Second Language Learning

Journal of Foreign Language Education and Technology are a peer reviewed and open access journal publishes articles in the scientific society. The journal welcomes articles in the form of original articles, review articles, case reports, and short communications etc. relevant field. You can visit our journal page. Authors may submit manuscripts and track their progress through the system, hopefully to publication. Reviewers can download manuscripts and submit their opinions to the editor. Like many things in life, technology has changed the way we learn languages beyond all recognition. Long gone are the old days of poring over textbooks and bulky bilingual dictionaries to learn a foreign language.

Language is basically a speech. Its written form developed later on. It is universal among human beings who use it for carrying out various activities of life. It is such a common phenomenon that we always take it for granted. We never bother to think about it. We never try to into the depth of the meaning of this word.

The first school of the child is his home. A child starts the learning from his home. A teacher can make this learning process very easy. In this paper we will discuss about the learning processes of a second language.

Definitions of language are not difficult to find. Almost all well-known linguists have tried to define language in their own way. A simpler definition may be:

According to (R.H. Robins, 1979), “Language is a system of arbitrary symbols which help the people of particular community to communicate and to interact.”

It means every language operates within its own system. Every language has its own arbitrary symbols. The words “communication and interact” mean to understand and speak.

Learning is a very common phenomenon. Everybody, whoever he may be or wherever he may be, is learning something. Even animals are no exceptions to this observation. Learning or development is a continuous process. Throughout the life man goes on learning and development.

One of the famous definitions of the learning given by (Robert Burns, 2002) is “A relatively permanent change in behavior with behavior including both observable activity and internal processes such as thinking attitudes and emotions.”

When a teacher teaches a second language to his students, he uses the prescribed text books, different methods and techniques. Students belongs to different ages, different gender. This act of teaching a new language is quite clear. But what about a child who is learning his mother tongue. Nobody consciously attempts to teach him. He himself does not consciously attempts to learn his mother tongue. Some psychologists have given theories about the language development and teaching lets discuses these theories in detail.

• Behaviorism:

So development of a language must be explained with reference to change in behavior.

• Mentalism:

The behavioristic view of development of a language was strongly challenged by Noam Chomsky who is exponent of Mentalism. Mentalism refers to something which involves the mind and the process of thinking. According to Chomsky, language is not merely verbal behavior; it is a complex system of rules. The knowledge of these rules is our linguistic competence.

A child is born with a mental capacity for working out the underlying rules of language. This means that the child’s language development is not being simply shaped by external forces: it is being creatively constructed by the child as he interacts with those around him.

• Development by Heart:

Many people still attempt to learn a second language by learning set sentences, dialogues, and texts by heart. It is useful in learning things which are fixed and limited, and it is often found to be useful way of mastering certain fixed items in a language. Learning set sentences by heart may enable us to give a few fixed responses, but it is not likely to prepare us for this great variety of language that we need to understand and use in life.

• Forming Habits:

A second language can be taught by developing a set of habits which we learn by imitation and which gradually become automatic. Central to this view is the belief that children learn their first language by imitation their parents (family) and by the reinforcement on the part of the parents.

• Facial expressions, hand gestures, and other non-verbal indications are an immense way to overwhelm the language barrier. For instance, when clarifying the idea of tall, raise your hand high into the air. When clarifying the idea of cold, shiver and chatter your teeth.

• If the teacher constantly talks in the class then learners of English as a second language will never find an opportunity to practice. Working in a group gives students a chance to practice the language. Groups work the best with 2 to 6 learners; with any more people, not everyone gets a opportunity to contribute. It is also a good scheme to group students with dissimilar first languages together when possible.

• If the teacher speaks the similar language as the students, the condition will be very much simplified. But not many teachers have the lavishness of speaking the similar language of his students. Bi-lingual resources can facilitate a teacher of English as a second language to sketch on a student’s native language devoid of knowing him.

Conclusion

Teaching and Learning a second language both are difficult jobs. If learning a second language demands extra efforts then on the other hand teaching a second language is a challenge for teachers. In this paper we have discussed theories about learning a second language and duties of a teacher for teaching a second language.

Thanks and regards

Chris Brown

Associate Managing Editor

Email: foreignlan@escientificreviews.com