Second Language Lightbown and Spada

Second Language

Lightbown and Spada Chapter 1 and 2: Language Learning in Early Childhood

This chapter was a bit surprising because it did not address learning a second language but instead focused on how children learn their first language. It was also surprising to read about children since those reading this textbook are obviously no longer children. However, perhaps the main benefit of the approach taken by chapter 1 and 2 is that it really exposes just how difficult it is to learn even one language, let alone two. I was particularly surprised by the fact that word acquisition (during the early school years) occurs at a rate of several hundred to 1000 words per year. Still, I am curious as to how exactly such information could be determined or verified; to this end, it would have been interesting to learn the methodology used to determine such statistics.

The other benefit to focusing on initial language acquisition in the first chapter of the book is that it is universal and applicable to everyone, regardless of their cultural background; I was particularly interested in the fact that early vocalization is the same for everyone, regardless of their ethnicity. This caused me to take not of the fact that there are different levels of languages -- instinctual/nonverbal language and verbal/written language. Learning that initial language learning is the same for everyone impressed upon me the fact everyone is born with the same language capacity and that culture and other external stimuli are what make it difficult to learn verbal languages.

Chapter 1 was also useful in that it delineated the central theories that describe language acquisition, be it initial or secondary acquisition. The author situates the Behaviorist theory in a binary with the Innatist theory, and positions the Interactionist explanation as a sort of synthesis between the former two models. Ultimately, I feel that the Interactionist model most effectively captures how people learn language. I do believe that the majority of language acquisition occurs through imitation and empirical exercises and in this regard, I feel that the Behaviorist approach is valid. However, people must be born with a neurological profile that is conducive to successfully conducting the exercises associated with the Behaviorist approach. The Interactionist theory best captures the interplay between internal makeup and external stimuli that is necessary to acquire a language. The theory of connectionism also made sense from an intellectual standpoint, although I didn't particularly understand the difference between it and the Interactionist model, as the former seemed to be largely a subset of the latter. It was also ambiguous whether or not the book intended for connectionism to be a subcategory of the Interactionist theory, and because so much material was discussed in chapter 1, I felt that the chapter would have benefited from more clearly-defined organization.

In a sense, chapter 2 was similar to what I had expected to find in the opening chapter. It contained an overview of the difficulties of second language acquisition, and the myriad contexts in which second language learning occurs. With the pervasiveness of foreign language courses, it is easy to forget that foreign languages can also be learned in isolation or through immersion in a foreign culture. Moreover, there are many differences between the different contexts; for example, a classroom may be large or small, it might meet once a week or on a daily basis, and it may have people from the same grade or from a variety of age groups. While it would have been helpful for the chapter to have discussed the most effective context, the chapter elucidated central aspects of the language acquisition process that I had overlooked.

Chapter 3: Individual differences in second language learning

The most salient topic discussed in chapter 3 was the impact that the personality and characteristics of the individual have on language learning. While it is perhaps self-evident that the intelligence of the individual plays a crucial impact on whether or not they will be successful in learning a second learning, this was a bit surprising to read in the context of a textbook that is geared toward providing strategies for learning a second language.

In addition to learning about the impactful role of the student's intelligence, it was also interesting to learn about other factors that can influence whether or not someone effectively absorbs the material, or the rate in which they are able to progress. Certainly, I could have foreseen that different learning styles affect how fast and efficiently people are able to learn the language, and that the teaching style should be tailored to the learning style of the student. However, it was surprising to read that the age of the student can play a significant role in learning a second language. Specifically, the older someone is, the more difficulty they will encounter in absorbing the material. One of the primary explanations that the book provided for this tendency was that younger people have more time to devote to acquiring a new language; this did not make sense to me because young individuals do not typically possess the ability to teach themselves a new language -- they require the assistance of an adult, and their parents typically oversee their schedule. It seems to me that the difference in language acquisition rate between age groups is more attributable to the fact that younger people are less attached to their primary language and perhaps inherently more inquisitive as well.

The chapter also stressed the fact that learning a second language is more difficult than learning one's primary language. This point was made more complicated than necessary by the fact that the book attributed learning an initial language with immersion in one's native culture; it would have been helpful to more clearly explain the relationship between language learning and culture. At any rate, it is clearly understandable that learning a second language is difficult because in most cases, it entails familiarizing oneself with the language of a foreign culture. However, I am curious whether learning a third or fourth language is easier to accomplish than learning a first language. From my experience, there are polyglots who are able to learn languages very quickly, reaching native speaking ability after a brief period of time and with seemingly little effort. While I understand that the textbook is written for those learning a second language, a significant proportion of readers of the textbook likely endeavor to learn multiple languages and so it would have been helpful for the book to describe the rates of language acquisition for people learning their third or fourth language.

The impact of the learner's age is perhaps overlooked due to the fact that people are typically in a setting with similar individuals; for example, high school or college foreign language courses typically feature people from identical or similar age groups. I would be curious to learn whether certain classroom settings produce more productive language acquisition than others. Obviously, a classroom filled with eager students is preferable to a classroom with individuals who are indifferent, but I wonder whether a mix between different age groups, cultural backgrounds, or socioeconomic classifications would be more beneficial than the characteristically homogeneous classrooms found in school classroom settings. I am also curious to know whether languages are more easily learned in isolation. Overall, however, I appreciated the contextual overview of language learning and it exposed the varied factors that contribute to language acquisition.

