University of Puerto Rico in Humacao English Department

Theoretical Model

Samantha Rodrguez Dr. Nilsa Lugo Coln Language Acquisition Ingl 4325

Samantha Rodriguezs Mountain Hike Theory

What does it take to learn a second language? We all think that in order to acquire a second language we simply must dedicate a lot of our time to practicing it and we must be motivated enough to never stop trying and improving. Easier said than done I might say. Its been proven that this process is so much more complex and requires so much more effort from the language learners part that it affects us in every way, shape and form, we just dont stop to realize it. However, everyone has something in common in regards to a successful language acquisition process, this so happens to ironically be our differences. For starters, language alone is an extremely intricate and complicated skill to develop, none the less master. We have to start from the bottom up, for this very reason, we should instead concentrate on the smaller branches that lead towards the broad concept of language by trying to learn how to pronounce sounds, construct sentences, communicate effectively, etc. These are the basic skills required to put yourself out there and commence your process of second language acquisition. In other words, we cant set our standards too high because there is no way that someone could acquire or master an entire language from one day to the next, it happens naturally with time as we learn from mistakes and take risks. No one is perfect when it comes to language but some people can have more developed skills in one area than another just as you can. An example of this could be if I am fully capable of correctly pronouncing a word but incapable of using the word correctly in a sentence whereas, a classmate of mine could have the opposite abilities. Therefore, we can help each other out in the areas we seem to be lacking in. As far as the nature of language learning goes, it takes a lot of hard work because you must completely give in to any target language emotionally, mentally and physically in order to succeed. In

case you havent noticed throughout the years, every single one of our linguistic accomplishments since we were infants until now, depend on our very unique and distinct experiences and attributes such as our personality, thinking process, cultural background and learning style. In order for us to progress, that is if we truly desire to, we must include our characteristics in every learning process so that we can really acquire the knowledge we are provided with in a way that suits us best and makes us feel most comfortable. These traits and prior experiences that vary in each person could be strategically used to our advantage; we just have to figure out a way to mold them together in such a manner that every time we are in a learning environment, we automatically know how to receive the message so that we can fully comprehend it and relate to it. In order to further explain how people can acquire a second language, I decided on including the major characteristics of all three schools of thought in my theoretical model. I strongly believe that the behaviorist, cognitive and constructivist theories work hand in hand and under no circumstance should they be parted. In my opinion, all three can help children acquire a language because they provide the student with a well rounded or complete way of learning which would prevent them from feeling like something is missing and allow them to reach their fullest potential. With that said, both behaviorist and functional approaches fit my model. The first school of thought that I chose for my theoretical model was behaviorism because I think that the best way to observe academic excellence and good behavior in students is through verbal o materialistic forms of positive reinforcement. I believe that if students do well in activities, behave and come to class regularly, they should earn rewards such as stickers or good behavior certificates, etc. This will most definitely boost their self esteem, make them feel proud of themselves and their hard work and also motivate them to continue putting all their effort in doing well in class. The second school of thought which is cognitive, was included in my model as well because I think that every teachers objective should be to teach material in a meaningful way instead of obligating their students to memorize information that they will use temporarily and eventually discard from their memory. Students should be given assignments, projects and educational material that they

can relate to, analyze, link to their prior knowledge and will ultimately enjoy so that the information that they do retain will stick with them as they grow older. As a future teacher, I know that I will completely avoid this from being a habit of mine. I remember when I was in elementary school thinking to myself that people probably think Im smarter than I really am. I used to ask myself, who cant memorize? It is so easy. Now I look back at this moment and I realize that I knew the difference between rote learning and meaningful learning at an early age. To me, this is sad reality. Teachers still use this teaching method and dont realize the harm it causes their students. Another important goal of a teacher who uses cognitive psychology in their teaching should be to search for the underlying factors that cause a particular behavior in a human being (Brown, H. D. (-). Fifth Edition Principles of Language Learning and Teaching: San Francisco, California: Pearson and Longman) on page 12. Being able to identify this factor in children can help teachers help students do better in a second language acquisition class. The last school of thought, being constructivist, was added to my project because I am completely aware of the importance of allowing students to explore subjects individually and discover what their opinion towards the subject is. This pretty much gives students the freedom to learn on their own and give this information meaning. Students that are part of a class that emphasizes on constructivism also experience a lot of interaction with people so that they can learn with the help of others. A last point I would like to make about the constructivist school of thought is that in certain theories, the teacher must be as kind, nurturing and empathetic as possible to win the trust of his or her students so they dont feel threatened by any means nor hesitant towards the language acquisition process. I think that this is extremely necessary due to the fact that a lot of students tend to close themselves off for various reasons and it should be a priority of teachers to bring down that wall and help the student do better. I believe that due to the description of my model above, I am confirming that my theoretical model is based on cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills because all three schools of thought are incorporated as well. My model could very well integrate the four language arts and technology

