Three Misconceptions about Age and L2 Learning by Marinova - Article Example

According to an article by Marinova, T.H; Marshal B & Snow C.E (2000), en d Three Misconceptions about Age and L2 Learning, the widely held assertion that age is a major determinant in learning second language rests on mainly three fallacies. These are associated with the notion of a critical period which infers that Second Language Acquisition (SLA) is relatively easy especially during this period touted as the age before the onset of puberty. The three fallacies associated with the belief that age is greatly responsible for learning second language are; misinterpretation of facts, misattribution of age differences and misemphasis on poor adult learners. Misinterpretation of facts Contrary to the widely held belief that youngsters are able to learn second language faster than the adults, research by other scholars has shown that there has been some form of misinterpretation of facts. According to the above mentioned study, research by Rivera (1998) showed that adolescents in fact did better than children in early stages of L2 phonological acquisition, a claim that can be used to dispel the erroneous belief that the opposite is true. According to the above mentioned research, children learn new languages slowly and effort fully than adolescents and adults do. Normally, children can acquire their first language easily from their parents or care givers which is different from foreign language. Misattribution of age Another fallacy is misattribution of age differences in language abilities to neurobiological factors in language processing. Brain functioning and language behaviour cannot be conclusively attributed to the data currently available as it is limited. It may not be true to give a conclusion that young people have better brains old people in terms of L2 learning since there are few studies that attest to that assertion. Age therefore, does not affect the functioning of the brain which can be used as a basis of criticising the view that young people perform better than adolescents in learning L2. Misemphasis of facts The third and most common fallacy is misemphasis of the fact that adults are incapable of acquiring second language with native like L2 proficiency. Most notably, adults are generally regarded as poor in learning which often distracts objective research on the teaching and learning of L2. There is need to demystify the myth that children learn more quickly than adults as various studies have shown that adults are more capable of learning faster than children. It can be noted after a critical reading that this article is concerned with learning second languages and various factors that influence the process. The article is about demystifying the myth that age is accountable for children’s ability to learn a foreign language faster than the adults. It tries to elaborate various factors that in fact, influence the ability to learn L2 though interrelated with age to a certain extent. In this case, it can be noted that the article seeks to challenge the dominant view with reference to the learning of second language which is seen as misleading. The article tries to give insight into a new approach in the teaching of foreign language which is different from the traditional view that is held by many people. A critical reading of this article shows that there is need of research in order to propound new theories that can fully explain the process involved in learning a second language. The authors of this article are primarily concerned with establishing that age alone cannot be attributed as the sole determinant in the rate at which individuals learn a second language. Their position is that there are various factors that determine an individual’s ability to learn a second language other than age. They take a different approach which arguably can challenge the status quo if fully assessed. They highlight factors which they think are more influential in this process such environmental as well as motivation among others. There is need to make a distinction between two words which are often confused as synonymous in attempting to critically analyse the article mentioned above. Learning and acquiring a second language are often treated as one yet they are different upon a close analysis. Psychologists define learning as any change in behaviour as the result of experience (Wilson 1964). With reference to children, Kaluger (1964), posits that children around the age of six begin to try to communicate and make sense from the little vocabulary they would have acquired but they are not yet aware of the logic and reasoning compared to adults in this case who would learn a second language for a specific motive. It has recently been acceptable to talk not of learning to speak but acquiring a language as a result of the revolution of 1960s which was due to the work of American linguist Naom Chomsky (1959). With reference to grammar, he argued that we do not learn a language but grammar grows in the mind. Indeed, this may be true with regards to indigenous language but the difference comes in when it is now foreign language. It may be difficult to infer this assertion with regards to L2 learning as the brains would be exposed to new vocabulary altogether which may be difficult to easily acquire like the native language. In this case, age may not play a very big role in L2 learning. Whilst there are a number of factors that correlate with age, they have nothing to do with changes in the brain that have led a lot of people to come to the misleading conclusion that adults are failures because they are old and past the SLA critical period. Indeed, there is evidence that some adults are poor but this does not necessarily translate into saying that it is because of their aging brains. Whilst age has been considered a major factor that leads to success of the acquisition of language, a critical review of studies in the teaching of foreign languages reveals that it is the situation of learning environment that determines the rate at which an individual can learn a second language than age itself. Language learning is greatly influenced by factors such as environment and motivation which