SYNTHESIS ACTIVITY 1

Top Ten List of Favorite Theories, Ideas, and Concepts (Part A)

1. Willingness to Communicate (WTC)- ​According to Brown (2014), this is related to

attribution and self-efficacy. According to the attribution theory, people tend to attribute

their performance, whether good or bad, to a certain origin. Self-efficacy is a person’s

measure of his abilities. Willingness to communicate is a factor for these two because

volunteering or not volunteering to communicate depends on how the communicator

views himself and his abilities. This factor was an eye-opener for me because it reminds

me of my personal experiences as a second language learner. Basically, this factor is a

willingness to or avoidance of using one’s second language when given the opportunity.

A low willingness to communicate does not necessarily mean there is a lack of

knowledge. In the field of second language acquisition, there is an acknowledged silent

period among some learners. In my case, I was simply scared to make mistakes. When I

spoke, I wanted my utterances to be perfect. I was also protecting my ego because I

didn’t know how native speakers would respond to me. This information, in addition to

personal experience, reminded me to be patient with students who seem to do better on

written exams than with oral exercises. Every student does not progress at the same pace.

2. Communicative competence- ​Communicative competence is how effectively one can

communicate. This would include the ability to communicate in a variety of situations.

Therefore, for one to develop communicative competence, he would have to have

experience with communication outside of an educational environment. As an educator, I

am aware that most of my students will only experience second language acquisition in

an academic setting. However, I can do all that I can to expose my students to real-life
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communicative situations. This would include role-play in the classroom, field trips to

places where natives frequent, and exposure to text corpora and audio that uses varying

registers of the language.

3. U-shaped learning: ​This type of learning is often observed in children. First, the learner

uses the correct form that he has learned. Then, he regresses, and he begins to use the

incorrect form, once again. Finally, he stabilizes, and he uses the correct form again. L1

acquisition and L2 acquisition are alike in that both types of learners experience this

U-shaped learning. If I observe such behavior in my L2ers, this knowledge helps me to

not become frustrated. It is part of the interlanguage and regularizing process that

language learners must experience.

4. Individual Differences- ​Individual differences include learners’ personalities and other

factors that influence how someone personally learns. Sometimes, this may include

popular language attitudes, language policy as established by a government, or learning

capacity. The fact that individuals differ means that my students will learn at different

paces. I may have to take into account learning styles and differentiate my methods. I

may have to take into account socioeconomic factors and upbringing for differences in

behavior in the classroom.

5. Critical Period Hypothesis: ​The critical period is a period, most agree before puberty,

when language is said to be more easily acquired. Sometimes, it was said that before this

period, the language learner acquired language in a native-like pattern. It was said that a

second language could not be fully acquired after this period. This book, however, points

out that the critical period mostly has reference to the development of a native-like
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accent. In the classroom, I will use this updated information to never waver in my

expectations of my students. They may all be past the point of puberty, but they are

definitely able to learn a second language. Some may even acquire a native-like accent.

6. The Monitor Hypothesis - ​This hypothesis says that there is a difference between

learned and acquired language. It states that the learned language can serve as a filter for

language production. In this way, learned or explicit instructions serve as a system of

checks and balances. My belief in the Monitor Hypothesis is why I stick to my stance on

explicit instruction. Explicit instructions help the students to think about language usage.

This background knowledge can ensure that acquired knowledge is accurate.

7. Incidental Vocabulary Learning- ​This is a more implicit learning type. Learning of

vocabulary comes about because of doing a certain activity. The express goal of the

activity is not to learn vocabulary. When doing translation exercises, my students are

often prompted to look up words. Then, they may encounter these terms in other places.

Soon, they have acquired a new word to add to their lexicon. I often use this technique

for smaller words, such as prepositions and conjunctions. With this task, they will be

familiar with a word before it is needed.

8. Feedback- ​Feedback is the response often given by the instructor to the language learner.

Sometimes, though, it can be given by another fellow language learner. Feedback can be

either negative or positive. I have learned from my time in this course that feedback is not

always best offered during an utterance. It is left up to the discretion of the one offering

the feedback. Sometimes, we have to give the learner an opportunity to self-correct.

