1. K. Lakehal-Ayat
Department of English
University Mentouri Constantine
2. Introduction
The
success of a Some acquire L2 with
Many factors seem to
second Different people seem
play a role inachieve a
facility and children
While all deciding
language Age usuallydifferent
to achieve comes to
mother tongue, or
master their native
the success or
close to mother
levels of mastery anthe
one's mind as in
acquisition tongue, of this is not
languages, learning a
otherwisecompetence;
second language they
explanation
theothers are not so
case in L2 learning.
second/foreign
varies learn.
language
fortunate.
along a
number of
dimensions
4. Age
Age DOES NOT affect the to SLA.
Age affects the of learning.
Quiz: Who do Studies think will achieve more
you have shown that
rapidly ? children, adolescents, and adults
go through the same stages
Grammar
the longer the learner
Children
is exposed the more
&
Adolescents
Pronunciation?
native-like his mastery
Adults
Vocabulary
becomes
5. Neurological Factors
The role the neurological development plays
in SLA is indistinguishable from that of age.
The beginning and
completion of the process
Association with the critical period.
of brain lateralization
Language acquisition before the completion
of the lateralization seems order be more
Lower order Higher to
successful
Processes THIS IS TRUE FOR Processes
FIRST LANGUAGE
There are different age periods for the
ACQUISITION
Dependent on later
Dependent on early
successful acquisition of the different aspects
N. Development
N. Development
(Syntax &
of L2.
(Pronunciation)
Semantics)
6. Cognitive Factors
•Common to all human beings
Cognitive Processes •Different types of learning
•Different ways people approach a
learning problem
Cognitive Style •Everyone has his/her preferred one
•The different techniques we use to acquire
knowledge
•Good guessing, repetition, note-taking,
Learning Strategies
translation, etc.
7. Personality Factors
Learners who evaluate themselves highly in performing
specific tasks have been found to be successful learners.
Extrovert people look for affirmation of self-esteem and
fulfillment from others.
Anxiety would motivate the learner to try again or fight the
learning task. It induces perseverance.
Related to the willingness to try unknown things
Individual's ability to put oneself in another's place—i.e.
understanding and feeling what others understand and feel
The more self-esteem a person has the less inhibited s/he is,
and vice-versa
The discussion of the role that the neurological (brain) development plays in SLA is indistinguishable from the earlier discussion of the age role. One of the reasons provided for such a stage (critical period) is its association with neurological development ─i.e. with the beginning and completion of the process of brain lateralization. It was claimed that language acquisition ─first and second─ before the completion of the lateralization seems to be more successful, and that with lateralization the mind loses its plasticity and the task becomes more difficult. It was claimed that language acquisition ─first and second─ before the completion of the lateralization seems to be more successful, and that with lateralization the mind loses its plasticity and the task becomes more difficult. Some researchers have, however, suggested that there are different age periods for the successful acquisition of the different aspects of L2. There lower order processes, such as pronunciation, which are dependent on early neurological development. On the other hand, the higher order functions, such as syntactic and semantic relations and communicative functions depend in their acquisition on later neurological development. The above indicates the importance of the role that brain development plays in first and second language acquisition. But we need to mention that the most conclusive evidence for the critical period comes from first language acquisition. In SLA it seems that other factors, such as motivation, intelligence, attitude, etc. play equally important roles.
References Ellis, R.S. 1994. The Study of Second Language Acquisition. Oxford University Press. Littlewood, W. 1984. Foreign and Second Language Learning. Cambridge University Press. Spolsky, B. 1989. Conditions for Second Language Learning. Oxford University Press.
