Those Commonly Held Beliefs on Language Learning and Teaching
Over the years, numerous beliefs about how languages are learned and how they should be taught have coalesced among laymen and foreign language teachers alike, often without very much theoretical foundation or research as a basis. This month we will challenge a number of popular views and show how they are not supported or only weakly supported by present second language acquisition research and theory. The end goal is to produce a clearer perception of how second languages are learned and of what current thinking on best practices is for teaching them.
Popular View 1: Languages are learned mainly through imitation.
Language learners are not parrots. They often produce sentences that they have never heard before, that they could never have heard before, and that no one has ever said before. Learners have been heard saying “I eated lunch,” “I am hiccing up,” and “It was upside down, but I turned it upside right.” Such production provides evidence that learners do not merely memorize or imitate what they hear others say. However, language imitation can play a role in language learning. Some learners, especially young learners, may use word, phrase, or sentence imitation as a language learning strategy, but others may learn a language quite well without using imitation as a strategy.
Popular View 2: Parents usually correct young children’s grammatical errors.
The amount of caretaker correction of a child’s language is sure to vary considerably depending on the caretaker’s social, education and linguistic background as well as the child’s age. When children are young, parents and other caretakers actually correct children’s linguistic errors very rarely. It is when children near elementary school age that adults become more concerned and begin to correct children’s mistakes. However, the mistakes that are most often corrected at this time are meaning-related mistakes (e.g., “I hit the cat with a bat on the head.” corrected to “I hit the cat on the head with a bat.”) rather than purely grammatical mistakes (e.g., “I hitted the cat on the head.”). Semantic errors rather than syntactic errors are considered to be of more importance for communication.
Popular View 3: Highly intelligent people are good language learners.
People with high IQs are good at learning about things, and they are good at taking tests. Therefore, they will be good at taking tests about language. Learning a language, however, is much different than learning about a language and involves much different skills than those measured on an aptitude test. Some students who are good at school subjects struggle with learning a language and vice-versa. Students with high IQs often have good study habits, and this may also transfer to learning a language. However, students with a wide variety of abilities may be good at language learning, especially conversational skills.
Popular View 4: The best predictor of success in second language acquisition is motivation.
Motivation is an ingredient that leads to successful second language acquisition; there is no denying it, but there are many reasons why it may not be the best predictor of second language acquisition. Highly motivated learners may meet with great obstacles to learning. Fluency, accuracy, and easily comprehensible pronunciation may be high hurdles for adults. Learners’ aptitude, their learning styles, and their satisfaction with the classroom environment can all greatly affect success in learning.
Popular View 5: The earlier a second language in introduced in school programs, the greater the likelihood of success in learning.
Early English education does have its benefits for acquisition. Research shows that it benefits native-like proficiency. However, this comes at a cost. To begin with, it is usually least cost-effective. The younger the learner, the more expensive the language gains. For very young learners, second language acquisition may lead to first language losses in a non-L1 environment. For learners, learning in EFL environments and not expected to be living, working, and speaking in second language environments and not needing native-like proficiency, it is more efficient to begin second language learning later.
Popular View 6: Most of the mistakes that second language learners make are due to interference from their first language.
First language interference does account for a certain amount of language learners’ mistakes, but the first language may also have many positive effects. For closely related languages, language transfer is often positive. Many of the mistakes a language learner makes are due purely to the language learning process. That is, second language learners make many of the same mistakes that first language learners make in the language learning process, mistakes such as overgeneralizations in irregular verbs (go – goed – goed). Other mistakes may be due to undergeneralizations inherent in the language learning process. The majority of interlanguage mistakes are not first-language influenced.
Popular View 7: It is essential for learners to be able to pronounce all the individual sounds in the second language.
There is great variety in the pronunciation of English sounds by native speakers, so it is not essential that an English learner be able to pronounce all of them in a certain native dialect. What is important is that the learner’s English pronunciation is intelligible. For example, pronunciation of rhotic “r” is common in American English, but is absent in British English. With the international interaction of English speakers, it is necessary for them to understand each other’s variety of English pronunciation. Having a goal of native-like pronunciation is actually an unrealistic goal for most second language learners.
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Gwangju KOTESOL Monthly Chapter Meeting
Date & Time: May 10 (Saturday), 1:45 pm
Place: Chosun University, Main Building, Left Wing, Room 4211
Featured Workshops
- Implementing Successful Communicative Activities in Large University Classes. By Matthew McLaughlin-Stonham (Chosun University)
- Language Learning Strategy Awareness. By Ynell Lumantao (Chonnam National University)
Swap-Shop: Share your teaching ideas and activities with the group.
Admission: No Charge.
May 3: Gwangju-Jeonnam Chapter Outreach, Mokpo National University, Muan.
May 10 (10:30 a.m.): Reflective Practice SIG Meeting, Chosun University side entrance.
Facebook: Gwangju-Jeonnam KOTESOL
Website: http://koreatesol.org/gwangju
Email: gwangju@koreatesol.org
Twitter: @GwangjuKOTESOL
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The Author
David E. Shaffer is the President of the Gwangju-Jeonnam Chapter of Korea TESOL (KOTESOL). On behalf of the Chapter, he invites you to participate in the teacher development workshops at their monthly meetings, their March 15 chapter conference, and other special events. Dr. Shaffer is a professor of English Language at Chosun University, where he has taught graduate and undergraduate courses for many years. He is a long-time member of KOTESOL and a holder of various KOTESOL positions, including Publications Committee Chair. He is also a multiple recipient of the KOTESOL President’s Award and a recipient of the KOTESOL Lifetime Achievement Award.