Factors Affecting Acquisition of a New Target Language

The factors mentioned below are indeed intricately interrelated and interdependent. Which factors hold more influence over others for any one ESOL learner is as variable as the variables themselves ......but influential they are on new language acquisition.

The more one knows about the ESOL learner and the more accurately one perceives and supports identified strengths and gaps, the more likely it is that a ESOL learner will be able to move quickly and successfully into acquisition of English, if that is the new target language.

The following important variables influence the rate and degree of spoken and written language acquisition.

The strength of oracy and literacy in first language/s

• The ease with which a student learns a new language depends on how strong the student is orally in the first language and the extent and depth of literacy development of the student's first language.
• Identifying strengths and gaps in the first language/s, or the language of most use, whether a younger or older learner, is important in order to anticipate what might be supportive for or problematic to the learner when learning English.

Previous education

• If the learner has had consistent formal educational provisions and chances, especially of high quality, this stands him / her in strong stead when learning in and through English within the new formal educational settings.

The similarities and differences of the first language/s or strongest language to English

• sounds
• structure and directionality of words, sentences
• script
• cultural/conceptual framework

  Where the first language/s of the learner is close in language family to English, there is less demand on the learner - there are more commonalities to recognise in the new language and guessing is more likely to be fruitful...... the more distant in language family relationship from first language to English, the more demand on the learner.

Extent of parent education

• Parental input into literacy and into general and specialist knowledge, especially in formal educational areas, offers significant support to the student and is an important factor of influence.

Extent of parental support and stability of home (including economic circumstances)

• Attitudes towards and verbal support for learning are highly influential. Even if the parents themselves have missed out on formal schooling, their attitudes are hugely influential on the children's own learning
• Homes that are secure and controlled, economically and emotionally, with parental presence and availability, have an environment of stability conducive to learning.

Affective factors

• confidence - takes risks or not
• intensity - relaxed or serious
• motivation to learn and acquire
• self-esteem / self-perception within one's own world and outside
• expectations for self regarding language acquisition
• personality - open or closed off......out-going or shy?

  These factors are both nature and nurture related. Environment and situation are often within control and could well make a difference to nature, if dealt with effectively.

The age and experience of the learner

There are advantages and disadvantages in being a younger or older learner when acquiring / learning English as a new language

• The younger learner often has an openness and flexibility, time is certainly on his / her side. Programmes for younger children are often well balanced in language provision.
• The older learner brings explicit academic / cognitive / linguistic knowledge and experience to the language learning situation - this can be both an immense advantage and at time it can interfere.
• The more languages one knows, the easier it is to learn a new language.......the more oracy and literacy strength in known languages, the easier it is to develop oracy and literacy in a new language.

Exposure to English - learned or acquired

• Where there has already been exposure to English.....even if largely receptive and unutilised, the building has already started...thus the learner is on the way, even if this knowledge / familiarity is largely sub-conscious.

Opportunities for interaction with people of one's ethnic/language group

• Time out of the new language situation, identifying with one's ethnic group, having opportunity to share and reflect on ideas, frustrations, structural problems, grammar similarities and differences of the new language in one's fluent language, is supportive, it minimises trauma, and extends cognitive processing.

Opportunities to interact with native speakers of English

• Where there is the opportunity and purpose for the use of the new language, and there is intrinsic motivation, given a supportive environment, communication will occur. Need and opportunity drive learning.

Preferred learning style

Is there a match with the new learning environment?

• Approaches to learning are often more flexible in a younger learner than an older one...it is an advantage of the young.
• To be asked to learn within different methodologies than what one is used to or prefers, is often a considerable problem and block for older learners and limits their learning.

Cognitive learning ability

• Only a small percentage of unsuccessful new language learners are so because they are intrinsically limited in general cognitive ability. What is intelligence/s?...how does one identify this?...what about talent in learning language/s?

How well do you identify the above factors in an ESOL learner?

How much do you use knowledge of these factors to discern what is going on for general learning and language acquisition / learning for any student from a language background other than English?

To know little means guesswork - wrong, unproductive or too slow targeting is an inevitable consequence.