This is based upon the model given by Schumann and gives details of the sociological. and psychological variables

1. Acculturation Theory with
reference to SLA
Fouzia Jamal

2. Introduction of Pidginization or
Acculturation
• Schumann first proposed his pidginization or acculturation model in
the late 1970s (Schumann, 1978a, 1978b, 1978c).
• On the basis of naturalistic studies of untutored learners, he noticed
that early interlanguage resembled pidgin languages (i.e. simplified
trading languages which lack native speakers; Sebba, 1997), with
characteristic features such as fixed word order and lack of inflections.
• Second language acquisition was compared to the complexification of
pidgins, and this process was linked to degree of acculturation of the
learners.

3. Pidgin language
• Pidgin languages are contact varieties without native speakers, which arise in
settings of military or trade contact, slavery or plantation labour (Sebba, 1997;
Mesthrie et al 2000).
• The closer they feel to the target language speech community, the better learners
will 'acculturate', and the more successful their SLL will be. The more alienated
from that community they perceive themselves to be, the more pidgin-like their
second language will remain.
• One can notice other overlaps between the grammatical characteristics of pidgins,
with the 'Basic Variety' stage of interlanguage development (Perdue and Klein)

4. • Some researchers suggested that pidgins themselves
developed as a result of SLL in circumstances of very limited
and/or multilingual input (Bickerton, 1977; DeGraff, 1999).
• This encouraged investigations that showed 'how the early
stages of SLA shared features with pidgins' (Romaine, 2003,
p. 418).
• . By comparison with other natural languages, pidgins appear
simplified in characteristic ways, having the following cluster
of grammatical features:

5. Features of pidgin
• no definite or indefinite article
• no copula to be (at least in present tense)
• tense, aspect, modality and negation marked externally to the verb
• often by a content word like an adverb
• no complex sentences (therefore e.g. no relative clauses)
• no passive forms
• very few or no inflections for number, case, tense, etc.
• analytic constructions used to mark possessive, for example X of Y rather thanY's
X (Sebba, 1997, p. 39).

6. Contd..
• Such resemblances led Schumann (1978, p. 110) to make the more
general claim that 'pidginisation may be a universal first stage in
second language acquisition , a view maintained by, DeGraff (1999, p.
493) at least with reference to adult SLL.
• Second language acquisition is second language culture acquisition
• Language is visible form of expressing a culture

7. Acculturation
• Acculturation means the process by which a human being (untutored)
acquires the culture of a particular society in native settings. Schuman
(1979)
• Social and psychological integration of learner (native environment)
with TL target language/group is also called acculturation
(Schumann)
• Sometimes, a third language may even be created out of the blend of
the two cultures. Consider the prevalence of Denglisch, for instance, a
blend of English and German, or the varieties of Creole.

8. Accuturation theory
• Acculturation most commonly occurs with a member of a minority
culture being exposed to a majority culture, such as the situation with
an immigrant moving into a new country.
• For language, this means there are two things to consider:
• the degree to which person learns the language of new country, and
• the degree to which the old language is retained.

9. Effect on Secondary Language Acquisition
• The process of acculturation often leads to a second language
acquisition. This may occur through a variety of mechanisms,
including both formal classroom education as well as through
informal social networks, media and other mediums of
culture.
• The more that the individual is thrown into the other culture,
the faster s/he generally learns the language. This is
especially true in situations where the individual comes from
a minority culture and is acculturating to the dominant
culture.

10. Second langauge acquisition
• This is complicated somewhat by the feelings of the individual
regarding the dominant culture. Many immigrants and other
individuals who are put into an acculturation scenario still cling to
their former cultural backgrounds, often maintaining their preference
for their native language.
• Some will even outright reject the dominant culture, perhaps only
gaining a minimal functional use of the dominant language. Others
will do the opposite and instead assimilate entirely into the dominant
culture, learning the language and taking it for their own.

11. Acculturation and young people
• Acculturation’s effects are usually more successful with the young,
because
• they are less at risk for ‘fossilization effects’ (incorrect language
becomes a habit) e.g. learners having Spanish as L1 could not
distinguish between he and she.
• they are often introduced into education programs where they are
formally taught the language, and
• youth is an incredibly formative period when self-identity is quite
malleable, including language preferences

12. Schumann’s acculturation model Psychological
factors
• Schumann’s model was influential in opening up alternative lines of
research comparing SLL with pidginization and creolization, and in
bringing to the fore social and psychological variables and their role in
SLL and SLA
• 1) Psychological/Affective factors 2) Social Factors
• Motivation—integrative or instrumental
• Language shock—learner confusion when learning L2
• Culture shock—feeling of disorientation
• Ego permeability—overcome the differences

13. Social Factors
• Social dominance /distance=language difficulty
• Assimilation –adapt the culture
• Enclosure—sharing social institution
• Cohesiveness -–tending to stick together
• Size—large or small
• Congruence—similarities and differences of culture
• Attitude—positive or negative
• Intended length of residence—short or long

14. Conclusion
• Acculturation is defined as “the process of cultural change that occurs
when individuals from different cultural backgrounds come into
prolonged, continuous, first-hand contact with each other” (Redfield,
Linton, & Herskovits, 1936, p. 146).
• This first-hand contact results in changes at both individual (i.e.,
values, attitudes, beliefs and identities) as well as group level (i.e.
social and cultural systems) (Berry, 2003).
• Salient forms of the acculturation process are composed of antecedent
factors (acculturation conditions), strategies (acculturation
orientations), and consequences (acculturation outcomes)

15. Frame work of acculturation

16. References
• Arends-Tóth, J.V., & van de Vijver, F. J. R. (2006b). Issues in
conceptualization and assessment of acculturation. In M. H. Bornstein
& L. R. Cote (Eds.), Acculturation and parent-child relationships:
Measurement and development (pp. 33-62). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum
• Mitchell, R., Myles, F., & Marsden, E. (2019). Second language
learning theories. Routledge.