Second Language Acquisition By definition, language acquisition makes reference to the process by which human beings acquire their capacity for not only comprehending and perceiving language but also for producing both words and sentences with the aim of communicating. Second Language Acquisition (SLA) thus refers to the process taken by people to learn a second language. In this case, a second language is defined as a language spoken in the locale of a person but is not necessarily their native language. A second language differs from a foreign language in that a foreign language is learned in an area where the language is not spoken in general. In her overview of SLA research spanning the last several decades, Pica (2005) observes that SLA …show more content…
Bialystok’s assertion is contrary to 20th century belief that SLA and bilingualism affects cognitive development and language development in children by interfering with their ability to develop normal cognitive functions, success in educational environments, and by confusing them. Instead of a sense of concern, educators and parents should see the opportunity that bilingualism and SLA provides in academic achievement. This new discovery was supported by a landmark study dubbed ‘The relation of bilingualism to intelligence’ by Peal and Lambert (1962) which proved that based on a certain aspects of school achievement and a wide range of intelligence tests, there existed a general superiority of bilingual individuals over individuals that were monolingual. Related research has also shown that there are areas where bilingualism does not affect development while highlighting areas where bilingualism has contributed to children …show more content…
By reaching the conclusion that bilingualism is a developmental path that is both advantageous and healthy, it is necessary that bilingualism be viewed not as a deviation from monolinguals but with acceptance and normalcy. This is because in the 21st century, many children grow up not only hearing but also using more than one language to communicate (Nicoladis, Charbonnier, & Popescu, 2016). With statistics indicating that on a regular basis, majority of the world uses more than one language, there is a valid reason to believe that learning a second language especially as a child provides both social and developmental benefits in the era of
Opinion Editorial By Hassan Abdi In the article written by Richard Rodriguez, Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood, he conveys an opinion that Bilingual education doesn’t work. He conveys it through his personal experience. Published by the Phi Beta Kappa to the American Society in 1981, the audience and his message are a broad and important now as it was thirty five years ago. As the amount of children that don’t speak English as their first language continue to rise, bilingual education has become a polarizing topic like most things, and for me, I am neutral on the topic. A form of bilingual education has failed me, but, for most students it benefits in the long term, and it 's not right to dispel one side of the topic to push your own
The acquisition of a second language has been a topic of many studies. Studies show us that bilingual children show better cognitive skills and analytic skills versus monolingual children. Wattendorf, Fiestman, Westernmann, Keil, Zappatore, Franceschini, Luedi, Radue, Munte, Rager, Nitsch conducted a longitudinal study from Universities in Switzerland, Germany and Italy on the influences early and later affects of early bilingualism and how it affects the cortical region of the brain. In their research, they had two sets of participants that either learned a second language prior to the age of three or individuals that acquired a second language after the age of nine. These participants had also learned a third language after the age of nine as part of the criteria. Another aspect present the participants was that they had to be proficient in the first two languages. They were asked to answer a detailed questionnaire that had been developed by the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR; North. 2000).
In Richard Rodriguez’s memoir he explains how children who speak another language, excluding english, do not receive the best education, as in today, being a bilingual speaker is an academic enrichment (Potowski). In today’s time, language is an advantage for both children and adults. It is an advantage for children because they can communicate with more people and can be more open-minded towards different people and would grow up with better communication skills. Bilingualism at a young age also has many advantages for children's
This research topic concerning bilingual children’s advantages arises from the dominance of cognitive development, executive function, but mainly their attention that makes bilingualism an advantage overall. Bilingualism accompanied specifically by the role of attention works together perfectly as an enhanced benefit for those who fluently speak two languages. In order for this undiscovered gain to be established, research comparing bilinguals with monolinguals had to commence. Peal and Lambert initially stated that bilingual children would obtain lower scores on verbal measures, but surprisingly bilingual children outscored their monolingual peers on all tests! These unanticipated results brought forth the argument that bilingual children
Hammers, J.F., & Blanc, M.A. (1989). Social and psychological foundations of bilinguality. In P. Mardaga (Ed.), Bilinguality and Bilingualism (pp. 110-133). Cambridge, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Naturally, bilingualism needs to be taught from birth to be most effective, yet schools ignore this (Meisel).Moving right along, our current teaching methods take some amount of inspiration from ancient romans teaching greek in schools, ways that are extremely outdated (Porter). Much research is focused primarily on bilingual learners who have grown up bilingual, and exclude children who had only begun learning their second language in school (Meisel). Usually, the fears of the people directly involved in bilingual education are ignored by researchers of the subject (Meisel). In Byers-Heinlein’s article they state “A one-person-one-language approach is neither necessary nor sufficient for successful bilingual acquisition,” but later proclaims “In situations where each parent spends equal time with a child, one-parent-one-language can be a great way to ensure equal exposure” (Byers-Heinlein). Generally, the teachers who disagree with the current method of bilingual education are often afraid to speak out because they will be labeled racists, haters of foreign languages, and critics of immigrants (Porter). Moreover, despite the various differing opinions present in the communities of bilingual educators, debates on whether to keep it are not tolerated (Porter). Although, the difficulty with which current bilingual education would be changed would provide one of the few legitimate incentives for teachers to advocate their system; they don’t want to put in the effort to do so (Porter). As a matter of fact, ethnic education politics are one of the only reasons that the current methods are not already abandoned (Porter). Finally, “The case for the effectiveness of Transitional Bilingual Education is so weak that
This essay will demonstrate the research that is implemented on children with bilingual ability; discussing three main issues in bilingualism which is: the maintaining children’s first language, social and cognitive benefits, also why bilingualism should be in cooperated into school programming/curriculum.
