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Cambridge University Press
0521837510 - Achieving Success in Second Language Acquisition - by Betty Lou Leaver, Madeline Ehrman, and Boris Shekhtman
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Part I

Learning

1 Planning foreign-language study

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This chapter will ask you to think about a number of things that we associate with language study. With the exception of some "natural language learners," students who succeed at language study usually plan their study in advance and check their progress along the way, fine-tuning as they go. They look at language learning not only as something that is accomplished in the classroom during a particular course, but as a lifelong activity, if not commitment, and as learning that they can work on in many places, even on their own. Some of the questions you will be asked to consider in this chapter are:

• Why am I studying this foreign language? You will benefit most from language study if you orient your learning activities around your reason for studying the language. You may, of course, over time discover other reasons for continuing to study.
• What is foreign language study? You probably know what a foreign language course is, in general, but have you thought of foreign language study in terms that go beyond the classroom and the textbook?
• How is studying a language as an adult different from studying it as a child? You may find that your experiences in your school classes differ quite radically from your university experiences. Some of that is because of educational level. There are other reasons, too, including, for example, the fact that in many ways adults learn differently from children.
• How should I plan my language study for this course? This is a very important question, because planning is often at the root of your success. Poor planning results in efforts that - while not wasted - could have been put to better use.
• How long should I study a foreign language? The answer to this question depends on your answers to many of the previous questions. The better you need or want to know a foreign language, the longer you will need to study it. There are some statistics that show how long it takes a speaker of English to reach various levels of skill (we call that proficiency) in various languages. You can use those statistics as a yardstick, or you can make a decision based on some other criterion more closely related to your plans for future language use.
• How do I make language learning a part of my life in the future? One language course is not, unsurprisingly, sufficient for language learning, but even a collection of courses is less helpful, in general, than a fully thought-out and cohesive program that includes such varied components as coursework, study abroad, independent study, outside reading, Internet support, use of a native speaker, practica, foreign work assignments, internships, and a range of other opportunities and activities designed to improve your language proficiency.

The purpose of language study

Why are you studying a foreign language? There are probably nearly as many answers to that question as there are students in your classroom. Take a look at some of the reasons other students have given for studying a foreign language. Very likely, your reason(s) can be found among them.

• Gaining skills for a job
• Gaining access to foreign bodies of knowledge
• Traveling abroad
• Studying abroad
• Working abroad
• School requirement
• Personal edification
• Interest in linguistics
• Parental influence
• Becoming familiar with your heritage
• Understanding people in your neighborhood
• Maintaining knowledge

Gaining job skills

There are many different kinds of jobs that require foreign-language skills. The number of jobs that require language skills is growing as the world becomes smaller. Moreover, many jobs that do not require language skills do benefit from workers who have them. In other words, having a high level of foreign-language proficiency can sometimes help you get the job you want over other highly qualified candidates. Some of these jobs are in your own country; others are abroad.

Jobs in your own country

Some jobs in your own country require a low level of language skills. These might be jobs that require you to ask repetitive questions and understand a range of standard answers in a second language. One example would be the position of security guard in a setting with a diverse language population.

Other jobs require a very high level of language skills. These might be jobs that ask you to interpret what someone from another culture really means or interact with native speakers in constantly changing situations. An example of the former would be an interpreter at an intergovernmental negotiations table; an example of the latter would be a secretary in the headquarters of an international company.

Some positions do not require foreign-language skills, but the employers consider the skills to be of value to the company or organization. In these cases, the employee with language skills is more likely to be promoted or given coveted assignments. Sometimes, too, the employer considers language skills important enough to pay a bonus of some sort to employees who reach specified levels of language proficiency.

Jobs abroad

While some students decide to take foreign-language courses because they want to study abroad, others learn of work-abroad opportunities once they are in foreign-language classes. Historically, a number of companies based in English-speaking countries have offered internships abroad, and a number of foreign companies have opened their doors to interns who speak their language sufficiently well to assist with various business activities.

More and more businesses with foreign offices are requiring that an increasing portion of their personnel be fluent in the local language. General Electric, for example, considers foreign-language skills to be very important for its employees and language proficiency can often be the key ingredient as to why one employee gets hired over another (Mears, 1997).

Learning a language to enhance performance on a job means that the language will be a tool for you to use at work. Such a reason for language study is one example of "instrumental motivation" (see chapter 3 for more information about motivation in general).

Gaining access to foreign bodies of knowledge

Traditional foreign-language majors often end up in literature or linguistic tracks. For both of these areas of study, language skills are needed. If you really like foreign literature, you will find your enjoyment much enhanced and your understanding greatly refined if you can read the literature in its original language without impediment. If you enjoy linguistics and the science of how languages are constructed and evolve, you will find greater understanding and a stronger base for generalizations if you have a very good understanding of the structure and evolution of at least one language other than your own. If you can also speak that language, you will gain insights into linguistics that theory alone will not give you.

