TSL 426 B.

Ed TESL Cohort 4

Question 1:

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Second Language Learning Barriers

Nowadays, everybody does not only need to be expert in their mother tongue but

they also need to master a second language. For us, Malaysian, we need to

learn English Language. However, learning second language is not really easy.

There are few difficulties that we face when we learn a second language.

Cultural meaning

When we learn second language, we sometimes have problem in identifying the

meanings of the words and it is difficult for us to recognize and utilize the grammar of

the language. Basically, language varies in every culture and this variety poses

background knowledge in everybody. Each language of a culture is unique and the

users of a language mostly utilize the knowledge they gain from their first language to

interpret the messages conveyed by language of other culture. Steven H. McDonough

(1995, p. 37) attributes the problems of second language acquisition to pre-existing

knowledge as he asserts ‘ meanings extracted using knowledge of the language and

knowledge of the world and the topic to constrain the possibilities, and a

representation of the authors’ or speaker’s meaning constructed’. Consequently, the

difficulty of learning the language emerges as languages do not share exactly the

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same meanings in terms of structure, content and context as they function differently

in each respectively culture. For instance, Some Malaysian inclines to use our first

language, Bahasa Malaysia, as tools in learning English language as our second

language especially in adopting direct translation of words available in the language.

Language aptitude

There are times when we speak the second language; we sometimes make

errors unconsciously in spite of our correct knowledge about the language.

Everybody has the natural cognitive ability to acquire second language which is

known as Language aptitude. It is an intrinsic of our general intelligence.

However, everybody has different extent to which their language aptitude

functions. John Carroll (1981) identified four components of language aptitude.

First, it is phonemic coding ability which is the ability to identify the sounds of the

second language and manipulate sound-symbol relationship. Second, it is

grammatical sensitivity which is the ability to recognize the grammatical functions

of words in sentences. Third, it is inductive language learning ability which is the

ability to identify pattern of correspondence and relations between form and

meaning. Lastly, it is rote learning ability which is the ability to form and

remember associations between stimuli. The last one is important for vocabulary

learning. The presence of language aptitude is manifested when it comes to the

classroom learning of second language. None of the student has existing

knowledge about the language but some students grasp the language faster than

the others. Although language aptitude influences somebody’s ability to learn

second language but it does not differ a lot in people and efforts still play a

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crucial role in the learning process. In fact, language aptitude is impotent without

effort.

Lack of motivation

One of the reasons we cannot really master a second language because we do

not have any drive to put much efforts in learning it. In learning second language,

motivation has a vital role in determining our inclination towards the mastery of

the language. It involves the attitude and affective states that influence the

degree of effort that we make to learn second language. However, if we lack the

motivation, we will not embark on any effort to learn the language. There are four

types of motivation that we might not have in learning the language. First,

instrumental motivation; we do not make efforts to learn a second language

because we have no functional reason for doing it such as examination, job

application or university entrance. Second, integrative motivation; we do not want

to learn a second language because we are not interested to the target of the

language which is the people and culture. As Malaysian, we do not want to learn

English language because we are not interested in the native speakers of the

language as well as the culture it prevails on. The third type of motivation is

resultative motivation which is the motivation that is a result of a successful

learning of the language. This motivation is unique as it can incline somebody to

be more or less motivated to learn a second language. As for Malaysia, English

language has become a common language which everybody masters really well.

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We might reduce our efforts to learn the language due to our good command of it

because we feel our national language, Bahasa Malaysia, is threatened. The last

motivation, intrinsic motivation, is slightly general as it deals with our natural

interests and curiosity of learning the second language.

Individual Preference

In learning a second language, we are sometimes affected by a strong element

of reluctance or embarrassment in attempting to learn or use the language. Our

personality can actually influence the degree of anxiety and our preparedness to

take risks in learning and using a second language. The fact that the language is

not really practiced in the context we are in always prompts us not to learn or use

the language. When we are in our workplace, we do not want to speak the

second language because everybody speaks the first language. Apart from that,

our preferred style may influence our overall orientation to the learning of the

language and the kind of input we find easiest to work with. For instance, our

reluctance to learn a second language might also due to dull textbooks,

unpleasant classroom surroundings or an exhausting schedule of study or work.

Basically, if we are stressed, uncomfortable, self-unconscious or unmotivated, we

are unlikely to learn anything.

Conclusion

There are always reasons why we face difficulty in learning a second language.

The four main affective factors which lead to the barriers are: cultural meaning,

language aptitude, lack of motivation and individual preference. However, no

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matter what difficulty we face, it still depends on our efforts to learn a second

language. When there is a will, there is a way.

Reference

Ellis. R (2002) “Second language acquisition” Hong Kong: Oxford Press.