User:Shahnaz mithila/sandbox

Individual differences on SLA/target language acquisition

Introduction
Individual differences can be explained as different characteristics that distinguish one from another. In terms of second language acquisition this individual difference plays a very important role. Individual differences play a very important role as it tend to influence specially in the case of acquiring second language. Learners are basically unique individuals who bring a critical set of variables to every learning scenario as well as delicate traits as indicators of their potential and also the history of achievement as signs of previous accomplishments and predictors of future performance. We all may have thought that why do some individuals nearly win the native speaker’s levels of ability during a foreign language whereas others never appear to progress a lot of on the far side a beginner’s level? Some second language learners create fast and apparently effortless progress whereas others progress terribly slowly. In this essay I am going to write about some individual differences and also mention examples that actually influence learner’s second language acquisition.

Age
Difference in age can actually influence a learner’s L2 acquisition. This is even the most debated topic in the linguistics and educational circles. Age difference in language learning actually determines one’s learning speed, learning attainment and of course his linguistic ability. Some people believe that there is a certain time period between which acquiring second language is much easier and this is called critical period hypothesis. As we commonly hear, for children, acquiring a second language can come as second nature and almost be effortless. So, in between this period it is possible to acquire L2 to native like level. On the other hand, some of us also don not agree with this statement and believe that L2 can be acquired at any age if there’s enough motivation and adult learners proceed through the syntactic and morphological development faster. When it comes to second language acquisition there are chances that young learners do better when it comes to grammatical skills and fluency (Lightbrown, Spada, 60). People of different ages may feel the need to learn L2 at any moment and that is fine but their age difference may affect how they will end up learning L2 as our age also determines our brain activity including lot of stuffs specially while learning a new language. Because when a learner is young his potential, goal, cognitive development will be very different from an older learner so it is quite obvious that age difference in individual is influencing the acquisition of L2.

Cognitive Intelligence
Another most influential point in L2 learning is one’s cognitive intelligence. Cognitive intelligence is defined as the combination of verbal, numerical and spatial abilities which includes visualizing, use of memory, word fluency, verbal relations, perceptual speed, induction and deduction (Sternberg, 1996). Our linguistic intelligence leaves a great impact on our second language proficiency. Our linguistic intelligence is measured by verbal IQ includes proper speaking, using words, writing, giving presentations, solving word problems etc. Some people have good IQ or intelligence and some have less. On the opposite hand, some believe that intelligence could play a less important role in acquisition that focuses additional on communication and interaction. So, the person who has more ability to learn, remember, reason, solve problems, and make sound judgments would obviously acquire L2 much faster and effortlessly though it has been said that without cognitive intelligence one can acquire L2 too but my point is that is it as effortless as it is for intelligent people? So undoubtedly it is one of the most influential individual difference in terms of second language acquisition.

Aptitude
Aptitude refers to the ability to learn quickly (Carroll,1991) and is thought to predict success in learning. It is hypothesized that a learner with high ability could learn with larger ease and speed. Every learner does not have learning aptitude. Some learners are blessed with learning aptitude which is actually the potential for learning language that includes also the ability to manage sounds, grammatical structures, infer rules, and memory. People with higher aptitude can understand the function of particular words in sentences and figure out grammatical rules from language samples very easily which help them in the long run of second language aptitude. So, aptitude difference in people influences our L2 learning as it determines whether someone can acquire earlier or not and how well they are performing based on their aptitude level. Every one’s aptitude level is not same and this is something we can not do anything about, this is that extra beneficial kick in the journey of second language acquisition. However, to some people performance on language aptitude tests seems irrelevant to L2 learning with the adoption of a more communicative approach to teaching. Learners’ strengths and weaknesses within the different elements could account for his or her ability to reach different types of tutorial programs. For example, 2 learners are learning through same style but one learner learnt faster than the other it is because that person has higher aptitude in learning. Those who catch music lesion faster has higher aptitude in music. This sort of individual difference leaves a great impact in L2 acquisition.

Personality
Personality difference is very crucial as it influences a lot in terms of second language acquisition. There are a number of personality characteristics that may affect L2 learning, such as extroversion, introversion, lack of self-esteem, risk taking and inhibition. Each and every point mentioned here are closely linked with our personality.

Second language acquisition is a process that can be affected by several factors, one of which is the learner’s personality. A number of theories hold that personality factors significantly influence the degree of success that individuals achieve in acquiring a second language ( Gass & Selinker, 1994) based on the assumption that some features of the leaner’s personality might encourage or inhibit second language learning (Cook,1996).

