A REFLECTIVE CASE STUDY

IN

LANGUAGE ACQUISITION:

THEORIES, PRINCIPLES AND METHODS

Submitted by:
LOVELY MAE P. ROMERO

Submitted to:

DR. MARY GRACE Z. AGBAS

DECEMBER 1, 2018
I. INTRODUCTION

Language impacts the daily lives of members of any race, creed, and region of the world. Language
helps express our feelings, desires, and queries to the world around us. Words, gestures and tone are
utilized in union to portray a broad spectrum of emotion. The unique and diverse methods human beings
can use to communicate through written and spoken language is a large part of what allows to harness our
innate ability to form lasting bonds with one another; separating mankind from the rest of animal kingdom
(Valoes, 2004).

The English language is one of the most geographically widely spoken languages in the world and
serves multiple purposes in a rapidly globalizing world. Its wide use extends from politics and economy
to technology, science, media and communication. Its mastery open doors to more information than the

Learning multiple languages is significant, no matter where in the world you are. One language
that is incredibly important to learn, however, is English. Learning the language is not just about learning
grammar and vocabulary. Rather, it is learning to communicate sounds, expressions, and ways of seeing
things. Lastly, learning English as second language can be exciting with the advent of technology
nowadays.

Globally, communication is usually done in English and is used as the medium of teaching. English
is an important language for all kinds of professional and personal goals. The need to be motivated in
understanding the importance of learning the language will help an individual reach fluency.

Learning multiple languages is significant, no matter where in the world you are. One language
that is incredibly important to learn, however, is English. Learning the language is not just about learning
grammar and vocabulary. Rather, it is learning to communicate sounds, expressions, and ways of seeing
things. Lastly, learning English as second language can be exciting with the advent of technology
nowadays.

The Comprehension Hypothesis states that we acquire language and develop literacy when we
understand messages, that is, when we understand what we hear and what we read, when we receive
“comprehensible input” (Krashen, 2003). Language acquisition is a subconscious process; while it is
happening we are not aware that it is happening, and the competence developed this way is stored in the
brain subconsciously
 Globally, communication is usually done in English and is used as the medium of teaching. English
is an important language for all kinds of professional and personal goals. The need to be motivated in
understanding the importance of learning the language will help an individual reach fluency.

In connection with this, the teacher plays a very prominent role in attracting the students’ attention
by creating interest among the students. A teacher plays various roles in the classroom. In fact, they are
constantly moving on the continuum of the provider of knowledge and facilitator of learning. Those roles
included being the manager of the class, facilitator, assessor, and evaluator (Archana & Rani, 2016). Other
responsibilities include analyzing the students' linguistic needs and engaging them in the learning
process (Tudor, 1993).

II. DESCRIPTION OF THE CASE STUDY

Teaching the language is a challenging task, yet a rewarding career choice. As an ESL teacher,
one must learn to constantly adapt to the students’ needs. This means dealing with a variety of problems
in the classroom. An effective ESL teacher must be able to recognize these common issues, and work to
seek solutions. The teaching methods and strategies will be of great help to create a more productive and
casual environment for teaching and learning English as second language.

Moreover, the English language is connected to second language teaching and is connected to
classroom teaching. It plays a significant a significant role in engrossing the students’ attention. To acquire
good communication skills, one has to acquire expertise in all the four skills such as listening, verbal
communication, interpretation and inscription skills. Before a student acquires these skills, he/ she has to
develop interest towards the subject or language. The need to recognize the needs of our students in the
classroom plays a significant role in language teaching.

Some English Language Learners will have special education needs, such as giftedness, a
behavioral disorder, a mental health condition or learning disabilities. A student with learning disability
in reading may have difficulty with language processing, which impacts reading comprehension and
literacy skill Spear- Swerling (2006)

In my teaching experience, the following are the identified classroom problems I faced when
teaching English as a second language. In my case, I am handling children with special needs specifically
young adults with learning disabilities, intellectual disabilities, and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
The following are the identified challenges in teaching English as the second language to my students
such as lack of comprehension skills, short attention span, and tardiness. Since my students have learning
disabilities, it is more likely that they will have difficulty in acquiring the language and their receptive and
expressive language are affected. These problems contribute to the receptive language skills of the
learners. Receptive language is the ability to accurately comprehend what is said, written, or signed by
others. Both receptive and expressive language are important to the understanding of a child’s overall
language skills. While expressive language refers to the child’s ability to produce language, receptive
language refers to the child’s ability to comprehend language Frazier M.S (2011).

