Problems Associated with Learning Second Language a Comparative Analysis
Chapter One
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
To became competitive on global scale, the world need individuals who can work in a culturally diverse environment and who have strong skill in languages. Due to the fact that many countries of the world have added foreign languages to their curricula either as a lingua franca or a language policy. The study of second language learning difficulties background information is to get understanding of aspects that causes problems in learning second languages to enhance academic skills, raises scores, and prefers students for a career. As languages promote understanding between people of different cultural background also to format subject matter in other languages.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
INTRODUCTION
Numerous explanations have been proposed and debated concerning some students who do well in other courses (e.g. mathematics, science, and social sciences) do not performance well in or fail second languages courses. This chapter is going to cite some review of related literature to examine the literary meanings of the aspects that affect second language learning.
Theoretical Rationale
Researches trying to get the root of the problem have studied listening problems, native language differences, cognitive variables (such as language aptitude, individual differences, brain function and pedagogical tasks assigned) and affective variables (such as anxiety, motivation and personality).
In 1964, Pimsleur and his colleagues were the first to question why some students performed well in other classes and did not perform well in second language classes. They proposed that it was not a lack of motivation or intelligence, but rather had problems with an “auditory ability,” the ability to deal with sounds and sound symbol learning. In (1971) Dinklages studies proposed those students problems in language classes were not due to lack of motivations, effort or anxiety, but rather a learning disability similar to dyslexia. Cummins (1997) studied problems of English language acquisition. After studying bilingual educational classes, he concluded that students competence in second language depend in their level of first language ability. Following this lead into the 1980s psychologies Ganschow and Spaks further proposed that students FL learning difficulties were not, a result of learning disabilities, but instead were directly related to problems with their learning in their native language. They Formulate ‘Linguistic Coding Deficit Hypothesis’ into the disabilities in native language literature and the second literature. It theorized that second difficulties stem from deficiency in one or more linguistic codes (phonological, semantics, and syntactic) in student’s native language system. These deficiencies result in mild to extreme problems with oral and writing language.
MOTHER TONGUE
A Wikipedia define first language (also native language, arterial language or L1) as the language or are languages a person has learned from birth or within the critical period, or that person speaks the best and so is often basic for sociolinguistic identity. In a country, mother tongue refers to the language of one’s ethnic group rather than one’s first language. Children brought up speaking more than one native language, and be bilingual. By contrast, a second or second language is any language that one speaks other than one’s first language.
SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING
Second language is defined as a language indigenous to another country. It can also be a language not spoken in the native country of person referred to. Cook (1987) added that those two characterizations do not exhaust the possible definition; however, the label is occasionally applied in ways that are variously misleading or factually inaccurate. Second language is a language that is learned in an area where that language is not generally spoken. More informally a second language can be said to be any language learned in addition to one’s native language, especially in the context of second language acquisition. (That is learning a new language). The distinction between acquisition and learning is that acquisition of language is a natural process, where as learning a language is a conscious one. In the later, errors correction is present as it is the study of grammatical rules isolated from natural language. Second language learning is influenced by both linguistics and psychology.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHOOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
This chapter is going to present the research method use in collecting data. It is vital to pick approach for research in which the whole dissertation will rest on.
The type of research methodology I use to underpin my work and method use in collecting data is by measuring variables and verifying hypothesis base on the different aspects of language learning and acquisition. However collection of data of a certain research is not answer to understanding meanings. Definitions of the terms that are associated to problems in learning second language have been provided aim at understanding meaning. While help at better understanding I conducted questionnaires and to verify variables from excising theories.
NATIVE LANGUAGE SKILLS AND SECOND LANGUAGE APTITUDE DIFFERENCES
In one study, Gangschow et al (1991) administered measures of native language skill (e.g. reading), spelling, vocabulary and writing and second language aptitude. 15 posts secondly students had successfully passed second language courses with good graded. 15 who receive petition to wave or substitute the second language requirement. Result showed that successful second language learners exhibit significantly stronger native language skills on measures of phonologically orthographic processing (but nest semantics) and greater aptitude than unsuccessful learners.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS
INTRODUCTION
This chapter is going to focus on the analysis on the data present in previous chapter. In chapter two, we saw that, in accordance to some teachers and scholars “that most of the problems that are bound to second language learning are linguistic aspects and some others related aspects to second language acquisition and learning. In previous chapter, we look into presentation of aspects of linguistics in English language. While in this chapter we are going to look at the analysis of those aspects presented earlier to see how they cause difficulties and problems in learning second languages.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
INTRODUCTION
This chapter is going to summaries the research, provide theoretical conclusion and recommend some methods that has been found effective in teaching students facing difficulties in learning second languages.
SUMMARY
The topic of this research work is “the problems associated to second language learning”. In the first chapter of this research I introduced some of the areas that are going to be discussing in the project. All of the areas and the concepts discussed previously are in one way or the other related to language or language learning and acquisition.
