Sample on Second Language Acquisition Reflective diary
REFLECTIVE DIARY
In the process of learning the languages for the progression of the higher studies, I have learnt the Bengali language I have taken; my language acquisition has been shaped by the major factors which are my knack for learning the languages, the skills that I have learnt in school and experience in public speaking. I have come to realize that the need for the better acquisition of jobs can be done with the proper knowledge of the English language. However, in our school we had the provisions of good Bengali Teachers and English was taught in moderation. However, for my knack for learning the language, I have done my higher studies with Honours in the English language.
Further, aligning with my desire of teaching English as a second language in the course of my Master’s degree in college, I have identified some of the skills that are required for the students to learn better. I have come to realize that the basic knowledge required to learn before it could start teaching in the Master’s degree is innate grammar. I have come to realize that it is not feasible to teach grammar in an English source for the Master’s Degree as there is a huge syllabus to be covered. The completion of this huge syllabus for the post-graduation degree in the English language requires innate knowledge of grammar to be able to learn and teach the language with precision and faster space with more correctness (Moyal-Sharrock, 2017).
In addition to this, learning only grammar is not adequate for teaching the language properly. Even if the English language is being taught as a second language the correct use of syntax and construction is vital (Hashemi & Daneshfar, 2018). Moreover, the improvisation of my skills and knowledge in terms of understanding the responses and behaviour of my students will be helped by the hypothesis of Universal Grammar. In addition to this, I have realised that the language can not only be taught with only insights about the subject, it is also vital for me to consider the possible behavioural approaches that my students might showcase.
While I began teaching in the class and being a student of English language in the college and University I have learnt one very important aspect. The aspect related to the rigidity and the due importance that English teachers give to the sole knowledge of learning grammar. While I was in a literature class I learnt that several reputed writers such as William Shakespeare did not rigidly use the traditional grammar for the expression of their thoughts. I have realized that expressing one’s thoughts is the main aim of the usage of a language. Moreover, universal grammar has got little to do with the traditional British norms of using grammar.
I have further come to know that even if the language is being taught as a second language it should not be given lesser priority as it needs to be taught with full priority. However, I have also learnt that for any student who has been learning any language for the first time, it is always difficult for them to learn at the first attempt. Therefore, it is important that the students are given much priority so that they are enabled to learn the language as much as they can learn from the effective classes. It is also necessary to teach the language with much precision as some of the students might only be getting the chance to learn English in this course as a second language (Pramila, 2017).
On the other hand, mere rote learning is something that I have come across as boring, less effective and tiresome for some of the students. Therefore, it is important that the students are given a chance to express their thoughts and the answers to their course study to be written by themselves instead of giving ready-made not only to be learnt and written down in the examinations. According to the Theory of Universal grammar, it can also be used for some of the linguistic aspects and not by all. Therefore, the theory that I had learnt before has been proved somewhat not true in the achievement of learning or teaching the language with precision.
I have now gained knowledge about the learning of the skills and the approaches that are required for teaching the English language effectively in the Master’s Degree program and evaluating the identified myths about teaching from the previous weeks. With this knowledge I have decided to use the following methods for teaching the students the English Language as a second language:
I would first engage the student with the direct method of teaching which is the most general method used universally especially in countries like Germany and France which included repetitive drilling for learning properly. This method might seem traditional and boring but it is also important to score good grades in the course by the students therefore the lectures need to be learnt to fulfil the needs for the accomplishment of the course work (Farooq et al. 2020). Therefore, in some of the cases, I will emphasize the direct method of teaching.
Then I will also focus on Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) for making the students get a chance to express their thoughts with more clarity with practice. This practice will be effective in learning the language better with a repetitive practice of communication which will also be effective in the application of their jobs in the future where the communication skills especially in English is considered to be effective.
In addition to this, the Universal Grammar Theory by Noam Chomsky can be used for the language acquisition gap. Moreover, this theory will be used for the lack of consensus over the precise definition and for interpreting the research works in their degree course. In spite of being unable to use the theory in all the aspects of linguistics, it will be used by me for making observant and analytical of the behavioural aspects of the students.
