The sociocultural perspective is based on the work of Vygotsky who asserted that the mechanism underlying development, including linguistic development, occurs through social interaction (Eun and Lim 17). Learning occurs when "an individual interacts with an interlocutor within his or her zone of proximal development (ZPD) -- that is, in a situation in which the learner is capable of performing at a higher level because there is support from an interlocutor" (Lightbown and Spada 47). Eun and Lim add that the developmental process is always initiated between people and only gradually moves into the individual's psychological plane (17). In other words, people develop through interactions with others that are conducted primarily be means of the linguistic system. According to Eun and Lim, the two key concepts of Vygotsky's theory are mediation and meaning (15). "Mediation refers to the process by which socially meaningful activities transform impulsive, unmediated, and natural behavior into higher mental processes through the use of instruments or tools," (Eun and Lim 15). The three major categories of mediation, according to Eun and Lim, are material tools (such as picture cards), symbolic systems (such as silently rehearsing words to be remembered), and mediation through another human being (such as an adult helping a child) (15). Meaning is the second of Vygotsky's key concepts. Eun and Lim explain that humans develop the ability to acquire meaningful speech in their interactions with others (16). In fact, in the initial stages of language acquisition, people first focus on the meaning of words and only later focus on the forms. Eun and Lim assert that "mutual understanding of the meaning contained in the speech of interlocutors is what makes linguistic...
According to Eun and Lim, "One of the best ways to structure instruction in a form that is meaningful for learners is to connect it to their real lives in the real world" (22). There are potential disadvantages to this perspective as well. First of all, language acquisition depends on exposure and, as Eun and Lim explain, not all types of oral interaction have equal potential to enhance the second language acquisition process (22). Additionally, for some recent immigrants who live in communities where mostly their original language is spoken, the classroom if often the only place they are exposed to the new language. Therefore it can be difficult to ensure the learner has adequate interactions. Secondly, according to Eun and Lime, the teacher's role is one of "director of the social environment" (23). Therefore the teacher has to be willing to give up some control and just create an instructional environment that is conducive to social interaction. Finally, providing linguistic interactions that are in each student's zone of proximal development requires an extensive knowledge of each student's abilities and quite a bit of time planning.
The Natural Order hypothesis posits that there is a "natural order" that is predictable when it comes to acquiring grammatical structures. The Input hypothesis is completely in relation to the Acquisition hypothesis and it is especially vital to the understanding of how one learns a second language. Krashen (1997) believes that "if a learner is at a stage 'i', then acquisition takes place when he/she is exposed to 'Comprehensible
" (Collier, 1995) Academic work through the progression of each grade brings expansion to the vocabulary, sociolinguistic, and discourse dimensions to the language higher cognition. Academic knowledge and development "transfer from the first language to the second language" (Collier, 1994) making it more efficient that academic work is developed through the first language of the student with teaching of the second language occurring during other times of the school day
These people are also, reportedly, more creative, and also excellent at problem solving. One Moroccan individual was injured in an accident, she was a bi-lingual, and she could speak both French and Arabic before the accident. During her recovery, she found to her amazement, tat she could speak French one day but not Arabic, and one day, Arabic and not French. After three months, she could speak both fluently. Today,
" Stated to be indentified in this framework are three categories of knowledge that represent "key components in the process of cognitive appraisal" which are those of: 1) Person knowledge; 2) Task knowledge; and 3) Strategy knowledge. Task knowledge is stated to "acknowledge the successes or failures in one's learning. Person knowledge is related to one's learning abilities and knowledge about internal and external factors that affect the success of failure in one's learning."
The acculturation model developed by Schumann (1978) consists of a taxonomy of variables that were developed based on the concept that both social (group) and affective (individual) variables are the primary causative variables as shown in Table __ below. In this regard, the term "acculturation" is used to refer to the learner's positive identification with, and hence social and psychological integration with, the target language group. For instance, Schumann
Bilingualism: First and second language acquisition theorists Experience as a bilingual person The term bilingual is used for the individuals that are having a command over more than one communication system. The learning process for the second language is elaborated in the work below. The detailed definition of bilingualism and work of first and second language theorists is also presented in the relevant sections. Later, the influence of reading through the literature and
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