As for having that proper communication skill in second language we need to communicate a lot in L2 with people surrounding us it is very important that one does not hesitate to communicate and Shyness, on the other hand, comes down to a fear or dislike of social interaction. Because lack of communication influences bad communication skill for any learner and as introverts are quite shy or do not participate in communicating tasks, people believe that for introverts it is quite difficult to get that proficiency of second language and extroverts can do better in this section as they tend to socialize a lot more. So here we can clearly see that people believe that our personality difference plays a very important role in L2 acquisition and the outcome of learning is definitely affected by one’s personality trait. It is often argued that an extroverted person is well suited to language learning. However, research does not always support this conclusion. Learners’ success in language learning is associated with extroversion such as assertiveness and adventurousness, while others have found that many successful language learners do not get high scores on measures of extroversion.

Motivation
Motivation is a vital think about specifying the readiness of learners to speak. Motivation refers to the mixture of try and want to get the target of learning the language and fascinating attitudes towards learning the language. Our motivation is the most crucial key to acquire any L2. The person who is not motivated enough can never give the effort that is acquired for L2 acquisition. As motivation is the most used and influential concept for explaining the failure or success of a language learner so one needs to have that motivation in terms of acquiring a language that is not mother tongue. The difference in motivation among learners determines whether that person is serious enough about acquiring second language or not.

Gardner and Lambert's (1972) theory of motivation focused on two important motivational constructs; integrative and instrumental motivation. The purpose of the study was to discover the relationship between these two motivational constructs and second language learning success.

There are also differences in motivation level, such as integrative and instrumental motivation. In integrative level the learner actually wishes to learn second language for his own personal growth and cultural enrichment. For example: One person’s father is learning second language for his own growth not that he has to learn or it is compulsory for him.

In instrumental motivation the learner learns L2 for his personal goal like for carrier or study purpose. For example, an employee is asked to learn L2 properly as he needs to make deals with foreign clients and that is why he has this instrumental level of motivation in order to acquire second language.

Attitude
Our attitude towards something defines how we actually see it or are we taking that matter seriously or not. If we are not serious about acquiring second langue and if our attitude towards L2 is not positive. Suppose one person does not like the concept of acquiring any second language and it seems too much of a hard work to him, he just learns just for the sake of learning then that attitude of his is influencing his L2 learning negatively. On the other hand, if someone is positive with learning L2 and has great vision and wants to learn it for better future will tend to learn more faster and his attitude is a positive influence. It is like some children dive right in and are soon paddling around the deep end. Others take their time for it, dipping a toe in the water and gradually venturing out from the shore.

Learning strategy
How one learner chose to use learning strategy shows what sort of learning strategy actually works for him. Same type of learning strategy does not work for everyone and it differs person to person. What is our purpose of learning or what type of strategy works best for us or even our age in terms of L2 acquisition are strongly influenced by our different learning strategies. Language learning designs visit psychological feature variations in learning a second language. Learners from different culture or countries can use different strategies to learn second language. For some learners it is suitable to practice in class and they tend to focus more on grammar and for some learner they need real life experiences or conversations on L2 in order to learn properly. Children learn through imitating and some like taking notes, some learn through inferencing which is guessing meanings by using available information. So what works for one might not work for another person

Difference in Cultural Background
Finally difference in cultural background is the most influential in L2 acquisition. Cultural background is a factor which actually deals with the use of language and communication. We tend to learn more than one language for the satisfaction of communicative needs and also for our academic and professional career. Acquiring a second language requires not only practice but also the need to become familiar with the culture of target language in order to interpret intercultural communication. So, someone from village or slum would not get the view of needing to acquire second language like civilized people do. If our culture is not giving L2 priority then obviously we will not drown into L2 acquisition that much.

Culture cannot be a biological phenomenon but a learned pattern of social behavior to be followed. It is a wonderful and unique phenomenon of human society with colorful diversity always changing its patterns which is the greatest beauty of human society. Culture forms beliefs, conveys ideas, and shares knowledge on customs and values. All of these characteristics are communicated through language which is an integral part of culture (Taga, 1999)

Conclusion
It is very important to consider these factors to explain how these factors influence both the rate/success of learning and the processes involved. In this essay I tried to explain individual differences of learners which influence the second language acquisition process and outcome. The identification and classification of the various individual factors has known to be problematic. The difficulty is that it is not quite possible to observe directly these factors, specially aptitude, motivation and anxiety. Teachers can take student’s individual differences into account and create proper learning environment according to that for them as we all are different and our requirements don’t match as well as learning styles.