Jacqueline
The Run-Down
-Who am I ?
-Fun facts - Aspirations
-Topic : Language Acquisition
-My Research :
Source #1
Source #2
Source #3
Source #4
Source #5
Source #6
Source #7
Source #8
Source #9
Source #10
- The End Result
Hi, I'm Jackie!
My name is Jacqueline Iannelli, however I much prefer to be referred to as Jackie. I am a twenty-year-old seeking to reach a certain level of expertise in linguistics. My dream is to teach children English as a second language around the world. I am passionate about every goal I may set out for myself as well as very energetic and therefore ready to dedicate myself to educating. As a curious person, learning has always been an integral part of my personal growth. My curiosity for the world’s wonders has made travel one my greatest aspirations. My travels thus far in addition to living in a culturally diverse city with a culturally diverse family have all led me here and keep pushing me to become the well-travelled educator I hope to be.
Aspirations
It might be the cheesiest thing to say but traveling the world is an absolute dream of mine. I am fortunate enough to say that I have traveled quite a bit so far in my life. I am eager to explore more of the cultures and languages around the world. My last trip was to Italy and I went for 3 weeks, it was the best trip I have taken in my life so far.
Es • cap • ism
noun
"The regularly visited state one finds themselves in as a means to slip away from the monotonous, weary, and harsher aspects of their reality. This state includes fantasizing of dream worlds and/or travel."
Florida
This past winter break I went to Florida for 13 days with my best friend Sarah. We did all sorts of fun activities and made it the trip of a lifetime. We were lucky enough to be able to stay at Sarah's condo in Fort Lauderdale. Here are some shots I captured from some of my favourite memories during my trip!
Italia
In the summer of 2018, I traveled to Italy for a month, around mid July. It was the best month of my life, i will always treasure the memories and culture I gained from that experience. Exploring the roots of my own heritage with my parents was incredible. We began our trip in Rome and from there we made our way through most of the south of Italy and then back to Rome. From the Amalfi coast on one end all the way to Abruzzo and Pescara on the other. I can't wait to go back and possibly explore more of the North with my friends!
Music
Currently my go-to song!
Topic Choice
I chose Second Language Acquisition as my final topic choice and I am excited for what is to come of my project.
TED TALK VIDEO
Very Interesting Ted Talk related to my topic.
SOURCES
SOURCE 1
First Approach: Second Language Acquisition and The Development through Nature-Nurture
Syahfitri Purnama
Why did I choose this article? Mainly because I am interested in which aspects of second language acquisition are affected by individual learning factors, such as age, learning style, aptitude, motivation, and personality. This research is about English language acquisition of fourth-year child by nature and nurture. Moreover, aside from most articles I have seen so far, I was able to actually read and understand this one.
Upon my most recent findings, I have been aiming at researching on the various influencing factors of Second Language Acquisition. This Academic Journal touches on how no one is similar, we are all different in many ways, such as personalities and learning style. I really appreciated this style of writing, I found it very interesting and concise. Theres are several specific aspects that set us all apart, that being: Age B. Sex C. Aptitude D. Motivation E. Learning Styles F. Learning Strategies G. Personality. I have learnt that each and every factor mentioned above play an important role in language learning. Exploring those roles was fun and surprising in many ways.
On the basis of sex, many studies (e.g., Oxford, 1993; Young & Oxford 1997) have found that gender can have a significant impact on how students learn a language.
Many scholars believe that aptitude does not determine the language learning ability of an individual. Skehan (1989) suggests that individual ability may vary by other factors. Other factors like personality, language learning style and motivation must be considered before taking into account.
Motivation to learn a language is considered one of the most plausible reasons of success at second language acquisition. Gardner and Lambert (1972) state that there are two types of motivation that exist:
i. Integrative: found in individuals who want are interested in the second language in order to integrate with and become a part of a target community/ culture; here the learner wants to resemble and behave like the target community.
ii. Instrumental: found in individuals who want to get learn a second language with the objective of getting benefits from the second language skill. Objectives, such as business advancement, increase in professional status, educational goals etc. motivate an individual to learn a second language in this case. Both the types of motivations have different roles to play.
