To some people language is power and for others, the purpose of learning a new language is to bond closely with people who speak another language. Personally, I choose to learn languages because I am required to and learning useful languages can come in very handy. Learning languages can be hard for some and easy to pick up for some. Currently I speak 3 languages: English, Indonesian and Mandarin (excluding the Javanese dialect). Obviously, I had some struggles learning the languages, but some languages are easier to learn than another and there are different factors and explanations about why we pick up some languages faster and some languages harder. Since I was born in Indonesia, Indonesian is the first language I learned. Ever since I …show more content…
During elementary, all of the students in my school were required to learn Mandarin. Although we had Mandarin classes everyday, no one was able to speak Mandarin fluently due to the fact that no one was interested in learning the language. I have been taking Mandarin classes since I was six, but still couldn’t speak the language fluently until everyone suggested me that Mandarin is an important language and I should find the time to learn it. So by the time I was in grade nine, I went to Taiwan to learn Mandarin in a Taiwanese for almost two months. In Taiwan, most of the people generally don’t speak fluent English and so, I had no choice but to speak Mandarin to the people there (Even in the school). At first, it was really hard for me to express what I wanted to say and it was very difficult to communicate with my teachers. The sentence structure of the Mandarin language and finding the right diction to talk to the people around me was much of a struggle. After quite some time, slowly and gradually, I got used to it that I could understand the lecture in history class taught in Mandarin. I could communicate properly, write papers in Mandarin and have daily conversations with native Taiwanese and all of my Taiwanese friends. After Taiwan, I went back home, and although I managed to learn to speak Mandarin, my Mandarin wasn’t nearly as fluent as my Indonesian and …show more content…
According to some researches, there are specific moments (especially when you are young) when you pick up languages faster and easier. (Argyres, 1995) “Lenneberg’s classic study of the stages of language acquisition as potentially largely due to stages in brain development, and/or Long’s recent, in-depth discussion and survey of research on critical vs. sensitive periods in language acquisition with regard to both first and second language acquisition.” (Argyres, 1995, Page 106) After Mandarin, I learned a few other languages but I disregarded them and I didn’t consider them to be languages I am fluent in because I can only understand some of it but cannot speak the languages well. In the Lenneberg’s classic study about the critical period of learning a language, the delayed development of a prefrontal cortex and cognitive control allow children to pick up languages easier than adults. (Lenneberg, 1967) Some researchers say that there are two hypotheses when you are learning languages as you grow older: The Exercise Hypothesis and the Maturational State Hypothesis. (Johnson & Newport, 1989) The Exercise Hypothesis states that human beings are more superior in learning languages when they are young and if they exercise their brain capacity by learning languages, learning languages will be easier when they are older.
Language, whether oral, or written is the primary type of interaction we have. In “Learn! Learn!” by Hugo Martinez-Serros, the author stress the importance of language and education in society rather than your social class. He shows the importance of language to us by outlining the everyday life of a hard working Mexican that lingers in developing his authorship, and really likes to criticize the writing of the higher class enlightened priest. He lives in the south side of Chicago, and in his spare time he loves to study and critic others writings for improvement.
Being familiar with several different languages is most definitely not one of the easiest things to do. While growing up and experiencing different opportunities to learn different cultures there is no way it should be passed upon. Having the knowledge of different languages will offer one to have a lot more culture within there main culture and the one they are opening there self into. People with culture know their way around the world and the life they’re living. Also, it would permit one to travel to places all over the world and countries. Being knowledgeable about back rounds of several cultures will open a door for one with several opportunities throughout ones life time. Discovering different cultures will bring one around the world giving individuals chances to learn lifestyles in completely different ways. “Wild tongues can’t be tamed, they can only be cut out.” (Anzaldua) I enjoy this statement within writing my essay simply because it represents that she will continue to stay faithful to her language throughout her life.
There’s a long-standing argument that most people resort to when discussing whether or not children are better suited to acquire a language over adults. The “critical period hypothesis” argues, “that children are superior to adults in learning second languages because their brains are more flexible.” (McLaughlin 2) This argument is true to some extent, however, experimental research has found that adolescents and adults are able to acquire languages better based on their controlled environment. Children, on the other hand, are better able to grasp a better understanding of the pronunciation of languages compared to adults. (McLaughlin
I am very interested in different languages and cultures. I find it very interesting how many different people across the world have developed a language of their own and how different some languages truly can be. I am fascinating by how different sentence structures were created and thereby, also the etymology of words in not only English, but in various languages. It was when my parents had enrolled me in the French Immersion Program that this enthusiasm for languages had commenced. As a result of my fondness of languages, I have been able to learn English, French, Hindi, and Punjabi. Though, I have also been studying Japanese since the age of 9 and I have also started to learn Spanish since last summer. It was this passion and the support from my encouraging teachers that had allowed me to excel in the French Immersion Program.
