PERSPECTIVE ON SECOND LANGUAGE TEACHING: A COMPLEX SOCIO CULTURAL PHENOMENON

PERSPECTIVE ON SECOND LANGUAGE TEACHING: A COMPLEX SOCIO CULTURAL PHENOMENON

-ABSTRACTThe Second language learning, which is associated with Teaching, Development and Instruction, is a complex socio-cultural phenomenon with different varia les concerning the ps!chological factors of the learners and the socio-cultural elements of the contexts" An interactional approach to second language learning can ensure that a social perspective of second language development and instruction contri utes to having a positive effect on the nature and #ualit! of language learning which activates the autonomous learning motivation and creates diversit! in the learning atmosphere" Recentl! research on developing socio-cultural and linguistic competences simultaneousl! in the language classroom is gaining increasing attention from $nglish %oreign &anguage practitioners and curriculum designers" The understanding of language as a social phenomenon has increased greatl! ecause of language teaching classrooms are diversified with learners,teachers, institutions, cultures, contexts and pedagogies " The environment in which a learner operates contains ver! rich resources of language" Therefore, there is need for exploring the potentials of grammatical structure, meaning, varieties and overall assimilations of stated features into

language development '''''''''''

PERSPECTIVES ON SECOND LANGUAGE TEACHING :

A COMPLEX SOCIO CULTURAL PHENOMENON PERSPECTIVE ON SECOND LANGUAGE TEACHING: A COMPLEX SOCIO CULTURAL PHENOMENON Introduction: The Second language learning, which is associated with Teaching, Development and Instructions is a complex socio-cultural phenomenon with different varia les concerning the ps!chological factors of the learners and the socio-cultural elements of the contexts "An interactional approach to second language learning can ensure that a social perspective of second language development and instruction contri utes to having a positive effect on the nature and #ualit! of language learning which activates the autonomous learning motivation and creates diversit! in the learning atmosphere" Recentl! research on developing socio-cultural and linguistic competences simultaneousl! in the language classroom is gaining increasing attention from $nglish %oreign &anguage practitioners (curriculum designers" The understanding of language as a social phenomenon has increased greatl! ecause of language teaching classrooms are diversified with learnersteachers, institutions, cultures, contexts and pedagogies Consensus has een made that interactions etween teachers and learners in the learning processes have an effect on the nature and #ualit! of language learning and that )no language teaching and learning ta*es place however in a classroom which is isolated from the world of experiences and personal

engagements and investments of learners outside the classroom itself+ The environment in which a learner operates contains ver! rich resources of language" Therefore, there is need for exploring the potentials of grammatical structure, meaning, varieties and overall assimilations of stated features into language development" Sociolingui tic ! which concerns )the field that studies the relation etween language and societ!, etween the uses of language and the social structures in which the users of language live+examines how social issues affect language use in a particular societ! how the same language varies from different varia les as well as how particular cultures prefer some *inds of language over others" -n the other hand, Sociolinguistics explores how language is used in face-toface communication and interaction" Pr"ctic"l "nd Socio#cultur"l $%r $%cti&% on l"ngu"g% l%"rning A t'%or%tic"l ("c)ground &anguages are learned in social contexts ecause language is a onding component of the social mechanism" There is a strong influence from social aspects concerned with the special relation of culture, famil! ac*ground and learner Recent theoretical research on second language learning of an! *ind ta*ing place in a social context includes components of social integration and sufficient contacts with the second language group and of foundations in socio-cultural theor! and ethnographic practice Social factors are therefore, assumed to influence second language learning in two essential wa!s t'% oci"l $ro&i ion o* l"ngu"g% l%"rning itu"tion "nd o$$ortuniti% " +%ll " t'% con i t%nt incr%" ing o* intr"$%r on"l &"ri"tion ,ir t o* "ll the sociolinguistic view of %cond l"ngu"g% d%&%lo$-%nt is strongl! in harmon! with the interaction view held ! some ps!chologists which )represent a wide range of theories a out the relative contri utions of innate structures of the human mind and the environment which provides the samples of the language to e learned+ .hile the Swiss ps!chologist /iaget argued that learners had ac#uired language through ph!sical interaction with the environment the ps!chologist 0!gots*!1234held that thought was essentiall! internali5ed speech and speech emerged in social interaction Similarl! as $llis1226 suggests the understanding of how interactional modifications affect the comprehensi ilit! of texts $vel!n 7atch 1228Teresa /ica1226and 9ichael&ong124:contend that much second language ac#uisition ta*es place through conversational interaction with regard to propositions such as interactional modification ma*es input comprehensi le comprehensi le input promotes ac#uisition therefore interactional modification promotes ac#uisition

