The impact of Motherese in second language acquisition - Essay Example

The impact of Motherese in second language acquisition The concept of Motherese includes the simplified communicative style employed by a mother to her child, which may also include non verbal symbols and is different from normal language employed by adults. However, this is the core on which more complex linguistic patterns develop within the native language, resulting in the formulation of a processing system that is utilized for the language. In the process of second language acquisition, it is important for teacher sot pay attention to the mechanisms by which linguistic skills are acquired in the primary language, in order to teach second language effectively. Effective acquisition of language skills requires that the learner of a second language develops the ability to communicate competently in the second language in a wide variety of social situations, therefore the best opportunities for such learning are likely to be provided within an interactive environment in the classroom. Introduction: Neulip1 points out how communication is different in different cultures, with verbal and non verbal symbols of communication being strongly influenced by the culture the individual is a part of. Moreover, the context within which communication occurs, i.e, the social, physical and relational environment that is a part of the culture also strongly influences the kinds of communication that take place. Therefore, where the issue of teaching English as a Second Language is concerned, the degree of effectiveness that a teacher is likely to have in communicating the fundamentals of the language to her students and ensuring that they achieve communicative competence will depend upon the degree of her sensitivity to the cultural nuances of words, verbal and non verbal symbols that will impact upon learning. Neulip also points out that while interacting with people from different cultures, a learner may experience nervousness and uncertainty, and if this nervousness is too pronounced, then a person may avoid strangers or people who are from different cultures. This may be seen to impact upon a TESOL teacher’s performance. Unless a teacher is able to understand this initial anxiety and take steps to allay it, she may be faced with resistance from students of other cultures who are trying to learn English. Moreover, in order to effectively communicate with her students, it is vital for a teacher of a second language to be aware of the manner of acquisition of skills in the primary language and apply them to the second language, to facilitate student learning. The native language of learners: The home language of the students is an important factor that must be taken into consideration while teaching English in a culturally diverse classroom. According to Edelsky2 when there is sensitivity to the home language and culture of the students in the TESOL classroom, there is greater receptivity from the students because then they feel that they do not need to forsake their home language and culture and thereby give up their identity to learn English. This view was also corroborated by Nieto3 who has stated that when the home culture and language of the students are respected in the TESOL classroom, it helps students to succeed. Wong and Teuben-Rowe4 surveyed a group of graduate students in an English-as-a-second-language at the University of Maryland, in order to determine how a multicultural classroom environment could function in a manner more sensitive to the cultural needs of people of various linguistic groups. Languages and cultures that were specifically considered were Korean, Caribbean, Hindi, Thai, Turkish and the Caribbean Island Nations. Other researchers had previously indicated that when teachers demonstrate sensitivity to the linguistic and cultural backgrounds of the students, then the classroom experience is also enhanced and students perform better.5 However, the study taken up by Wong and Teuben Rowe demonstrated how words can have different meanings in different cultures and can therefore affect the kind of learning that takes place. For example, in certain cultures such as Korean and Japanese, even in a subject such as Math that could be considered a universal one since it deals with numbers that are similar in all languages, there are some concepts that may be different. The researchers have pointed out how the number units in these cultures are made up of four digits instead of three digits, so that 10,000 would be written as 1,0000 and referred to as one man. There are other cultural practices they refer to which also must be taken into account by TESOL teachers in order to achieve the best results from these students. For instance, Korean children are not supposed to say their parents’ names and if a name is written in red ink, the prevailing belief is that the child’s mother will die. In the Caribbean context, the authors recommend that jargon and colloquialisms in English should be avoided since the students may not be able to understand them, just as they may experience difficulty in understanding standard English, because of the confusion with the vernacular version that incorporates words in Creole and Spanish, among other languages. Similarly, showing a sensitivity to the various dialects and languages present in India rather than assuming that the home language of all students is Hindi would also be helpful to the teacher in establishing a friendly link and receptivity from the students. Moreover, when a TESOL teacher also needs to understand that the lack of eye to contact or smiling when tendering an apology are not an indication of disrespect, as is the case in Western cultures. In Thailand, the use of the word wai with hands folded in greeting signifies respect and when used as a sign of greeting or when leaving, will ensure that the TESOL teacher receives a favorable reception to her/his class. The Thai language is mostly a monosyllabic language and understanding this base from which the students come would be helpful to the teacher in teaching words that are monosyllabic in nature first before moving on to the complex words. The language is tonal and largely uninflected, as Wong and Teuben Rowe point