Many people may think that since you are young you have the ability to adapt to a new language faster than an adult but that wasn't my case. When I was two and a half years old I was adopted from China and I didn't know any English. However, over time I picked up more and more of the new language to me at that time. After elementary school started they noticed that I was struggling with reading, so they did some tests with me and had meetings with my parents. Overall, they believed what could be the reason why I had difficulty reading was the transition from Chinese to English wasn't the easiest flow for me. Even though I had to battle against reading, I did lots of practice at home and in school at the program Title; all the effort I put into this has lead me to overcoming this issue and has helped prepare me for my future.
Speaking a language other than your mother tongue opens a door onto the world. Becoming proficient in a foreign tongue equates to a wider range of options in love, career, and friendships.
One reason why we should start learning a second language in elementary school is there will be a boost in job opportunities. Many jobs in education, social work, healthcare, and much more require or favor someone who is bilingual. In the article “ 15 Reasons for Kids to Learn a Foreign Language”, it says that if you can speak another language it will make it easier to have internships, jobs, or even work-study programs in other countries. Also, It helps you bond with a customer or coworker because it makes them feel more comfortable when someone speaks to them with their native language. Overall, learning a second language at a young age can
Growing up in an asian household, you would expect that I would be able to speak in my parents mother language. As most kids, growing up with parents who came as immigrates to the United States it would only be natural if the parents spoke to their children in their native language. In most cases that would be true, but not for me. Throughout my childhood, my parents have spoken to me in only English, they have never once spoken a full sentence to me in Khmer.
For Foreign language learners, reading is a crucial skill that can improve their language especially with literary works, which have different intentions, styles, and special use of techniques and devices. The process of reading can occur easily if the text carries the same culture values ,customs or beliefs of the reader. In contrast, the reader may encounter some difficulties in comprehending this kind of text when the writer has a different culture “this lack of common cultural schema between writers and readers is likely to cause varying degrees of misunderstandings or misperceptions in cross-cultural communication” (Carrell & Eisterhold, 1983; Boxer, 2002). For this reason students have to get engaged more in those cultures. Thus, schemata
What I mean by this is that all the stimulus such as environmentally or psychologically that are around them at an early age, they absorb much faster than those adults. This is why when it comes to learning new languages or new words, children have a higher rate of success oppose to learning an additional language at a later age. When children are frequently exposed to two languages, they unconsciously acquire the second language naturally. Children apply the same skills they use to acquire their native language. Children do not need to master the complexity of language as adults do.
Children encompass the ability to learn whichever language system they are introduced to, therefore a newborn would learn the fictional Klingon language (Hoff, 2006). Klingon is not a natural language such as English or Spanish, and does not adhere to all the rules of a natural language. Due to this issue, the child would encounter problems in saying everyday terms in Klingon. Also, since Klingon is a fictional language and not spoken in society the child would not be able to communicate with others, which may cause the child to reject this fictional language. This rejection may be related to the lack of acceptance of this fictional language in society. This could constrain the child’s ability to learn a new language in which he/she can actively communicate with the people around him/her therefore, I would not advise a mother to teach her child Klingon, even though the child has the ability to learn the fictional language.
According to (Wisniewski, 2007), second language learning process differs from first language acquisition, with the latter taking place usually from infancy in a community using a specific language and affected mainly by neurological developments in the brain (McCain, 2000) while the former taking place usually in schools or later in life and affected by age and associated characteristics (McCain, 2000).
Your personality plays a huge role in how you learn a language. Students that are shy, introverts may struggle with acquisition, but may not struggle with learning language. Acquisition requires you to step out of your comfort zone, and learn through putting yourself out there and making those mistakes and learning from them. The best way to acquire a language is by using it, and if you are uncomfortable talking or if you are afraid of sounding silly, then you will have a harder time learning a language. Sociocultural factors also have a major influence in acquiring a second language. Some students come from cultures that believe it is most appropriate when students go to school to sit and listen. Also, some students grow up in a situation where their culture is very tight knit and strives to keep their native language and culture intact. As a result, someone might not feel motivated to learn an L2 because they prefer their native language and don’t want to immerse themselves into the American culture. Some cultures remain more distant than others, and this can make it harder for
I have had experience with learning two languages, Spanish and Arabic. The first time I was exposed to Spanish was when I was in kindergarten and I did not study it again until high school. I did not begin learning Arabic until my last year of high school and decided to major in Arabic once I got to college. The experiences I had learning these languages were completely different.
Nowadays, many people think reading is not necessary, since there are so many sources of information and types of entertainment, such as TV, cinema and the Internet. I believe they are wrong because reading is very beneficial in many ways.