because my teaching theory specifies that students need to be provided appropriate material for their ages, that is of interest to them and permits them to work on their own which should be considered when books, textbooks, audio and computer programs are selected. With this simple criterion in mind, students will get more involved, enjoy the learning process and ignite their desire to at least attempt to read, write, listen and speak in the target language. The child should always be the main focus. Other variables that must be taken under consideration are those of age, personality, learning styles and socio-cultural factors which could affect my theoretical model. Starting with age, students who go through puberty are said to experience more difficulty acquiring a second language, unlike younger children. Inhibitions also could be somewhat of a threat because pre-teens start fearing failure and avoid participating. Negative attitudes and peer pressure could also sabotage the theoretical model because they find the class too difficult or children start feeling bad because other students do better than them in the class. As far as learning styles go, students who are ambiguity intolerant make things more difficult because these students tend to prefer not being corrected, which prevents learning from taking place and the consequences of this bad trait are plummeting grades. A personality factor such as low self esteem will definitely keep students from actively participating in my class because they are not sufficiently confident in themselves to defend their way of thinking or expressing themselves. Finally, social distance is a big problem because when our culture is too different compared to another, students build a barrier between themselves and classmates or teachers due to difficulty in communication and culture shock. As a support or foundation, I have used three very important theorists to design my model around. These theorists are named B. F. Skinner, David Ausubel and Carl Rogers. Skinners Operant Conditioning theory is included in my model because he believed that through reinforcement, behavior is corrected and the possibility of seeing this happen on another occasion was a sure thing. Therefore, in order to receive the behavior you expect, constant reinforcement is necessary. This idea is clearly stated in the following manner: According to Skinner, the events or stimuli-the reinforcers- that follow a response and that tend to strengthen behavior or increase the probability of a recurrence of that

response constitute a powerful force in the control of human behavior (Brown, H. D. (-). Fifth Edition Principles of Language Learning and Teaching: San Francisco, California: Pearson and Longman) on page 89. The second theory I based my model on is Ausubels Subsumption theory because is support his thoughts on rote and meaningful learning. To me, rote learning is simply a waste of time because children are being taught material that they cannot relate to and have neither meaning nor connection with their prior knowledge. Meaningful learning is the complete opposite and it either stays

permanently in students memory or sticks with them for a long time before they eventually forget it. A good summary of this theory is found in the Language Acquisition course textbook on page 91 where it says: Rote learning involves the mental storage of items having little or no association with existing cognitive structure. On the other hand, meaningful learning, or subsumption, may be

described as a process of relating and anchoring new material to relevant established entities in cognitive structure. (Brown, H. D. (-). Fifth Edition Principles of Language Learning and Teaching: San Francisco, California: Pearson and Longman). The last theory that I used as inspiration to create my model is Rogers Humanistic Psychology theory because of its overall objective. I liked the fact that his theory requires a teacher to be more understanding, empathetic and nurturing towards his or her students. This theory also requires the teachers to try to create an atmosphere where the student does not feel threatened in any way. Rogers believes that if the students surroundings and affective filter are just right, the student will open up and be willing to learn. A description of this theory is provided on page 97: Rogers studied the whole person as a physical and cognitive, but primarily emotional, being. His formal principles focused on the development of an individuals self-concept and of his or her personal sense of reality, those internal forces that cause a person to act. Rogers felt that inherent in principles of behavior is the ability of human beings to adapt and to grow in the direction that enhances their existence. Given a nonthreatening environment, a person will form a picture of reality that is indeed congruent with reality and will grow and learn (Brown, H. D. (-). Fifth Edition Principles of Language Learning and Teaching: San Francisco, California: Pearson and Longman).