out. Turkish on the contrary is an Altaic language and most words have a root with single or multiple suffixes added to them. The verbs in Turkish always come at the end of the sentence and this is often confusing to a student learning English because in this language, the verbs are rarely placed at the end of a sentence. One of the notable aspects that has been pointed out by the researchers pertains to the differences in teaching styles employed in Western versus oriental cultures. While encouraging the students to interact among themselves and also encouraging them to do outside reading would work well within a Western context, it is not as effective in the context of another culture, where students are trained to restrict themselves to textbooks while outside reading is a waste of time, while adopting an informal attitude with a teacher would be considered disrespectful in most of these cultures. Therefore, a more formal teacher-centered approach exists in the system of learning in these countries and in order to overcome it, teachers must work with students to slowly draw them out an encourage them to participate more actively in the classes, secure in the knowledge that it will not be considered a disrespectful move. Wong and Teuben Rowe have also emphasized the importance of developing cultural sensitivity to differences in learning practices within a different cultural context that exists among students from a different linguistic background. They point out that understanding how the original language or the mother tongue is framed enhances a teacher’s communicative skills in imparting knowledge of use of the English language to her students. Since students have already developed an identity in the mother tongue, a teacher can achieve better results if she is able to build upon that identity rather than expecting students to function from the position of being blank slates, to imbibe the knowledge of the English language from a completely new perspective. The concept of Motherese: Thirumalai6 describes motherese as the existence of a special language register, that is characteristic of the initial communication between a mother and her child. He views the phenomenon of motherese as being a form of communication that is responsive to the cognitive level of the child, therefore it tends to be comprised of short utterances with several repetitions, a characteristic high pitched voice and phonological deformations together with grammatical errors. However this is the framework that is comprehended easily by the child and forms a kind of amorphous sign that is slowly broken up into a network of linguistic patterns that are characteristic of the mother tongue. Such motherese is not intended to be literal communication since there is also a great deal of non verbal communication that is going on simultaneously, since mothers respond to the utterances and sounds made by infants as if they were actual words spoken in a recognizable language, while they also respond with utterances and sounds that may not have any literal meaning in any given language but are comprehended by the infants who can perceive the love underlying such communication. Thirumalai points out how the concept of motherese is useful in language acquisition in several ways, notably through the simplification of complex linguistic patterns, through the mother’s response to non verbal cues from the child such as pointing which helps in the development of such non verbal communicative skills and the adjustment of the language levels to the cognitive levels of the infant, so that once such a foundation for linguistic learning is laid, the child enthusiastically proceeds on to learning more complex linguistic patterns easily. Therefore, motherese is an important aspect of language acquisition styles and is achieved through the infant memorizing speech patterns, signs and associations which become a part of the permanent language learning process in the native tongue and later cause difficulties in learning a foreign language with a different linguistic framework. Gerome7 discusses the acquisition of native language skills, which evolves from birth to childhood and results in certain patterns being established which are derived from the native language. She points out since within a particular language, the various cues within it such as intonation, phonological contrasts, word order and other factors and the relationships between these cues results in a child imbibing certain language patterns in the native tongue which can be applied only with difficulty to another language. She discusses the process of development of “motherese” or the linguistic patterns of a particular language. She has mentioned Kuhl’s study8 which indicates that babies are sensitive to the sounds of their native tongue right from the time they are in their mother’s womb, and while they may exhibit sensitivity to foreign vowel sounds, they tend to prefer the sounds that belong to the language of their own mother. For instance, she has mentioned the study conducted by Boysson- Bardies et al9 where vowel prototypes were examined for both French and English babies. While at six months, most of the babies pronounced the syllable “ha” in much the same way, but by the time the infants had evolved to the stage of being able to produce about 15 words, French babies had already begun to ignore the “h” sound that is not a part of their language while English babies were able to pronounce “h” in much the same way as adults did. This provides a clear indication that young children tend to memorize syllables and sounds and ignore those sounds that are not present in their own native tongue. Similarly Levitt et Wang10 have also shown that there is a difference between American and French babies right from the six month stage itself – while American babies have begun to place emphasis on the first syllable, French babies tend to place the stress on and lengthen the last syllable as opposed to the first. This is the phenomenon of “motherese” wherein children tend to imbibe the speech patterns, rhythms and intonations of the language spoken by their mother rather than by others, especially since mothers tend to speak to their babies by using exaggerated rhythmic patterns