UNIT 3 LEARNER FACTORS IN

SECOND LANGUAGE
ACQUISITION - 1
Structure
3.0 Objectives
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Age
3.3 Sex
3.4 Aptitude
3.4.1 What is Aptitude?
3.4.2 Aptitude Measures
3.4.3 Review or Research on Aptitude

3.5 Social Class

3.6 Let Us Sum Up
3.7 Suggested Readings
3.8 Answers

3.0 OBJECTIVES
In second language acquisition the role of learners is of seminal importance.
What are the learner factors which impact language learning? In this Unit we
will study in detail four variables which research has shown have some impact
on second language learning. These are:
 age
 sex
 aptitude
 social class

3.1 INTRODUCTION
The emphasis of theory and practice of second language learning in the late
nineteenth and greater half of the twentieth century was mainly on the behaviourist
ideas of association between stimulus and response. It viewed the human mind
as a blank slate and considered language learning as a mechanical process of
habit formation. The greatest advocate of this view was the American
psychologist B.F Skinner. This view was challenged by the revolutionary ideas
of Noam Chomsky in 1959. He felt that behaviourism simplified the learning
process and underestimated the role of creativity of the human mind. He
asserted the remarkable capacity of the child to “generalize, hypothesize and
process information in a variety of very special, apparently highly complex ways...
41
The Language Learner which may be largely innate, or may develop through some sort of learning
or through maturation of the nervous system (p.158)”. This shift had a tremendous
impact on research in both the first and second language learning. The learner,
rather than the teacher or the materials, became the focus of the study. The
learner began to be viewed as an active participant in the process of teaching-
learning.
In teaching, more and more emphasis began to be given to those exercises
in teaching which would help the learner to induce the language system and
internalise the rules that govern the target language. However, focus on the learner
gradually led researchers such as Widdowson, Morrow and others to look
beyond the linguistic needs to the communication needs of the learners. Another
important consequence of the increasing focus on the learner was that the output
of the learner began to be considered independent of the learner’s first or target
language. This output began to be called ‘transitional competence’ (Corder
1971), ‘approximate system’ (Nemser 1971) and ‘interlanguage’ (Selinker
1972).
This shift from the teacher and the teaching materials to the learner, his/her needs
and his/her linguistic output also led some researchers to look into the learner
characteristics in greater detail and identify those characteristics that appear to
be more responsible for success or failure in second/foreign language learning.
Significant among the learner characteristics identified so far, include the learner’s
age, intelligence, aptitude, motivation, attitude, personality and cognitive style.
In this Unit we will look at: age, sex, aptitude and social class.

