SEMINAR TOPIC

Learner factors in second language acquisition (Age, Sex, Intelligence, Personality disposition, Cognitive style and attitude.)

Prepared by Philomina Joisy

INTRODUCTION

Some students learn a new language more quickly and easily than others. This simple fact is known by all who have themselves learned a second language or taught those who are using their second language in school. Clearly, some language learners are successful by virtue of their sheer determination, hard work and persistence. However there are other crucial factors influencing success that are largely beyond the control of the learner. These factors may external or internal. It’s their complex interplay that determines the speed and facility with which the new language is learned. The general factor that influence second language learning are: age , sex , intelligence , aptitude , personality disposition , cognitive style and attitude .

AGE

Age is one of the factors that influence second language learning. It is generally believed that children are better at language than adults. However , only the studies conducted in naturalistic learning settings provide the evidence that support this assumption . Researchers have proved that learners who start learning a foreign language as children achieve a more native – like accent than those who start as adolescents or adults and they are also better in the acquisition of grammar. The studies concerning the age factor states that the route of SLA is not influenced by the starting age , but there is a relationship between the rate of learning and the age of the learners . Adolescents learn faster than adults and children as far as grammar and vocabulary are concerned. Old learners are able to apply linguistics rules when they use the language. For children language is a tool to express meaning and they cannot respond to it as a form. Neufeld distinguished two level of language; ‘primary’ – vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar rules, and ‘secondary’ – ability to handle complex grammatical structures ad different language styles.  He started that all people have an inborn ability to acquire primary levels, but children are more likely to acquire secondary levels and be more successful in learning a foreign language. Although adults learn faster children are more motivated because they went to be accepted by peer.

                             It has to be noticed that each age being some advantages and disadvantages to the learning process  and the decision when to start learning a foreign language depends on the situation of the individual learner . Students are taught in all age groups and teacher’s task is to use appropriated methods to suit to the demands of given age group .

SEX

Many studies have found that gender can have significant impact in how students learn a language. Although the study of gender as a variable in language learning is still at an easily stage , studies of individual language learner differences related to sex or gender have shown that females tend to show greater integrative motivation and more position attitudes to L2 ,and use a wider range of learning strategies particularly social strategies . As a matter of fact, as for the problem whether difference exists between male and female in terms of learning a language , Larsen – Freeman & Long believed that in the process of first language acquisition female excel male ,  at least at the early stage . Zhuanglin highlighted that , it was generally believed that male and female are born with different linguistic advantages , such as female learn to speak earlier than male , and female learn a foreign language faster than male  , etc..

                                      Studies of actual results suggests female are typically superior to males in nearly all aspects of language learning, expect vocabulary listening. Kimura , reports that higher levels of articulatory and motor ability have been associated in women with higher levels of estrogen level during the menstrual cycle.

                                      Intelligence is defined and measured in terms of linguistic and logical – mathematical abilities. Success in life and learning should correlate with high IQ tests score. The studies in

INTELLIGENCE

          There is  a strong relationship between intelligence and acquisition of a foreign language but only as far as academic skills are concerned . Learners with high IQ achieve better results in language tests. It is proved that intelligence can predict the rate and success of SLA. The standard intelligence tests correlates  highly with school related second language learning , but is unrelated to the learning of a second language for informal and social functions . It is assumed the some people are gifted and they learn foreign languages with ease. Some researchers do not believe that something like general intelligence can influence learning a foreign language.  All children acquire their first language successfully.Gardner introduced a theory of multiple intelligence. He described eight types of intelligence           

1.      Linguistic (sensitivity to spoken and written languages the              capacity to use the languages to accomplish certain goals)

2.      Logical – Mathematical (ability to detect patterns , reason deductively and think logically)

 3.     Spatial (Ability to recognize and use the patterns, of wide space and more confined areas)

4.      Musical (Capacity to  create musical pitches and rhythmic patterns)

5.      Bodily – kinaesthetic (Ability to use mental abilities to co ordinate bodily movements)

 6.     Inter personal (Ability understand intentions, motivations and desires of other people)

7.      Interpersonal (Ability to understand oneself, to develop a sense of self – identity)

8.      Naturalistic (Ability to understand the natural world)

                             He states that every person possesses the eight intelligences, which evolve independently at different times and to different degrees. Learners should be encouraged to develop all types of intelligence because they are closely bound and the growth of one area increases the capacity of the whole .Teachers should use a variety of techniques and material in order to enable students to learn using their strengths and achieve better results . He claims that people are intelligent in different ways and also learn in different ways.