encompasses the attitude towards a culture and the willingness to learn among the adults not mere age. Ostrander (1994) argues that the success of learning a foreign language depends on what you have to learn and how the subject would be taught. Variables such as cognitive aptitude and beliefs about oneself were more correlated with success than age. Thus, someone who is highly motivated and willing to learn has higher chances of mastering a second language at a faster pace. The authors of this article argue that the environment is very influential especially when one person has moved to an area where only one language is spoken. Regardless of age, this person is bound to learn faster as a result of the need to communicate. Lightbown & Spada (1999), concur that a child or an adult learning a second language is different from a child acquiring first language in terms of both conditions of learning as well as personal characteristics and attributes. They observe that both children and adults learning a language formally or informally often find the obstacles of correctly picking up grammar and pronunciation. However, their main observation is that adults often prefer to learn through carefully listening whilst children would attempt to speak the language regardless of the errors they would make. This relates to thee article in that they emphasise on the fact that learning L2 is different from acquiring L1. As far as learning of a second language is concerned, this article plays a significant role in contributing to the body of literature available in the learning of L2 by giving insight into a different dimension that suggests that L2 learning is determined by various factors contrary to the widely held belief that emphases on age alone. In other related literature, Berger (1964) concurs with the generally held assumption that children learn a language faster than the adults. Research in this particular case has been for quite a long time overridden by this misconception hence this article is likely to stimulate more interest in the subject area which would prompt many researchers to investigate into the subject and try to bring out great answers to the controversial topic. This article is very insightful to students for psycholinguistics or students who are going to be foreign language teachers. It is likely to give them useful insight into the approach of teaching foreign languages that adults are equally capable and fast learners of L2 contrary to common knowledge that they are poor compared to young children. This article is likely to foster a positive approach in teaching foreign language as it attempts to demystify the fact that children are better L2 learners than adults. However, the major limitation of the article is that it is silent about the exact learning environment. The learning environment can be formal or informal hence this article assumes that learning environments are synonymous which is not true in real terms. These two environments differ greatly which may be a bit difficult for teachers of foreign language to identify the particular characteristics of the leaning environment involved. The teacher in most cases is often an adult with professional training and is aware of the goals of teaching therefore ought to be willing to teach while at the same time the learner has the potential to learn and is expected to learn (Swartz 2004). It is the role of the teacher to motivate the learners to feel that they have the potential to learn new things. Indeed, it may appear so difficult to learn a new language but if the teacher has a positive approach, he can instil confidence in his learners that learning a foreign language is an attainable feat that is achievable like any other discipline. However, research has shown that the most effective way of teaching a second language is through observation of how the learners interact and participate (Richards & Stephen 2001). They posit that proficiency should take precedence then followed by the critical understanding of the grammatical structures of the second language. Over and above, it can be concluded that after a critical reading of the above mentioned article, it can be noted that the authors are particularly interested in dispelling the widely held belief that age alone is accountable for the success of learning a second language giving a credit to young children for their artistry in mastering L2 faster than the adults. In fact learning L2 is influenced by various factors explained above coupled with age. This article is very insightful as it highlights new researchable ideas that are contrary to the widely held belief mentioned above. It also equips the students or teachers of foreign language with another positive dimension on how to approach and teach the subject with the aim of motivating a positive attitude towards the subject among the learners who may have a negative perception emanating from the generally accepted assumption that adults are poor L2 learners. References Berger, S. (1994), The Developing Person Through the life span. New York: Worth Publishers Chomsky, N. (1959), Review of Verbal Behaviour By BF Skinner language 35:26-58 Donaldson, M. (1978), Children’s Mind, Fontana Press, Great Britain Kaluger, G. & Kaluger M. (1984), Human Development: The Span of Life, Merril Publishing Company, Columbus Ohio. Lightbown P. M. & Spada N. (1999) How languages are Learned, 2nd Edition, Oxford University Press. Retrieved on 2 March 2009 from: http://books.google.co.za/books?id=wlYTbuCsR7wC&pg=PA31&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=0_0#PPA42,M1 Marinova, T.H; Marshal B. & Snow C.E, Three Misconceptions about Age and L2 Learning, TESOL Quarterly, Vol. 34, No1. (Spring, 2000), pp. 9-34. Ostrander, S. & Schroeder, L. (1994), Super Learning 2000, Souvenir Press London Richards, J.C. & Rogers T.H. (2001), Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching: A description and analysis, 2nd Edition, Cambridge University Press Retrieved on 2 March 2009 from: http://books.google.co.za/books?id=9mQ9l3K73BoC Swartz Lesley et al (2004), Psychology: an introduction, Oxford University Press, New York. Wilson J.R. (1964), The Mind, Time-Life International, Netherlands Read More