Factors of Learning a Second Language

Figure 1 shows the prime window of opportunity to acquire a language. The peak age for language absorption is around five years old. So, the most important time for students to be enrolled in foreign language classes is kindergarten. “However, just 15 percent of U.S. public elementary schools offer any foreign language instruction” (Chandler 1). Students are missing out on the ability to more easily learn another language. If students have to wait until high school, learning a foreign language becomes a laborious task due to the stage the brain is in.

Many popular theories of second language acquisition have been analyzed throughout history. The socialization of L2 learners, their present emotional state that is present at time of acquisition, as well as the comprehensible input and output with the use of scaffolding play a major role in second language acquisition. Let us also not forget the importance of written expression as well as reading comprehension with these L2 learners. Each play a role in language development. However, I believe that in acquiring a language, one must use a variety of techniques that work together to create a balance within the learning environment. Furthermore, all L2 learners learn differently and so a variety of resources will need to be used based on the ability of each student. There are many theories that have been developed by highly qualified experts in the field on linguistics. However, I will address those areas that I agree with as I present my personal theories on second language acquisition.

However, there is a critical period of learning a second language, “Many linguists believe there is a 'critical period ' (lasting roughly from birth until puberty) during which a child can easily acquire any language that he or she is regularly exposed to. Under this view, the structure of the brain changes at puberty, and after that it becomes

Distinguishingrate in and attainment, then,resolvesthe apparent contradictions the literature. In order to provide support for these generalizations,we examined inof in in vestigations child-adultdifferences eventual attainment second language studieswhich compare childrenand adults acquiring and short-term acquisition as naturalenvironments, well as formal, classroom second languages in informal, environments. I. Investigationsof Eventual Attainment:Long Term Studies There have been surprisingly few studies investigating child-adultdifferences in eventual attainmentin second language acquisition. The available studies all concur,however,that age of arrival in the countrywhere the language is spoken is the best predictorof eventual attainment:1) those who and 2) arrive as children attain higher levels of second language proficiency, aftera certainperiod (see discussionbelow) lengthof residence (where length of residence taps linguisticinteraction/input) not a factor.(see Table 1)3 is 2. Investigationsof Rate: Short-term Studies 2.1. Comparisonsof Adult/ChildDifferences. The short-term studies comparing children and adults (see Table 2) show adults to be superior to childrenin rate. Treatmentor length of residencyin these studies

Many second language acquisition theories have been developed over the years. These theories examine the avenues in which second language is acquired and the avenues in which they are

“Less than 1 percent of American adults today are proficient in a foreign language that they studied in a U.S. classroom,” states Amelia Friedman in The Atlantic. “That’s noteworthy considering that in 2008 almost all high schools in the country – 93 percent – offered foreign languages” (Friedman). This has resulted in, as Brad Marshall, a teaching fellow of languages and literatures, notes, "[the] widespread belief that adults will inevitably have problems and will certainly never become fluent, while children are supposed to pick up languages with ease". However, study after study has shown the procedure of language learning of the infants. The essential elements of learning a language lie in your ears and the way you process into the language. Although there is a widespread myth in learning a language – children acquire a language much easier than adults do – the innate ability of adults’ language acquisition are basically as same as that of children’s.

Despite these disadvantages, there are also some advantages. Some scientists have found that learning a second language can develop human intelligence. They believe and have proven that learning a second language offers remarkable benefits for our brains: increased flexibility and improved cognition. Bilingual or multilingual people have a clear, substantial mental advantage over what the public thinks. Learning a foreign language does not simply mean that we can talk to a wide range of people in the world; it is in fact much more fundamental. According to Dr. Thomas Bak, a lecturer in the Philosophy, Psychology, and Language Sciences Department at the University of Edinburgh, learning a second language helps a person develop the brain, even though the person is not fluent in that language. The study found that learning a second language made the brain develop cognitive skills, not only associated with languages, and also protects the elderly from Alzheimer's and dementia disease when people are elderly (Delistraty). Many people know that using the brain frequently helps to prevent dementia disease. Studying another language is more economical than paying for hospital costs in the future. This is great news not only someone who is multilingual, but also positive news for everyone. In addition, when some people speak more than 2 languages, they use their brain a lot. Whereby, it helps to improve concentration and multitasking ability too. When people learn a second language,

