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##  Contextual Factors in Second Language Acquisition. ERIC Digest.              

While many discussions about learning a second language focus on                teaching methodologies, little emphasis is given to the contextual              factors-individual, social, and societal-that affect students'                  learning. These contextual factors can be considered from the                   perspective of the language, the learner, and the learning process.             This digest discusses these perspectives as they relate to learning             any second language, with a particular focus on how they affect                 adolescent learners of English as a second                                      language. LANGUAGESeveral factors related to students' first              and second languages shape their second language learning. These                factors include the linguistic distance between the two languages,              students' level of proficiency in the native language and their                 knowledge of the second language, the dialect of the native language            spoken by the students (i.e., whether it is standard or                         nonstandard), the relative status of the students' language in the              community, and societal attitudes toward the students' native                   language. 
"Language Distance." Specific languages can be more or              less difficult to learn, depending on how different from or similar             they are to the languages the learner already knows. At the Defense             Language Institute in Monterey, California, for example, languages              are placed in four categories depending on their average learning               difficulty from the perspective of a native English speaker. The                basic intensive language course, which brings a student to an                   intermediate level, can be as short as 24 weeks for languages such              as Dutch or Spanish, which are Indo European languages and use the              same writing system as English, or as long as 65 weeks for languages            such as Arabic, Korean, or Vietnamese, which are members of other               language families and use different writing systems. 
"Native                  language proficiency." The student's level of proficiency in the                native language-including not only oral language and literacy, but              also metalinguistic development, training in formal and academic                features of language use, and knowledge of rhetorical patterns and              variations in genre and style-affects acquisition of a second                   language. The more academically sophisticated the student's native              language knowledge and abilities, the easier it will be for that                student to learn a second language. This helps explain why foreign              exchange students tend to be successful in American high school                 classes: They already have high school level proficiency in their               native language. 
"Knowledge of the second language." Students'                prior knowledge of the second language is of course a significant               factor in their current learning. High school students learning                 English as a second language in a U.S. classroom may possess skills             ranging from conversational fluency acquired from contacts with the             English-speaking world to formal knowledge obtained in English as a             foreign language classes in their countries of origin. The extent               and type of prior knowledge is an essential consideration in                    planning instruction. For example, a student with informal                      conversational English skills may have little understanding of                  English grammatical systems and may need specific instruction in                English grammar. 
"Dialect and register." Learners may need to                 learn a dialect and a formal register in school that are different              from those they encounter in their daily lives. This involves                   acquiring speech patterns that may differ significantly from those              they are familiar with and value as members of a particular social              group or speech community. 
"Language status." Consideration of                dialects and registers of a language and of the relationships                   between two languages includes the relative prestige of different               languages and dialects and of the cultures and ethnic groups                    associated with them. Students whose first language has a low status            vis a vis the second may lose their first language, perhaps feeling             they have to give up their own linguistic and cultural background to            join the more prestigious society associated with the target                    language. 
"Language attitudes." Language attitudes in the learner,            the peer group, the school, the neighborhood, and society at large              can have an enormous effect on the second language learning process,            both positive and negative. It is vital that teachers and students              examine and understand these attitudes. In particular, they need to             understand that learning a second language does not mean giving up              one's first language or dialect. Rather, it involves adding a new               language or dialect to one's repertoire. 
This is true even for                students engaged in formal study of their first language. For                   example, students in Spanish for native speakers classes may feel               bad when teachers tell them that the ways they speak Spanish are not            right. Clearly, this is an issue of dialect difference. School (in              this case, classroom Spanish) requires formal registers and standard            dialects, while conversation with friends and relatives may call for            informal registers and nonstandard dialects. If their ways of                   talking outside of school are valued when used in appropriate                   contexts, students are more likely to be open to learning a new                 language or dialect, knowing that the new discourses will expand                their communicative repertoires rather than displace their familiar             ways of communicating. THE LEARNERStudents come from diverse              backgrounds and have diverse needs and goals. With adolescent                   language learners, factors such as peer pressure, the presence of               role models, and the level of home support can strongly affect the              desire and ability to learn a second language. 
"Diverse needs"  A             basic educational principle is that new learning should be based on             prior experiences and existing skills. Although this principle is               known and generally agreed upon by educators, in practice it is                 often overshadowed by the administrative convenience of the linear              curriculum and the single textbook. Homogeneous curricula and                   materials are problematic enough if all learners are from a single              language and cultural background, but they are indefensible given               the great diversity in today's classrooms. Such diversity requires a            different conception of curricula and a different approach to                   materials. Differentiation and individualization are not a luxury in            this context: They are a necessity. 
"Diverse goals." Learners'                goals may determine how they use the language being learned, how                native-like their pronunciation will be, how lexically elaborate and            grammatically accurate their utterances will be, and how much energy            they will expend to understand messages in the target language.                 Learners' goals can vary from wholly integrative-the desire to                  assimilate and become a full member of the English-speaking world-to            primarily instrumental-oriented toward specific goals such as                   academic or professional success (Gardner, 1989). Educators working             with English language learners must also consider whether the                   communities in which their students live, work, and study accept                them, support their efforts, and offer them genuine English-learning            opportunities. 
