Comment on Popular Ideas about Language Learning

As the limitation of the cognition and maturity, children learn language mostly from the outer environment stimulation created by their parents, educators and peers. The quality and quantity of language input, functioning as the stimulation, by interacting with the people around the children have a positive influence on children’s language learning (Bradley and Caldwell 1976; Clarke-Stewart 1973; McCartney 1984; and NICHD 2000). Therefore, it is beneficial for both parents and teachers to know how the interaction can improve the children’s English proficiency. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to introduce the role of the interaction in early L2 development and the implication of the interaction of children in education. This paper is going to introduce the topic in three aspects.

Elementary school students should have foreign language added to their curriculum because there are multiple benefits to early exposure in the primary grades. Having been proven throughout history, younger learners are more adept to language acquisition. Although some may think “…their minds aren’t capable of learning and retaining a foreign language, it’s enough of a struggle for a child to learn one language, a native language…” (Should foreign...). It may not be easy to learn, but in actuality it will help their brains develop gradually, not only helping them in their foreign language studies, but also improving other areas as well. Cheryl Walker states this clearly, saying foreign language, “…increases listening ability, creativity, and critical ... ... middle of paper ... ...proving Students' Capacity in Foreign Languages."

All in all, the parents of today need to be prepared, motivated, and of course; confident to help their children succeed. Learning is different for each and every child but reading, and more reading to children at an early age can give them a head start in school. So learning grammar for one child might be different than another. As you can see, giving each child the individual attention he or she needs will determine which way is best in developing grammar as a parent. Of course, one method might work on one child and not the other; a combination of different methods might be the solution.

According to Harmer, it is broadly believed that children learn a second language faster than adults. This ability is called the plasticity of a young brain which enables them to acquire a new language without much of an effort. Motivation is a very important factor that distinguishes this group of learners. They are more aware of the need to learn a foreign language as something that will benefit them in the future. Moreover Pinter (2006) claims that children need to express their opinion about English lessons and their own progress because this is a fundamental part of building self-reliance and awareness.

QUALITIES OF SUCCESSFUL LANGUAGE LEARNERS Qualities of a successful language learner’s Age: Age variation in English learning and learning differences between children and adults are significant factors that must be taken into account in choosing the right approaches, design and procedures. In the survey it has been found that those respondents who had some exposure to English language in their childhood managed to acquire good communication skills. Infants are born as universal receivers of all language sounds, but this ability slowly disappears, as they grow old. So early childhood experiences aid the learners in acquiring good English successfully in later life. Immersion: Immersion is a method of learning new language by the exclusive use of the target language.

Differentiation is the key for these students. All students may be working on the same objective, but for this group, the assignment will be given in a different style to accommodate their learning. This will help ensure that they complete understand the material being taught. The student may just need the process or the product of the material to be different. The distinction between below – average readers and severely disable readers is an important one.

School is supposed to be about learning and understanding new material to help gain knowledge and a new way of thinking. Grades also cause a seen diversity among the students. That would be the half that get great grades, and the other half with lower grades. At a young age children can realize which section the fall into. Some students that fall into the lower half may push themselves to do better, but others will not.

Also, students develop a positive attitude towards diversity and are receptive to learning about other cultures. During the 1950’s and 1960’s the foreign language program in grade schools were abolished since teachers were not qualified to teach languages. The program also lacked necessary funding as well as adequate policies and guidelines. When implementing a foreign language program the language committee has to incorporate a viable systematic approach that’s structured to teach adolescents. They should engage in exploring a feasible model that would help teachers articulate in the foreign language at various levels.

There are various myths about language attainment. One of them is the myth that it is easier to absorb a new language at a young age. We frequently hear statements such as kids absorb new languages like sponges. For the reason that they think that children learn languages easily, many people take it for granted that it is best to feed them with new languages very young. It is not unusual for children to obtain more than one language for the duration of their preschool years, often in homes where one parent communicates in one language to the child while the other parent uses another makes it is easier for a child to pick the language up(McLaughlin, 1977).

Their opposing belief on how humans acquire language has become the two standard views on this complicated issue; however, other researchers have also reported convincing theories. Some theories of language acquisition that are not as commonly recognized as Skinner’s or Chomsky’s theories are still important in understanding language development. “Even before using any words, the infant learns to communicate through gestures, facial expressions, and reciprocal vocalization with a caretaker” (Levine 4). These nonverbal behaviors are very important for an individual’s speech development. Another author, Fromkin reported that: Children diagnosed at birth as mentally retarded acquire language in the same way as those with normal intelligence.