How Languages Are Learnt

By Author: Anthony W Bills
Total Articles: 158
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How languages are learnt
Part One
After assessing Ricardo and finding that he is in level three in English learning, we realize that he is still learning English at this level and he understands and speaks both conversational and written English, with his hesitancy decreasing gradually. This is why Ricardo is so talkative and engaging, because he is post emergent, developing his reading and comprehension and his writing skills in the language. (Lightbown & Spada, 144) With assistance, Ricardo can develop English literacy skills in content areas and move on with the perfection of English as a second language for him. Ricardo therefore needs to spend more time and emphasis on written or academic English as this, once combined with the spoken English will enable him be able to emerge as a better leaner. This would mean that more time being dedicated to his academic work, even at home. Instead of accompanying his parents to the church four days a week, Ricardo should dedicate these days to more academic work, and probably only go to the church like once per week. This will ensure consistency in his learning and ...
... his grade will improve. (Lightbown & Spada, 144)
Part two
Letter on reasons for Disparity
Insert Your Name Here
Insert your Address
Insert date

The Guidance Counselor
P.O. BOX
Dear sir/madam
RE: Carolina’s Performance
With reference to Carolina’s poor performance in grade level work, I have found it good to write a letter discussing the possible causes of her increasingly worrying poor grades.
As earlier seen, a learning disability can not be the cause of Carolinas poor performance because just like Maria, she can speak English fluently and should therefore be able to understand everything taught in the mainstream classroom work since English is the language of instruction. There are possible causes of disparity in Carolina’s poor performance in grade level work in the mainstream classroom. First, Carolina may not be putting the required emphasis on written or academic English. She may appears to speak it so well and fluently but if it happens that she has not perfected her written or academic English, then it becomes hard for her to understand even the lessons in other subjects. (Lightbown & Spada, 144)
Secondly, Carolina may not be perfect in her comprehension of English. It is important for her to be able to comprehend English well if she is to perform well in her mainstream classroom work. It is therefore important that she also works and perfects her comprehension and not to only concentrate on spoken English.
The classroom settings should be considered to be more important for her at this stage so that she can concentrate on the written and comprehension part of English and this will definitely help improve her performance.
Finally, one of the possible causes of this poor performance is that she may not be having a good performance in content area and therefore needs to also revisit this area and where possible get assistance. (Lightbown & Spada, 144)

Considering the above mentioned problems among students, the performance of Carolina can improve.
Yours truly,
Insert your Name Here

Part three
Developmental sequence for learners of a second language
a. Negation
Under negation, grammatical structures can be acquired or developed in the same development sequence described for acquisition of structures by the native speakers.
The acquisition follows an orderly and a well documented pattern in which students can be encouraged to talk as much as possible and discuss or debate about as many topics as possible without any attempt to control, introduce or manipulate the structural elements. Through negation, in the early stages auxiliary verbs do not occur in questions or declarative sentences all through. (Lightbown & Spada, 144)
An example of a negation system
S  Normal  Aux {predicate, main verb}
Aux  Tense ----V-----Negation
V-  { do, modal, be}

Examples of negations:
1. Peter you do that, you don’t play with the kind.
2. I never do

b. Questions
Under the questions, sentence structures can be acquired or developed in the same development sequence described for acquisition of structures by the native speakers.
The acquisition follows an undefined pattern which is mainly guided by the preferences of the leaner. Again, here the learners are given an opportunity to pose as may questions to one another without controlling, introducing or manipulating the structural elements. . (Lightbown & Spada, 144)

Part four
Communicative based approach in learning of English as a second language emphasizes interaction as a means and the ultimate leaning goal. This approach places a great emphasis on assisting learners use the target language especially in the use of language in a variety of situations and it places a lot of emphasis on learning of language functions. Unlike the structure based approach, the primary focus here is usually on asassisting learners to develop and create meaning rather than helping them develop grammatical structures or native related pronunciations tactics. This means that learners are assessed on how well they have developed their communication competence which can also be perceived as their ability to use formal and sociolinguistic skills of a language with adequate fluency and proficiency.
Communicative approach is widely viewed as much broader in terms of teaching as opposed to the structural approach which mainly follows a set of guidelines which are more suited for the classroom setting. Communicative approach usually addresses all the general principles and features of a language and these features are usually developed and improved as the leaner practices the use of the language more and more. This kind of approach outlines the following features:
• An emphasis on learning the ability to communicate through interaction in the desired language
• Use and introduction of new and authentic texts into the learning situation
• Provision of opportunities for learners to also direct their interest on the learning management, not just the learning process
• Gathering and enhancement of experiences which contribute a lot to the classroom learning.
• Creation of a linkage between classroom learning with language activities and conversational skills
Structural approach therefore deals with the grammatical point of view of learning, concentrating mostly on classroom related work and leaving out the communicative apart of it. On the other hand, the communicative approach in the classroom often requires negotiations and cooperation between the learners and practicing fluency, which in the end encourages them and ends up improving their skills. (Lightbown & Spada, ,144)

Reference:
Lightbown, Patsy & Spada, Nina How Languages are Learned, Oxford University Press, 1999

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