Introduction
Second language acquisition refers to the process through which people are able to learn a second language over and above their first language. It is essential to note that second language acquisition connotes what learners of such a second language do, rather than the practices involved in the teaching of such language. More significantly, the concept of second language acquisition may extend to cover the learning of a third, fourth or any other subsequent language in addition to the first language of a person (Norris and Ortega 23-26).This reference is a book. In this research paper, I examine the difficulties that beset a second language learner in the acquisition process. I take a personal approach being a second language learner in English since my first language is Arabic and make use of the subsisting literature on the subject to explain difficulties that I currently face. I still face problems in my pronunciation given that English’s language has five vowels as compared to the Arabic language which has only three. Further, I face problems with regard to prepositions usage, verbal agreement, and past tense marking. It is the difficulties faced by second language learners in this process, which are the subject of this research paper.
I must begin by setting out that no single theory of second language acquisition has been agreed upon by researchers as foolproof and as giving a complete explanation of the process. The process of second language acquisition may be divided into five crucial stages namely: preproduction, early production, emergence of speech, intermediate fluency and lastly, advanced fluency (Kennison). This reference is a book. Again, it is essential to note that not all learners pass through all these stages. For instance, the first stage, also known as the silent period, is not present in all learners. At this stage, most learners only have a receptive capacity of up to 500 vocabulary words though they cannot speak the second language. However, as mentioned, some learners begin speaking right away without undergoing the silent period phase. For such learners, in most cases the speaking mainly consists of imitation, as opposed to the use of creative language (White 33). This reference is a book. The second stage is the early production where learners begin to speak a few words and short phrases of the language and are also able to memorize a large part of the language. In this phase, learners have both active as well as receptive vocabulary of at least 1000 words. The third stage of emergence of speech finds its expression in the ability of the learner to communicate using simple phrases, as well as questions, albeit with several grammatical errors. The next stage of intermediate fluency is where learners reach vocabulary of around 6000 words and are also able to express their thoughts with the use of complicated sentence structures. The final stage of the second language acquisition process is advanced fluency where the learner can function at a level that is close to that of a native speaker (Ortega 45). This reference is a book. It is essential to note that even at this stage of advanced fluency; the learner can only function close to a native speaker. In this whole process of learning and even at the final stage, second language learners face numerous difficulties that range from pronunciation to a verbal agreement and use of prepositions. We then examine the various difficulties that I have experienced and compare them to those faced by similar second language learners.
A small number of adult learners who learn a second language are able to attain competence as compared to children who learn a second language. In my case, I learned a second language as an adult with my first language being Arabic. As such, children who learn a second language may be able to attain fluency similar to that of natives than adults, though it is still difficult for them to pass for a native speaker (Kennison 12-18). This reference is a book. We begin with errors in grammar that I constantly make. Some of the errors that I make owe their origin to my first language of Arabic which has only three vowels and which normally causes me to leave out some essential aspects of sentence structure. This problem has been acknowledged as language transfer that denotes the influence of the first language on the second language. The fallback to the first language in a second language learner involves the learner making use of their mother tongue so as to create their language system. We argue that this is just but a process in the learning of language and not a mistake as argued by some scholars (Allwright and Hanks 3-7).This reference is a book. In addition, I experience difficulties in pronunciation of several English words, the gestures made as well as the syntax. I turn to the crucial aspect of pronunciation of English words that constitute a big difficulty that I face at the moment. It has been acknowledged by eminent researchers such as A.Z Guirora that pronunciation forms one of the hardest parts in the learning of a new language (Guirora 11). This reference is a journal article. We argue that the learning of a second language is no exception, and it constantly results in a foreign accent among learners. I attribute the problems with pronunciation on my part to the fact that some phonemes in the English language are absent in my native language as explained in the absence of certain vowels in the Arabic language (Cook 17-23).This reference is a book.
Further, it may be the dominant view among researchers that the learning of a second language adopts a cognitive perspective in place of the social perspective. I argue that the social aspects also play a significant role in the learning of a second language, and the difficulties faced, especially in my case. The social context where the learner can learn of a second language is essential if we are to appreciate the second language acquisition process. Rod Ellis proffers three types of social structure that can have an effect on the acquisition of a second language namely: specific social factors, situational factors and the sociolinguistic setting (Ellis 5-8). This reference is a book. The sociolinguistic setting concerns itself with the role that the second language plays in the society and the case whether such language is used by the majority population or a minority and whether the society if bilingual or monolingual. In my particular case, it is instructive to note that my society is bilingual and that the usage of the English language is common since it is spoken by a most people within this world. More essentially, Ellis argues that the case of whether the second language is studied in an educational setting or natural setting is a crucial factor in the learning of the language (Ellis 9). This reference is a book. I studied the second language in an educational setting since as mentioned already; the English language is spoken by most people around the world. The specific social factors which I find have had an effect on my acquisition of a second language are those of gender, age and ethnic identity.
I examine the specific social factor of age given that I studied English language as a second language as an adult. According to the Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH), there is a biologically determined age when language is acquired in an easy way and beyond which; it becomes difficult to be acquired. It is stated that, beyond the age of 12, children are not able to fully learn a language, and this becomes all the more difficult for adults. Numerous reasons have been advocated same with some scholars arguing that the plasticity of the brain is lost after the age of puberty after which the native-like mastery of the language becomes either difficult or impossible. To this end, it is essential to note that children who suffered brain damage after puberty are normally unable to acquire language skills as those who have suffered similar damage before the age of puberty (Genesee 25). This reference is a book. There has been an argument that this hypothesis is only true for first language learners as there are some adults who have been found to achieve general fluency and a native like fluency in a second language. Therefore, I still maintain that age plays a huge factor in the learning of a second language as adults rarely achieve a general fluency like that of children who learn a second language. I would also attribute the difficulties faced by adults in comparison to the children as based on the manner of learning between these two groups. Like in my case, adults usually learn in a formal class setting unlike children who normally learn in a natural setting. As such, it is the case that adults face several inhibitions and have also attitudes about speaking foreign languages that may act as an inhibitor to their meaningful learning of the language (Genesee 27-30).This reference is a book.
Despite the challenges that may be faced by second language learners in phonology, syntax, and preposition use among others, it is essential to appreciate that the native-like fluency in the language is rarely attainable for second language learners. It is also the case that adults who learn a second language have a downside in that they are frequently unable to attain a native-speaker pronunciation of the second language. Many of the adult learners may achieve a good control of their grammatical and communicative functions but still retain a foreign accent. However, this does not imply that the second language acquisition process in such adults has not been successful (O'Grady 14).This reference is a conference proceeding.
Works Cited
Allwright, Dick and Judith Hanks. The Developing Language Learning: An Introduction to Exploratory Practice. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan., 2009.
Cook, Vivian. Second Language Learning and Language Teaching. London: Arnold, 2008.
Ellis, Rod. The Study of Second Language Acquisition. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2008.
Genesee, Fred. Neuropsychology and Second Language Acquisition.”. New York: Newbury House, 2008.
Guirora, A.Z. ""Empathy and second language learning"." Language Learning (2006): 22.
Kennison, S.M. Introduction to language development. Los Angeles, CA: Sage, 2013.
Norris, J.M and L Ortega. Synthesizing research on language learning and teaching. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 2006.
O'Grady, William. "The Problem of Verbal Inflection in Second Language Acquisition." Invited talk to the Pan-Pacific Association of Applied Linguistics. Illinois: University of Hawaii, 2007. 1-21.
Ortega, L. Understanding Second Language Acquisition. London: Hodder Arnold, 2009.
White, L. Second Language Acquisition and Universal Grammar. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
