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ENG 143
John Anderlik

Ms. Claudia Sanchez

English 143

5 December 2018

Final Paper: Second Language Acquisition for Students

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

knowledge through analysis, typically within a school supported by teachers. Acquiring a

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

grasping it: age and personal motivation.

We consider age when attempting to obtain an L2 due to an individual’s critical period.

“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

high school: French, German, and Spanish.

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

new words and phrases” (Yule, 2017, p. 211).

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

motivation: either ​instrumental motivation​ or ​integrative motivation.​ Many L2 learners have an

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

an accepted member of that community” (Yule, 2017, p. 214).

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

implementation of these studying techniques, memorization is encouraged and written language

is more prevalent than spoken language. “This method has its roots in traditional teaching… and

is described as the ​grammar-translation method​” (Yule, 2017, p. 212). The ​audiolingual

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

enrolled in a variety of teacher-education preparatory courses. Of these courses, Cross-Cultural

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

George Yule in ​The Study of Language​.


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Part of the requirement to becoming a licensed education professional is to immerse

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

understanding of how Yule’s L2 teaching methods applied to real-world situations.

Results & Discussion

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

multitude of ethnic backgrounds.

The key to successfully teaching L2 students is understanding a multicultural classroom

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.

Task-based learning activities and the grammar-translation method were implemented

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

motivate my ESL students to learn a L2.

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

educational studies as they begin to obtain an ESL endorsement.


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Works Cited

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

YourDictionary (2018). The history of ESL. ​YourDictionary​. Retrieved from

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.

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