The aspects that have been discussed that affect second language learning “as numerous explanations that have been proposed and devoted concerning some students who do well in other classes and failed second language class” proposes. According to Garschow a sparks; (linguistic coding deficit hypothesis); theorized that second language difficulties system from one or more linguistic codes in student native language system. Later in 1980s researches identified auditory, visual and kinetic as the most important sensory channel for education. Other studies proposed that students’ problems in native language classes were due to lack of motivation, efforts or anxiety and a learning disability similar to dyslexia.
Linguistic codes where presented including chart of international phonetics and alphabets help in gaining understanding of sound system of English language. Vowels and consonant sounds where explained, how there are produced and the complex position of describing them. The description of system and patterning of language come under the topic of phonology. I presented some methods used by Ganschow and his colleagues in testing measures of native language skill and second language aptitude differences. An investigation of native language transfer in psychology which investigated forgetting of idea because of the recall of a certain items has also been presented. I also presented the questionnaire I use to back up my findings. While In chapter four I pretended the linguistic analysis of phonological problem which looked at the restriction to the sequence of phonemes, the syllable clusters and some examples language transfer. And the factor analyses provide the analysis of the findings.
In chapter five summaries the work concludes, and recommend some of the ways to teach a second language learner the second language
CONCLUSION
Second languages study is an increasingly prominent part of education everywhere. Not only high school nearly always required studying a second language but many lower middle schools have added second language to their curricula, whether as enrichment or a requirement. Although it is more common, that not only colleges and universities required second language study for graduation. Most of the people of the world are also learning second language for a number of purposes. For learners unencumbered by learning difficulties, second language study is indeed an enriching and rewarding experience. For learning disable learners, however, it can be unbelievably stressful and humiliating experience the opposite of what is intended.
The field of second language acquisition have blamed language learning failure on a number of factors anxiety in second language classroom (anxiety about making mistakes in grammar and pronunciation, about understanding the teacher, about remembering the vocabulary) has been prominent as a purported cause of failure. Among other causes cited and presented in previous chapters has been lack of effort, lack of motivation, poor learning habits and low ability in language learning. In the late 1960s, Dr. Kenneth Dinklage of Harvard University was compelled to find out why some Harvard’s brightest and best were not passing their language classes. He quickly dismiss lack of effort, seeing that most of these students were putting other courses and their degrees at major risk by devoting usual amount of time and effort to their language classes. Similarly lack of motivation was not a cause, as these students could not graduate without completion of their language requirement. As for anxiety, he realized the students were coming to see him because they were suffering from extremely to pass language classes. Since most of these students had never failed a class before, he felt that anxiety had not originally played a part in their failure. When he interview these students, he found that a number of failing language students had been diagnosed and had overcome their disabilities through good tutoring and very heard word. After testing, Dinklage had previously diagnosed learning disabilities, again the problem not shown up until second language classes were attempted. He uses methods of instruction known to be helpful to those with learning disabilities. The student’s taught in the way were mostly able to pass the exams necessary to complete their second requirement.
In research about second language difficulties, a theory has been formulated which explained the problems and aviations in second language acquisition. In which language is described as having component parts or linguistic code (phonological, semantic and syntax) linguistic coding deficit hypothesis which states that difficulty with second language acquisition stem from deficiencies in one or more of these linguistic codes in the students native language system. These deficiencies result in mild to extreme problems with specific oral and written aspects of language. Those experiencing difficulty with second language learning have problems with basic sound units of the language phonemes and do not recognize otherwise manipulate these basic units of sound efficiently. As a result, the student may have difficulty with actual perception and the production of language necessary for basic comprehension, speaking, spelling or with language comprehension, which may affect understanding on and or production.
While it is the good news that the underlying cause of problems difficulties and disabilities in learning second language has be tentatively identified and that ways have been found to teach students learning second language.
RECOMMENDATION
Once they had pointed what they felt was the root of the second language problem linguist began the way that learning disabled student could be help to learn a second language. At least two approaches to second language instruction different from normal or traditional language instruction have emerged as being effective.
The first and most research approach is a response by Gangchow and spearks: theorized further that to help those students, the sound system of the target language must be very explicitly taught. In other to test this theory they collaborate and teach using orton-gillgham method of teaching phonology, reading and spelling to very significantly learning disabled students. In this method sound are presented in highly structured fashion with a great deal of visual, kinesthetic and tactile practice and impute. The Spanish teacher has tested the effectiveness of teaching Spanish. The research on other students has shown quite conclusively that learning disabled students taught Spanish has been able to learn and retain it. Another collaborator, Elkeschneider has had a similar result teaching German to learning disabled students.
In this study on Karen Millers students, it was found that by being taught phonological skills in one language, the student improve their phonological awareness in English. This finding has led to a variation on a method of teaching phonology in target language: teach the fundamentals of phonology in students native language before second language instruction begins. That is students are taught to recognize phonemes, to decode, or read words, efficiently and to encode, or apply the sounds to the written language is and how its sounds and parts function.
The second approach to language instruction which has been affective has been to adapt the second language courses according to be effective for learning disabled students. This means making such change as reducing syllabus to the essential elements showing the pace of instruction demand, and providing review and incorporating as much visual/tactile/kinesthetic (i.e. multiple sensory) stimulation and support as possible. Other recommendations school should devote an entire second language section or class to learning disabled students. And find teachers trained to teach second language to learning disabled students.
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