Learning a Second Language - Assignment Example

Learning a second language Customer inserts his/her name College October 5, 2011 Data The interview involves the experiences of my fellow student Peter, who have succeeded in the second language learning. He enrolled in the French classes. However in the course of his learning of the second language, he had encountered some challenges and as an African migrant, this has made it hard for him to easily communicate with his colleagues, both at school and at home. I have used questionnaires as they are reliable and accurate mode of research methodology in second language assessment. Me: What is your origin? Peter: Am an African migrant Me: What drove you to learn a second language? Peter: I decided to enroll in second language classes so that I can communicate effectively with my fellow students at school. I also realized that having the knowledge of a second language helps a person to feel accommodated in places where people speak a different language. This eliminates the language barrier. Me: What are your experiences in learning French as the second language? Peter: I have had both positive and negative experiences in my endeavor to learn a second language. One of the most critical experiences was the communication part. I couldn’t communicate effectively in French in order to know the language fast. On the positive note, I loved to interact with the French speakers and this gave me the much needed experience and eagerness to know the language. Me: How did you solve problems when you were learning another language? Peter: I was able to approach my teacher and fellow students for assistance and they helped me a lot. Me: What is your success in the second language learning? Peter: I have been able to communicate in French effectively and with much ease. I have also been able to access jobs easily that require French speaking. Me: What challenges did you face learning a second language? Peter: Understanding of the morphology and phonetics in French. This is the correct interpretation of the grammatical information, wording and even interpretation. This has been a problem since French is different from my native language. In addition, my age has been a hindrance. A language should be learnt at an early age in life, but for me I have adapted the French language as a second language from a native language. Me: finally, have you succeeded in your second language learning? Peter: yes, I have succeeded in my second language learning as I can be able to communicate effectively and also understand my fellow students when they speak. Learning a second language Gass and Selinker (2008) argue that a first language refers to the language that individuals acquire at childbirth and is perpetuated by the parents. Language helps in the communication process but only when the receiver decodes the information relayed by the sender. In this regard, languages have over the years turned to be major barriers in the communication process thus paving way for individuals to learn second languages in effort to ease the communication process. This has been realized through the establishment of second language learning facilities within institutions of academic activities. On the other hand, the term second language refers to a conglomerate of other languages that individuals learn as they progress in their human physical and cognitive development. In most cases, second language is learnt in a class setting whereby an individual accustoms him/herself with not only the writing skills of the language but also the pronunciation for examination purposes. Second language helps people to freely interact with colleagues who are unable to comprehend their first language thus injuring the barriers put across by language. For instance, an American citizen can enroll in French classes upon his/her arrival in Paris so as to help him/her interact through communication without hindrance of the new language environment. However, it’s paramount to note that not all second languages qualify to be foreign languages since the second language can also be a language spoken in a particular country. Besides, second languages are characteristic of different alphabets, pronunciation and writing patterns that make it hard for the learners to easily understand. In a classical example, the letter W is widely pronounced as letter V thus the world Wenger becomes Venger in German. The diversity enables languages to remain unique although at times most languages borrow words, meaning and pronunciation from each other. Learning of a second language takes a considerable long period of time before actualization of all the pronunciation, writing and reading skills required. Methodology Learning a second language is a very heinous task that requires perseverance and willingness from an individual. In this regard, this paper chronicles the experiences of my fellow student who amidst all odds associated with learning a second language enrolled for French classes since he was of African origin making it hard for him to easily communicate with his colleagues, both at school and at home. This prompted me to conduct a research on the intrigues of learning a second language, an exercise that I passionately carried out using a questionnaire as the best and accurate mode of research methodology in second language assessment. Experiences of learning a second language: Below is the interview that I conducted with my fellow student on second language, his experiences of learning a second language and possible reasons for perceived success or lack of success in this endeavor. What drove you to learn a second language? Communication remains a vital ingredient for a peaceful co-existence between two persons or groups. In this regard, my classmate Peter decided to enroll in second language classes to help him effectively communicate with his colleagues at school. Moreover, Peter acknowledges that being conversant with many languages has been driving force so that he can feel accommodated wherever he visits. By learning a second language, it was evident that he was going to communicate and solve problems without much ado. Saville-Troike (2006 p.67) asserts that learning a second language is driven by the passion to communicate effectively with the members of a different language group, a predisposition that Peter acknowledges with open arms. Peter says that he enrolled for French classes as a strategy to cut off the language barrier that existed between him and most of his friends at school and beyond. For this reason, he was motivated to learn the French language to easily communicate with his peers at his new academic and residential environment. Primarily, language barrier is among the various hindrances to cohesive existence. What is your success in the second language learning? Communication According to him, the ability to speak in French has enabled him even excel in academics since he easily relates with his French colleagues