Professional Documents
Culture Documents
ENG 143
John Anderlik
English 143
5 December 2018
Introduction
The field of linguistics offers a variety of topics to focus on, including second language
acquisition. Acquiring a second language through different practices becomes relevant in today’s
society due to large amounts of citizens leaving their home country to come to the United States.
With the implementation of English as a Second Language curriculum on the rise, knowing
about specific barriers learners might face helps in learning a new language. Through courses
taken at Illinois State University, I gained an understanding on the different aspects of second
language acquisition.
Literature Review
Before understanding how a second language is acquired, one must realize how this
acquisition came to the United States. English as a Second Language, or ESL, has been prevalent
in the American educational system since colonization, but was not recognized until the late
1900’s. Settlers arrived from around the globe, thousands hoping to obtain the American dream:
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. “This mass migration meant that at least 18 languages
were commonly spoken throughout the territories that would eventually become the modern
United States” (Hamel, 2018). As time progressed, immigrants began flocking to larger cities,
living in similar ethnic communities; English was not a necessity to survive. In 1906, however,
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the Naturalization Act passed. The law “was instrumental in mandating the knowledge of
English in America” (YourDictionary, 2018). Simply put, immigrants migrating to the United
States were required to understand English to become legal citizens; those who were already
granted citizenship struggled to learn English. After the onset of World War II, the United States
began to recognize the importance of a foreign language as their soldiers were immersed in a
variety of new cultures and languages. “During this time, linguists and educators put a lot of
effort into researching language, language learning, and language teaching, producing a variety
of ESL teaching methods” helping to adopt the importance of acquiring a second language
(YourDictionary, 2018).
The term acquisition is used when talking about how someone obtains a second language.
According to Yule, acquisition, “...describes the gradual development over time of ability in a
language by using it naturally in communicative situations with others who know the language”
(2017, p. 209). This differs from learning a language; this process involves the learner obtaining
language is often done through the application of casual speech. Whether it be conversing with
someone who speaks a different L1 (first language) than you, or through observation while
watching television, there are multiple ways to form an L2 (second language). Although the
process of acquiring a second language is fairly simple, two main barriers prevent an individual’s
“After the critical period for language acquisition has passed, around the time of puberty, it
becomes very difficult to acquire another language fully” (Yule, 2017, p. 210). Yule goes onto
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add that other linguists challenge this notion, stating those in their teens are more academically
competent in learning a new language than younger students, making the optimal age for
learning an L2 to be, “...during the years from about ten to sixteen” (2017, p. 210). This
reasoning may be why foreign language classes are often introduced in middle school curriculum
and carry-on throughout high school. For myself, our school board required us to take Spanish
throughout middle school, then provided us with an option to choose one of three languages in
Self consciousness, lack of motivation, and other preconceived notions about acquiring
an L2 are all considered affective factors. According to Yule, “All these negative feelings or
experiences can create a barrier to acquisition” (2017, p. 211). If a student becomes stressed,
self-conscious, or unmotivated, they are less likely to consider learning an L2. On the contrary
then, those with high self-esteem build the confidence to overcome the difficulties in L2 learning
environments. These restraints often become associated with age, and young children are
generally less likely to worry about being wrong. “Descriptions of L2 acquisitions in childhood
are full of instances where young children quickly overcome their inhibitions as they try to use
When focusing on an L2 learner, there are several characteristics in their learning that
determine how they possess a second language. One of the main factors addressed in becoming a
successful L2 learner is their motivation; Yule describes an L2 learner has one type of
instrumental motivation, or the idea of obtaining a second language in order to “achieve some
other goal, such as completing a graduation requirement… but they have no plans to engage in
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much social interaction using the L2” (Yule, 2017, p. 214). Generally, this situation is one a
typical high school student falls under; they enroll in a foreign language class to meet a
graduation requirement. Those learning an L2 in order to participate within the community, such
as those enrolled in an ESL program, have an integrative motivation to learn. These students
want to learn, “...to take part in the social life of a community using that language and to become
According to Yule, students acquiring an L2 have three different way they may obtain a
new language; only two are widely known: Grammar-Translation and Audiolingual methods.
Traditionally, the most common approach to learning a new language is through repetitive study
of vocabulary lists and understanding grammar rules of the new language. Through the
is more prevalent than spoken language. “This method has its roots in traditional teaching… and
approach, then, focuses on the spoken language when learning; it involves a presentation of an
instructor moving from simple to complex sentence phrases that students must repeat. “This
practice involved hours spent in a language lab repeating oral drills” (Yule, 2017, p. 212).
Although it is not heavily used throughout society today, this approach still isolates some L2
learners; the audiolingual method can be tedious and often doesn’t resemble natural social
interactions.
Finally, one solution has been used to create a different type of learning to help L2
students. Task-based Learning allows students to interact with each other, usually in small
groups, to complete certain tasks and exchange information. “...usings tasks such as ‘describe a
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way to get from A to B so that your partner can draw the route on a map’ or ‘plan a shopping trip
with your partner by making a shopping list’” allow students to improve their ability and fluency
to use their L2 (Yule, 2017, p. 216). Similar activities allow students to develop a
communicative competence in their L2, making it easier to apply what they’ve learned in
real-life situations.
