Second and Third Language Acquisition in Children
Teachers should be aware that if children aren’t ready to take all classes in English, it may be better to delay full immersion to ensure future success. It’s crucial to remember that even if children seem to speak English well, they might still have difficulties with reading and writing.
Myth: All Children Learn a Second Language the Same Way
This is incorrect. Classrooms are diverse, with students from various cultural backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses. Children whose families have more resources and whose parents have higher education levels may have an advantage in learning a second language. Conversely, families with limited resources, who may not know another language, might not be able to provide the same level of support. Therefore, significant differences exist *between* cultural groups, and *within* groups, in how children learn. Some children possess a natural aptitude for language learning and are less inhibited by mistakes, actively seeking input from native speakers even with limited resources. However, research indicates that *all* types of learners can successfully acquire a second language.
The Role of Teachers
Teachers must understand their students’ individual differences and learning styles. These differences influence teachers’ expectations of students’ abilities. Children from diverse cultural backgrounds benefit from varied instructional activities, such as small group work.
Understanding Common Underlying Proficiency (CUP)
The Common Underlying Proficiency (CUP) model, illustrated below, shows how both the first language (L1) and the second language (L2) develop from a shared foundation. Any growth in CUP within one language positively impacts the other(s). This explains why learning additional languages becomes progressively easier.
(Image: The Iceberg Analogy – Central Operating System, CUP, Surface Level, L1, L2)
In practical terms, in a Japanese-English bilingual program, English instruction that enhances reading and writing skills not only develops English proficiency but also cultivates a deeper conceptual and linguistic foundation that significantly contributes to literacy development in Japanese (the majority language). The interdependence principle applies to languages with little in common (e.g., Japanese/English) and those with shared roots. However, cross-lingual relationships are stronger for similar languages. Transfer is more likely from a minority to a majority language due to increased exposure to literacy in the majority language outside of school and strong social pressure to learn it. Research in the Netherlands, however, has shown that under specific conditions, transfer can occur bidirectionally in bilingual programs: from minority to majority and from majority to minority languages.
Implications for Teachers
- Students should be encouraged to continue developing their native language.
- If a child already understands concepts like “justice” or “honesty” in their native language, they only need to learn the English labels for these terms. Acquiring both the concept and the label in a second language is more challenging.
- Educators should foster students’ language awareness by comparing and contrasting aspects of their languages and focusing on structural, sociolinguistic, and sociopolitical aspects of language.
Language and discourse should become a subject of study, explored through puns, jokes, code-switching, translation, the language conventions of music and poetry, accents, dialects, the language of persuasion in advertisements and politics, sign language, etc.
The Linguistic Interdependence Hypothesis
Cummins’ interdependence, or iceberg hypothesis, highlights the importance of the first language in learning subsequent languages. Cummins posits that while learning a language, a child acquires skills and metalinguistic knowledge that can be utilized when learning another language. What appear to be distinct surface features (pronunciation, fluency, vocabulary) are, in fact, psychologically interdependent. Underlying these surface features are shared proficiencies related to cognitively demanding tasks like literacy, content learning, abstract thinking, and problem-solving.
Factors Influencing Third Language Acquisition (TLA)
- The sociolinguistic context: opportunities for language exposure, attitudes towards learning an L2 or L3.
- The psycholinguistic processes involved in TLA.
- The linguistic characteristics of the languages involved.
- The pedagogical aspects of teaching and learning multiple languages.
Defining Trilingual/Multilingual Education
Third Language Acquisition (TLA) in a school setting refers to learning an L3 as a subject. Trilingual education, however, refers to using three languages as mediums of instruction.