"Peer groups." Teenagers tend to be heavily                    influenced by their peer groups. In second language learning, peer              pressure often undermines the goals set by parents and teachers.                Peer pressure often reduces the desire of the student to work toward            native pronunciation, because the sounds of the target language may             be regarded as strange. For learners of English as a second                     language, speaking like a native speaker may unconsciously be                   regarded as a sign of no longer belonging to their native-language              peer group. In working with secondary school students, it is                    important to keep these peer influences in mind and to foster a                 positive image for proficiency in a second language. 
"Role                    models." Students need to have positive and realistic role models               who demonstrate the value of being proficient in more than one                  language. It is also helpful for students to read literature about              the personal experiences of people from diverse language and dialect            backgrounds. Through discussions of the challenges experienced by               others, students can develop a better understanding of their own                challenges. 
"Home support." Support from home is very important               for successful second language learning. Some educators believe that            parents of English language learners should speak only English in               the home (see, e.g., recommendations made in Rodriguez, 1982).                  However, far more important than speaking English is that parents               value both the native language and English, communicate with their              children in whichever language is most comfortable, and show support            for and interest in their children's progress. THE LEARNING                   PROCESSWhen we think of second language development as a                    learning process, we need to remember that different students have              different learning styles, that intrinsic motivation aids learning,             and that the quality of classroom interaction matters a great                   deal. 
"Learning styles." Research has shown that individuals vary             greatly in the ways they learn a second language (Skehan, 1989).                Some learners are more analytically oriented and thrive on picking              apart words and sentences. Others are more globally oriented,                   needing to experience overall patterns of language in meaningful                contexts before making sense of the linguistic parts and forms. Some            learners are more visually oriented, others more geared to                      sounds. 
"Motivation." According to Deci and Ryan (1985), intrinsic            motivation is related to basic human needs for competence, autonomy,            and relatedness. Intrinsically motivated activities are those that              the learner engages in for their own sake because of their value,               interest, and challenge. Such activities present the best possible              opportunities for learning. 
"Classroom interaction." Language                 learning does not occur as a result of the transmission of facts                about language or from a succession of rote memorization drills. It             is the result of opportunities for meaningful interaction with                  others in the target language. Therefore, lecturing and recitation              are not the most appropriate modes of language use in the second                language classroom. Teachers need to move toward more richly                    interactive language use, such as that found in instructional                   conversations (Tharp & Gallimore, 1988) and collaborative classroom             work (Adger, Kalyanpur, Peterson, & Bridger,                                    1995). CONCLUSIONWhile this digest has focused on the second              language acquisition process from the perspective of the language,              the learner, and the learning process, it is important to point out             that the larger social and cultural contexts of second language                 development have a tremendous impact on second language learning,               especially for immigrant students. The status of students' ethnic               groups in relation to the larger culture can help or hinder the                 acquisition of the language of mainstream                                       society. REFERENCESAdger, C., Kalyanpur, M., Peterson, D., &              Bridger, T. (1995). "Engaging students: Thinking, talking,                      cooperating." Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin. 
Deci, E.L., & Ryan,                  R.M. (1985). "Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human              behavior." New York: Plenum. 
Gardner, H. (1989). "To open minds:              Chinese clues to the dilemma of contemporary education." New York:              Basic. 
Rodriguez, R. (1982). "Hunger of memory: The education of              Richard Rodriguez, an autobiography." Toronto: Bantam. 
Skehan,                P. (1989). "Individual differences in second-language learning."                London: Edward Arnold. 
Tharp, R.G., & Gallimore,                              R. (1988). "Rousing minds to life: Teaching, learning, and school in            social context." New York: Cambridge University Press. 
This digest            is drawn from "Access and Engagement: Program Design and                        Instructional Approaches for Immigrant Students in Secondary                    Schools," by Aida Walqui, the fourth volume in the Topics in                    Immigrant Education series. 
This publication was prepared with                funding from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement,                U.S. Department of Education. The ideas and opinions expressed in               the Digest do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of              OERI, ED, or the Clearinghouse.  This Digest is in the public domain            and may be freely reproduced.                                                **Title:** Contextual Factors in Second Language Acquisition. ERIC Digest.              **Document Type:** Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs) (071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073); **Available From:** ERIC/CLL, 4646 40th Street NW, Washington, DC 20016-1859. Tel:                  800-276-9834 (Toll Free); Web site: http://www.cal.org/ericcll.              **Descriptors:** Cognitive Style,  Context Effect, English (Second Language), Family             Environment, High School Students, High Schools,  Individual                    Differences, Language Attitudes, Language Proficiency, Language                 Variation, Learning Motivation,  Learning Processes, Second Language            Instruction,  Second Language Learning,  Social Influences                   **Identifiers:** ERIC Digests, Native Language                                                
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