Motivation in Second Language Learning

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.

Within this paper we will take a brief look at the Language Acquisition Principles and how they work on the behalf of ELL students. We will see how these principles can be applied within our own learning environment. There is much information from Walqui article that gives a brief overview of ELL students and how things looked in the past for these students. Now that times has change we will see how educators can make the requirements for ELL students better and more effective for teacher and students. Hopefully, as we look at ways of changing learning for our ELL students we must remember that every student learns differently. Even if you follow the principles from

My seminar provided an overview of chapter 4- explaining second language learning. During my introduction, key points from each of the 5 perspectives were discussed. The cognitive perspective was given priority as it contained many subcategories within itself. This section also allowed my group mates to connect theory and practice of second language learning. My group mates were able to connect to the noticing hypothesis, processability theory and the three principles of practice through their own personal experiences while learning a second language. The first discussion question asked my group members to evaluate their own understanding of how language learning occurs and compare it with the perspectives we covered. The second discussion question provided them a chance to assess each perspective and think of one weakness and one strength for each. Overall if I were to re-do my seminar, I would like to provide more attention to the other perspectives. I would add more discussion questions in order to stimulate more in-depth discussions. Similarly, adding supplemental information from an outside source to further discussion and connect the theories to pedagogy. Additionally, I would create an activity that focused more on teaching of a second language and how these theories have influenced the current practices used.

The situated individual. This concept states your followers build a perception of who they are, what they are doing, and where they are, based upon their identity and purpose (Eisenberg & Goodall, 2014). The situated individuals connected through daily experiences, realities, and mutually shared meanings. (Eisenberg & Goodall, 2014). Using this concept, encourage followers to form relationships outside of their group that foster organizational learning and growth.

During the past five months, I have worked with a group of ELL’s that are both motivated to achieve academically and to learn English as a second language. Plus, as the daughter of immigrants and as an English Language Learner, I know first hand that we are capable of achieving high academic standards. Therefore, I never believed the myths mentioned about ELL’s not being capable to achieve high academic standards nor did I believe that they are not motivated to learn. I did, however, believed that the best way for ELLs to learn the language was through exposure.

L2 motivation was firstly initiated in Canada which it was ruled by a social psychological emphasis there.The understanding of the distinctive Canadian circumstances with the coexistence of the anglophone and francophone group of people speaking two of the world’s most vital languages has been a constant challenge for researchers in the social sciences, and the Canadian government has enthusiastically supported (and sponsored!) research in this manner.

Since, the second language is an additional language after we acquire the first language, the L2 learning process can be influenced by the L1 learning process This essay will demonstrate the similarities and differences in L1 and L2 acquisition by discussing various theories. Then, draw a conclusion based on the evidence provided and my own experience.

Third grade students who are English Language Learners are struggling to understand lessons that are being taught in the classroom. The class has been assigned to do a book report over a country in a different continent of their choosing. The ELL students have started running into problems of understanding the task and how to find information, while the other students know that they will need to read books and look online to find research on their country. The few difficulties they have started coming across has discouraged them and they don’t want to do the book report anymore.

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 the time of acquisition, as well as the comprehensible input and output with the use of scaffolding play a major role in second language acquisition. Kirsten Hummel states, “The one most effective way to increase L2 competence was by exposure to ‘comprehensible input’.” (Hummel, 2014, p. 73) Let us also not forget the importance of written expression as well as reading comprehension with these L2 learners. Each plays a role in language development. However, I believe that to acquire language one must use a variety of techniques that work together to create a balance within the learning environment. Furthermore, all L2 learners acquire language differently and so using a variety of resources that are based on the ability of each student is neccesary. There are many theories that have been developed by highly qualified experts in the field of linguistics. However, I will address those areas that I agree with as I present my personal theories on second language acquisition.

For students who are learning a second language, school can represent a heavy task. As teachers we need to support them and pay attention to their language needs. There are many strategies and ways to educate English Language Learner students. However as educators we must first create an environment of respect and include English Language Learner students in our teaching lessons. We also need to provide them with meaningful and comprehensible lessons that will help them grown academically. My three major goals that I have for my ELL students is build on students ' background knowledge to increase comprehension, increase ELL students ' English language production and peer interaction, and increase ELL parent involvement. First of all, to accomplish my goals I have to create an environment in which students are motivated to learn no matter their culture, and language.

Language carries the beauty and persona of our thought process and the study of Linguistics helps us develop insights, appreciate and analyze many aspects of this powerful medium of expression. My fascination with Second Language Acquisition (SLA) began with the course ‘Language Acquisition and Learning’ that I took while I was in the 4th year of my undergraduate program at the University of Dhaka. In that course, for the first time, I was introduced to various theories and hypotheses about how people acquire a second language, such as Stephen Krashen’s five main hypotheses on language acquisition (the acquisition-learning hypothesis, the monitor hypothesis, the natural order hypothesis, the input hypothesis, and the affective filter hypothesis), Larry Selinker’s Interlanguage theory, John Schumann’s Acculturation model, and Howard Giles’s Accommodation theory. These theories helped me realize the robustness and richness of SLA research and made a permanent impression on my mind about this field. Besides SLA, I was also acquainted with Psycholinguistics through this course. I have learned about several theories of first language acquisition, e.g. the Behaviorist theory, the Innatist theory, the Cognitive theory, and the Maturational theory. It is worth mentioning here that this course really helped me set my dream to become an academic as well as a researcher in the field of language acquisition and learning.

It is the duty of the teacher to identify those factors and comprehend it completely in order to teach the students effectively. Among all these factors, motivation is one of the most significant one. Dorneyi (2001 a) addresses the relevance of motivation by asserting, “ ‘motivation' is related to one of the most basic aspects of the human mind, and most teachers and researchers would agree that it has a very important role in determining success or failure in any learning situation. My personal experience is that 99 per cent of language learners who really want to learn a foreign language (i.e. who are really motivated) will be able to master a reasonable working knowledge of it as a minimum, regardless of their language aptitude.”

Students can get confused and will not know which aspect of the context is relevant in the interaction. Some find it useful to divide linguistic and non-linguistic elements, and elements, which are in the immediate context and those, which provide a broader background against which an utterance is interpreted. At class, we can also divide it this way, and each time we want to use the context, we will first distinguish between the linguistic and non-linguistic elements. In addition, we will start from the immediate context since most of the time we will not need more than that. If we still find something missing, we will continue to the broader

Vocabulary plays a significant role in English as second language learning process. For the majority of English as Second Language(ESL) learners, the ultimate goal of learning the language is to understand (read and listen) and communicate (write and speak) with little difficulty and the lack of sufficient vocabulary may be the constraint of such goal (Folse, 2004). As the bedrock of English and as well as language, vocabulary also facilitates the development of other language skills: lexical richness leads to the progress in the use of language, namely listening, speaking, reading and writing skills (Nation, 1994). Reversely, The improvement in such skills may enhance learners vocabulary size as the exposure to more learning materials improves the capacity to acquire new vocabulary. (The importance of learning vocabulary/ why vocabulary?)

What is motivation? What influences it? The term motivation can be defined in different ways. Motivation can simply defined as “ a need that, if high, is evident in a strong desire to achieve, to excel, to reach a high level of excellence” (Lefrancois 430). To become motivated, one must have a positive attitude to a variety of learning skills. Some factors that influence motivation include our peers, friends, parents, and environmental settings. Division four being high school division, attention is focused towards learning and what methods can be used. Students at this stage are more eager and develop a sense of what he or she wants to do and accomplish in upcoming adulthood. With a division comes a group of intelligent theorists. All