APTITUDE

                   It is believed that aptitude has consistently been linked with L2 success,  but remains as one of the under investigated areas of  SLA. Many language aptitude tests like TOEFL, IELTS have been used for a long period to test the aptitude of a second language learner of English. Carroll, who along with Sapon Created The Modern Languages Aptitude Test(MLAT) which was designed to predict success in foreign language learning , provides us with the following four types of ability that constitute aptitude:

1.      Phonemic coding ability (discriminated and encoder foreign           sounds)

2.      Grammatical Sensitivity (recognize functions of words in sentences)

3.      Inductive language learning ability (infers or induces rules with samples)

4.      Memory and learning (makes and recalls associations between words and phrases in L1 and L2)

Many schools believe that aptitude alone does not influence the language learning ability of an individual.Aptitude can only predict success in second language acquisition ; it cannot explain the reason behind it

PERSONALITY DISPOSITION

                   Human personality in all its shapes and color bring variety to this world.  Personality studies have been the core of the study of human psychology for more than 150 years. In SLA the study of the relation between personality and language learning has  proved that there is a clean relationship between personality and SLA as the personality determines what people feel comfortable with . There are a number of personality characteristics that may affect L2 Learning.

1.    Extroversion V/S introversion

2.    Self Esteem

3.    Inhibition

4.    Risk-taking

5.    Anxiety

                             Introverted or anxious learners usually make slower progress, particularly I the development of oral skills. They are less likely to take advantages of opportunities to speak, or to seek out such opportunities. More out gong students will not worry about the inevitability of making mistakes. They will take risks , and these will themselves much more practice.

Self esteem is feeling of self –worth the individual’s process. It’s of three types:          

                             overall self assessment

                             Specific self-esteem

                             Task self –esteem

Extroversion is negative   correlation between pronunciation and extra version. Introverts are highest score on reading and grammar components. Extroversion does not lead to L2 success, but it may be a trait that encourages people to continue with their study, which in turn promotes SLA. Anxiety is of two types, deblicating and facilitating anxiety risk taking is willingness to take risks. Good language learners willing to guess ,to appear foolish in order to communicate and to use what knowing they do have of the threshold level in order to create novel utterances                                    

COGNITIVE STYLE AND ATTITUDE

                    Cognitive style and attitude are also known as cognitive mode or cognitive model. Generally , it is a consistent style which was shown in the process of information processing(including receiving, storing, transformation, extraction and use),cognitive style includes(1) the differences in cognitive process such as individual perception , memory and thinking (2)the difference in the formation of personality, cognitive ability and cognitive function such as individual attitude and motivation

                   According to Ellis, cognitive style is the term used to refer to the manner in which people perceive conceptualize, and recall information. From this definition, it is abvious that cognitive style is sensible and stable, it is closely related to cognitive strategy and method they use in the process of information processing is the most suitable method; besides, people with different personality have different ways of thinking .In process of language acquisition, learners with different cognitive style lend to have, different interests ,personality ,emotion. Motivation etc. Which determines their and materials and the relationship between their behavior and teachers.

                   Therefore, study is necessary; teachers could have a better understanding of the cognitive characteristics of students, and make the best use of the outer factors(environment etc)and inner factors(characteristics etc)to improve the quality of foreign language teaching for different learning environment and different learning tasks.