3.1 AGE
There has been continuous debate among researchers to decide who is a better
learner − is younger the better or are adult learners at an advantage when it
comes to second language acquisition? Popular beliefs put the younger learner
at an advantage. In the case of acquisition of English as a second language,
“this belief [younger the better] partly accounts for the expansion of English
language teaching to younger and younger children in many parts of the world”
(Hall 2011:126). However, there have been continuous debates among the
researchers on the factor of age in second language acquisition. Penfield (1953)
had argued that the human brain loses its plasticity after puberty. The debate
goes back to Lenneberg’s (1967) Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH) which stated
that maximum learning takes place in the initial years of one’s life before
lateralization of the brain takes place. In his words, “…automatic acquisition
from mere exposure to a given language seems to disappear [after puberty],
and foreign languages have to be taught and learned through a conscious and
labored effort. Foreign accents cannot be overcome easily after puberty.”
(Lenneberg 1967: 176). According to CPH there is a “critical period” for the
acquisition of behaviour, including language acquisition (Lenneberg, 1967). CPH
was formulated on the basis of studies on first language skills of children before
and after brain damage. The children who had suffered brain damage to the
left hemisphere, which is associated with language learning, before and after
the age of 12 were studied. He found a transfer of language abilities to the
right hemisphere in the children who suffered the damage before 12. This
happened rarely in those who were injured after the age of 12. Similar results
were observed by Penfield and Roberts (1959) in their study of children suffering
42
from brain damage. They observed that those children whose brains were Learner Factors in Second
Language Acquisition-1
damaged before the ages of 9 to 12 were able to recover their language skills
successfully but not those whose brains were damaged after puberty. The
hypothesis actually took shape from the studies in L1 acquisition. Another term
for this period is the sensitive period which presupposes a gradual decline in
the ability to acquire language rather than an abrupt decline as espoused by
CPH. The hypothesis pegs the end point at around 12 years of age followed
by a slow and gradual decline.
Some studies comparing adult learners and children have found that the adults
were quick starters, but the children were able to catch up with them soon.
However certain language skills are acquired at a faster rate by children who
obviously seem to have an edge over the adults. Studies have shown that children
are better in acquiring a native-like accent which could be attributed to motor
skills. It is argued that “late learners may face neurological or motor skill
constraints, such as entrenched articulatory habits or restricted perceptual targets
for phonetic categories, that render the possibility of native like attainment highly
unlikely or impossible” (Moyer 1999: 82 in Gass and Selinker 2008: 407). Other
studies have shown that native-like competence can be achieved even by people
past puberty and that hasty conclusions cannot be drawn about age in second
language acquisition.
Studies (Brown, 2007 and Cook, 2008) state that adult learners tend to learn
and retain vocabulary better than children. However, the evidence in favour of
a particular age for the acquisition of language remains largely inconclusive and
highly debatable. “Age may exert universal effects on the learning of a second
language, but context moderates these universal effects and needs to be
considered carefully” (Ortega 2009: 17). We have to keep in mind the other
social and psychological factors that may interfere with second language
acquisition along with age.
Gass and Selinker (2008: 412) after the review of many studies conclude that
…the evidence indicates that young children are more likely to attain native-
like proficiency in a second language than are teenagers or adults. Nevertheless,
adults often learn certain parts of a new language more quickly (e.g., early
morphological and syntactic development). The evidence is much more solid
for an advantage for children in the acquisition of phonology, although there
is some support for an advantage in other areas of language as well.
To quote Cook (1991)
The sum up, if children and adults are compared who are learning a second
language in exactly the same way, whether as immigrants to Holland, or by
the same method in the Classroom, adults are better. The apparent superiority
of adults in such controlled research may mean that the typical situations in
which children find themselves are better suited to L2 learning than those adults
encounter. Age itself is not as important as the different interaction that learners
of different ages have with the situations and with other people.
(Cook, 1991: 84)
He further adds
Adults start more quickly and then slow down. Though children start more slowly,
they finish up at a higher level.
(Cook, 1991:85) 43
The Language Learner Thus, the researchers working on the importance of age in second language
learning have shown that age is an important learner characteristic and therefore
it cannot he ignored in deciding when to start teaching a second language. It
is equally important to find out what materials and teaching style/strategies would
be suitable for a particular age group in a specific learning situation.
Check Your Progress 1
1. Why according to some researchers, should a second/foreign language be
taught at an early age?
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
2. In what aspects of language are children found to excel more than adults?
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
3. Does language acquisition after puberty always occur through the left
hemisphere of the brain? Yes/No. In what circumstances does it take place
through the right hemisphere?
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
4. Who in the long run performs better, a child or an adult?
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
5. In what way is the research on ‘age’ relevant for the classroom teacher?
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
6. In your class, what is the average age of starting to learn English? Do
you think it has any effect on their performance in class?
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
44 ...............................................................................................................
 Learner Factors in Second
3.3 SEX Language Acquisition-1