References
Farooq, M. S., Uzair-Ul-Hassan, M., & Wahid, S. (2020). Opinion of second language learners about writing difficulties in English language. South Asian Studies, 27(1). Retrieved from: http://journals.pu.edu.pk/journals/index.php/IJSAS/article/viewFile/2847/1092 [Retrieved on: 25th October, 2021]
Hashemi, A., & Daneshfar, S. (2018). The impact of different teaching strategies on teaching grammar to college students. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 8(3), 340-348. Retrieved from: http://academypublication.com/issues2/tpls/vol08/03/tpls0803.pdf#page=76 [Retrieved on: 25th October, 2021]
Moyal-Sharrock, D. (2017). Universal Grammar: Wittgenstein versus Chomsky. In A Companion to Wittgenstein on Education (pp. 573-599). Springer, Singapore. Retrieved from: https://uhra.herts.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/2299/17548/Moyal_Sharrock_UGWC_9.6.15_PdF2.pdf?sequence=1 [Retrieved on: 25th October, 2021]
Pramila, N. E. U. P. A. N. E. (2017). Approaches to teaching English writing: A research note. Studies in Foreign Language Education, 39, 141-148. Retrieved from: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/87199579.pdf [Retrieved on: 25th October, 2021]
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Entry 2 – submit by 3rd December
(Please put your second diary entry between these lines. This should be based on the content from weeks 7-9 only.)
The acquisition of second language is a broader area with its own significance and scope. I have always thought of acquiring English as a second language due to my interest in the language and the need I felt throughout. I have thus studied the second language acquisition (SLA) module during my MA degree that was among the cherish able experiences of my student life. The SLA module helps me learn so much as well as help me in teaching the course.
My native language is Bengali, thus, before my arrival at UK, I was unaware of any other language. I only had a little knowhow of English language through my secondary school guides. As I was so keen to learn languages and secure a good job position, I tried to opt different language courses that remain incomplete due to my studies. After my arrival in UK, I had to face so many challenges regarding the understanding of language and ultimately leading to bad communication. According to Doughty and Long, (2008), communication is all about sharing with a person some sort of meaning that is not addressed in case if communication barriers are present.
The language barrier affects my career development as well as my life goals. During my Master’s degree, the language proficiency issues affect my performance in the start. Al-Zubaidi and Rechards, (2010) claimed that international students had to face such language proficiency issues in addition to other cultural barriers. These issues affect their academic performance and affect their grades even if they are a good achiever in their home country.
I opted the second language acquisition (SLA) module as I was desperately in need of seeking languages, and to learn teaching language. Before starting the module, I had some previous experiences of language acquisition through my school leanings, communicating with friends and individuals from different cultural background and through my other experiences. The need of second language acquisition arose through my living in between people of diverse cultural backgrounds. I also learned that teachers should be well prepared for teaching effectively in the diverse classrooms where students from different national, linguistic and cultural background are present. This point is also emphasized by Keengwe, (2010) that states that for the development of students, the special preparation of teachers to teach in a diverse culture is important in addition to the diversity education. For students, it is of immense importance to develop skills to effectively communicate and take part in class activities through overcoming the language barriers and through the acquisition of second language.
Another aspect that motivates me to learn second language was to communicate in a better way with my foreign friends, teachers and others. in the start, I could not even ask questions in class and was unable to concentrate well as I hardly understand language of teachers. Нетесова, М.В., 2015) states that it is the educational process proficiency to motivate students learn different languages and helping them in acquiring those languages to make their subject understanding better. Our university also supports students in this regard through offering different courses and modules. Furthermore, MacDonald, Badger and White, (2001) also proposed that teachers should encourage their students and universities should offer SLA courses that could help students in reflecting upon their teaching and language acquisition beliefs. Agathopoulou, (2010) sought that the professional practices and teaching ways of teachers should also be redesigned and improved and should be based on English as foreign language (EFL) concept.
According to Good, Masewicz and Vogel, (2010), the cultural-ecological theory could be explained with the emergence of cultural communication barriers between minority groups that needs to be shifted to a better state from their native country in search of better education or job. Students encountering the issues in language acquisition, communication gaps, multiculturalism and lack of prepared teachers, culture clashes and lack of support provided. These insights learned during SLA module make me aware of the needs of teaching second language learning (L2) with the help of facilitative learning methods.
For the second language acquisition, different theories presented different perspectives and ideas of better learning strategies. For instance, White, (2014) presented a Generative linguistic theory that states the child first language acquirers (L1) achieve the second language competence through possessing grammatical competency. I also tried to improve my grammar to seek English and will try to improve it even more through opting grammatical courses and learning through various books. Furthermore, Turuk, (2008) indicates that the sociocultural theory states that better communication and interactions socially are a key to understanding different languages. Similarly, I also get better understanding of English language (L2) by interacting with people from diverse background on daily basis for gossips, for interacting, as a necessity and to understand things. The acceptance of linguistic differences and my interest in learning also help me become a quick learner. Golonka et al., (2014) also supported this idea that to learn foreign language, acceptance of culture in the mind of a learner is important. The complicated mode of learning help in understanding of second language even in a better way.