Sociolingui tic r% %"rc' on %cond l"ngu"g% d%&%lo$-%nt: In addition sociolinguistic research on second language development is concerned specificall! with the complexities of individual learner varia les with reference to external ) ocio#cultur"l *"ctor "nd i u% o* l%"rn%r id%ntiti% . which are relevant to the influences of int%llig%nc% "ttitud% $%r on"lit/ "nd indi&idu"lit/ -oti&"tion l%"rn%r $r%*%r%nc% "nd "g% in second language learning &ight own Spada1222Bell1246points out that the intra spea*er variation can e derived from the inter spea*er or culture or social variation so each group differentiates its variet! of opportunities to express their opinions suggestions or taste to share language from others and its second language learning a ilit! is su se#uentl! valued ! itself and others" Int%llig%nc% Intelligence is )a culturall! derived a straction that mem ers of an! given societ! coin to ma*e sense of o served differences in performance of individuals within and etween social groups+ According to Thomas1226there are eight *inds of intelligence namel! i0 Lingui tic int%llig%nc% ii0 Logic"l #-"t'%-"tic"l int%llig%nc% iii0 1odil/ )in% t'%tic int%llig%nc% i&0 S$"ti"l int%llig%nc% &0 Mu ic"l int%llig%nc% &i0 Int%r$%r on"l int%llig%nc% &ii0 Intr"$%r on"l int%llig%nc% &iii0 N"tur"li t int%llig%nc% "nd i20 E-otion"l int%llig%nc% 3Dr4 P%t%r S"lo&%/ 5 Dr4 6o'n M"/%r! 78890 Attitud% An attitude is considered to e a propert! of an individual personalit! less enduring than temperament ut more enduring than a motive or a mood Thomas 1234%actors that ma! contri ute to a learners attitude towards second language learning are related to cognitive affective and cognitive components Thomas1234; P%r on"lit/ "nd Indi&idu"lit/4 P%r on"lit/ refers to the thin*ing and ehavior that is directed outward and in ward $!senc* ,123< =anssen >ra ows*i 122:/ersonali5ation activities provide the learners their real life experiences or ideas and to appl! their issues or concerns to some controversial topics Individualit! implies )a situation where learners are given a measure of freedom to choose how and what the! learnt at an! particular time+?r 122@ 8:: Indi&idu"li:"tion activities allow the learners to act at their own pace in

their own manner and st!le ( on the topics or content of their own choice Moti&"tion 9otivation involves )the attitudes and affective states that influence the degree of effort that learners ma*e to learn an &8+$llis 1223 3A>enerall! spea*ing, four *inds of motivation have mainl! een identified in tru-%nt"l! int%gr"ti&%,intrin ic "nd %2trin ic>ardner &am ert 1238 Deci123A"L%"rn%r -oti&"tion "nd $r%*%r%nc% in language learning are generall! due to their learning st!le and eliefs that influence the strategies chosen for them to stud!" Their prefera le and intentional ehaviours and thoughts engaged during learning will affect their language encoding process" Ag% The idea that there is an age factor in second language development has long een a su Bect of de ate Biologicall! it is argued that there is a specific and limited time period for language ac#uisition called the Critical /eriod 7!pothesis and so on had reported that the age of starting to learn a second language earlier showed a noticea le influence on accent" 7owever ,regarding the cognitive ,affective and environmental perspectives in second language development the age factor will e filled with complicated explanations"

Ad&"nt"g% o* " oci"l $%r $%cti&% on %cond l"ngu"g% "c;ui ition A social perspective of second language ac#uisition focuses on the learning process with the goal of exploring the *inds of classroom tas*s that appear to facilitate second language learning The purpose of these tas*s is to ta*e into account the interpla! etween the content of the curriculum and the process ! which it is reali5ed Therefore in the process of accomplishing instructional o Bectives classroom interactive processes ta*e place among the participants and lead to the creation of a whole range of learning opportunities which ma! cause man! unexpected contri utions thus creating great advantages considered to e the reali5ation of communicative competence as well as performance in relevant social situation" Slimani,8<<1 A-$li*/ing o$$ortuniti% "nd to$ic The social perspective of second language development encourages interactive learning B! learning interactivel! or colla orativel! learners are assigned to learn ! group or pair wor* in which the! participate and support each other" This increases opportunities for the learners to tal* 9oreover,through the o servation of the classroom contri utions from the learner the teacher collects more t!pical topics that are of interest to the learner "7ence, the