Chapter 4 (Learner language) and Chapter 5 (Observing learning and teaching in the second language classroom)

One of the salient themes of chapter 4 was its emphasis on the unavoidability of mistakes and the explanations for why certain mistakes occur with regularity. In particular, the fact that learning a second language invariably means making mistakes resonated with me and was surprising to learn in the context of a classroom. I think that classrooms often create a competitive and discriminating environment whereby mistakes are frowned upon and this makes people feel as though they will be shunned for taking risks and making errors. Therefore, it was liberating to read that making grammatical errors is actually beneficial to the language learning process. I agree, and feel that a classroom that accepts errors by students will endow them with the confidence to take risks, resulting in a heightened degree of enthusiasm that will actually make them more effective in absorbing the material.

Additionally, the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis, in which errors that occur in throughout the second language acquisition process can be attributed to the contrast between the second language and the speaker's native language. This makes intellectual sense to me, not only based on my personal experience but also based on my interactions with other people who are attempting to learn English as a second language. However, I also wonder whether the errors that are attributed to the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis would occur even if someone were learning their first language. Are there certain words or grammatical situations that lend themselves more to errors, regardless of the learner's background?

Chapter 4 also stresses the importance of interlanguage, or the realization that phrases that are spoken may have alternate or even non-literal meanings. While I understand why non-literal meanings are particularly difficult for speakers to comprehend, it seems to me that interlanguage would be easier for people learning second languages, because they can draw from examples of interlanguage from their native language. After all, even elementary school children have difficulty understanding the existence of idioms, homonyms, and other examples of words and phrases that have alternate definitions.

I appreciated the description of the developmental stages for language acquisition in Chapter 4; the progression from subject to direct object, indirect object, object of preposition, possessive, and object of comparison provided a useful classification of the progression of language acquisition. However, I was confused by the author's contention that "Developmental stages are not like closed rooms. Learners do not leave one behind when they enter another" (Lightbown and Spada, 92). While it is true that different people absorb material at different rates, it seems very difficult for someone to understand more difficult stages before comprehending earlier ones. For example, I do not understand how someone could understand objects of preposition without having a strong understanding of direct and indirect objects.

Chapter 5 was particularly useful in that it closely examined the activity that occurs within the classroom. In particular, I agree with the belief that substantial time should be granted for students to answer questions. I feel repetition and recasts are more useful than explicit correction or techniques that occur in more instruction-based classes. Students should learn from their mistakes in a manner that does not punish them but instead works with them to transmit the material. I also feel that asking more informational questions are more productive than display questions as they resonate more closely with the student's personal experience.

Chapter 2 (the stages of second language acquisition) and Chapter 3 (Setting objectives and providing feedback), Hill and Flynn

The material presented in chapters 2 and 3 was reminiscent of that from How Languages are Learned. For example, Hill and Flynn are similar to Lightbown and Spada in stressing the immense difficulty in learning a language, regardless of whether it is a person's first or second language. They also raise the interesting observation that just because someone sounds fluent, this does not necessarily mean that they are fluent in the language. I was also interested in the fact that there are also varying degrees of fluency involved in language learning; someone may have conversational fluency (which is easier to achieve) while lacking academic fluency (characterized by the ability to write, converse, and express ideas on an academically advanced level. It is necessary to establish the inherent difficulties involved in primary and secondary language acquisition because people often underestimate the timetable involved and expect to become fluent after a relatively short period of time.

Despite the similarities between the two books, I found the Hill and Flynn text to be more rigorous in providing taxonomies regarding the progression involved in acquiring a second language. Specifically, chapter 2 provided the 5 Stages of Learning Acquisition. For the most part, the table was intuitive and understandable, although this was difficult to judge because I cannot remember how advanced my language learning was during my infant years. That said, it was remarkable to me that advanced fluency was not considered to be attained until ages 5-7; it seems to me that most people achieve advanced fluency by age 5 at the latest. I think that it would have been more beneficial for the authors to more forcefully explain the impact that people's varying backgrounds have on their language development. While I am fairly certain that I had advanced fluency prior to age 5 (and was able to read and write by this age), this is due in large part to the fact that I was by parents who both held advanced degrees and stressed the importance of strong linguistic acumen.

The most interesting theme addressed in chapter 3 was the importance of learning languages in context; people should be able to relate to the questions and draw from personal experiences in answering questions. I also appreciated the discussion of the usefulness of incorporating different modalities (particular emphasis was placed on incorporating visuals), which acknowledge the fact that different people learn best through different sensory modalities. For example visual learners benefit from posters, videos, and slideshows, while those who learn best through hearing benefit from the use of audio and dictation. This placed an even greater emphasis on motivating the student than Lightbown and Spada in their textbook. Indeed, I appreciated their point that students should be it is best for students not to be overtly corrected when they make an error. Certainly, students should be corrected when they make a mistake, but when they are explicitly corrected, this can negatively affect their confidence and decrease their motivation. On a personal level, I have always absorbed material more efficiently when I am able to apply material to my own life.

After the description of the negative effects of overtly corrective evaluation, it was surprising to read that Hill and Flynn advocate evaluation through rubrics. It seems to me that rubrics constitute a form of overt correction and can easily discourage students who perform poorly on an exercise or evaluation. Thus, it is imperative that the rubric is constructed in a sensitive manner that would not have the potential to be discouraging. Still, I feel that students should not be evaluated through rubrics but instead through interpersonal dialogue and written evaluations, which can be phrased in a more sensitive manner. Nevertheless, I appreciated the emphasis that Hill and Flynn gave on ensuring that students are motivated as this is instrumental for keeping them focused on working efficiently in absorbing the vast amounts of material.