Psycholinguistics and Second Language Acquisition
...re accustomed to learning from peers than from his parents. From his earliest years, he may be cared for and taught by his older siblings or cousins. He may learn to be quiet in the presence of parents and had little experience in interacting with them. When he enters school, he is more likely to pay attention to what his peers are doing than to what the teacher is saying. At this point, the other children are more important to Peter than his parents. Besides these differences about families, there are also differences in how children react to school and learn. Some children are outgoing and sociable and learn the second language quickly(Wong Fillmore, Ammon, Ammon, & McLaughlin, 1984). They do not worry about mistakes, so Anthony is very active in English lesson. However, other children are shy and quiet. They learn by listening and by attending to what is happening and being said around them. They say little, for fear of making a mistake, and Peter is cited as the typical example. He is seldom to express his mind and talk to each other in English. The most straightforward way for children from non-English-speaking backgrounds to learn English is for them to be in an environment where they are constantly exposed to English. This is the rationale behind what is called "structured immersion," an instructional strategy in which children from language minority backgrounds receive all of their instruction in English and have the additional support of ESL classes and content-based instruction that is tailored to their language abilities. Such a program has the advantage of providing more time on task for learning English than in a bilingual classroom. Therefore, one might expect that the more English children hear and use, the quicker their English language skills develop. Since Anthony studied in an international school before studying in my school, the time used to immerse in English is more than the others. Also, the ability of learning English is developed in his early ages, thus Anthony can perform very well in learning English in the classroom. Suggestions to help facilitate the second language learning The previous discussion has already pointed out that the importance of providing student instructions on how to use strategies such as guessing meaning from context and how to use dictionary appropriately. Therefore, the learning strategy training would be suggested to provide in the classroom rather than a separate strategy course. It would be more effective when woven into regular classroom activities. English teachers can play a very important role introducing language learning strategy into the English classroom. The teachers should see themselves as collaborators in the learning process; teachers should help students define their learning objectives; teachers should help students discover what strategies they are using; teachers can suggest for students to try out; teachers can help students evaluate which strategies work best for them and help them make companies between learning strategies. In addition, based on a self reflection of my experiences as a primary English teacher as well as personal communication with present primary English teachers, it seems that not many teachers would teach students the strategy of guessing while reading. Probably this lack of knowledge of the technique has discouraged the students from adopting the strategy. Perhaps it is important for teachers to consider spending more time to teach their teachers this very useful reading strategy. On the other hand, teachers need to be aware of cultural and individual differences in learner styles. Many culturally and linguistically diverse children enter school with cognitive and social norms that differ from those that govern the classroom. These differences, in turn, affect the teacher's expectations of the child's ability and the teacher's response to the child(Heath, 1983).. Within the school environment, behaviors such as paying attention and persisting at tasks are valued. Because of their cultural background, however, some children may be less able to make the functional adaptation to the interpersonal setting of the school culture. Unless the teacher is aware of such cultural differences, the child's lack of attentiveness and lack of persistence can influence the teacher's expectations and the way the teacher interacts with these children. Effective instruction for children from culturally diverse backgrounds requires a variety of instructional activities--small group work, cooperative learning, peer tutoring, individualized instruction, and other strategies that take the children's diversity of experience into account (Long & Porter, 1985). Many of the important educational innovations in current practice such as untracking and mixed-age grouping--are the direct result of teachers adapting their teaching to the challenge posed by children from culturally diverse backgrounds. Teachers need to be aware of how the child's experiences in the home and in the home culture affect values, patterns of language use, and interpersonal style. Children are likely to be more responsive to a teacher who is sensitive to their culture and its behavioral patterns. This means going beyond the cognitive activities which cannot reach children effectively. Effective education of children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds affirms the values of the home culture and develops in children a positive emotional attitude toward their background. Furthermore, teachers should be aware that giving language minority children the support of their home language, where this is possible, is not doing them a disservice. The use of the home language in bilingual classrooms enables the child to avoid falling behind in school work, and it also provides a mutually reinforcing bond between the home and the school (Cummins, 1980). In fact, the home language acts as a bridge for children, enabling them to participate more effectively in school activities while they are learning English. Additionally, to facilitate learning the meaning of new vocabulary, the use of the home language (or mother tongue) and translation appeared to be the most predominantly used strategy for both high and low achievers, and the low achievers show a higher tendency of doing so. Children in bilingual programs will acquire as much English as children who have more exposure from an earlier age (Heath, 1983). Also, if the child is able to acquire literacy skills in the first language, as an adult he or she may be functionally bilingual, with a unique advantage in technical or professional careers. On the other hand, language majority children in second language ?based environment have been shown to benefit from extended intensive exposure to the second language. This can show that language majority children in the second language is not detrimental to learning content material in that language, as long as the home language continues to develop and is supported. However, some teachers may assume that once children can converse comfortably in English, they are in full control of the language. Yet for school-aged children, there is much more involved in learning a second language than learning how to speak it. A child who is proficient in face-to-face communication has not necessarily achieved proficiency in the more abstract and disembodied academic language needed to engage in many classroom activities, especially in the higher classes. Such activities require the child to separate language from the context of actual experience and to learn to deal with abstract meanings. Therefore, although Peter is seldom to speak in the lesson and we have to give him more exposure to the English, teachers need to be cautious in exiting children from programs where they have the support of their home language. Exiting children who are not ready for the all-English classroom may be harmful to the children's academic success. In fact, it is inappropriate to exit children into an all-English classroom on the basis of language assessment instruments that tap only oral communication skills. Aside from this question, all teachers need to be aware that a child who is learning in a second language may be having language problems in reading and writing that are not apparent if the child's oral abilities are used as the gauge of English proficiency. It is conceivable that many of the problems that children from minority language backgrounds have the reading and writing limitations in vocabulary and syntactic knowledge in the second language. Even children who are skilled orally can have these gaps. As we have seen, learning a second language is not an easy enterprise and is not finished in a year or two. Besides, there are some extra suggestions for teaching students in a second language. Teachers who provide instruction in the student’s second language must be continuously engaged in a negotiation of meaning process. In negotiating meaning, teachers and students endeavor to make themselves understood and to understand each other. It is a collaborative process of give and take in which each participant works to send and receive comprehensible messages. Negotiation of meaning is critical in classrooms where students are learning content in a new language. If the meaning of what the teacher says is unclear, it will be difficult for students to acquire the skills and knowledge of the curriculum. Under this circumstance, the role of the teachers will be discussed from three perspectives. A teacher has to make understandable to students and he can help students make their messages understood. Moreover, a teacher has to stretch, expand and refine students?language repertoire. For teachers who teach content in a language new to students, informed decision making may depend upon an even deeper understanding of students and how they learn than it does in a monolingual setting. The teacher’s knowledge of students?needs and abilities and of their linguistic and cultural characteristics will help to determine which of the available options is most appropriate at a given moment. The teacher’s options include: ?accept the student’s response without comment ?respond with positive reinforcement ?correct the student if the response is ...