CHILDREN LEARN SECOND LANGUAGES QUICKLY AND EASILY

The proposition has various forms. It is said that:

 Children may be more motivated than adults to learn the second language. There is probably more incentive for the child on the playground and in school to communicate in the second language than there is for the adult on the job (where they often can get by with routine phrases and expressions) or with friends (who may speak the individuals first language anyway). It frequently happens that children are placed in more situations where they are forced to speak the second language than are adults.

The bases for this myth are: According to Lenneberg, 1967; Penfield & Roberts, 1959, they said that when pressed, people asserting the superiority of child learners resort to some variant of the critical period hypothesis. The argument is that children are superior to adults in learning second languages because their brans are more flexible. The frozen brain hypothesis is the corollary hypothesis which applied to adult learners.

However, the critical period hypothesis has been challenged by many researchers in recent years and quite controversial (Geneses, 1981; Harley, 1989; Newport, 1990)

The evidence for the biological basis of the critical period has been examined and the argument made that differences in the rate of second language acquisition may reflect psychological and social factors, rather than biological one that favor child learners.

The evidences (researches) to refute the claim that children learn second languages quickly and easily

Using Experimental research, children have been compared to adults in second language learning has consistently demonstrated that adolescents and adults perform better than young children under controlled conditions. According to Asher & Price (1967), even when the method of teaching appears to favor learning in children, they perform less well than do adolescents.

One exception is in the area of pronunciation, although even here some studies show better results for older learners. Similarly, research comparing children and adults learning second languages as immigrants does not support the notion that younger children are more efficient at second language (Snow & Hoefnagel-Hoehle, 1978).

People continue to believe that children learn languages faster than adults. The proofs to disprove the claim: One difficulty in answering this question is that of applying the same criteria of language proficiency to both the child and the adults. The requirements to communicate as a child are quite different from the requirements to communicate as an adult.

 The childs constructions are shorter and simpler, and vocabulary is relatively small when compared with what is necessary for adults to speak at the same level of competence in a second language as they do in their first language. The child does not have to learn as much as an adult to achieve competence in communicating. When controlled research is conducted, in both formal and informal learning situations, results typically indicated that adult (and adolescent) learners perform better than young children.

Additional Researches to invalidate the claim 1.) A Q-methodology study of adult English language learners' perceptions of audience response systems (clickers) as communication aides by Rodriguez, Lisa Ann ,Ph.D., Walden University, 2010

Results of this study may affect positive social change by leading to more effective instructional and assessment practices for adult English language learners and by fostering research into the viability of educational technology communication tools with all English language learners and there is significant result of the adults learners.

2.) Language learning in adulthood: Why some have more trouble than others by Smith, Asha Halima ,Ph.D., Stanford University, 2009 The results showed that early and late L2 learners performed similarly on the non-self-paced vocabulary learning tasks (both slow and fastpaced), but responded differently to the order of teaching effects and items used for teaching and testing. It was concluded that language-learning history may be tied to differences in how adults go about learning words in new languages. Just how flexible these strategy differences are and their direct implications to language learning success is an open question for future research.

3.) Evaluating the impacts of professional development: A mixed method study of adult education learning communities by Dilworth, Jessica S. ,Ph.D., Capella University, 2010

Adult education programs providing classes to students preparing for high school equivalency and learning English that demonstrate characteristics of learning organizations may be better able to thrive when confronted with less-than-ideal circumstances and revealed the strengths of adult education programs and the result was significant in learning the English language among adults.

Pedagogical Implication

1. The research shows that teachers should not expect miraculous results from children who are learning English as a second language (ESL) in the classroom context. 2. The teachers should expect that learning a second language is as difficult for a child in their class as it is for the teachers as adults.

3. Teachers need to be sensitive to these feelings and not assume that, because children supposedly learn the second language quickly, such discomfort will quickly pass. 4. Children are likely to be more shy and more embarrassed before their peers than are more mature adults 5. Some cultural backgrounds are extremely anxious when singled out and called upon to perform in a language they (children) are in the process of learning.

Personal Reflection
A teacher will check the background and capacity of the his/her students in acquiring the second language.

THANK YOU!