Learning a Second/Third Language at Home and at School

Language acquisition is closely related to how children acquire words, meanings, structures, and pragmatics. It is nothing but related to the processes that occur in the minds and attitudes of children.

Billingualism is having or using two languages especially as spoken with the fluency characteristic of a native speaker.

There are two benefits of being Bilingual: Metalinguistic awareness (manipulating and labeling language), Executive control functions (helping children to switch between conflicting rules by suppressing one.)

THE EFFECT AGE:

The critical Period Hypothesis (CPH)

In language acquisition, it is recommended that children who start learning a second language when they are less than 11-12 years old have a lot of input and involvement in the environment.

Younger Learners v.s Older Learners

Children are sensitive to the sounds and the rhythm of new languages. They enjoy copying new sounds and patterns of intonation. Younger learners are less anxious and less inhibited and they can spend more time devoted to the language compared with those who start later.

Older learners use more efficient strategies, have more mature conceptual world to rely on, have a clearer sense of discourse and have a clearer sense of why they are learning a new language. Older learners are more analytical and give attention to detail.

Learning a second language at Home

The role of parents in mastering a second language is: parenting, facilitate, communicate, collaborate, interests, habits and performances. Parents have a critical part in their child's language learning growth and success. Maintain a positive attitude toward learning and discuss the importance of learning a second language with your child. Your child will be a successful bilingual with your help and encouragement.

Learning a second language at school

School is part of a formal environment, which is organized formally and carefully, and where the school prepares for the learning process in the classroom, which is led by the teacher. Students are directed to the teacher in a formal atmosphere in such a way as to understand the system or laws and regulations of the language being studied.

Sternberg (1979: 166) mentions the characteristics of the language learning environment in the classroom as follows:

• The language learning environment in the classroom is strongly colored by the class social psychologist factors which include adjustments, disciplines, and procedures used.
• In the classroom environment, pre-selection of linguistic data is carried out.
• In the classroom environment, grammatical rules are presented explicitly to improve the quality of students' language
• In the classroom environment, teaching tools are provided such as textbooks, supporting books, blackboards, tasks to be completed, and so on.

Teaching Young Language Learners (Second Edition). Annamaria Pinter. Oxford University Press 2017