rather than by using words in isolation. Gerome11 describes this as the prosodic system whereby infants absorb a certain rhythm and linguistic pattern through memorization and repetition and this pattern tends to persist into adulthood. It constitutes the first automatic pattern of linguistic formation and lexicon building which becomes an automatic reflex that will influence learning of all other languages in the future, however teachers of English as a second language rarely take this factor into consideration. It is this prosodic system that helps in the formation of the structural language framework which divides fluent speech in that particular language into word segments. For instance there is an important different in pronunciation of syllables in French and English as revealed in a study by Cutler et al, which is also a part of Gerome’s analysis – while the French tend to monitor fluent speech for the syllable segments, the English on the other hand, search fluent speech patterns for the stressed syllables and both categories of learners tend to use their native patterns while learning the foreign language as well, which produces differences in the manner in which they learn and pronounce words and the syllables where they lay stress. The human brain becomes conditioned into an automatic processing system that allows the speaker to think and understand unconsciously and reflexively in the native language without a great deal of effort or attention. But when these same speakers start to use a foreign language, they experience difficulties because their automatic processing system works from the vantage point of the native language rather than the foreign language which has a different kind of processing system. While they may be able to recognize underlying English phonemes in a laboratory situation, they are unable to do in real time where fluent speech patterns make it difficult for a foreign language speaker to pick up the individual phonemes at a fast enough speed, unless they use other helpful tools such as syntactic or semantic linguistic representations. Since they are using their native language processing system in order to comprehend a foreign language that functions on the basis of a different processing system, they would therefore need to utilize these other tools in order to achieve fluency. Of late, researchers have been examining with renewed interest the patterns in first language acquisition in order to better understand the mechanisms of acquisition of a second language, through the comparison of the two mechanisms. There has been a persistent belief that in order to learn a second language, the learner must understand the content of the lessons. For example, according to Pica, Young and Doughty, “input must be comprehended by the learner if it is to assist the acquisition process.”12 This view is also echoed by Long who states that the “available evidence is consistent with the idea that a beginning learner, at least, must have comprehensible input if he or she is to acquire either a first or a second language"13 However, the question that arises is – what is it that makes such input comprehensible to a learner? This is where the concept of motehrese and the patterns of language acquisition in the native language assume vital importance, in order to ascertain how input in the second language can be made comprehensible to the native language speaker. Long14 has suggested that input can be made comprehensible in four ways: (a) by orienting the instruction such that it pertains to the here and now, or the present situation in which the students are learning a second language (b) by modifying speech in order to make it more comprehensible to the learners (c) by enhancing the inter-actional nature of conversation between a teacher and students and making modifications where necessary to adapt to the requirement in a particular classroom and (d) by providing linguistic as well as extra linguistic content. However, White15 has argued that in order for a learner to effectively grasp a second language, it is not enough to limit instructional content to comprehensible material, in fact it is necessary to also provide some incomprehensible content so that negative feedback is provided which in turn will function as a stimulus for learning. While the content which can be comprehended by the learners helps them to begin to grasp the second language, the provision of incomprehensible content forcers the learners to search for ways in which to comprehend the content that has been provided tot hem and which is incomprehensible to them. When faced with such a situation, a learner is likely to push beyond the strict boundaries of the automatic processing system in the native language in order to modify them or discover new ways in which to comprehend the tools and rules that form a part of second language acquisition and this will therefore aid and enhance the process of second language acquisition. Another way in which input in the second language is made comprehensible to learners is by employing Foreigner Talk16, wherein simpler language registers are used, or linguistic adjustments are made to the native speech – not ungrammatical but geared towards promoting easier comprehension among foreigners. According to Gass and Veronis, “the native speaker’s perception of the Non native speaker’s speech is an important determiner of foreigner talk.”17 In fact, the modifications made by native speakers in their language as they speak to learners is a function of the feedback they receive from the learners during the process of an inter-actional communication process with them. Different word systems in different cultures: Thirumalai18 has highlighted the importance of the kind of motherese in the level of communicative ability that is developed in individuals as they grow. There is a definite causal relationship between the socio economic level and the nature of linguistic expression that emerges in individuals of different socio economic groups. He points out how in the culture of Tamil Nadu in India, linguistic utterances and motherese move in close association with physical contact with the child, while behavioral requirements begin to find their way into linguistic utterances as the