Sex difference has been considered an important aspect of second language

acquisition. It is part of one’s psychological and sociocultural dimensions of
personality. Sex began to be considered a sociolinguistic variable especially after
the influential studies by Labov (1972) and Trudgill (1974). Research has pointed
towards a ‘typical pattern’ whereby women tended to score more closely to
the standard prestige variant compared to the scores of men (Downes, 1998).
Many sociolinguistic studies have considered sex as an important variable in
the study of linguistic proficiency. Studies conducted by Labov (1966) and
Trudgill (1972, 1974) show women scored closer to the ‘standard prestige
variant’ than men. In a patriarchal society women have been excluded from
centers of power and wealth. As a result, they try to compensate and ‘over
report’ by performing better than men. The ‘prestige variant’ of language is seen
as a marker of status and power and women being denied the other markers
of power and prestige turn to language as their status marker.
According to Trudgill, it is because women try to compensate for their insecurity
in a male-dominated world that they perform better linguistically. Also, the social
construct of feminity expects women to be gentle, polite and discreet. This in
turn gets reflected on the use of ‘appropriate’ language among women.
Popular belief also favours women over men in the acquisition of a language.
This could be because of the society and culture which expects them to be
behaving in a particular manner and inculcate social norms and mores in
their children as a carrier of culture. Such behaviour in a woman is
rewarded and reinforced by society. Other follow ups of variationist studies
which quantify gender (Macaulay, 1978; Shuy, 1970; Wolfram, 1969 in Mesthrie
et al., 2009) have found a statistical spike in women’s use of ‘prestige’ variants
of language. These early studies were straightforward with binary gender
distinctions and do not emphasize diversity among women and men (Mesthrie
et al., 2009: 240).
Recent studies see gender as a fluid term and study it against various contexts
that dynamically underlie social and cultural interaction using language. The issues
of inequality, power, identity and status are contested and examined in the light
of socio-economic and cultural underpinnings. While commenting on the studies
of Milroy, Nichols, and Thomas, Mesthrie et al., (2009: 221) say, “in order
to understand gender differences in language it is important to look at women’s
and men’s lifestyles in different communities: whom they interact with, and what
might motivate them to adopt certain varieties.” The choice of a particular variety
of language over others is also suggestive of an ‘act of identity’ by women.
There are other notable studies on gender and language that need to be
mentioned here. Lakoff’s (1975) ‘Deficit Hypothesis’ states that women’s
language is lacking in several aspects and the way they speak keeps them away
from centres of power. Zimmerman and West (1975) look upon the aspect
of ‘Dominance’ in the use of language among men and women. They argue
that men use language to dominate and interrupt women while conversing. Pamela
Fishman (1983) posits that women tend to show more cooperation and interest
in their conversations with people. Another school of thought (Maltz and Borker
1982; Tannen 1990) considers the language of men and women as belonging
to Different ‘gender subcultures’ and as a result their use of language also differ. 45
The Language Learner However, the works of Deborah Cameron (1995a, 1995b, 2006, and 2007)
challenges the Differences hypothesis and questions these popular beliefs. These
are all instances of how language is used as a tool to negotiate one’s identity
in a society charged with economic, sexual, political and cultural overtones.
Indian studies (Sawhney, 1980; Khanna, 1983 and Agnihotri et al., 1988) have
found boys to be more proficient in English. However, it should be noted that
these data were obtained from lower economic strata and it is bound to reflect
the better exposure and opportunities enjoyed by the boys in society. Studies
conducted among the elite urban population of Delhi showed women to be better
performers (Sahgal, 1983). In a study of Panjabi migrant children in England
learning English as a second language, Agnihotri (1979) showed that girls
assimilated the prestige linguistic variants faster than the boys while resisting the
stigmatised variants. Another researcher, Satyanath (1982) found that Kannadiga
women in Delhi showed a higher percentage of assimilation of linguistic features
associated with Hindi (the language of the host society) and a higher degree
of usage than men. He found that younger women assimilated the host society’s
language and culture maximally. Unlike Trudgill (1974) who considered social
insecurity to be responsible for higher use of prestige forms, Satyanath explained
this in terms of the sociocultural aspects of the Kannadiga community in which
women negotiate a greater part of the interaction with the host society.
Check Your Progress 2
1. Who, according to research, are better language learners, boys or girls?
Why?
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
2. Have you ever consciously tried to notice any difference in language learning
habits of girls and boys? Make a list of the differences. If you have not
noticed these things before, observe 2-3 boys and 2-3 girls in your class
for a month or so, and make a list of differences in their learning habits.
Also take a note of what language features each of the sexes tries to learn
faster than the other.
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
3. Who are better performers in your class? Girls or boys? What do you
think propels their performance in English?
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
46
 Learner Factors in Second
3.4 APTITUDE Language Acquisition-1

