Language Development Example

Language Development Example Language Development â€" Essay Example > Language DevelopmentIntroduction(Greetings with special mention to important personalities sitting in the audience). I am here today to talk about salient aspects of language development. I will try to discuss second language learning benchmarking from concepts discussed by various authors and complementing it with my own experience in learning English as a second language. As a start let me introduce myself, I am an immigrant to Australia. I came from a country that does not speak English as its first language. I am a naturally born Arabic speaking citizen. Thus, I can label myself as one of those people who learned English as a second language. I learned English as a second language in my birth country as early as Fifth Grade. It is also a compulsory language used in the University I have attended. However, I do not use English as a means to converse outside the classroom since I usually converse in Arabic with my family, friends and other people I interact with. Migrating to Au stralia changed all that. I am required to speak it in every aspect of my interaction with others. I have to use English in speaking with my neighbour and with my co-workers. I have to use it in speaking with people I met the grocery, in the bank, at school and everywhere else. Aspects of language developmentAt first it was hard for me adjusting on my own language development experience given the contrasting scenario of its use while I was still in my native country and when I am already here in Australia. However, my motivation and capability to further learn English as my second language have helped me get pass through all of the challenges I faced. I have learned that these are exactly some of the factors that have to be considered in language development. Experiments on the hypothesis of teachability of second language developed by Pienemann (1984, cited in Heinsch, p.3, 1994) showed evidences that “motivation, age, capabilities and previous knowledge” (p. 7) of the second language affects the learning process of second language. Motivation is important in second language learning and mastery since it drives the openness of the learner to master the second language. Age is evidently a factor affecting second language learning process. Older children and adult have higher ability to quickly learn a second language (Long, 1990 cited from Heinsch, p. 9, 1994). Knowledge of the native language can become difficult in learning a second language particularly if the structures involve between the two languages are different from each other. This would entail a longer learning period for the student. Lastly, gaining and access to knowledge (Heinsch, 1994) pertaining to second language learning are important factors for its teachability. Implication to classroom second language teaching and learningWhat are the implications of these aspects of language development to classroom teaching and learning of second language? Lightbrown and Spada (2006) stated that “Knowing more about the development of learner language helps teachers to assess teaching procedures in the light of what they can reasonably expect to accomplish in the classroom” (p. 71). Thus, knowing your students’ individual background, comprehension and experiences on the second language would help create a better classroom environment for teaching. This is exactly the basic tenet of scaffolding. Scaffolding is a term normally used in construction or building which has been metaphorically used in language development to refer to the structural role of teachers in assisting their students “develop new understanding, new concepts and new abilities” (Hammond, J Gibbons, P., p. 4) while they are still not operationally proficient with the second language they are studying. As students master each of these aspects of structural assistance, teachers move into providing further assistance in understanding higher level of concepts in second language learning. Mercer (1994 ) cited that teachers specifically find the idea of scaffolding relevant to their role of providing intervention in facilitating second language learning of their students (cited in Hammond Gibbons, p.4).