EPISODE 3
Find this episode on Spotify at: Episode 3: I'll Have One Language to Go, Please
Find this episode on YouTube at: Episode 3: I'll Have One Language to Go, Please
Benvenuti, Bienvenue, Croeso and Welcome
Hi, I’m Juliet. Join me on a journey through my language learning process, in real time, and learn my thoughts on different aspects of language learning with the ALLT Podcast, which stands for A Language Learning Tale. Today I’m talking about…
I’ll Have One Language to Go, Please, or, What is Language Acquisition and Why is it Good for Learning Foreign Languages?
Language acquisition is a term bandied around by many language learners when talking about learning a foreign language. But where does this term come from and what does it mean, specifically for learning foreign languages?
Well, in general, acquisition means to obtain something, like buying it in a shop, but acquisition in the language context, simply means learning a skill. So, you acquire the skill of being able to speak another language, which sounds simple, right?
Wikipedia is a little more verbose than the dictionary. It says: Language acquisition is the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language (in other words, gain the ability to be aware of language and to understand it), as well as to produce and use words and sentences to communicate.
So, before we go any further, be aware that there are different theories on acquisition and, as with all science, things change. This is a very brief overview as to how I see language acquisition.
The term Language Acquisition comes from the study of how children learn languages, from their first words to fluency. Of course, we all know that children don’t actually study the language to get those first words – that comes a lot later in the process. At least, they don’t study in a way we would consider studying. Babies, and young children, listen a lot and take in what’s around them for a long time and at some magical point they decide they’re going to give this talking thing a go for themselves. They might not even be sure what they’re trying to say, or know that this is speaking. It’s simply a sound they recognise, because it’s been repeated in front of them many times, and they are now able to imitate it.
So, language acquisition is imitating? Well, in part, I’d say that’s accurate, but that’s not really the most important part, as far as we’re concerned, because only imitating won’t get us very far.
The point is, or the idea is, that at this age, children’s brains are very much more what they call plastic, which means they’re able to adapt and rewire themselves more easily, although not everyone agrees on this. So, this listening and repeating and gradually making sense of what they’re saying is considered, by some, to be much easier for young children to achieve than adults, because they can keep rewriting all those connections until they get it right and the older you get the more difficult this becomes. Okay, this isn’t a very scientific explanation, because I’m about as far from being a scientist as you could be, but hopefully you get the idea.
Another thing that happens is that, in this very specific language learning situation, children learn to make specific sounds, the ones that are used in their language, and they have little to no exposure to the sounds of another language, so they don’t acquire the ability to reproduce the unique sounds of other languages. You know, all those awkward combinations of vowels and the like that you can’t quite get the hang of.
What all this means is that your first language is a lot easier to learn than any subsequent ones, unless you’re introduced to more than one language at a very young age, in which case, you’ll probably be able to learn them all more easily.
Through the years, children keep on practising and finding out what does and doesn’t get them understood and eventually, lo and behold, they can speak their native language.
So, what does language acquisition mean for an adult trying to learn a different language? Well, those that agree with this theory believe it means it’s a lot more difficult and we don’t have those other language sounds in our vocabulary toolbox. It doesn’t, however, mean it’s impossible. There’s plenty of evidence to the contrary on that.
Do some people have a natural, genetic advantage on the reproduction of sounds in another language, like rolling your Rs? Some believe so. I have never had too much of an issue with sounds, so far, I just have to learn them, but I know a lot of people do.
But let’s get back to acquisition.
Acquisition as an adult is not going to work in the same way, whatever you believe. We don’t have years to just sit there and play and listen to adults speaking. We have lives to live and they’d probably think it a little weird. We have to be more efficient about it, more strategic, or we’ll never learn anything.
The traditional way to acquire a language, of course, is to sit in a classroom with a teacher and a grammar book, make lists of vocabulary and learn everything off by heart. But that’s not what many people are talking about when referring to language acquisition. They’re talking about a more refined version of what a child does.
In practice, what does this mean? Well, for a start, it means listening a lot to things in the target language, even when you’re at a stage that you don’t understand them, such as films and TV and radio, so that you get used to the structures and those awkward pronunciations, just like a young child would. You’ll also become more familiar with intonation by doing this. And the unearthly speed at which they talk. It always seems faster in a foreign language, although that’s not necessarily true. Obviously, we can’t do this all day, but, because we’re older and wiser, we can probably do it more efficiently, with specific listening sessions.
We also need some method of learning the meanings of these sounds, or words, which is probably where an app will come in. Once we have enough of those words, we can start reading and writing, and likely some way down the road, speaking. All these things will eventually combine to help us acquire the language. Of course, speaking is one area where young kids have an advantage. They’ll say the wrong thing all the time and not care about it, whereas as adults, we tend to find this awkward and embarrassing. We want to be correct all the time, but that’s virtually impossible in a second, third, or twentieth language. No telling us that, though, is there? It’s still painful.
Of course, the thing we all need to learn a language is motivation. Young kids are motivated by the fact that they want to join in with all the babbling going on around them. When we’re older, that motivation has to come from a desire to understand those who aren’t like us and, let’s be honest, a lot of people don’t have that desire. So, I guess, we language learners are special in that respect.
So, will it take us more time, or less time than a child to learn a language? Well, remember, kids take many years of less-focussed learning. So, if we engage in focussed learning, with all the skills we’ve acquired over the years, we might be able to do it in the same length of time, but expecting to reach the same level as a native speaker, that’s another thing entirely. Unless you’re living in the country and only speaking in that language, you probably shouldn’t even have that as a goal.
That’s all for today’s episode. Don’t forget to join me again next time, for more language learning tips, tricks and tales and in the meantime, check out the A Language Learning Tale YouTube channel for additional, non-podcast content.
Ciao, salut, hwyl and bye for now.