The first area of difference between first (L1) and second (L2) language learning is input – specifically the quality and quantity of input. It is the idea of the "connectionist model that implies... (that the) language learning process depends on the input frequency and regularity" (5).. It is here where one finds the greatest difference between L1 and L2 acquisition. The quantity of exposure to a target language a child gets is immense compared to the amount an adult receives. A child hears the language all day everyday, whereas an adult learner may only hear the target language in the classroom – which could be as little as three hours a week. Even if one looks at an adult in a total submersion situation the quantity is still less because the amount of one on one interaction that a child gets for example with a parent or other caregiver is still much greater then the adult is receiving.

When discussing about “In other words”, Bialystok and Hakuta state that there is some thought that children who may appear to be learning a second languge very quickly at a vey young age (before the age of 5). They further state that accompanied by the loss of their first language, have really replaced the first language with the second language.

There has been a long debate about whether a critical period for language acquisition truly exists in humans. It may be true that children have an easier time obtaining fluency when it comes to acquiring a new language, but this does not mean that it is impossible for adults to also acquire a new language with the same level of control even in late adulthood(Snow). So can it really be said that there is a critical period through which children have an easier time to learn a language? And if so, is there a limit to how many languages that a child can learn before this critical period is over?

Should schoolchildren be required to learn a second or even third language from a young age? According to studies at the Cornell Language Acquisition Lab (CLAL), children who learn a second language can maintain attention despite outside stimuli better than those who know only one language. Learning foreign languages from a young age is much easier than trying to pick one up later in life, researchers say that their elementary brains are most receptive to picking it up and enabling them to speak the language fluently with little or no hint of a foreign accent. Schools around the country are struggling to keep their foreign language programs alive. My interest in this topic has developed from my cousins, who live out in California who have been taught a foreign from a younger age, and the school I went to didn’t start teaching it until the ninth grade.

Acquiring the first language is much easier than acquiring any second language as it comes “naturally” after birth. The child passes through different stages before acquiring the language till he masters it. Children follow a predictive language development through their language acquisition but it can vary from a child to another according to the external surroundings especially in the early stages.

Despite a marked difference in terms of their level of proficiency in English, Rodi and Liam managed to develop the same level of proficiency (high level of proficiency) in using Indonesian language. From their reports, summarised in Table 1 above, it is quite obvious to see that social contexts where the language is learned constitutes a very important factor that helped both learners develop their proficiency. That is to say, the abundance of input available in the social settings helped them conceptualise the target language systems more easily and thus enable them to cope with producing output more effectively thereafter. Of course, the abundance of input available in the social setting is useless unless the learners make use of it, and such quality is what differentiates good from poor language learners (Rubin, 1975).

Young children, adolescents, and adults are all being taught foreign languages around the world either by themselves or a teacher, but one certain generation should be learning the language in school. Preschools teaching foreign language increase the brains of children and he/she’s knowledge of life. Considering that, “. . . in five years the average school student gets only about 540 hours (the equivalent of only about 2 months at 8 hours a day) of exposure to the foreign language they are learning” (Nagel). Most high school students forget what they learned or are just are not interested in the language. However, children pick up languages and are additionally capable of remembering languages if taught exceedingly young. Furthermore, adolescents/adults who do not take a language would be superior if they learned a foreign language earlier in life. Learning foreign languages overall can help with the growing global economy as well. Although it may not seem important, learning foreign languages as preschoolers rather than adolescents is more advantageous for mastering a foreign language, which may contribute to an individual's success in a global economy.

Abstract: In second language acquisition, age factors has always been the study focus and one of the most controversial issues of linguistics. Based on the Brain Plasticity Theory and the Critical Period Hypothesis, the purpose is to prove such a hypothesis that the younger the leaner who begins to learn an second language,the greater the probability that he or she will achieve a native-like command of it.