Second Language learning
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The document discusses second language acquisition and factors that affect it. It defines second language learning as learning additional languages after one's first language. Key factors that influence second language learning include age, personality, motivation, experiences, cognition, native language, curriculum, culture, and status. While children may have an advantage in pronunciation, adults have cognitive maturity and experience with language systems that can help them learn grammatical rules more easily. The optimal age is considered to be early adolescence from 11-13 years old when motivation is high. The document also defines and discusses Krashen's affective filter hypothesis, which proposes that affective variables like anxiety and stress can prevent language input from being acquired, whereas a low affective filter facilitates learning
Second Language learning
- 2. Second Language Learning o Second-language acquisition, second-language learning, is the process by which people learn a second language . o Second-language acquisition also refers to the scientific discipline devoted to studying that process. o Second language refers to any language learned in addition to a person's first language; although the concept is named second-language acquisition, it can also incorporate the learning of third, fourth, or subsequent languages. o Second-language acquisition refers to what learners do; it does not refer to practices in language teaching, although teaching can affect acquisition.
- 3. Factors affecting L2: Age Personality Motivation Experiences Cognition Native Language Curriculum Culture Status
- 4. Optimum Age: o The issue of age was first addressed with the critical period hypothesis. The strict version of this hypothesis states that there is a cut-off age at about 12, after which learners lose the ability to fully learn a language. This strict version has since been rejected for second- language acquisition, as adult learners have been observed who reach native-like levels of pronunciation and general fluency. o Scholars believe that many factors can affect second language learning and teaching practices, among them age has been always regarded as a key factor.
- 5. o The starting age for learning a second/ foreign language is a debatable issue about which different ideas have been proposed by various stakeholders and scholars. o Some scholars refer to the critical period hypothesis for L1 acquisition and believe that before puberty is the best time to start learning/ teaching a foreign language. o From another point of view, scholars reject the appropriateness of this claim in second language learning/ teaching regarding the evidence that adult learners, in some aspects of language, are said to acquire a foreign language more easily. These researchers claim that concepts such as multiple critical period and the presence of motivation based on which any person can start learning a foreign language at any age can be good examples.
- 6. The advantages of early second language learning: o According scientific surveys, language aspects such as pronunciation and intonation can be acquired easier during childhood, due to neuromuscular mechanisms which are only active until to the age of 12. o Another possible explanation of children’s´ accent-free pronunciation is their increased capability for imitation. This capability fades away significantly after puberty. Another factor that we should take into consideration is children’s flexibility, spontaneity and tolerance to new experiences. o Kids are more willing to communicate with people than adults, they are curious and they are not afraid of making mistakes. o On the other hand there are surveys which point out the risk of semi- lingualism and advise parents to organize language planning carefully.
- 7. The advantages of late second language learning: Consider the following factors: Adults (meaning people after puberty) have an important advantage: a) cognitive maturity and b) their experience of the general language system. Through their knowledge of their mother tongues, as well as other foreign languages, not only can they achieve more advantageous learning conditions than children, but they can also more easily acquire grammatical rules and syntactic phenomena.
- 8. o It would be useful to point out that sometimes incorrect pronunciation is not a matter of capability but of good will. According to different surveys, adults do not feel like themselves when they speak a foreign language and they consider pronunciation an ethno- linguistic identity-marker. A positive or negative attitude towards a foreign language should not be underestimated. o Another factor to consider is the adults 'motivation to learn a foreign language`. When an adult learns a foreign language there is always a reason behind it: education, social prestige, profession or social integration. The latter is considered a very strong one, especially in the case of immigrants. o So what is the best age for a person to start learning a foreign language in situations where there is a choice, and where it is not critical that a native-speaker-like pronunciation is acquired? o The answer, according to current research, is early adolescence, so about 11-13. And the more motivated the child is to learn the new language, the more successful he will be!
- 9. Definition of the Affective Filter Hypothesis o According to the affective filter hypothesis, affect effects acquisition, but not learning, by facilitating or preventing comprehensible input from reaching the language acquisition device. o In other words, affective variables such as fear, nervousness, boredom, and resistance to change can effect the acquisition of a second language by preventing information about the second language from reaching the language areas of the mind. o Affective filters can be raised or lowered as a result of the environment that individuals are in, interactions with peers and/or teachers, or due to personal factors such as insecurity and anxiety.
- 10. Krashen’s work o In Krashen’s work, the affective filter hypothesis explains the role of affective factors in the process of language acquisition . o It suggests that emotional variables can hinder comprehensible input from reaching the part of the brain responsible for acquiring language. o Krashen postulated that an affective filter exists that can increase or decrease the intake of the comprehensible input.
- 11. o He found that a high level of stress and anxiety creates a filter that impedes learning, blocks the intake, and reduces L2 acquisition. o When the filter is up, input can’t reach those parts of the brain where acquisition occurs. o Many language learners realize that the reason they have trouble is because they are nervous or embarrassed and simply can’t concentrate. In other words, the input is filtered out. o Krashen also concluded that a low affective filter on the other side facilitates learning and promotes second language acquisition.
- 12. Affective filter and second language Learning o The Affective Filter hypothesis embodies Krashen's view that a number of 'affective variables' play a facilitative, but non-causal, role in second language acquisition. These variables include: motivation, self- confidence and anxiety. According to him, it is easier for a learner to acquire a language when he/she is not tense, angry, anxious, and bored. o Krashen claimed that learners with high motivation, self-confidence, a good self-image, and a low level of anxiety are better equipped for success in second language acquisition. Low motivation, low self-esteem, and debilitating anxiety can combine to 'raise' the affective filter and form a 'mental block' that prevents comprehensible input from being used for acquisition. o In other words, when the filter is 'up' it impedes language acquisition. On the other hand, positive affect is necessary, but not sufficient on its own, for acquisition to take place.
- 13. How to make use of Affective filter hypothesis in second language teaching o Analyze students’ learning motivation, motivate them, and help them possess a positive attitude Some students have very poor performance on the L2, only because they have little or not enough motivation for it and there are mainly five reasons: No interest. No confidence. Teacher’s inappropriate teaching method. Some negative national emotions against the target language. Students think it no use to learn.
- 14. Group 2 • Umm-e-Rooman Yaqoob • Rabia Ashiq • Samia Shabbir • Mehak Rasool • Sara George
- 15. THANK YOU