Schumann 's Acculturation Theory : Factors And How They Influence Language Learners

I was only nine years old, the year 1991. I had to navigate from an English speaking classroom to a Spanish speaking home. From eight in the morning I was given instruction in English by my professors at school. After three in the afternoon at home I engaged in Spanish conversation with my mother, father, and siblings. When the summer vacation came around, it was back to speaking español only, and then I regained the Mexican accent that had faded away during the school year.

At first, speaking English was a bit difficult because I did not feel confident using it with others. The most advanced students sometimes made fun of my English. The students who spoke my own language made more fun of me than the ones who were fluent in English. The teasing by the students made me feel embarrassed and shy to speak the English language, giving me a fear of being made fun of or looked at differently. Practicing the English language with my own siblings and playing with the neighborhood kids who already managed the language gave me more confidence to speak English. Taking Spanish courses in school was also an advantage, which helped me to get better at my native language and kept me from losing it.

When studying any language, you gradually gain greater insights into the wide-spread range of cultures that these languages represent hence gaining a greater knowledge of the way the world works and your place within it. Learning a foreign language gives you immediate access to new literature, new music, new art and an undiscovered spectrum of opportunity waiting to be discovered. Not only are you raising your cultural awareness, you are improving your general knowledge of the country, the natives and their traditions.

As defined by Gass and Selinker, Second Language Acquisition “refers to the learning of nonnative language after learning of the native language” (2008: 7). Two main problems are often discussed when defining SLA: the distinction between second and third, fourth, etc. language acquisition, and second versus foreign language acquisition. According to Ellis, in many communities it is quite common to speak more than one language, therefore some learners acquire “more than one ‘second’ language” (Ellis 2015: 6). For this reason, the term Second Language Acquisition is used as an all-inclusive term “for learning any language after the first” (Ellis 2015: 6). Kees de Bot, Lowie and Verspoor note that in some definitions it is indicated that second language acquisition “typically takes place in a setting in which the language to be learned is the language spoken in the local community” and usually in a natural, non-instructed environment. As a contrast, foreign language acquisition occurs when the learner is not a part of the local community of the target language and the setting is controlled (de Bot et al. 2005: 7). However, in the paper I will not be making a distinction between second and foreign language acquisition as the difference has not been indicated in any of the theories chosen for

My high focus and dedication in the classroom helped me to succeed in learning the language. Also, even by just watching Sponge Bob on television somehow helped me learn the language just as well. As with the cultural problem, I managed to overcome it with my strong will and character as I broadened my horizons as I met newer and better friends that understood my pain and helped me go through with

I have lived in two different countries before moving to the United States of America; the challenging things about moving into a new country is learning the language, culture, and getting used to the new food. By the age of 15, I had learned to speak three different languages: Amharic, which is spoken in Ethiopia; Swahili, which is the native langue of Kenya, and a little bit of English. English is one of the hardest languages for me to learn and speak, because English is different from my native language in pronunciations, tone, and English has so many different words, which have the same meanings. Once I moved to the U.S.A, I had to learn how to speak English well in order to communicate with people at work, school and to socialize in the community. Attending college to learn English and other cultures is very important to me. For example, when I am attending collage, I will be meeting people from all over the world with different cultures and backgrounds. For instance, last semester I met an Indian student in my math class, she was very friendly and open indeed. She taught me a lot about her culture. The most interesting example is the one she mentioned about their wedding ceremony. The traditional wedding includes painting of the feet and hands of the bride, and this tradition is called Mehndi. Learning about her culture has allowed me to understand and appreciate the culture differences we possess. I

The language I first learned at home was Spanish because that's how I communicate with my family members. What motivated to to learn more about my target language is the culture behind the speaking language and the correct usage, not just the slang words. When I traveled to Mexico it helped me learn more about the language for example, in the way they use more formal words and high vocabulary words when communicating with someone. Another experience I had was when a man at the gas station didn’t know how to speak English and the cashier didn’t understand him. Since I understood what he was saying in Spanish I offered him my assistance and helped him as a translator.

I don’t exactly remember learning how to speak English, it’s like one day I can only speak Spanish and next thing I know I am speaking both English and Spanish. Not only am I speaking English, I am reading and writing it almost fluently. I don’t remember if it was difficult for me when I first started school, I assume it was, based on what my mom told me. I was a shy little girl who didn’t participate in class, so the teacher assistant was kind enough to come after class to tutor me at home. Pre-Kindergarten is the very first level of school where you learn the basics to expand your knowledge into reading or writing. I have no idea if the teacher assistant tutored me to learn the English language or if I just caught on. In a mexican

If one was to go to another country , one big concern will be , how will they communicate with others. “Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where it’s people came from and where they are going” (Brown). Most people would say that they can use technology or their phones but that is not always the case. What if their phone die or they were to leave somewhere ? Then what will one do. These are the things people would have to think about. Traveling to another country will make everything a lot easier if you knew the native language. It will also make the trip a lot more fun

Not being able to communicate with someone who is new to the family was extremely difficult, but when I heard my Uncle Gerardo speaking in Spanish I instantly knew I had to learn the language. From then on him and I exchanged small lessons on our primary languages with each other. We began with the basics- uno a diez (one to ten), and then moved onto more difficult topics. By the time I entered middle school I was beyond excited to finally be able to take a Spanish class. Halfway through the year I realized something extraordinary, I was passing the class with an impressive grade and could understand much more Spanish, but I also understood so much more about the culture. This is about the time that I became obsessed with learning how people in other cultures live- what do they eat, what do they wear, do they go to school, how many people are in the average family? And the questions did not stop there. I have fallen in love with places I have never even seen with my own two

I was raised in a Hispanic middle class home. My first language was Spanish and when I started elementary school I learned English. Just beginning elementary school, I was already struggling with the language I was in ESL classes at school and then speech therapy on the side. I was struggling with learning a new language and adjusting to school.

The first time for me to feel the need to be more close to my cultural was in middle school, I wanted to speak our town’s local language in order to get closer with my classmates. I was growing up in a city called NanKing, which is different from the cities my parents grow up in. I speak different regional language from my parents, that’s why when I get in middle school I don’t speak the NanKing regional language that everyone else is speaking, which makes me an alien. Addition to that, I used to transfer in three

Another socio-cultural factor which influences children’s language development is their cultural backgrounds and identity. A child’s cultural identity greatly influences the way they learn and their approach to education. “Teachers should

I want to do this because to me it is very important that i experience as much of the world as i can so i can live my life to the fullest. To accomplish this goal i will have to study very hard to learn one language at a time and practice constantly with other people who are fluent in the language that i am currently learning. Currently i am learning spanish and have studied french in the past.To be able to accomplish this would make me estatic because it a very hard thing to learn how to do but I think that it will pay off in the future if I travel the world.When doing this i might lose time with my friends but it may be possible to convince them to study the language with

I would watch Dora the Explorer episodes and try to learn as many words and numbers as I could, but I never got a substantial education on a second language. Now that I am a highschooler I aspire to be able to speak in the languages of others around the world. From personal experience of taking multiple Spanish classes, I know it can be difficult to learn a new language later in life and wish I had started to learn it earlier as a child. The younger a learner is when they begin to be taught a new language, the easier it is for them to understand and remember. This is simply because the younger a child is, the better they are at mimicking new sounds and pronunciation, making it easier to learn new words. (Catherine Ford. ‘Children should start learning languages at three,’ The Telegraph. 10 October