learner is an active part of the classroom planning rather than Bust an inactive passivel! fed receiver /rovo*ing more negotiation of meaning, also ! wor*ing in pairs or groups without the instructors control the learners sense a relaxed learning atmosphere of casualness without threat or competition The! will displa! their a ilities to their est to interact with colleagues for support or ideas and to express their own points of view in order to negotiate meanings in the light of their own contexts thus creating amounts of comprehensi le input" =aco s 7all 8<<8 /romoting thin*ing, interactive and cooperative learning has learning o Bectives that are academic, affective and social &earners implementing those tas*s are compelled not onl! to thin* of their own ut also of their group mem ers as well Team wor* offers challenges for the learner to choose a est response among several options to ma*e decisions and to anal!5e arguments or generate insights into particular meanings and interpretations ! critical thin*ing &ee9aureen=aco s1224, Catering for the specific needs of different learners" L"ngu"g% D%&%lo$-%nt "nd In tructionA Soci"l P%r $%cti&% on S%cond L"ngu"g% D%&%lo$-%nt "nd In truction assist the learners in fostering an intrinsic motivation and a desire to invest effort in the learning for its own sa*e" Then the! will) find their own wa! ta*ing charge of their learning+and) ma*e their own opportunities for practice in using the language inside and outside the classroom+Brown 8<<1 8<2

Moti&"tion "nd Int%r% t V"ri"tion tudi% $sta lishing motivation and interest variation studies have found that motivation is ver! strongl! related to achievement in language learning eg" >ardener &am ert 1238 >ardner 124< A social perspective on second language learning ma*es language learning a deepl! social and cultural aspect that re#uires the incorporation of a wide range of comprehensive contents t'% L< cultur% the learners life experience and famil! ac*ground individual personalities and learning st!les ps!chological and linguistic factors which ring some specific and organic contents into the classroom Dorn!ei,8<<1" These contents can not onl! e adapted for multilevel learners from the elementar! to the advanced ut also e used to alwa!s ensure a more unpredicta le diverse meaningful interesting and vivid output thus stimulating the learners motivation and their longing for participation in the language classroom" Producing or"l *lu%nc/

The interactions among the learners in the classroom provide ade#uate activities for each participant to air their voices" It also o liges the learners to open their mouths and tal* fre#uentl! 7ence there are more chances for the learners to practice rather than Bust to listen to the teacher Their a ilit! to spea* is improved" 9onitoring what was learned in a colla orative classroom learners contri ute to each other and are made more aware of their own the! can in fact do a su stantial proportion of the monitoring on their own 9oreover classroom interaction offers an operational wa! of understanding what the learners perceive the! have learned which) ma*es it possi le to relate learning claims to the immediate environment from which the! emerged in order to see if it is possi le to esta lish a relationship+Slimani 8<<1 842 Cr%"ting " $o iti&% -utu"l l%"rning %n&iron-%nt Classroom d!namics can provide a comprehensive feed ac* from the learners, such as a wide diversit! of opinions, references, values, man! different experiences and st!les of learning The rich dissimilar feed ac* compels the instructors to adBust their teaching pedagog! in accordance with the learners demand and interest evaluate their learners receptive and productive competence and develop their professional techni#ue to meet the challenges in a etter wa! 7ence a positive mutual learning classroom climate etween the teacher and the learner can e created that promotes genuine language learning,

M%t'odolog/ o* t%"c'ing 5 Curriculu-: %rom the a ove mentioned theories and advantages it is inferred that the following deserve consideration /roposals for tas*- ased language teaching4 The process-oriented sociolinguistic approach provides impetus for the development of tas*- ased language teaching /roponents of tas*- ased language teaching point out that second language ac#uisition research shows that successful language learning involves learners in negotiation of meaning In the process of negotiating with a spea*er of the target language the learner receives the *ind of input needed to facilitate learning Curriculu- r%&i%+= Curriculum should e designed in proportion to the learners receptive capacit! ( development needs, further sustaina l! of his motivation needs to e received incorporating state of the art" It is proposed that classroom tas*s that involve negotiation of meaning should form the asis of the language teaching curriculum and that tas*s can e used to facilitate practice of oth language forms and communicative functions A comprehensive curriculum of assistance of one form or another The classroom implementation curriculum

firstl! needs to ta*e into account one form of assistance that is the contextual information which includes careful thoughts a out the different varia les of the &earners performances the socio cultural settings and the exposure to the second language 7owever, am itious teaching contain ma! e inade#uate deliver! mechanismC method e devised suita le fitted in the frame wor* of teaching" 7ere, I suggest that teacher need to follow up participating ( contextuali5e teaching" This ma! ta*e the use of Audio 0isual teaching ( group d!namics, dialogue method and interactive approaches with relevant cognitive exercises" Conclu ion A social perspective approach to second language development examines) the relationship etween societ! and second language learning+ It high lights the specific social factors that affect second language learning, Although second language learning is a complex phenomenon with different varia les concerning the ps!chological factors of the learner and the socio-cultural elements of the contexts the interactional approach to second language learning still ensures a successful method which ma*es sense in the language classroom B! viewing the advantages and teaching implications of the sociolinguistic approach it can e concluded that a social perspective of second language development contri utes to setting up a climate of mutual learning oth for the teacher and the learners which activates the autonomous learning motivation and creates diversit! in the learning atmosphere >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

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