With the help of SLA module, I have acquired essential knowledge of learning second language, its importance, measures to gain understanding, teaching guidelines and strategies to improve learning of students. The self-determination theory elaborated by Comanaru and Noels, (2009) states that motivation of students is a key to make them able to acquire second language. Jones, Llacer-Arrastia and Newbill, (2009) also proposed that for students, the support to learn languages should be extended and enjoyable classroom environment should be created that is sometimes challenging for the teachers yet important. The intrinsic motivation of students to learn foreign language could be polished through providing them with unusual pictures, review sessions should be arranged, and assignments should be given having varying difficulties, improving the peer interactions and other measures. The teacher’s should also redesign innovative and creative strategies to improve the learning of foreign students. All these measures collectively will help me and other foreign students to acquire learning about the second language and to better communicate and interact with everyone in the future.
References
Agathopoulou, E., 2010. EFL student teachers’ beliefs and the effect of a second language acquisition course. Advances in Research on Language Acquisition and Teaching: Selected Papers, pp.165-177.
Al-Zubaidi, K.O. and Rechards, C., 2010. Arab Postgraduate Students in Malaysia: Identifying and overcoming the cultural and language barriers. Arab World English Journal, 1(1).
Comanaru, R. and Noels, K.A., 2009. Self-determination, motivation, and the learning of Chinese as a heritage language. Canadian Modern Language Review, 66(1), pp.131-158.
Doughty, C.J. and Long, M.H. eds., 2008. The handbook of second language acquisition (Vol. 27). John Wiley & Sons.
Good, M.E., Masewicz, S. and Vogel, L., 2010. Latino English language learners: Bridging achievement and cultural gaps between schools and families. Journal of Latinos and Education, 9(4), pp.321-339.
Jones, B.D., Llacer-Arrastia, S. and Newbill, P.B., 2009. Motivating foreign language students using self-determination theory. International Journal of Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 3(2), pp.171-189.
Keengwe, J., 2010. Fostering cross cultural competence in preservice teachers through multicultural education experiences. Early Childhood Education Journal, 38(3), pp.197-204.
MacDonald, M., Badger, R. and White, G., 2001. Changing values: what use are theories of language learning and teaching?. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17(8), pp.949-963.
Turuk, M.C., 2008. The relevance and implications of Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory in the second language classroom. Arecls, 5(1), pp.244-262.
White, L., 2014. Linguistic theory, universal grammar, and second language acquisition. In Theories in second language acquisition (pp. 46-65). Routledge.
Нетесова, М.В., 2015. Motivation and its importance in learning English. Профессиональная подготовка студентов технического вуза на иностранном языке: теория и практика: сборник материалов Всероссийского научно-методологического семинара, 23–24 апреля 2015 г., Томск.—Томск, 2015., pp.105-107.
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Entry 3 – submit by 14th January
(Please put your final diary entry between these lines. This should be based on the content from weeks 10-12 only.)
The term language teaching is not only limited to teaching others but also teaching oneself self. The teaching profession is the most reputed profession in the world yet the significance of this profession is not understood by most people (Kaharuddin, 2018). We as a generation tend to underestimate the experience and capability of a teacher. This module has not only made me realize my misconceptions about language issues but also the issues related to my capabilities of teaching others about my teaching skills. I had started to think that my flaws with the language are mostly related to my inability to adapt to a completely new thought process. From my experience, I have deduced that I can use different methods to learn a new language from now on, and even if I teach some students I will use this technique for them to have a better grasp on this.
The first and obvious technique is the “Grammar translation method”. For me, it is the easiest way to understand the basics of this new language. As the name highlights, I will focus on the basic grammar of the second language and I will translate and compare it to my known languages for understanding the language better. I will use English as a reference language and I will continue to prefer this style as it is one of the major skills that I have learned from learning Bengali. The other factor is if I teach a student about another native language I will try to learn the native language of the student and use this method to self-teach me the language and use the same example in a reverse manner to help the students understand language better. I have understood that most of the English language is dependent on British English yet there are variations of the English language. So I will try to estimate the uniqueness of each language to continue learning that language properly.
