Just like doing Math, we get better when we have more time to practice the questions. Therefore, a child acquiring L1 will attain full competency of the language because he has ample time to practice the language by social interaction with caregiver(s) and friends.
Modified input
On top of merely having more time and interaction with caregiver(s) and friends in L1, Krashen (2003) says that learners acquire by understanding language that contains structures ‘a bit beyond’ their current level of competence. This level is referred to the i+1. This Input hypothesis is very similar to Vygotsky’s notion of ZPD.
A child may use the word ‘car’ to refer not only to all cars but also to trucks, lorries, buses and motorcycles. Therefore, when the child points to a motorcycle and tell the caregiver it is a car, the caregiver can provide the appropriate linguistic input by saying that it is a motorcycle and go on telling him about the number of wheels it has or its colour. This is the most natural form of learning and the input is at its most appropriate time. This is an example of Krashen’s i+1 theory and according to him, the child can learn and absorb the best when the input is at its most appropriate time.
A child acquiring L1 has the caregiver(s) and older children at the playground or school to provide the i+1 but in most cases, an adult acquiring L2 rarely has anyone to provide him with the i+1.
Michael Long (1983), a modern interactionist, argues that ‘modified interaction’ is vital for adult acquiring L2. In Long’s view, adult acquiring L2 requires opportunities to interact with competent speakers who modify their speech until the learner understands. Research has demonstrated that conversational adjustments in the form of comprehension checks, clarification requests and self-repetition or paraphrase do aid learner’s comprehension of the L2. However, a L2 adult learner does not often have anyone to constantly modify speech for them.
Nervousness to speak
Even if there is someone who is willing to constantly modify his or her speech for the L2 learner, the L2 learner may not want to be corrected too much. In the Asian culture, ‘face’ is very important. An adult may not want to be corrected or be found to be incompetent and making mistakes. Therefore, he or she may not even want to practice using the L2 he is acquiring with a native L2 speaker.
Krashen (2003) claims that learners with high motivation, self-confidence, a good self-image, and a low level of anxiety are better in second language acquisition. Low motivation, low self-esteem, and debilitating anxiety can combine to 'raise' the affective filter and form a 'mental block' that prevents comprehensible input from being used for acquisition. In other words, when the filter is 'up' it impedes language acquisition. On the other hand, positive affect is necessary, but not sufficient on its own, for acquisition to take place.
Young children are very self-centered. They seem themselves as the center of the world with everything and everyone revolving around them. This view changes as they mature. They begin to become more self-conscious and try to discover their own uniqueness. By the age of puberty, they are aware of who they are and very insecure about how others see them. Thus, applying this to L2 learning, we could assume the young adult L2 learner would be uncomfortable with making mistakes. We could apply this to the older adult as well. A result of this insecurity or awareness of others is that the L2 development could be hindered. Very young children, on the other hand, do not have this problem. They see no wrong in anything they do and have no concerns as to how others may perceive them.
Cognitive maturity
Jean Piaget sees language development as a part of the cognitive development of a child. That is, as the child’s brain develops, so does his/her linguistic ability. Piaget (Piaget & Inhelder, 1966) outlines the course of a child’s intellectual development through the following stages:
- the sensori-motor stage ( age 0 to 2 )
- the preoperational stage ( age 2 to 7 )
- the concrete operational stage ( age 7 to 11 )
- the formal operational stage ( age 11 to puberty )
From a cognitive view, the adult learner is at an advantage, having developed all the skills necessary to learn a language. However, we know that adults appear to have more difficulty in acquiring a second language compared to the child learner.
The formal operational stage is the most important stage when considering L1 and L2. At the later part of this stage, the child develops the ability to do formal thinking or abstraction, like an adult. An adult may feel very frustrated in not being able to use the skills they have developed from their L1 to express their thoughts in L2. Therefore, it is hard for adult L2 learner to attain full competency of the language.
Cognitive psychologists working in an information-processing model of human learning and performance see L2 acquisition as the building of knowledge that can eventually be called on automatically for speaking and understanding. Norman Segawitz (2003) and others have suggested that learners have to pay attention at first to any aspect of the language they are trying to understand or produce. ‘Pay attention’ in this context is accepted to mean using cognitive resources to process information. However, there is a limit to how much information a learner can pay attention to.
In conclusion, many theories have suggested that it is easier for children acquiring L1 than adult acquiring L2 to achieve full competency of the language. There are, of course, also many cases in which adult acquiring L2 achieved full competency and it is mainly due to the learner’s open mindedness. He must be motivation to learn, not afraid to make mistakes and be corrected and find opportunities to practice using the language.
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Bibliography
Vygotsky, L.S. 1978. Mind in Society. Cambridge, MA: Havard University Press.
Krashen, S.D. (2003) Explorations in Language Acquisition & Use. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann
Long, M. 1983. ‘Native speaker / non-native speaker conversation and the negotiation of comprehensible input.’ Applied Linguistics 4/4: 126-41.
Piaget, J., & Inhelder, B. (1966). The psychology of the child. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