Skinners, Asubels and Rogerss theories have all been noticeably effective due to the different ways they are incorporated in methodologies and or proven to be successful through studies. B.F. Skinners Operant Conditioning was the inspiration for the creation of the methodology called The Audiolingual Method in the 1950s. This methodology was used to teach U.S. military soldiers language skills during World War II. Many of the characteristics of the Audiolingual Method are harsh but as I read each one, I noticed that in some instances, soldiers were given positive reinforcement for successfully accomplishing some activities. On the other hand, Ausubels Subsumption theory was proven effective by Mayer in the year 2003 when studies showed that his advanced organizers worked best when the person had no prior knowledge of a specific subject. An advance organizer becomes the students prior knowledge before learning the new material Advance organizers are also highly useful in the process of transferring knowledge. Because of the deductive reasoning, students are able to use the rule then the example for learning to occur" (Author unknown (modified in 2010). Advanced Organizers. Retrieved from http://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.php/Advance_organizers). Rogerss

Humanistic Psychology was used as inspiration for a methodology as well, this one was called Community Language Learning and was created in the year 1972. This teaching method also requires the teacher to be more of a counselor than a teacher and create a stress free classroom atmosphere and be friendlier with his or her students. These three theories could help students in so many ways and apply to so many situations that I happened to use their theories in a case study that was presented in my Language Acquisition course. The case study number was five and it was about a five year old girl named Maria that came from Greece that moved to the United States without having any language skills in the English language. Both of Marinas parents are currently students at a university and only her father knows very basic words in English. At home, Marina is rewarded a sticker for watching a half an hour of television in the English language daily. She is not allowed to play outside but she likes playing with her 9 year old sister named Alesia. Marinas mother also buys her books in English to read. She is usually always home reading a book or practicing her writing skills. However, she doesnt get practice in

communication because her parents refuse to speak it because they are not confident in it at all. In class, Marina is solitary because she cant communicate with children her age. After analyzing this case study, I realized that this story incorporates Skinners Operant Conditioning theory because she is pretty much bribed into watching television and reading books in the English language instead of being taught that watching TV and reading in the target language is fun and cool. We can also see that the positive reinforcement is eliminated as well because she is not allowed to play outside when it is apparent that it may be her pastime. Little do her parents know that now Ausubels Subsumption theory is applicable because if we really think about it, Marina might as well be sitting on the coach doing nothing since she doesnt understand a word that is being said on the TV. This is clearly an example of rote learning. This case study also applies to Rogers Humanistic Psychology because at the very end, it is apparent that Marinas teacher is trying to create an unthreatening learning environment and she is acting very empathetic towards Marinas situation. All three of the theorists with their respective theories are clearly represented in my model because they are main points that I felt obligated to highlight in my graph because I found myself in full agreement with their professional opinions. To conclude, this theoretical model project has allowed me to reflect on what theories I think would best suit me as a teacher in the future and I am very appreciative to have had the opportunity to do this. I had no idea that so many factors had to be considered to be able to comprehend why a student might experience difficulty in the process of acquiring a second language. Now, I have a better understanding of everything it takes to be able to acquire a second language and what it takes to be able to actually teach a student a second language.

Second Language Acquisition

Positive Reinforcement

Rote Learning

Meaningful Learning

Non threatening Environment

Skinners Operant Conditioning theory

Asubels Subsumption theory

Rogers Humanistic Psychology theory

Behaviorist: Rewards for good behavior and effort

Cognitive: Material for analyzing, link to prior knowledge and of interest

Constructivist: Explore subject, discover opinion, give information meaning, and interact with others to acquire knowledge

I chose the title and graph for my theoretical model to be three joined mountains because they symbolize the struggle one goes through to achieve our goal which in this case is to acquire a second language and is represented as the sun. The dark colors of the mountains represent importance and for me the most important thing to add in my model were the theorists theories. The black arrows that start from the bottom of the mountain and point to the sun symbolize what is necessary to be able to acquire a second language (the answer is in the box). The shadows of the mountains were simply used for visual impact. The red arrow and box simbolize what keeps us from improving and finally, the green patches of grass include the three schools of thought that apply to each mountain with some of the things we must provide to students to succeed.

References
1. Brown, H. D. (-). Fifth Edition Principles of Language Learning and Teaching: San Francisco, California: Pearson and Longman page 12. 2. Brown, H. D. (-). Fifth Edition Principles of Language Learning and Teaching: San Francisco, California: Pearson and Longman page 89. 3. Brown, H. D. (-). Fifth Edition Principles of Language Learning and Teaching: San Francisco, California: Pearson and Longman page 91. 4. Brown, H. D. (-). Fifth Edition Principles of Language Learning and Teaching: San Francisco, California: Pearson and Longman page 97 5. (Author unknown (modified in 2010). Advanced Organizers. Retrieved from
http://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.php/Advance_organizers).