child’s linguistic knowledge and expression grows. With further increase in age, communication through language becomes the mode of contact with a growing child as physical contact is drastically reduced and therefore, the language begins to represent the major contact between the individual and those in his immediate environment, thereby assuming a complexity and importance which cannot go unheeded if a true understanding of Tamil culture and linguistic patterns is to be achieved. Gerome19 has pointed out several other differences in the two languages, English and French, that interfere with a native speaker’s ability to learn the other language easily – factors that must be taken into consideration by language teachers. For example, the English language follows a strict order in the framing of a sentence with the subject of the sentence being placed followed by the verb with the object of the sentence being placed last. However, there is no such strict order in the French language and the speech patterns are more spontaneous in French wherein sentences may not always follow the strict Subject-Verb-Object pattern. Another difference she points out is how the English phonemes are characterized by constant movement while French phonemes are relatively stable. In her study that was carried out to teach English to French students, she found that techniques that are geared towards a re-education of the automatic processing system of the native language of the students was more effective in achieving proficiency in a second language. This provides an important indication of how strong is the impact of motherese and the native language processing system on a learner, therefore this factor cannot be ignored by teachers of a second language. The role of interaction: It may be noted that motherese that leads to the acquisition of the automatic processing system for native language acquisition skills is in fact, a function of the interaction between mother and child and therefore, the nature of the interaction itself is an important tool that promotes language acquisition skills. According to Ellis, interaction is the discourse between the learner and teacher and the input is the result of the interactive process20. Therefore from an inter-actional standpoint, the process of second language acquisition is the result of the interaction that takes place between the linguistic environment that a learner is exposed to and his/her own intellectual and cognitive abilities. Ellis21 highlights the importance of interaction in the process of second language acquisition and he states that this process sis comprised of there separate aspects – (a) input which is the language spoken to the learner by native speakers, (b) output which is the language that the learner speaks and (c) feedback which is the result of the inter-actional process wherein the native speakers respond to the efforts of the second language learner with tips and suggestions on how to improve and the correct form of speech that is to be employed in that particular situation. Therefore interaction plays a very important role in second language acquisition and the process of interaction can yield positive results if the native language speaker or teacher is imbued with the knowledge of the processes whereby native languages are learnt and its impact upon second language acquisition. Vygotsky22 has in particular emphasized the vital role of teachers in the inter-actional mode of second language teaching through the practice of scaffolding as laid out in his Theory of Proximal development, which states that “the distance between actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers.” Therefore, linguistic functions that are learnt by the individual within a social context will be transferred within his/her mind into the cognitive dimension, therefore the teacher who is able to adjust the level of difficulty of the linguistic tasks in accordance with the increasing cognitive levels of the student in the second language is likely to enjoy a greater degree of success. On this basis therefore, Vygotsky has suggested that teachers must be sensitive enough to provide active support for student learning, not only through an understanding of the underlying systems of native language acquisition but also by providing opportunities for active interaction and feedback in order to aid and enhance the process of second language acquisition. McCarthy23 has discussed how the process of interaction helps in the analysis of grammatical use in the target second language, wherein some areas may be presented which do not present a simple scenario where a yes or a no answer will suffice, rather these areas will raise possibilities and probabilities that will apply depending upon the ramifications of the context within which the linguistic situation occurs. Furthermore, students will be able to comprehend that there are no hard and fast grammatical rules that are likely to apply in every context, rather language may sometimes have to be modified such that they approximate the needs of the situation, or that they may be approximately correct rather than 100% accuracy. This provides the vital feedback to the student as to how the second language may need to be restructured and adapted in accordance with the context within which it is used, thereby forcing a learner to modify his automatic processing system in learning a second language. Anton24 also reinforces the role of interaction in enhancing the role of the TESOL teacher, through (a) the teacher’s understanding of the processing systems of the native language of the speaker and (b) adjusting the level of difficulty of linguistic tasks to progressively move in step with increasing cognitive levels of the learner, by introducing input that is sufficiently comprehensible to the learner, yet involves some degree of incomprehensible material to challenge the native language acquisition system. Therefore, he has concluded that a learner supported rather than a teacher centered approach is likely to be more successful in the second language classroom. Bocale25 has discussed the development of second language acquisition in the context of several theories, including those proferred by Vygotsky and other researchers