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Sometimes, we wait until the end and ask a question with the mistake clearly salient. At

other times, the initiator of the feedback may have to intercede right away.

9. Metalinguistic Awareness- ​This is one of my absolute favorite topics. Metalinguistic

awareness is knowledge that L2ers have about language. This knowledge facilitates

second language acquisition because it helps the students to think about why certain

utterances can or cannot occur. It’s base knowledge that is important for language

learners because language is not an automatic process in the initial and intermediate

stages. I use explicit instructions to give my students this knowledge so that they may

understand feedback.

10. Focus on form- ​Focus on form is explicit instruction. It highlights form as set apart from

function when function is the focus of an activity. This is important because when left to

chance, students often do not recognize details about form. It takes more than enunciating

the grammar point; sometimes, discussion is required. Discussion about form is often the

step that leads to comprehension and communication.

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B- Dispelling a Myth

Myth: All you need to learn another language is motivation.

Every person who decides that he wants to learn a language is not successful. Granted,

motivation is a major factor, but it is not the only quality needed to learn a language. There are a

number of other qualities that collectively contribute to successful second language acquisition.

Language learners often have good memories. They are often competent, made so by their

learning ability. Personality type and learning style are also factors. Language attitudes and

language policy also may affect second language acquisition.

While it is a good thing to be motivated to learn a language, language learners often have

to have good memories. This is true in both a foreign language and a second language setting.

Initial language acquisition is about the amount of information one can retain before automaticity

sets in. Since language is only retained by means of production, it first must be practiced. In

order to practice it, certain aspects have to be remembered. In the initial stages, all that goes into

formulating even a mere sentence can seem overwhelming if one has a bad memory.

Language learners tend to be good performers in other subjects, as well. This is because

language acquisition often takes advantage of transferable skills needed in other subjects. For

example, many of my high-school aged children take music as an elective. When I teach

phonology, namely syllables, stress, and pronunciation rules, I teach them to clap and use other

helpful methods because language has rhythm, just as music does. My band students tend to do

very well in Spanish class. Also, I notice that students taking advanced placement courses and

who excel in other subjects do well in my class.

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Personality type is another contributing factor to language acquisition success. Some

people have more inhibitions than others, which could cause them to not be willing to

communicate at all. Others may not be willing to find ways to use the language outside of the

educational context. Others, may be too reckless and take too many risks. Self-esteem is a major

factor in language learning. In the beginning, students who prejudge my class to be “too hard”

often put forth minimum effort. Those who may have some apprehension but who are willing to

at least give second language a try often do well. Small failures do not unnerve them. They

continue to press onward. Also, since language is tied to one’s identity, those with a stronger

sense of identity have stronger language acquisition skills.

Socioeconomic status may also affect one’s ability to access language. Some students do

not have access to the learning materials to further second language acquisition after public

schooling. They may not have native speakers around, and even if they do, the native speakers

may not be bilingual. They may not have access to tutors, and parents may not be able to help

them in the beginning stages so that they can progress to a more advanced level. Students of

lower socioeconomic status may not be able to attend school frequently enough to progress

where they need to be in a second language because of other responsibilities.

Student abilities are another factor that influence second language acquisition. Speech

impediments may prevent a student from making certain sounds in a language. Learning

disabilities may impede his ability to grasp and retain points. Students may have major health

issues and only be able to learn in their home setting. This could limit the amount of language

instruction they receive in a day and thus slow down progress of language learning.
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Language attitudes and language policy also affect second language acquisition. Students

may be affected by how the general public or people around them feel about speakers of a certain

language group. They may see the media portray a language in a negative fashion or the speakers

with much disdain. Some languages may be viewed as lower class because of government

policies or because the speakers tend to be less fortunate than the rest of the population.

Governments may have an official language, and the language being learned may not be

considered high status. If students are required to take foreign language in high school and in

college as a prerequisite course, they may not give it their full potential for these reasons.