Both can lead to success. According to Saville-Troike (2006) the relative effect of one or the other is dependent on complex personal and social factors.
SOURCE 2
Individual Learner Differences and Second Language Acquisition: A Review
Shahila Zafar and K. Meenakshi
Language learning styles refer to cognitive variations in learning a second language. It is about an individuals‟ preferred way of processing, that is, of perceiving, conceptualizing, organizing, and recalling information related to language learning. Through this article I was able to find various examples from different scholars.
Human personality in all its shapes and colours brings variety to this world. Personality studies have been the core of the study of human psychology for more than 150 years. Eminent psychologists like Freud, Skinner and Allport focused their studies on human personality.
Based on the information in the sections given above, I concluded that individual learner differences play a crucial role in the acquisition of second language. I am excited to learn more!
Can Adults Learn Languages The Same Way That Kids Do?
Langfocus
I loved this video because it was clearly explained. This is a fun intake on Second Language Acquisition. It is unfortunate that a lot of adults believe that they cannot learn a language as effectively as a child because of this notion of "mental-plasticity". Paul says that our cognitive abilities are not that different from when we were children, besides babies. However, our environmental factors and opportunity for learning are very different. This is directly correlated to my previous article on the basis of what variety of differences set us apart in language learning.
Generally, it is said by many that children are better learners than adults. Could this be true? When considering second language acquisition, a child introduced to a second language at the same time as an adult will, in almost every case according to the study, acquire a much better pronunciation. The younger learners will also do better when it comes to grammar skills. Research that was made during a year’s time showed me that the various groups of adults and adolescents were in fact the ones who had the best results in almost all the tasks that were formally tested. Many observations have shown that young learners seem to pick up another language fairly quick, without having been taught any sort of formal rules. However, adults need to be taught rules and principles logically. I found this study compelling because I have always been curious as to why learning a language as a child always seemed easier than as an adult, based on my own personal experience.
SOURCE 4
Are Young Learner’s Better Learners Of Foreign Language Learning Or Adults?
Mohammad Reza Oroji *, Azam Ghane
I chose this article because based off my own experience, when I learned French as my second language at the age of four, I found it much easier as oppose to now. I am currently in the Languages ALC program and thus can confirm the exponential differences in my learning style. Through this article i have developed more research on the contrast between L2 in children and adults.
SOURCE 5
A Study on Whether the Adults’ Second Language Acquisition Is Easy or Not—From the Perspective of Children’s Native Language Acquisition
Fei Deng and Qin Zou
This article is easily relatable to my two previous sources on Language Acquisition in children versus adults. Throughout the article we explore how certain researchers believe that adults may acquire a second language easily because of their high cognitive level and clear logical analysis, while others think adults’ second language acquisition is very difficult for many uncertain reasoning. Children are always considered to be the most successful example of language learning because of how they can easily acquire their native language in the natural environment. It is very meaningful to analyze the adults’ second language acquisition from the perspective of children’s native language acquisition. There is a critical period for first language acquisition. Children are believed to have only a limited number of years during which normal acquisition is possible. Beyond that, physiological changes cause the brain to lose its plasticity, or capacity to assume the new functions that learning language demands. This study elaborates on a long time debate upon the existence or absence of a critical period of language learning has been going on in the field of SLA. A critical period means that beyond a particular age successful acquisition of a second language is not possible due to the physiological changes in the brain (Kim et al., 1997). Moreover, as one gets older, one becomes more self-conscious which hinders him/her from making full use of his/her language skills, especially speaking skills.
SOURCE 6
Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning
Stephen D Krashen
This Book focuses on several studies, which will be considered in some detail below. However, I remained focused on the research within Chapter 2; Attitude and Aptitude in Second Language Acquisition and Learning. Both language aptitude (as measured by standard tests) and attitude (affective variables) appear to be related to second language achievement, but are not related to each other. Focusing specifically on the hypothesis that much of what is termed aptitude is directly related to conscious learning, while attitudinal factors might be more closely linked to acquisition.