3.4.1 What is Aptitude?

Aptitude for a particular job or skill is the ability to learn it quickly and
easily and to do it well. What people generally call a ‘knack for languages’
is nothing but aptitude for languages. But it is very difficult to determine
what this knack is. It is certainly more than ‘having an ear’ for languages
because everyone learns his/her first language.
It is popularly believed that some people have more aptitude for learning
second languages than others. This observation has generally been made in
connection with classroom learning, and not learning in real-life situations.

3.4.2 Aptitude Measures

The two best known measures of FL (foreign language) aptitude for native
speakers of English are the Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT)
developed by Carroll and Sapon (1959) and the Pimsleur Language Aptitude
Battery (PLAB) (1966). MLAT incorporates four main factors that predict
a student’s success in the classroom. This consists of
(i) phonemic coding ability: student’s ability to use phonetic scripts to
distinguish phonemes in the language.
(ii) grammatical sensitivity: student’s ability to pick out grammatical functions
in a sentence.
(iii) inductive language learning ability: student’s ability to generalise patterns
from one sentence to another.
(iv) rote learning: student’s ability to remember vocabulary lists of foreign
words paired with translations.
There are several slightly different forms of MLAT available. The MLAT
itself is for use with people of 14 years of age and above. There is also
an elementary form (EMLAT) for use with children between the ages of
eight and eleven. There is also a short form of the test for use when the
time is limited.
Pimsleur Language Aptitude Battery (LAB) is appropriate for children aged
13 to 19. It emphasises inductive language learning capacity and auditory
ability. Pimsleur et. al (1966) suggested that 20 to 30 per cent of children
underachieve in foreign language learning because they have poor auditory
ability.

3.4.3 Review or Research on Aptitude

Most research in language aptitude since then has been either in validation
of the existing tests, or developing aptitude batteries for use in particular countries.
For instance, the York Language Analysis Test has been developed and has
been widely used in Britain. The most important research aimed at the production
of a new test battery has been carried out by the American Armed Forces.
This was the result of dissatisfaction felt with MLAT for not being able to
discriminate at higher levels. Another type of research has examined the
component for aptitude in greater depth. Skehan (1980 - 1982) examined the
memory component in detail. He hypothesized that an ability to analyse text, 47
The Language Learner to extract its propositional content and remember such content would be related
to greater foreign language learning success (Skehan 19139: 31). Jakobovits
(1970) suggested that sub-contents of foreign language aptitude may be exploited
usefully in foreign language teaching. The teacher who has the information about
the aptitude of his/her students can modify his/her instructional materials
accordingly. This information can also be used to stream students into different
classes with different goals. It can also help to advise students whether s/he
should set a particular target in a given time frame.
Check Your Progress 3
1. What are the implications of aptitude research for classroom teaching?
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................