Methods
As a student at Illinois State University, and a current teacher candidate, I have been
Teaching and Learning (TCH 110) and Introduction to Linguistics (ENG 143) have emphasized
issues L2 learners may face. Through these courses I have acquired an understanding on issues
such as how to implement multicultural education curriculum in the classroom, stereotypes and
fallacies ESL students may face, along with information regarding second language acquisition.
Students enrolled in these classes hope to gain an understanding of the issues ESL
students may face. Like myself, these undergraduate teaching candidates are pursuing an
endorsement in ESL. Information for these courses was obtained through professors, with
outstanding knowledge in the field, and through classroom textbooks. In TCH 110, Dr. Jason
Surian presented students with information through his own previous experiences as an educator
and administrator, along with articles from the textbook Affirming Diversity: The sociopolitical
context of multicultural education written by Sonia Nieto and Patty Bode. Claudia Sanchez,
professor of ENG 143, related her own knowledge to her students, along with the works of
yourself in classroom observations. In 2018, I was able to observe the implementation of Spanish
curriculum at Metcalf Laboratory Schools in Normal, IL. Through this experience I gained an
Similar to the information learned in ENG 143, Dr. Jason Surian relayed information to
his students about multicultural education immersion for ESL students, along with some
educational challenges that they go through when learning an L2. Through various classroom
activities, my peers and I learned that being an ESL student doesn’t mean everyone has a similar
background; many suspect all ESL students are latino/a, when they can rather be from a
involves three goals: tackling inequality, raising achievement, and defining equal and equitable
education. When addressing inequalities in education, boundaries in standardized tests are most
prevalent. Often, school districts with a high population of L2 learners alter testing environments
to raise their own national scores. In a class discussion, Dr. Surian told his students that some
schools limit resources for ESL students on standardized tests in order for their school to gain
national fundings and support; many, if not all, tests are administered only in English. Similarly,
many government documents are offered only in English, although it is possible to obtain these
documents in their L1 language. Professor Sanchez described this phenomenon to her ENG 143
class as language planning. “Government, legal and educational organizations in many countries
have to plan which variety or varieties of the languages spoken in the country are to be used for
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official business” (Yule, 2017, p. 275). Not only did Dr. Surian and Professor Sanchez mention
these attributes in ESL acquisition processes, but through my observations in a Spanish class at
Metcalf, I was able to see the usage of the grammar-translation acquisition method.
during my Spanish classroom observation. Students were asked to review their vocabulary lists
for the new unit before participating in a classroom activity; the activity required students to
work in partners, using their vocabulary list, to talk about their ideal superhero.
The task-based learning activities implemented at Metcalf Lab School allowed students
to easily grasp L2 ideas. While observing, I was able to see that students seemed to be engaged
and interested in their learning; students were participating with each other, and helping others
out when a mistake was made. The superhero activity these students partook in allowed for them
to improve their own fluency and performance in their L2, while also offering guidance to their
peers. There was a mixture of students that were apprehensive about their speech, though, just
like Yule mentions. Recall that Yule states that having negative feelings and insecurities towards
acquiring an L2 “ can create a barrier to acquisition” (2017, p. 211). Because these students in
class were in seventh grade, most of them began to feel self conscious of their work; they would
only talk to each other confidently if they were paired with their friends. Also, these students
would only speak Spanish if their teacher was around, concluding that they had an instrumental
motivation towards their learning. Although the implementation of an L2, through task-based
learning activities, was mostly successful, age became a factor in motivation for many. Dr.
Surian, who is a kindergarten teacher during the day, says that his students are more eager to
learn than when he taught middle school. As someone who plans on teaching young adolescent
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students in a middle school setting, it is important to understand different techniques to help
Conclusion
Although second language acquisition is a specific branch of linguistics on its own, the
area of study has its complexity of characteristics as well. When acquiring a new language, many
L2 learners face a variety of barriers; age and lack-of-confidence being most prevalent. Yule
emphasizes these attributes in his book, The Study of Language, by talking about affective
factors; students who become stressed or self conscious are less likely to focus on their L2 than
their counterparts. Not only is motivation an issue, but age alters how someone acquires a
language. Language acquisition tends to be more successful when learners are younger, which is
why schools often integrate foreign languages in their curriculum. When teaching ESL students,
it’s important to recall teaching methods that are associated with second language acquisition.
Through personal observations, I concluded that task-based learning strategies are most effective
when acquiring an L2, with aspects of Yule’s grammar-translation method being implemented as
well. The course material Dr. Surian and Professor Sanchez presented to their students, during
the Fall-2018 academic year, provided them with an understanding on how to successfully
implement a multicultural education curriculum for L2 learners, helping them further their
Hamel, M. (2018). History of ESL education in the U.S.. study.com. Retrieved from
https://study.com/academy/lesson/history-of-esl-education-in-the-us.html
https://esl.yourdictionary.com/about-esl/the-history-of-esl.html
Yule, G. (2017). The study of language (6th ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University
Press.