and has provided example of techniques that second language learners may utilize during the process of interaction with native language speakers in order to learn the second language – one of which is simple repetition. This is similar to the process whereby the infant first acquires linguistic skills through the simplistic representations of language presented in motherese which the child repeats in order to imbibe those linguistic patterns. She has pointed out the limitations of the “Three P’s” approach, which organizes the teaching of linguistic skills into three different phases: (a) the presentation of an item (b) Practice of the item and (c) the production of the item. Therefore, the teacher presents the linguistic exercises, the learner practices them and then regurgitates them. However, as she points out, this traditional technique is likely to work only with a class of highly motivated, adult learners and is unlikely to be effective within a school situation. The reason for the poor receptivity of these traditional approaches among younger students is that it does not take into account the ramifications of motherese and the development of native language processing systems. It requires higher levels of attention, concentration and effort on the part of the learner and most students are likely to find it a tiring exercise, especially in the case of language classes which are conducted in the evenings. Therefore, she recommends that when a second language is taught to learners who are exploring a second language for the first time, especially younger learners, the linguistic patterns of their native tongue must be borne in mind and it should be used where necessary, in order to be able to adapt to the learner’s levels of comprehension and ensure that the rules of the second language are understood with better clarity in the context of native language acquisition patterns. In a class where there are learners who speak different native languages, the three P’s must be modified in order to ensure better accessibility of learning to students. Applications in testing for second language acquisition: In the context of testing for second language acquisition, it may be noted that ignoring native language acquisition patterns may not provide a true picture of student skills. For example, in the use of traditional testing methods, students from a culturally different background may be handicapped in answering the tests, simply because the language or format may be unfamiliar, rather than because the concept is not clear or because the student is unable to grasp it and solve problems associated with it26. Therefore, the focus of a teacher should be upon employing an interactive testing approach as well, wherein the learner is provided opportunities to respond to tests that are not structured strictly on a multiple choice or a yes/no format of answer. The true measure of a student’s second language acquisition skills cannot be measured accurately through a formalized demonstration of ability to recall or repeat linguistic formats, rather they must also incorporate the student’s ability to synthesize and process information from the perspective of his/her automatic processing system in the mother tongue, as a result of which modified inputs may have to be used. Conclusion: On the basis of the above, it may therefore be concluded that motherese plays a vital role in the development of linguistic skills. The second language teacher cannot therefore afford to ignore this aspect in her teaching techniques. Motherese utilizes a simplified language format and involved repetition of words, delivered in a high pitch by the mother. This facilitates easy retention of the linguistic format by infants who are able to memorize the patterns that are vocalized in this manner, thereby aiding language retention and skills. Therefore, the teacher of a second language must take into consideration the fact that similar techniques may be utilized by the student, i.e, unconscious, mental repetition of unfamiliar words in order to learn a new language. The teacher must endeavor to modify input that is provided to the students in order to incorporate this aspect and initial interactions can also make use of the mother language for explanations of concepts. Effective learning of the second language by the students will be enhanced by the teacher’s sensitivity to the developing levels of cognitive levels in a student, based upon the nature of the socials interactions that are taking place within the classroom. There is therefore the need to use teaching systems that allow for a slow progression to higher levels of interaction in the second language within the second language classroom. The teacher needs to commence her instruction by making use of patterns established within the mother tongue and then build upon it by using a phased approach, in line with Vygotsky’s theory of the development of increasing cognitive levels in language based upon the nature of interactions. Traditional systems of teaching language that are strictly teacher centered are unlikely to be helpful to a student in developing fluency in the language. An interactive style may be more useful in ensuring second language learning. The efficacy of interaction will be enhanced through the opportunities for feedback that are provided to a student. Therefore, a student of a second language will receive input from a native speaker/teacher, input that is suitably modified to match his cognitive level. The output that is produced by the learner on the basis of the input that is provided, can be modified depending upon the feedback that is provided by the native speaker. In a second language classroom, the teacher should also tailor the input according to student cognitive levels and then provide feedback in order to improve student learning. Therefore, understanding the value of motherese will help a teacher to use the right approach in her classroom, especially when the students are starting out with another language, or when they are in the younger age groups and may not possess the levels of concentration, or be ready to put in the effort required under traditional systems of instruction in language. 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