Acculturation

Acculturation
Proposed by John Schumann

Schumann defined Acculturation as:

An exchange of cultural features
when two or more cultures comes in
continuous contact.

 In addition, H. Douglas Brown

defined acculturation as:

the process of
becoming adapted to
a new culture

 The idea of Acculturation model was made when

Schumann was studying six (6) non-English
learners where one named Alberto, unlike the
other five (5), had minimal progress in the
acquisition process of English
As Albertos lack of progress denied any
satisfactory explanation in terms of cognitive
development orage, Schumann prompted to
attribute Albertos failure to his limited contact
with native English speakers;that is, the social
and psychological distances of Alberto, inhibited
his achieving sufficient proficiency over his target
language.

The central premise of Acculturation

Model is:
second language acquisition is just one
aspect of acculturation and the degree to
which a learner acculturates to the target
language group will control the degree to
which he acquires the second language
(Schumann, 1978a, p.34).

 Acculturation and SLA is determined

by the degree of:
Social Distance
Psychological Distance

 Social distance is the result of a number of factors

which affect the learner as a member of a social
group in contact with the target language group.
Psychological distance is the result of various
affective factors which concern the learner as an
individual.

The social factors are primary. The psychological factors come into
play in cases where the social distance is indeterminant,(i.e. where
social factors constitute neither a clearly positive nor a clearly
negative influence on acculturation)

Factors that influences social

distance
Social Dominance one group exerts
power over another
The more power one group has, the greater
the social distance
Equal power diminishes social distance

 Integration the level of integration

between the two groups
Less integration means greater social
distance
More integration lesser social distance

 Enclosure self sufficiency increases

social distance
Social distance increases when the learner
doesnt interact with the members of the
target culture
Same case of Alberto in Schumanns study

 Cohesiveness tight-knit groups are

more distant

When learners are less united, less social

distance
It means that when the learners are willing
to socialize and make friends with native
speakers

 Size states that:

Bigger group of learners, there is a greater
chance of social distance
Smaller group of learners are less likely to
experience social distance

 Cultural Congruence distance is

dependent on cultural differences.
Less Social Distance

More Social Distance

 Attitude (can also be psychological)

Negative Attitude more social distance
Positive Attitude less social distance

 Length of stay
Short time more distant
Longer time less distant

THE GREATER THE SOCIAL DISTANCE,

THE HARDER FOR A PERSON TO
ACQUIRE A LANGUAGE

Factors that can influence

Psychological Distance

 Motivation- involves the second

language learners reason to
comprehend
Instrumental Motivation needs to learn
the language because it is required
Integrative Motivation to find more
about the language and you admire the
language
Higher motivation, less Psychological
Distance

 Attitude
If you hate the language, the greater your
psychological distance is

 Culture Shock increases distance

But there are

disadvantages:
Conflict between cultures can result
in fighting and segregation
A native may lost much of their
culture and identity as a result of
acculturation

Conclusion
Schumanns theory does not help
teachers plan instruction. Rather, it
points out social and psychological
aspects we should acknowledge.
In teaching, we should create a
classroom that builds positive social
relationships. We can encourage
bilingualism and biculturalism.

Example situation:
Rikki has just moved to USA from
the Philippines. She expects to stay in
the US for a long time and she loves
the English language and she is also
very excited to learn the language and
culture there.

Evaluating the situation

Rikki is motivated
Rikki has a positive attitude of the
language
Rikki stays there for a long time
She is very excited to learn the language and
culture there.
She admires the language
She stays longer, so she has the luxury of
time to learn the language.
The social and psychological distance is lesser
So Rikki can learn the language easily

Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accultu
ration_Model
http://www.slideshare.net/megancas/
acculturation-27851166
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
ES1DQ_j6BQM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
A49MVuuBK-Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
K99hLxNvDrY