From my experience, bilingual education was a disadvantage during my childhood. At the age of twelve, I was introduced into a bilingual classroom for the first time. The crowded classroom was a combination of seventh and eighth grade Spanish-speaking students, who ranged from the ages of twelve to fifteen. The idea of bilingual education was to help students who weren’t fluent in the English language. The main focus of bilingual education was to teach English and, at the same time, teach a very basic knowledge of the core curriculum subjects: Mathematics, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences. Unfortunately, bilingual education had academic, psychological, and social disadvantages for me.
First benefit is a better achievement in school and academically. Studies show that bilingual children have better reading and writing skills, also easily can learn third language. Carey Myles says: "Bilingualism has been linked to a variety of positive cognitive benefits, including early reading, improved problem-solving skills, and higher scores on the SATs, including the math section." Myles also claims that bilingual children have been shown to demonstrate "better listening perception" and that they "recognize that language is symbolic and are more skilled in communication” (2003). Also,research found that bilingual kids are able to better concentrate, stay focused on a subject in a classroom. Because this is an important factor, these children have a greater readiness and success in school. (Lust, B., 2006).
The development of the brain of a bilingual individual is better than a monolingual individual. Few years ago, researchers from the University of Washington (as cited in Klass, 2011, para 4.) found that the brains of bilingual infants (from families where two languages were spoken) are able to discriminate the different of the phonetic sound of the languages they usually heard when they grew up than monolingual infants in where their brains were adapted to only identify their mother tongue only. Dr. Patricia Kuhl, one of the members of this research team thus believe that bilingual education can shape infants’ brains and keep them ready for future challenges. Concurrently, a renowned psychologist, Dr. Ellen...
...thousands of years. Generally, bilingual education can mean any use of two languages in school, by teachers, students, or both – for a variety of social and pedagogical purposes. It also refers to the different approaches in the classroom that use the native languages of English language learners (ELLs) for instruction. These approaches include teaching English, fostering academic achievement, acculturating immigrants to a new society, and preserving a minority group’s linguistic and cultural heritage. Building on, rather than just discarding the students’ native-language skills, create a stronger foundation for success in English and academics. Also, if students learn languages at a younger age, it will be easier to remember and learn them, rather than if they were older. It helps to learn another language for students, and can later be useful in the future.
There is a “CORELATION” between the effects of “BILINGUALISM AND THE COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN”.
Language acquisition requires meaningful interaction in the target language with natural communication while children are acquiring the foreign language. Children usually concerned with message which they are conveying and understand not with the form of utterances. These utterances are initiated by the acquired systems and the fluency of language is based on what we have ‘picked up’ through active communication. Both formal knowledge and conscious learning of the second language learning may be alternate to the output of the system, sometimes before and sometimes after the
Steven Krashen developed 5 theories of Second Language Development. The Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis states that people acquire language naturally, without any formal training, simply through their interactions with others (Freeman and Freeman p.62). Language learning, however, is a more complex process which requires instruction. Both of these processes are necessary for a person to acquire a second language. Implications for teaching include creating authentic social interaction time with peers in the classroom, collaboration with peers, modeling appropriate language use and using repetition (Vose).
As time goes by and as the global community develops, the world grows more and more international, making second or third language acquisition become necessary to the majority. With the growing importance of multiple language ability, more and more parents think of bilingual or multilingual education, which means acquisitions of two or more languages, for their kids. In fact, we do have many reasons showing why multilingual education is important and beneficial, such as aspects of interpersonal relationship, employment, brain health, and so on.