There is also another theoretical method that I will consider for teaching the language. The “direct method” is a completely different method than the Grammar Translation method (Dewaele& Li, 2020). Although I prefer the grammar-translation method as it is one of the easiest ways of learning a new language but this method requires a lot of conditions for implementation. I had to find similarity between the target language to my native language. The main issue is if there is no similarity between native and second language then this method will fail miserably (Kubota, 2018). This method highly depends on the similarity index of two languages. Since Bengali and English have many similar points I could use that method to learn a new language. The direct method will be based on learning one of the situations based on which the language is used. This method is mostly used by children as they have no vocabulary to compare their words with the one they are being taught. This provides a blank space for the novice to learn the language and the students can learn the language in an unbiased manner. The major issue of this method is reducing translation error. As this method does not compare the language with any other language the students cannot interpret errors (Al, 2018). Secondly, I will need to know something similar to a native speaker to teach students this language. If I want to teach this language to myself I will need a teacher or an individual who is a native speaker of the language I want to learn. Although I can teach a student English as a second language and for teaching Bengali I will need to use the grammar-translation method for the students.
Although, the “audio-lingual method” will be one of the major scopes for me to teach the students about the language. I had to admit that this is my most favorite language teaching and learning method. This method provides scope for teaching a group of people at the same time. This method is one of the most expensive methods yet it is one of the finest methods to learn a new language. Although I will not completely rely on this method as I need to have a basic knowledge of grammar for being fluent in a language. I will use this method compared to the grammar-translation method to determine the potential problems in this method. After the research and self-learning method implications, I have realized that I can use a proper combination of the audio-lingual method and the grammar-translation method to determine the potentials of the other language for the proper communication process.
Lastly, from my experience, the best method that I can think of implementing while learning a new language is communicating with others in the target language. This is also considered as a separate method and it is used by many teachers and even parents to ensure that the communication process is properly understood by the participants (Khajavy et al. 2018). I had realized from the study that I had to deduct several factors by communicating in Bengali and the majority of the language is dependent on the sentiment of the individual. There are also many unwritten regulations of a language and only theoretical learning will not make an individual effective in the language speaking and they need to focus on the fact that the individuals require many specifications of the target language vocabulary for learning the language (Halici& Mede, 2018). This is the fastest method to be effective in learning a new language and this also makes the speaker speak fluently in the language.
In addition, I have realized that learning a new language is a step-by-step process and it needs much more time than one provides. I have realized that at first, I need to be receptive to the new language and I will develop the skill of an individual who is an expert. Listening is the best way of learning a new language. And I will communicate with the native speakers of the language for making my understanding better in the language.
Reference List
Journal
Al Zoubi, S. M. (2018). The impact of exposure to English language on language acquisition. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Research, 5(4), 151-162. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Samer-Al-Zoubi/publication/328492845_The_Impact_of_Exposure_to_English_Language_on_Language_Acquisition/links/5bd0fa07299bf14eac831300/The-Impact-of-Exposure-to-English-Language-on-Language-Acquisition.pdf [Retrieved on 01.01.2022]
Jin, Y., Dewaele, J. M., &MacIntyre, P. D. (2021). Reducing anxiety in the foreign language classroom: A positive psychology approach. System, 101, 102604. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0346251X21001585 [Retrieved on 01.01.2022]
Kaharuddin, A. (2021). Greeting Words Used In Social Interactions Among Speakers Of Makassar Ethnic Group In Indonesia. Utopía y Praxis Latinoamericana, 26(1). Retrieved from: https://philarchive.org/archive/KAHGWU [Retrieved on 01.01.2022]
Khajavy, G. H., MacIntyre, P. D., &Barabadi, E. (2018). Role of the emotions and classroom environment in willingness to communicate: Applying doubly latent multilevel analysis in second language acquisition research. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 40(3), 605-624. Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Elyas-Barabadi/publication/320818978_ROLE_OF_THE_EMOTIONS_AND_CLASSROOM_ENVIRONMENT_IN_WILLINGNESS_TO_COMMUNICATE/links/5a202861a6fdcc2dc2aedd09/ROLE-OF-THE-EMOTIONS-AND-CLASSROOM-ENVIRONMENT-IN-WILLINGNESS-TO-COMMUNICATE.pdf [Retrieved on 01.01.2022]
Kubota, R. (2018). Unpacking research and practice in world Englishes and Second Language Acquisition. World Englishes, 37(1), 93-105. Retrieved from: https://bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/[email protected]/(ISSN)1469-3518.World-Teachers-Day-18 [Retrieved on 01.01.2022]
Yaghi, S. (2020). The Alignment of Beliefs on TBLT and Student Motivation: A Case Study in a Private High School in Dubai (Doctoral dissertation, The British University in Dubai (BUiD)). Retrieved from https://bspace.buid.ac.ae/bitstream/handle/1234/1693/20191768.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y [Retrieved on 01.01.2022]
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