Non-majors who have studied a foreign language in depth are students who want greater insights into foreign research, theory, and contributions in any number of disciplines. Future scientists like to know what their counterparts in other countries are doing without having to wait for articles and books to be translated or cited. History, political science, and art are fields that overlap very closely with foreign-language study. Being able to read about these areas in original works, talk to foreign practitioners, and/or publish your own views either at home or abroad have been motivating goals and experiences for many foreign-language students.

Traveling abroad

While many people do travel abroad without knowing the language of the countries that they will be visiting, most will tell you that they wished they had learned some of the language before going there. If you are simply a tourist abroad, it is often possible to get by with English alone, given that English is typically the language used for international business and tourism. However, under such circumstances, you will see mostly the surface phenomena of a land - its architecture, its museums, and perhaps some of its customs. Needing an interpreter to communicate with citizens significantly reduces the amount of communication and kind of relationship that is possible. It is having a shared language that leads to a true understanding of a country by a foreigner. Further, even the person who is only interested in tourism may still find the need for access to the local language from time to time. After all, not everyone everywhere speaks English, and unforeseen circumstances do swallow up a tongue-tied tourist from time to time.

Studying abroad

Anyone who is planning to study abroad in a non-English-speaking country is very likely to be a student of foreign languages already, although there are cases in which students go abroad to institutions and programs where they can "squeak by" without the local language. This latter group is missing out on tremendous opportunities. They will not have access to the local culture. They will spend much time in a place and come back knowing little about it.

Students with lower levels of foreign-language proficiency do not make as many relative gains in proficiency from study abroad experiences as do students with higher levels. Up to a point, the higher the language proficiency when one goes abroad, the more one can learn about the culture and achieve in improved language skills in the same amount of time - up to a professional level of proficiency (Brecht, Davidson, and Ginsburg, 1993). At the highest levels of proficiency, however - those associated with professional-level ability - additional study abroad carried out in the typical fashion of being in a classroom with other foreigners does not seem to make a significant difference in regard to measurable proficiency gain and the sociocultural value can be obtained through immersion work with immigrant communities at home (Bernhardt, cited in Ehrman, 2002). Rather, study abroad needs to take the form of foreign-degree work (Leaver, 2003a) or instructed study at home with targeted, short-term assignments abroad (Shekhtman, 2003b). (More information on issues of the nature and value of study abroad for high-level learners can be found in the epilogue to this volume.)

School requirements or recommendations

Some programs, for obvious reasons, require students to study a foreign language. One example might be a degree in international relations. Perhaps this is the reason that you are studying one. What proficiency you will acquire in the language, in this case, will depend on how many semesters your institution requires, how well you succeed in the courses, and how interested you are in exploring the use of the language outside the classroom. Even if you did not want to take a foreign language and feel that you are being forced into it by your institution, advice on language learning provided in this book can help you be successful and gain some enjoyment from your classes.

Personal edification

Some students are very interested in foreign cultures. The more they study these cultures, the more they realize that in order to understand them, they need to have access to their literature, art, music, and other cultural mentifacts and sociofacts (and maybe even to plan one or more trips there). The deeper you go, the more you will need foreign language skills.

Knowing about the world and the people in it can be fascinating in and of itself. In this case, it is difficult to say whether the language is a tool (instrumental motivation) or a mechanism for understanding and being accepted by natives of the foreign culture (integrative motivation). Integrative motivation pushes students to bond with members of the foreign culture; it is, in many cases, a desire to act like and be accepted as a member of the culture.

Interest in linguistics

Some students are fascinated by linguistics and languages. They study one language after another, develop really good language learning skills, and with time become polyglots. Of course, some languages of polyglots will be strong, and other languages will be weak. Two of the authors of this volume are polyglots. One has studied seventeen languages, has been tested at professional fluency (and higher) in five of them; the other languages range from nascent to limited working knowledge - as is typical of a polyglot. She does much work overseas; her knowledge of many languages opens doors of all sorts. The other has worked with languages from all over the world both as a linguist and in helping others learn them. Her understanding of how languages are learned is enhanced by her experience with a wide range of language types.

Parental interest

Some students study a particular foreign language "because my parents made me do it." Parents have a number of reasons for wanting their children to study a foreign language. These include the enhancement of career options that comes with foreign language skills, the parents' own enjoyable experiences in foreign-language learning, and family heritage, among many other reasons. Even if you feel that you are being "forced" to study a language that was "picked out" for you by your parents, this book can help you be a successful language learner. In the process, you might even find that you really do like the language you are studying. (After all, you do have some of your parents' genes in you!)

Familiarity with heritage

Students whose heritage is other than that of the country in which they are living are often interested in learning about their relatives and ancestors. While one can learn much from the study of culture alone, acquiring high-level language proficiency can help tremendously in understanding one's heritage. These skills open doors to the literature and the people of the parent nation. They also provide a conduit to a culture that, if you are a heritage learner, belongs to you and has shaped who you are today whether you are aware of it or not. Studying the language provides insights not only into the foreign culture but into your own kin culture, as well. The history of your relatives and the culture from which they emanated becomes more alive, understandable, and rich when you can access it, using the foreign language.

