First Language acquisition

UNIT 2:
First Language (L1) and Second Language
(L2) Acquisition: Some Identifiable Factors

Introduction
First Language Acquisition, an inherent part of
early childhood, showcases the remarkable way in
which children effortlessly absorb the nuances of
their mother tongue. In contrast, Second
Language Acquisition is a voyage that occurs
throughout life, influenced by diverse factors such
as age, motivation, and cognitive aptitude.

Identifiable Factors
A. Biological
B. Psychological
Cognitive
Affective
C. Socio-cultural
D. Linguistic

A. Biological Factors
Language acquisition is a fundamental part of
human development, influenced by biology,
thinking abilities, and the world around us. In this
abstract, we focus on how biology affects both
acquiring our first language (L1) and learning a
second language (L2).

A.1. The Critical Period Hypothesis
According to H. Douglas Brown (2007) and the
Critical Period Hypothesis, there is a specific
window of time in a person's life during which they
are most biologically predisposed to acquire
language easily and attain native-like proficiency.

A.2. Neurobiological Considerations
Neurobiological considerations in language
acquisition refers to how the brain's structure,
functions, and processes are involved in the
process of learning and using language.

Hemispheric Lateralization
There is evidence in neurological research that as
the human brain matures, certain functions are
assigned, or “lateralized” to the left hemisphere of
the brain, and certain other functions to the right
hemisphere.

Biological Timetables
Scovel’s (1988) sociobiological evidence pointed toward the
development of a socially bonding accent at puberty, enabling
species (1) to form an identity with their own community as they
anticipate roles of parenting and leadership, and (2) to attract mates
of “their own kind” in an instinctive drive to maintain their own
species. It persuades us to conclude that native accents, and
therefore “foreign” accents after puberty, may be genetic leftovers
that, in our widespread human practice of mating across dialectal,
linguistic, and racial barriers, is no longer necessary for the
preservation of the human species.

Right Hemispheric Participation
Obler (1981, p58) noted that in second language learning,
there is significant right hemisphere participation and that
“this participation is particularly active during the early
stages of learning the second language.” Genesee (1982,
p.321) concluded that “there may be greater right
hemisphere involvement in language processing in
bilinguals who acquire their second language late relative to
their first language and in bilinguals who learn it in informal
contexts.”

PSYCHOLOGICAL
FACTORS
Cognitive
Affective

B. Psychological Factors
Psychological factors play a significant role in
language acquisition, influencing how individuals
learn and use languages. These factors encompass
various cognitive and affective processes that
contribute to the acquisition of both first and
second languages.

B.1. Cognitive
Sensorimotor stage (birth to 2)
Preoperational stage (ages 2 to 7)
Operational stage (ages 7 to 16)
Concrete operational stage (ages 7 to 11)
Formal operational stage (ages 11 to 6)
Human cognition develops rapidly throughout the first 16 years of
life and less rapidly thereafter. Some cognitive changes are critical,
others are more gradual and difficult to detect. Jean Piaget (1972;
1955; Piaget & Inhelder, 1969) outlined the course of intellectual
development in a child through various stages:

B.1. Cognitive
A critical stage for a consideration of the effects of
age on second language acquisition appears to
occur, in Piaget’s outline, at puberty (age 11 in his
model).

B.1. Cognitive
A strong case for the superiority of children in
implicit learning was advanced by Robert DeKeyser
(2000). In a study of adult native speakers of
Hungarian learning English, he found that certain
adults, those with high general verbal ability, were
able to “use explicit learning mechanisms to bypass
the increasingly inefficient implicit mechanisms”
(p.518).

B.1. Cognitive
Another consideration in the cognitive factor is the distinction
between rote and meaningful learning made by Ausubel. It is a
myth to contend that children are good rote learners, that they
make good use of meaningless repetition and mimicking. It is
believed that children’s practice and imitation is a very
meaningful activity that is contextualized and purposeful. Adults
have developed even greater concentration and so have greater
ability for rote learning, but they usually use rote learning only
for short-term memory or for somewhat artificial purposes.