The noticeable problem that I have observed in my students in learning the language, is the lack
of comprehension skills. This is connected to Piaget’s theory on Language and thought which points out
that cognitive development affects language and language has an effect on thought. Hence, language and
thought are closely related. Further, Hatch (1979) suggests ways in which the teacher can aid
comprehension, linguistic and non-linguistic. According to him, positing comprehensibility is a crucial
requirement for optimal input for language acquisition. My students have reading comprehension problem
and it clearly shows poor receptive language skills and problems with receptive language also lead to
problems with expressive language.

Most of them have difficulty in following verbal and written instructions. What I usually do in the
class is that as much as possible, I refrain from giving too many instructions at once. I simplify the
language that I am using considering my learners and their levels. Further, I also used simple and direct
words when verbally instructing them. Since my students have lesser competence in using the English
language, I find helpful solutions to promote comprehension. Among these characteristics are slower rate
and clearer articulation. In application, it will help my students to identify word boundaries easily and will
let them process the input according to their pacing and capacity. Additionally, second characteristic is
syntactic simplification, shorter sentences. In my case, when I’m giving written and verbal instructions to
my students, I make sure that the instructions are simplified in a way that they can easily understand it.

Receptive language is important in order to communicate successfully. In the case of my students,

they are challenge to follow instructions given by the teacher. Hence, difficulty in understanding may lead
to attention and listening difficulties and/ or behavioral issues. As most activities require a good
understanding of language, it may also make it difficult for them to engage in the activities and academic
task required. As what I have experienced in teaching, when they are for a particular question, they exhibit
behavioral issues such as the inability to concentrate and maintain attention throughout the task given.

Stephen Krashen’s Affective Filter Hypothesis gives us reasonable point of entry to begin
addressing motivation (Krashen 1982). Deceptively simple, the Affective Filter Hypothesis (AFH) seeks
to explain how affect- which includes factors such as motivation, attitude, self- confidence, and anxiety-
can affect acquisition. The AFH focuses attention on here basic feelings of all learners: anxiety, self-
esteem, and interest. These affect variables prevent input from reaching the language acquisition device.
“The presence of the affective filer explains how two students can receive the same comprehensible input,
yet one makes progress while the other does not. One student is open to the input while the other is not”
(Krashen 2003). It is clearly given that inside the classroom, students have different level of motivation
and interest in learning the language. To simplify, if the filter is high, even if input is comprehensible, the
input will not reach the acquisition device and no learning will take place. Therefore, the need to design
activities that lower the filter, allowing input to reach the acquisition device.

In connection with Krashen’s AFH specifically motivation, the following questions are raised in
my mind such as How do I motivate a student to want to participate in / do an activity? And How do I
maintain motivation during the activity? “Tools for teaching” by Barbara Gross David (1993) suggests
tips for motivating the students in the classroom. The following tips are; Give frequent, early, positive
feedback that supports students' beliefs that they can do well, ensure opportunities for students' success
by assigning tasks that are neither too easy nor too difficult, help students find personal meaning and value
in the material, create an atmosphere that is open and positive, and help students feel that they are valued
members of a learning community. I have pondered upon that the more the students are motivated and
valued in the learning process, the tendency is that they will participate more and have high interest in
learning the language. The challenge is on me now, how to think out of the box to create teaching strategies
that are high- interest (creative, authentic, relevant), anxiety-reducing (provide models, rubrics,
scaffolding, clear procedure, strategies for completion).

Acquiring a second language (L2) is fundamentally different than acquiring a first, since greater
L2 immersion does not necessarily lead to increased acquisition. As a result, students should be able to
use their first language in class to help aid comprehension (Verplaetse & Migliacci, 2008; Crawford &
Krashen, 2007).
 In addition, what I usually do in my class is that I am using visual cues to reinforce concepts and
vocabulary, I also make use of group activities and games as part of motivating them, I am also
encouraging my students to practice speaking in English throughout my class. However, it is inevitable
that students show floundering. So, the use of native language strategically is applied to help students.
Lastly, focusing on evocative vocabulary words with the aid of pictures will help students engaged and
will further enhance their literary concepts.

