i. How Do Adults Learn a Second Language?

There are many theories about how adults learn a second language. Take the following quiz and see what you think. 1 indicates you strongly agree while 5 indicates that you strongly disagree.

*Adapted from “How Languages are Learned” Lightbown and Spada, Oxford University Press, 1993.

Statement	Strongly Agree Strongly Disagree
	1	2	3	4	5
1. Languages are learned mainly through imitation.
2. Parents usually correct young children when they make grammatical mistakes.
3. People with high IQs are good language learners.
4. The most important factor in second language acquisition success is motivation.
5. The earlier a second language is introduced in school programs. The greater the likelihood of success in learning.
6. Most of the mistakes which second language learners make are due to interference from their first language.
7. Teachers should present grammatical rules one at a time, and learners should practise examples of each one before going on to another.
8. Teachers should teach simple language structures before complex ones.
9. Learners’ errors should be corrected as soon as they are made in order to prevent the formation of bad habits.
10. Teachers should use materials that expose students only to those language structures which they have already been taught.
11. When learners are allowed to interact freely (for example in group or pair activities) they learn each others’ mistakes.
12. Students learn what they are taught.

1. Languages are learned mainly through imitation

It is unlikely that language in children is learned mainly through imitation. There are many examples of language learners producing things like: “It was upside down and I turned it upside right.” Examples like these suggest that language learners create their own system of rules about how language works.

Imitation does play a role in language learning though. Children in particular learn much language through imitation and often selectively imitate certain words or structures they are learning. Younger and older learners learning their second language also tend to follow this pattern.

2. Parents usually correct young children when they make grammatical mistakes.

There is a lot of variation in the extent to which parents correct their children’s speech. Research tends to show that parents focus on meaning rather than form (grammar) when they correct their children’s speech which suggests that errors that do not interfere with communication are left alone.

3. People with high IQs are good language learners.

In classroom settings where people are learning about the language (grammar, vocabulary), learners with higher IQs tend to do well – as they do in other academic areas. However, in classrooms where communicative language approaches are emphasised, learners with varieties of intellectual abilities can be successful.

4. The most important factor in second language acquisition success is motivation.

Yes, we all agree that learners who want to learn tend to do better than those who don’t. But keep in mind:

§ Differences in language learning aptitude

§ The more one succeeds, the greater one’s motivation; the greater one’s motivation, the more one succeeds.

§ Teacher can develop positive motivation in learners by making the classroom an environment where learners experience success which augments motivation and increases success.

5. The earlier a second language is introduced in school programs, the greater the likelihood of success in learning.

This depends on the objective. If the objective is near-native fluency, one would start exposure to the second language as early as possible.

With ESL children whose language, literacy and education is not well-supported at home, early emphasis on a second language may lead to academic and personal problems.

6. Most of the mistakes which second language learners make are due to interference from their first language.

While many learners do transfer patterns from their first language to the new language, a more significant cause of mistakes is overgeneralization of the target language rules.

7. Teachers should present grammatical rules one at a time, and learners should practise examples of each one before going on to another.

Language learning is not linear. As learners are incorporating new information about the language into their own system of rules about the language, they may temporarily forget something they knew and then recover it at a later date.

8. Teachers should teach simple language structures before complex ones.

Research shows that certain language structures are acquired before others no matter the order in which it was presented to the learner. This suggests a teacher does not need to limit a learners’ exposure to certain linguistic structures that are thought of as being ‘simple.’

Research also shows that teachers intuitively increase the complexity of their language as the learner’s proficiency increases and it is important that the teacher use the language they are teaching.

9. Learners’ errors should be corrected as soon as they are made in order to prevent the formation of bad habits

Errors are very useful to teachers – and learners. Errors show the pattern the learners is developing: where they have over-generalised a second language rule or where they have inappropriately transferred a first language rule to the second language.

In a classroom situation, where almost all the students in a class share the errors, it is usually beneficial to acknowledge the problem and discuss it. It may require many repetitions for the learners to adopt the correct form.

Teachers should beware that excessive correction can negatively affect motivation. A teacher might wish to discuss with each student individually whether they would like to be corrected and, if so, what kinds of errors and in what kind of way. (for instance, pronunciation or grammar structures; once a week in written form, during the class, etc.)

10. Teachers should use materials that expose students only to language structures which they have already been taught.

Not at all! It is important to remember that learners can comprehend the general meaning of many forms which they may not have “mastered.” Therefore, teachers should remember to keep challenging students, to give students “real” and “authentic” material and to remember that learners exposed to English outside the class are experiencing a variety of forms and structures.

11. When learners are allowed to interact freely (for example, in group or pair activities), they learn each other’s mistakes.

The research in this area is important to provide to your students: second language learners do not make any more errors in speech when talking to learners at similar levels of proficiency than they do when speaking to learners at more advanced levels or when speaking to native speakers. Research also shows that learners can provide each other with useful feedback when planned and guided properly.

12. Students learn what they are taught.

It is important to remember that for learning to be successful, the material that is taught must be appropriate for the learners’ stage of development. Vocabulary can be taught at any time as long as the learners are interested and the teaching methods appropriate to the learner’s age, interests and learning styles. Remind learners (and yourself!) that learners use their own internal strategies and mechanism to discover many of the rules and relationships in the language they are trying to learn.

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