B.2. Affective
Alexander Guiora, a researcher in the study of
personality variables in second language learning,
proposed what he called the language ego to
account for the identity a person develops in
reference to the language he or she speaks.

B.2. Affective
Another affectively related variable is the role of
attitudes in language learning. It seems clear that
negative attitudes can affect success in learning a
language.

B.2. Affective
Peer pressure is an important variable in considering child-
adult comparisons. The peer pressure children encounter in
language learning is quite unlike what the adult experiences.
They are told in words, thoughts, and actions that they had
better “be like the rest of the kids”. On the other hand,
adults experience some peer pressre, but of a different kind.
Adults tend to tolerate linguistic differences more than
children, and therefore errors in speech are more easily
excused.

C. Socio-cultural Factors
Culture is a way of life. It is the context within
which we exist, think, feel, and relate to others. It
is the “glue” that binds a group of people together.
It is apparent that culture, as an ingrained set of
behaviors and modes of perception, become
highly important in the learning of a second
language.

C.1. Second Culture Acquisition
Since learning a second language implies some
degree of learning a second culture, it is important
to understand what we mean by the process of
culture learning. Many students in foreign
language classrooms learn the language with little
or no sense of the depth of cultural norms and
patterns of the people who speak the language.

Learning a second language means becoming like
someone from a different place. This change in
who you are is a big part of learning a new culture,
which some call acculturation.

Sometimes, when you encounter a new culture, it
can really shake you up. This can lead to
something called culture shock. Culture shock can
make you feel all sorts of emotions, from just
being a bit annoyed to feeling really upset and
confused.

D. Linguistic Factors
Linguistic factors in language learning refer to the
elements and aspects of a language that directly
influence the process of acquiring and developing
language skills. In this factor, we will take a
different direction as we begin to examine the
most salient component of language acquisition:
the language itself.

D.1. The Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis
The Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis is a theory in
the field of second language acquisition (SLA).
This hypothesis suggests that the degree of
difference between a learner's native language
(L1) and the target language (L2) affects the ease
or difficulty of learning L2.

D.2. From the CAH to CLI
Transitioning from the Contrastive Analysis
Hypothesis (CAH) to Cross-Linguistic Influence
(CLI) represents an evolution in the way linguists
and language educators think about the
relationship between a learner's native language
(L1) and the target language (L2).

D.2. From the CAH to CLI
Over time, researchers in the field of second language
acquisition (SLA) began to recognize that the relationship
between L1 and L2 is more complex than simple contrast.
While CAH primarily focused on the negative aspects of
transfer, CLI takes a broader and more nuanced view of
language influence. Cross-Linguistic Influence (CLI)
encompasses both the influence of L1 on L2 learning and
the influence of L2 on L1.

D.3. Markedness and Universal Grammar
Fred Eckman (2004, 1981, 1977) has described a
useful method for determining directionality of
difficulty. His Markedness Differential Hypothesis
accounted for relative degrees of difficulty by
means of principles of universal grammar.

In linguistics, marked structures are those that
carry additional information or indicate some
level of specificity or deviation from the default
form, while unmarked structures are considered
more neutral or default.

In recent years, the attention of some second language
researchers has expanded beyond markedness hypotheses
alone to the broader framework of linguistics universals in
general. Some of these arguments focus on the applicability
of notions of universal grammar (UG) to second language
acquisition. Many of the “rules” acquired by children learning
their first language are presumed to be universal. By
extension, rules that are shared by all languages comprise
this UG.

D.4. Learner Language
Learner language refers to the language produced
by individuals who are in the process of acquiring a
new language, often referred to as second language
(L2) or foreign language (FL) learners. This term is
commonly used in the field of second language
acquisition (SLA) to describe the linguistic output of
individuals at various stages of language learning
and development.

D.4. Learner Language
The CAH stressed the interfering effects of the first
language on second language learning and claimed,
in its strong form, that second language learning is
primarily, if not exclusively, a process of acquiring
whatever items are different from the first language.

Reference:
Brown, H. (2007). Principles of Language Teaching
and Learning, Fifth Edition.
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First Language acquisition

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