Research over the last decade has confirmed that a variety of affective variables relate to success
in second language acquisition (reviewed in Krashen, 1981). Most of those studied can be placed into one
of these three categories: (1) Motivation. Performers with high motivation generally do better in second
language acquisition (usually, but not always, "integrative"13 (2) Self-confidence. Performers with self-
confidence and a good self-image tend to do better in second language acquisition. (3) Anxiety. Low
anxiety appears to be conducive to second language acquisition, whether measured as personal or
classroom anxiety.

As I have observed in my students, they are also challenged in their expressive language or the
ability to produce language. Most of them are challenged to express themselves in complete sentences
since their language processing is affected. This is because individuals with learning disabilities may
exhibit a variety of difficulties, including reading problems, spoken language, writing and reasoning
ability.

As an ESL teacher and to address these issues in the class, the use of WH questions such as who,
what, when, where, why, how is one of my strategies for them to understand a simple short story. I am
also using visual cues for them to be guided. When reading the short story, I try to let them imitate the
words as well as its pronunciation. Imitation helps my students firm up their knowledge since most of the
meaning of language is held within the way the sounds and symbols are combined. Therefore, the students
will most likely learn the language structure and the individual words through imitation, though needs
constant practice and more exposure to the language. ELLs and students with learning disabilities (LDs)
are both at risk for lower achievement in language literacy, but for differing reasons.

Further, scaffolding learning with the use of visual organizational strategies, asking WH questions,
elaborating meanings, and engaging in cooperative activities, will most likely improve students’ outcomes
A student with learning disability in reading may have difficulty with language processing, which impacts
reading comprehension and literacy skill development. According to Spear- Swerling (2006), ELLs can
usually learn to read in their native language, but they lack sufficient exposure to both spoken and written
English, which can adversely affect the development of English literacy.

III. CONCLUSION

The most highlighted theory in this reflective case study under Second Language Acquisition are
as follows; Behaviorist Learning Theory, Affective Filter Hypothesis and Motivation. According to the
Behaviorist learning theory, the teacher controls the learning environment and learners are considered
empty vessels. Behaviorism redirect the student’s attention when behavior is inappropriate such as the
lack of concentration. The teacher will then get the student’s attention by having an eye to eye contact.
The use of positive or negative reinforcements are also involved in order to shaped behavior towards the
production of correct responses considering effective language.

The second theory Affective Filter Hypothesis, claims that learners with low motivation, low self-
esteem can raise the affective filter and form a mental block to their progress. As a teacher, I must treat
my students fairly despite their learning conditions, I must strive to understand individual differences, and
encourage them to share their thoughts in a way that they will not be hesitant to express freely themselves.
Then it will contribute to learning more the language. Lastly, I must not practice overusing correction
techniques that will cause anxiety to them.

The third theory Motivation, it is also important to think of the students’ learning styles so that as
a teacher you will know how to accommodate their learning needs. It also one of the important tools in
making the students engage in the learning process. I am now challenged to think creatively of teaching
strategies as to how I can motivate more my students in learning the language. Since students with learning
disabilities may sometimes be reluctant to share their struggles. I must provide accessible learning
opportunities for them to explore suited in their learning styles.

Staying enthusiastic and interested in class can be challenging. However, what's even more
challenging is being responsible for keeping my students awake and interested in the lesson. I think that
this is my main role as an ESL teacher first and foremost. In order to be an effective ESL teacher, I must
not only teach, but inspire and empower.
REFERENCES:

Division on Learning Disabilities, (March, 2014). Essential Components of Special Education for English
Language Learners with Learning Disabilities. Retrieved from http://teachingld.org/pages/position-
papers

Dörnyei, Zoltán. Motivational Strategies in the Language Classroom. Cambridge: CUP. 2001.

Duquette, C. & Land, M. (2014). Strategies for Teaching Reading to English Language Learners with
Learning Disabilities. Retrieved from https://ldatschool.ca/classroom/literacy/strategies-for-teaching-
reading/

Frazier M.S. (2011) Receptive Language. In: Goldstein S., Naglieri J.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Child
Behavior and Development. Springer, Boston, MA

Krashen, S. (1981) Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning, Oxford: Pergamon

Krashen, Stephen. Explorations in Language Acquisition and Use. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. 2003.

Spear-Swerling, L. (February, 2006). Learning Disabilities in English Language Learners. Retrieved

from http://www.ldonline.org/spearswerling/Learning_Disabilities_in_English_Language_Learners