CONCLUSION

                   To be added

                    

BIBLIOGRAPHY

·       Dr.Mowla,Shaik (2001).  Techniques of Teaching English, Hyderabad

·       Baruah,T C  (1984)       .  The English Teacher’s Hand Book. Steeling Publishers Pvt Ltd, New Delhi

·       Dr. Arjunan, N K.(2007) . Psychological Bases of Education. Yuga Publications, Delhi

·       Sharma, R.N, R.K, Sharma(2006). Educational  Psychological Atlantic Publishers and Distributers, Delhi

WEBLIOGRAPHY

·       www.llas.ac.uk

·       www.academia.eld

·       www.ncsu.edu

·       Web.firat.edu.tr

·       www.ericdigests.org

·       www.ujaen.es

·       www.uab.edu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ASSIGNMENT

 

Topic: Bi-Lingual Method

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                Prepared By,

 

                                                          Meera Vijayakumar

                                                           

 

CONTENTS

 

Sl. No	Topic	Page No:
1	Introduction	1
2	Background of bi-lingual method	2
3	Main principals of  bi- lingual method	3
4	General phases of a bi-lingual class	3
5	Characteristics of bi-lingual method	3
6	Advantages of bi-lingual method	4
7	Disadvantages of bi-lingual method	4
8	Claims made by bi-lingual method	5
9	Conclusion	6
10	Bibliography	7

 

 

Introduction

 

            The bi-lingual method of foreign language teaching was developed by C.J. Dodson (1967) as a counterpart of the audio-visual method. This method needs L₁ and L₂. The approach begins from Bi-lingual and becomes monolingual at the end. The teacher uses both mother-tongue (L₁) and the target language (L₂) in the classroom. This may be considered as a combination of the direct method and the Grammar Translation method. The main objective of bi-lingual method is to make the learners of a second/foreign language fluent and accurate in the spoken word. The architecture of the bi-lingual method is best understood as a traditional three-phase structure of presentation-practice-production. A lesson cycle starts out with the reproduction of the dialogue, moves on to the oral variation and recombination of the dialogue sentences and ends up with an extended application stage reserved for message-oriented communication.

           

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Background of Bilingual Method

            The initiation of Bilingual Method into the teaching of foreign languages has opened up new vistas of knowledge and possibilities in regard to the use of the L₁ in foreign language teaching. The history of foreign language teaching methodology has almost always seen extreme approaches either in the form of grammar – translation method, the direct method or the reading method. While the grammar – translation method placed exclusive emphasis on speech and written language, the direct method concentrated on speech and direct language-experience relationship, and the reading method of Michael West Considered only reading  as worthwhile among all the four skills. The extremities lay in two aspect:

(1) Emphasis of the language skills in the teaching of a foreign language.

(2)  The role of the mother tongue in the teaching of the foreign language.

In the grammar translation method, the L₁ is almost substituted in the classroom in the teaching of L₂. The major role L₁ plays in the grammar-translation method is based on the assumption that the L₂ can be learned best by comparing and contrasting to the L₁ features. By aiming at such grammatical comparison as the outcome of the grammar-translation method, stress is put on the one hand, on all the four language skills and on the one other, the learner’s mother-tongue it restored to its due status as the L₂ learners most potential resource. The initiation of bilingual method, thus, is the answer to a far-reaching cry to restore the dignity and potentiality of the learner’s mother-tongue which was totally ignored and neglected in the direct method and in the structural approach.

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          The origin of bilingual method goes back to Prof. Dodson of the North Wales University, who made use of welsh in the teaching of English and other foreign languages with a view to discovering the efficacy of systematically and judiciously using the L₁ in the teaching of an L₂. The assumption most fundamental to the bilingual method of Prof. Dodson is that the mother tongue of the learner is the most potential resource at his disposal in the learning of a language, and instead of shutting the door upon the mother tongue, the resource should be systematically employed in the teaching of the foreign language.

Main Principles of bi-lingual method

·        Situations are Significant

·        All the language skills are equally important

·        Fluency of speech is constantly attended to

·        Oral skill has priority in the early stages.