3.5 SOCIAL CLASS

William Labov had included Class as one of the sociolinguistic variables which
had potential to influence second language acquisition (Labov 1966, 1972).
Social class was decided on the basis of education, income and occupation.
Labov’s study showed a correlation between social class and language. However,
class alone is not to be considered as a reason for variation in second language
acquisition.
“It should not be assumed that to relate language variation to a social variable,
such as social class, is to explain language variation as being caused by social
class variation. There are several reasons for this caution, the chief of which
is that there may be many aspects of social behaviour that are not accounted
for in a single social variable, and also underlying social factors that are subsumed
under such a label as ‘social class’ (such as educational level) which may
sometimes yield more precise correlations than the main composite variable (in
this case social class)” (Milroy and Milroy 1997: 53-54 in McKay 2005: 293).
Research on social class as a factor in second language acquisition is scarce
and far between (Block, 2014). We find some reference to social class in recent
research in Ellis (2008), Ortega (2009), and Block (2010, 2012 and 2014).
However, social class has not received the importance it should have, in the
field of language acquisition. A learner’s socio-economic status could influence
his/her attitudes and motivation for learning a second language. In the Indian
context, English is seen as social-leveller and for a person from a lower socio-
economic status, the attainment of English could be his/her goal of ‘ideal self’.

3.6 LET US SUM UP

After reading this unit, do you get a better idea of the factors which affect
the language learning potential of your students? Because, in this unit, we have
cited research on some learner variables which affect language learning/
acquisition. This includes factors such as age, sex, aptitude and social class.
Does your experience in the classroom corroborate the research findings? Do
write and tell us at IGNOU.
48
 Learner Factors in Second
3.7 SUGGESTED READINGS Language Acquisition-1

Burstall, C. 1975. ‘Factors affecting foreign language learning: a consideration

of some recent research findings’. Language Teaching and Linguistics: Abstracts
8.1: 5-21.
Chomsky, N. 1959. ‘Review of Skinner’s verbal behaviour’. In Jakobovits, L.A.
and Mixon, M.S. eds. 1967. Readings in the Psychology of Language. New
Jersey: Prentice Hall (originally published in Language 35: 26-58)
Cook, V. 1991. Second Language Learning and Language teaching. London:
Edward Arnold.
Jakobovits, L.A. 1970. Foreign Language Learning: A Psycholinguistic Analysis
of the Issues. Rowley, Mass: Newbury House.
Lenneberg, E.H. 1967. The Biological Foundation of Language. New York:
Wiley.
Seliger, H.W. 1978. ‘Implication of multiple critical hypothesis for second
language learning’. In Ritchie, W.C. ed. Second Language Acquisition Research.
New York: Academic Press.
Skehan, P. 1989. Individual Differences in Second-language Learning. London
Edward Arnold.
Whitaker, H.A. 1978. ‘Bilingualism: A Neuro-Linguistic Perspective’. In Ritchie,
W.C. ed. Second Language Acquisition Research Issues and Implications. New
York: Academic Press.

3.8 ANSWERS
Check Your Progress 1
1 Read 3.2 for the answer. However, here are some suggestions:
- greater plasticity of the brain associated with small children which
makes them better language learners than older people (Penfield, 1953)
- lateralization makes the brain function to become specialized in early
teens. Therefore, language learning is best carried out before the outset
of puberty. The adult’s abstract thinking process interferes with natural
language learning process.
- adults lack the same pressure motivations and attitudes that children
have with regard to second language acquisition/learning.
2 Pronunciation of the second language.
3 Yes. In case there is an injury to the left hemisphere.
4 Evidence shows that adults start more quickly and than slow down. Children
start more slowly, but finish up at a higher level.
5 For finding out suitable materials and teaching/learning strategies for each
age group.
6 Do it yourself. 49
The Language Learner Check Your Progress 2
Look at 3.3 for the answer. Here are some points which you could consider.
1 Generally girls are better language learners than boys because of
- social insecurity which increases the pressure on them to use the more
correct forms. (Trudgill, 1974: Agnihotri 1979)
- greater interaction with the host society (Satyanath, 1982)
2 Do it yourself.
3 Do it yourself.
Check Your Progress 3
1 The teacher who has some information on the aptitude of her students can
- modify instructional materials accordingly
- stream students into different classes with different goals.
- advise students on their goals and the time-frame they would require
to achieve it.

50