to help him in his academics. For example, most of his French friends were more conversant with the French lingua franca as compared to him since he only knew English and his native African language, a situation that made him feel isolated even during leisure time thus opted to learn a second language. Saville-Troike (2006 p.93) further asserts that the acquisition of the second language punctuates a person’s ability to relate and learn effectively. In light of this, my classmate found it easier to learn a second language as a job opener strategy. Jobs accessibility Most of the jobs in our neighborhood require an individual to be conversant with the French language since most of the time; the center of focus will be on the French population, most of who are not fluent in any other language. For instance, by studying in a French dominated republic, my classmate hopes to secure a job here during his first years of employment then proceed home for future developments. In light of this, he saw it wise to undertake a second language in this country as the rates were cheaper vis-à-vis in his own country. Moreover, he could be able to interact with them without fail. What challenges did you face learning a second language? Understanding of the morphology and phonetics Learning a second language has its own demerits and challenges that my classmate freely shares. First and foremost, the understanding of the morphology and phonetics is quite a hard task. This is because the morphology and phonetics of the second language are to a large extent different from his native language. Morphology is the perceived correct interpretation of the grammatical information. Phonetics, on the other hand, refers to the ability to understand and effectively pronounce the wording structure of a second language. For instance, upon completion of learning a second language, an individual is required to freely pronounce the words and understand their meaning and subsequent use in sentences. Age Age represents another critical challenge that is prevalent on second language learners, my classmate not exceptional. He says that learning language is important at the early stages of human development and at his age, he finds it hard to comprehend the second language. At times, he asserts, the teacher is obliged to conduct remedial teachings for him as he is a slow learner. In this regard, he argues that it would be easier to acquaint oneself with a second language during the early stages since it leads to better understanding unlike in older years whereby the learner is bombarded by external influences. “Age can have an influence on learning strategies; for example, children tend to use more repetition whereas adults use more synthesis” (Saville-Troike 2006 p.92). However, learning a second language provides an individual with the necessary information that aids not only a person’s academics but also job prospects. According to Dornyei (2001 p.16) acquisition of a second language serves as an ingredient to broad job opportunities. My classmate says that the learning of a second language was an eye opener since he was able to get internship opportunities in French companies, a situation that could not have happened had he not learned the second language. Statistics (Larson-Hall 2010 p.148) indicate that age is a critical variable that determines the success or failure of a second language learning process. For instance, notably a huge chunk of individuals learning second language in their middle ages find it very hard to easily grasp the language within the shortest time possible. Larson-Hall (2010 p.148) points out that age is a determinant variable in conducting research on a second language process. This is because age happens to be a correlation variable that verifies an individual’s speaking and writing abilities that remain paramount in second language learning. For instance, for an individual to be said to be conversant with the second language, he/she must be able to speak and write the language fluently. However, statistics illustrate that most second language learners find themselves having problems speaking and writing the languages due to age variations. In essence, Larson-Hall (2010 p.150) argue that only 75 percent of second language learners effectively practice with ease their language skills whereas the other 25 percent remains with problems of pronunciation and writing. This greatly hinders the success of the second language learning process. Theories in second learning process Theories provide a clear illustration and understanding of the second language learning process and their impacts and contributions on the overall learning process. They arguably tend to demystify fundamental predispositions. According to Swain, Kinnear and Steinman (2011 p.51) the socio-cultural theory plays a fundamental role in the learning process of a second language. This is primarily as a result of the grammar, pronunciation and wording problems. Similarities in words and pronunciation influence the learning process. For instance, a word may have different connotations across culture thus hinders the learning process. In light of this, it’s important for the learner to wide-minded and takes the learning process with caution not to occasion a cultural crisis. On the other hand, the cognitive development theory is also instrumental in the second language learning process. This is whereby the cognitive ability is used as a determinant of second language comprehension. In this regard, it’s paramount to note that language comprehension goes hand in hand with human development. A young child, for instance, is expected to grasp second language faster than an elderly person. In essence, the acquisition of a second language should be focused on age prompting academic institutions and the relevant policy holders to introduce second language learning programs at the early stages of human academic development so as to cushion individuals against humiliation during their advanced ages. Conclusion The interview with my colleague helped me understand the pros and cons of learning a second language. A second language is a gate opener to unity and peace in the vast world regardless of demographics, geographies, social, economic and political reasons. In conclusion, further research needs to be done on the theoretical perspectives of learning second languages. List of References Dornyei, Z. (2001). Motivation and second language acquisition, NY: National Foreign Language Resource Center Gass, S, and Selinker, L. (2008). Second language acquisition: an introductory course, NY: Routledge Larson-Hall, J. (2010). A guide to doing statistics in second language research using SPSS, NY: Routledge Saville-Troike, M. (2006). Introducing second language acquisition, Cambridge: Cambridge UP Swain, M, Kinnear, P, and Steinman, L. (2011). Sociocultural theory in second language education: An introduction through narratives, NY: Channel View Publications Read More