Attitude, Aptitude, and Child-Adult Differences and its proposed interrelationships with aptitude and attitude, allows a clearer picture of the cause of child-adult differences in second language attainment. Finally throughout this research novel, I was able to advanced my study upon crucial environmental factors. Which all ties back to the question I have been researching; Are children better able to acquire a second language than adults? I hope to find out more.
SOURCE 7
Age and the Rate of Foreign Language Learning
Edited by Carmen Muñoz
Chapter 10 talks about: Language Learning Motivation and Age. This is an important chapter for my final paper. It has been shown in students from different countries and cultural backgrounds that attitudes towards modern languages and primary school are largely positive. However, this concept becomes more complex as students grow up. Attitudes towards the learning of a foreign language seem to be sensitive to the language that is being learned, and specifically to students' awareness of it as an important life skill. Naturally, attitude seems to be greatly affected by the learner's age. Age is a huge factor when studying language and I will mention this in further detail for my final research paper.
SOURCE 8
Age and learning environment: Are children implicit second language learners?
Karen Lichtman
Children are thought to learn second languages (L2s) using primarily implicit mechanisms, in contrast to adults, who primarily rely on explicit language learning. This difference is usually attributed to cognitive maturation, however, adults also receive more explicit instruction than children, which may influence their learning strategies. I thought that was very interesting. This study I was able to find, while researching, looks into instruction condition with age through teaching forty children and forty adults. As I have previously mentioned, a large part of my research paper has to do with environmental factors such as age.
Upon this study, we look into long-term attainment in second language (L2) learning and children seemingly have the advantage over adults. The younger a child is when the L2 acquisition process begins, the more likely that learner is to reach a successful outcome in the new language. This research has shown how second language learners who begin exposure to the L2 before age seven are able to reach an ultimate proficiency within the range of native speakers (Johnson & Newport, 1989). I thought that to be incredibly intriguing which is what led me to look deeper into this study as a valuable source for my research.
This research was supported by National Science Foundation Linguistics program grant BCS-1122629.
SOURCE 9
“It’s never too late”: A Narrative Inquiry of Older Polish Adults’ English Language Learning Experiences
Anna Kuklewicz and Jim King
Globally, the number of adults aged over 50 is increasing and this group is becoming more active in second language (L2) learning. Despite these demographic changes, little research has focused on the issues faced by older learners. They are either omitted from research studies or viewed as part of a homogenous group of adult learners. Several assumptions appear to exist about this group, for example, that they are too old to learn, or they are likely to have memory problems. These assumptions can impact the pedagogical approach taken by language instructors. I really enjoyed this study because it gave me information from an a different angle which is highly useful for my research. I found this academic journal through checking the external sources from one of my other chosen articles.
SOURCE 10
Motivation and Second Language Acquisition
R.C. GARDNER
This paper was very helpful. It proposes all four stages of language acquisition, identified as elemental, consolidation, conscious expression, and automaticity and thought, and considers the role of motivation in this process. The focus upon motivation is important because i dedicated a large portion of my writing and thesis to it. Moreover, It distinguishes between two types of motivation, that being language learning motivation and classroom motivation. It discusses how the two types of motivation are differentially involved in the four stages, further presented in the form of path analyses of two samples of students from Catalonia. I thought this to be a great example and it remained clear to me throughout.
THE END RESULT
For my research paper I decided to call it "Learning to Teach Better - Second Language Acquisition" and I truly had a blast writing every word. As the final end result to my research and in order to better understand my perspective, i decided to share my thesis/ introduction:
"Acquisition of second languages has never been a more prominent field of study due to globalization. As the world grows more connected, learning a second language allows people to make foreign connections, have enhanced business relations, and become better global citizens. In order to meet the needs of those seeking to expand their communication language educators must first understand how and why individuals learn differently. This comprehension can narrow the gap between successful and unsuccessful gain of language proficiency. The following research focuses on the role of individual learner differences in second language acquisition (SLA). The success of second language acquisition (SLA) depends on a variety of different factors, such as individual learner differences in motivation, cognitive abilities, sex, aptitude, learning strategies, and personality and particularly the age at which one learns a different language. "
I hope this gave some interesting insight into my paper and that you all enjoyed
reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!