General Phases of a bilingual class

1.     Basic sentences in the second language are spoken by the teacher and interpreted for imitation by the students.

2.     The students repeat or imitate them.

3.     The students are encouraged to speak without a stimulus from the teacher.

4.     The student is not allowed to respond in the mother tongue. 

5.     The stimulus and responses both can be held in the second language.

6.     A normal second language situation is created.

In the last phase the students should be given exercises exclusively in the   use of words and sentences learnt already in the second language. 

Characteristics of bi-lingual method

ü Creating Situations is not given as much emphasis as in Direct Method.

ü The unit of teaching is a sentence.

ü Doing exercise in sentence patterns is important.

ü Mother tongue is used only by the teacher not used for translation of the whole materials, but only for explaining and interpretation.

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Mother tongue is not by students and the use of mother-tongue by the teachers gradually gets reduced in the higher classes.

Advantages of Bi-lingual Method

Ø Much of the laboursome activities of the teacher in introducing a language item will be eliminated by systematically replacing the activities with the learner’s mother-tongue.

Ø The most complex and activity –oriented class in the direct method and the linguistically indirect comprehension procedure for the learners are simplified in bilingual method by means of judicious use of the mother tongue.

Ø  Bilingual method attempts to strike a medium in terms of distribution of work between the teacher and the pupils.

Ø An average teacher can use this method in the class

Ø The sounds of the mother-tongue and the words with which the learner is intimately conversant provide a congenial atmosphere in a foreign –language classroom; the very mention of an equivalent in the mother-tongue in an English class brightens up the young faces in contrast to the labour a helpless teacher undertakes to bring home the some idea through activities and illustrations in English.

Ø It is economical, as use of teaching aids is minimum.

Ø  Mother-tongue acquisition rules are helpful in this method.

 

 Disadvantages of Bi-lingual method

Ø If the teachers are not equally conversant in both the languages, this method will not be effective.

Ø In cases where the linguistic features of the two languages are entirely different this method will create confusion amongst the students.

Ø This method is not at all desirable or applicable in higher classes.

 

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Claims made by bi-lingual method

          There are quite a few claims made by bi-lingual method. It claims to put equal stress on all the four skills unlike other methods of foreign language teaching. Different stages in course of a lesson are set of take care of language skill. It also claims to strike a balance between fluency and accuracy. The grammar-translation method provides accuracy in whatever work it does such as the knowledge of formal grammar, ability and accuracy in written language on the other hand the direct method is said to provide fluency in spoken language at the cost of accuracy Bi-lingual method is expected to aim at providing both fluency and accuracy in language learning, factors of which one cannot be sacrificed for the other.   

          Yet another claim made in bi-lingual is that it provides ample time for practice because the time usually taken up in a direct method class for presenting some material is cut short to the minimum by the introduction of the mother-tongue. Bi-lingual method leaves enough scope for the growth of the child’s imaginative and creative aptitudes by not Spoon-feeding the child everything. A systematic utilization of the mother-tongue is expected to achieve all these in bi-lingual method.

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Conclusion

          In the Indian context and against the background of the Indian languages, bilingual method is gaining greater acceptability and relevance. The argument is that a strict adherence to English language alone in the classroom is no longer possible in the present –day Indian context where the ideal English teacher is for from reality. Whether the bi-lingual method is the answer to the problem of English teaching in India is highly controversial. The principal reason for this being the average teacher’s high rate tendency to full back fully and unscrupulously on to the mother-tongue. for kept within recommended guide- lines, bilingual method will certainly prove effective provided the English atmosphere required so much in the classroom is fully maintained.

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Bibliography

·        Dr.Mukalel, C.Joseph (1998). Approaches to English Language Teaching. Discovery publishing house, New Delhi.

·        Dr. Sivarajan K, T.V Ramakrishnan, K.Mridula (2007). English Language Education. Premier printers, Calicut.

Webliography

·        www.linguistics.blogspot.com

·        www.wikipedia.org/wiki/bilingualmethod

·        https://aiiulistya.wordpress.com//bilingualmethod.

 

  

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