Understanding the neighbors

Some students live in neighborhoods where a foreign language dominates. For example, in Salinas, California, Spanish can be heard in as many establishments as English, and on the east side of town English is sometimes hardly useful at all for communication. A great many students study Spanish, then, to understand their neighbors. Another example is Secretary of State Colin Powell, who learned to speak Yiddish while working in a Jewish-owned baby-equipment store in New York City.

Being in a two-language community often dictates what a student's second language will be. (Additionally, there are lots of opportunities to practice the language outside of class.) This is equally true for students who live in border towns in Europe. Frequently, borders and languages are permeable. Without the second language, everyday living becomes more complicated. In some cases, some of the second language is acquired through osmosis-like processes (see also chapter 4, ego boundaries); in others, either it is not learned, or learning must be done the hard way, by classroom.

Maintaining knowledge

Anyone who studies a language has invested much time and effort into acquiring knowledge and proficiency. This is even more the case for those who begin studying foreign languages when they are young children. One reason to continue studying a foreign language is to protect this investment. It is far too easy to forget a foreign language and re-learning does not always come as easily as re-learning some other subjects.

CASE STUDY

Problem

Sharon has just learned that she must take a foreign language in order to complete her university requirements. She had two years of Spanish in secondary school and absolutely hated it - and she barely passed. What is she to do?

Possible solutions

(1) It could be that Sharon and Spanish just did not get along. In that case, it might be better to start over with a new language and a new attitude. She could choose French, Italian, or Portuguese, if she thinks part of the problem was her aptitude for languages. In this way, she will be able to make use of some of the common elements between these languages and Spanish: the general grammatical structure, some cognate words, and the like. This will give her a little bit of a head start and may be just what she needs to succeed this time.

(2) Sharon can decide to continue with Spanish. There are some good reasons for this. If she can remember some of her Spanish, she will already have a basis for continuing, and if she remembers enough to skip a course or two, it will take her less time to get through the requirement than if she starts over with a new language. Sharon should analyze what happened in high school. Perhaps her problem was a learning style incompatibility with the teacher; this may not be the case with her university teacher(s). Maybe the problem was lack of learning strategies; she can then learn some learning strategies (like the ones presented in this volume) and set herself up for success this time around.

Figure 1.1

The nature of language study

The second question that you can ask is: what is foreign language study? Some experts consider that language learning consists of acquiring four skills - reading, writing, listening, and speaking - and four sets of enabling knowledge - grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and cultural understanding. The former are the means for developing communicative competence, or the ability to use the language for communication with native speakers in authentic situations. The latter are the building blocks that you will need in order to acquire any one of the four language skills. Some learning strategies will work for all seven of these objectives. Others will be pertinent to only specific skills or enabling knowledge. So, let us look at each of the skills from the point of view of what it is, what the sets of enabling knowledge are, and what kinds of strategies can be best used to become proficient at that skill. (Specific strategies are discussed in chapter 3.)

Reading

Reading is termed a receptive skill; the other receptive skill is listening. (You might have heard reading and listening referred to as "passive" skills. That is a misnomer. There is nothing passive at all about learning to read and listen well: both require active processing skills.) What "receptive" means is that the reader receives input from a writer. Rarely does the reader have the opportunity to question the author about what he or she really had in mind when writing a text. However, in reading, a reader can, at least, read the text multiple times in order to make sense of it.

Reading consists essentially of decoding and interpretive skills. Decoding at a simple level is a matter of matching symbols (letters, characters) to sounds and/or words. At a very high level, decoding is a matter of interpreting social consciousness from words.

In order to read any kind of text, readers must decipher symbols. English speakers generally have an easier time decoding Latinate alphabets (even though some letters may look a little different) than non-roman alphabets, such as Arabic, Georgian, Cyrillic, or Chinese. There are about three dozen different writing systems in the world, including alphabets, syllabaries (a set of graphic symbols, each of which represents a syllable in the language), and other kinds of writing systems. Some writing systems encode from left to right, others from right to left, and yet others from top to bottom. Each new script can pose a challenge to a brain already habituated in one or another type.

Decoding takes many forms. One decodes letters into meaningful sounds. One decodes foreign-language words into the things and actions they describe. One decodes full sentences and texts into interrelated units of meaning. How difficult message decoding is depends on how saturated the message is with sociocultural schemata, how sophisticated the writing of the author is, how much the author implies rather than states directly, and how differently text organization differs from one's native language text structure (i.e. where the ideas come in the text - in the beginning or later, a highly convoluted and circuitous structure or one that is linear and stated up front, one with conclusions or without, with repetition of ideas or without, with introductions or without).