. A friend of mine from the Muslim community was engaged to be married and we all staff members visited her because we would not be attending her wedding on account of examinations. I was surprised to find her in plain clothes and she was not wearing the slightest bit of jewels on her body. I could not restrain myself from asking her the reason as I knew that she was always decked up in ornaments, even on school days. She explained that it was a custom that the bride did not wear ornaments 15 days before the wedding. It added ‘noor’ at the time of wedding when she wore all ornaments. In short, the beauty of the ornaments was kind of ‘set off’, it gained extra glamour, after watching her without ornaments for 15 days. This concept of ‘noor’ was new to me. It was not part of my culture and had no equivalent word in my language. I learnt a new word, a new concept and a new cultural element. This new Urdu word ‘noor’ makes me think of another aspect of language learning, so widely dealt with by SLA researchers, that is, motivation. Ryan and Deci (2000) have investigated the role of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in SLA and learning in general. They define motivation as ‘to be moved to do something’ and a motivated person as ‘someone who is energized or activated toward an end’. (p. 54). Intrinsic motivation refers to ‘doing something because it is inherently interesting or enjoyable’ and extrinsic motivation refers to ‘doing something because it leads to a separable outcome’. ( Ryan and Deci, 2000, p.55 ). They see these two types of motivations at two ends of a motivational scale, whereas at the middle of the scale, the types are more or less mixed. One case of intrinsic motivation I came across was that of a Hindu friend, who was not very favorably disposed towards the Muslim community or their Urdu language but realized the richness and freshness of the language when he was appointed lecturer in a Muslim minority college. He began to learn the language just for its own sake; he would neither get a promotion or salary hike or any other benefit. It was a rich and rewarding experience for him. It opened up avenues of Urdu literature and gave him tremendous joy and satisfaction. The privately appointed teacher complied with his intrinsic motivation and did a great job indeed. Moreover, they believe that motivation is dynamic – it changes with the social context. I began to learn Sanskrit just because I thought I ought to have some knowledge of it as an educated person. I would have liked to learn the verses and drama but my teacher was obsessed with the rules of grammar. She failed to understand my limited interest and made me memorize rules, which completely de-motivated me within a couple of months. The second language teachers should first and foremost begin by trying to understand the goals and motives of the learners and adapt content and methods to suit the learners rather than impose upon them their own pursuits.” Language acquisition does not require extensive use of conscious grammatical rules, and does not require tedious drill”. (Stephen Krashen, p.6) If intrinsic motivation supplements extrinsic motivation there will be an ideal context for SLA. The question of motivation does not arise in case of MT. It is typically related to SLA. SLA researchers have always attached a great deal of importance to motivation. Carver et al. ( 1994, p.11 ) talk about ‘possible selves’ representing individuals’ ideas of what they might become, what they would like to become and what they are afraid of becoming. (Markus and Nurius, 1986, p.11). These possible selves are often referred to as ‘future self guides’. Imagery has a prominent place in ‘possible selves’. It has a motivational function in SLA. Extrinsic motivation can be fostered by ‘future self guides’ and indeed go a long way in initiating positive behavior leading to successful language acquisition. Margaret and Gardner (2000) conducted a meta- analysis and concluded that five variables, viz. attitudes towards the learning situation, integrativeness, motivation, integrative orientation and instrumental orientation are all positively related to achievement in SLA. Motivation is more highly related to SLA compared to the other variables. Motivation is closely connected with anxiety in SLA. A highly motivated individual is over anxious, thus leading to a high affective filter and less language learning. The ‘affective filter hypothesis’ is stated by Krashen and Terrell (1983 ) while discussing the Natural Method of teaching a language. They state that learners with a low affective filter acquire language better as they are able to receive more, interact with greater confidence and thus have a high degree of receptivity towards the input. Anxiety arises out of apprehension, a kind of fear of criticism. Wearing a new outfit also makes us conscious and leads to anxiety. It is not surprising that using a new language should lead to anxiety. A teacher can boost the confidence of learners from time to time and insist on co-operative learning or community learning methods, as well as practice the Humanistic methods for teaching second languages. This will certainly help the learners to overcome anxiety and perform better. Conclusion: Language learning and teaching activities are guided by the notion of language as believed by practitioners. The nature of language is constantly changing and so are the reasons why people learn second languages. As Robins (1979 ) pointed out, language changes as it responds to the changing needs of its users. Accordingly, the methods of language teaching should also be changed. Whatever, the changes, language is closely associated with culture and will always remain bonded with it. The first language is a point of reference and all second languages will be colored by it. At the same time, the first language will also be influenced and the personality of the individual will be enhanced as a result. Language transfer is accompanied by transfer of cultural elements. Presence of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation will lead to better language learning, especially when it is learnt in a stress free atmosphere, devoid of apprehension and anxiety. A number of variables affect the process of language acquisition. “Globally, a pattern emerges, but locally, it is impossible to predict what the patterns will look like (Larsen-Freeman, 1997, p. 146). Each individual has a different socio-cultural background, motivation, learning style, attitude, L1, anxiety level etc. All these factors will collectively be responsible for SLA. References De Saussure, F. (1959). Course in general linguistics. ( C. Bally& A. Sechehaye, Eds.). (W. Baskin, Trans.). New York:Mc Graw-Hill. Krashen, S.D. and Terrell, T. (1983). The natural approach. Oxford:Pergamon Press. Larsen-Freeman D. (1997). Chaos/complexity science and second language acquisition. Applied Linguistics, 18(2), 141-165. I DO NOT HAVE ALL THE REFERENCES BECAUSE YOU HAVE SENT ONLY FEW PAGES OR CHAPTERS FROM BOOKS OF WHICH I HAVE NO OTHER DETAILS. Read More