You may do this Reflective Task at any point during your work with the study materials.

Note
that this task is not assessed. The aim of this Reflective Task is to get you to think about
features which may contribute to successful language learning.

Based on your own experience as a learner and/or teacher, how would you rate the following
characteristics of the good language learner? Important or not important?

The 'good' language learner...

... is intelligent.

• Important
• Not important

... has a good memory.

• Important
• Not important

... is sure of his/her ability to succeed.

• Important
• Not important

... is motivated.

• Important
• Not important

... is an adolescent.

• Important
• Not important

... is extrovert.

• Important
• Not important

... is ethnocentric (sees his/her own language community as ’superior’ to others).

• Important
• Not important
The 'good' language learner...

... is intelligent.

• Not important

... has a good memory.

• Important
.. is sure of his/her ability to succeed.

• Important

... is motivated.

• Important

... is an adolescent.

• Not important

... is extrovert.

• Important

... is ethnocentric (sees his/her own language community as ’superior’ to others).

• Important

Question 2
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Look at this learner’s description of how she learnt a foreign language.

When I first arrived in the country, I did a two-week intensive course. Just to learn the basics -
you know - shopping, directions and so on. Then I just spoke to everyone I could find. I even
spoke to myself out loud sometimes. I bought a grammar book with a key and did exercises on
difficult things like the subjunctive. I found that it really helped me to memorise verb
conjugations, and then slowly I learned how to use them more or less correctly. But I still make
mistakes, and I’ve been living here for 11 years.

1. How would you characterise her learning style?

2. How would you describe your learning style as regards language learning? Provide as much
detailed information as you can.
1. Her leerning style can be categorized as a sef study based on the students needs to learn a
second language. Althogh, she mentions that she still makes mistakes after 11 years, I can say
thta she has not learned the grammatical structures correctly.

Feedback
!. In answering the question it can be useful to highlight the points raised by the learner in
describing her learning experience.
a. She did a short intensive course – could be seen as field dependent falling under the
category of Personal orientation, but also as field independent, under the category of Analytic
learning. Also, depending on how the course was delivered, this could suggest aspects of
visual/auditory learning.
b. She spoke to a lot of people in L2 – Field dependent, under the category Socially Sensitive,
with traits of concrete and communicative learning styles.
c. She repeated words to herself – Auditory learning.
d. She did grammar exercises in a book – Analytic and visual learning style.
e. She worked on and memorized certain aspects of grammar – Analytic using memory
strategies. This could also be a sign of visual learning, depending on how she memorized the
grammar.
f. She is aware that she still makes mistakes – Field independence in that she is aware of her
level which could be a sign of a fairly autonomous learner.

Overall this learner appears to be a fairly balanced learner showing signs of both an analytic
and a communicative style, of both field dependence and field independence.

She seems to be field dependent in that she emphasizes how she ‘just spoke to everyone.’
This is typical of a socially sensitive learner with skills in interpersonal-social relationships. The
learner is clearly a person-orientated learner thus making it possible to characterize her
learning style as communicative and perhaps concrete. However, she also shows some signs
of field-independence in that she shows traits of being an analytic learner, evident in the
grammar exercises she decided to do and perhaps also in the course she enrolled on.

Speaking to herself suggests aspects of auditory learning as does the fact that she enrolled on
a course. The course and the grammar book further suggest that the learner is a visual learner.

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Reading 1.1 in your printed study materials describes a study by Nigel Pickard into a group of
German-speaking EFL learners’ out- of-class learning strategies. Look at Reading 1.1, and
answer the following questions.

1. What are “functional practice strategies”? Give 5 concrete examples of functional practice
strategies.
2. How do you think Krashen would respond to Hafiz and Tudor’s study (summarised on
p.151)?
3. What does Pickard’s study tell us about these students’ out-of-class reading strategies?
4. What does Pickard’s study tell us about these students’ out-of-class listening strategies?
5. In his conclusion, Pickard talks about teachers as “facilitators of out-of-class strategies”
(p.158). How could teachers achieve this? Give three or four specific ways in which a teacher
could achieve this.

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1. ‘Functional practice strategies’ are strategies that if successfully employed enable the
learner to increase their opportunities to use the language for communication and exposure to
meaningful language

Examples of functional practice strategies for L2 acquisition and learning could be attending
films, reading books and magazines for pleasure, seeking out, making relationships with and
thus communicating with native speakers of the target language, joining clubs and societies or
doing volunteer work, entering internet chat rooms and corresponding with pen pals.

2. Krashen would probably draw Hafiz and Tudor’s attention to four points from his Input
Hypothesis.

• Firstly, he would respond that humans acquire language in only one way, which is by
understanding messages or by receiving comprehensible input.
• Secondly, that the more comprehensible input the greater the L2 proficiency.
• Thirdly, that lack of comprehensible input delays language acquisition.
• Finally, that teaching methods work according to the extent that they use comprehensible
input.

However, he would probably add that this type of input should ideally lead to improvement in
oral communicative competence as well as in reading and writing. He might argue that the lack
of improvement that the students showed in this area could be put down to affective factors
such as the Affective Filter, or by being in an EFL environment, where classroom-based
instruction would lead to learning, but not to acquisition. He might also make the point that
merely reading/listening is an impoverished type of input and that students really need
comprehensible oral input.

3. The students in Pickard’s study read mainly novels, newspapers and magazines out of
class. Students either read magazines or other current affairs publications cover to cover, or
chose three or four articles to read in depth per week.

The vast majority of students in the study read for pleasure and used dictionaries sparingly.
Most of the students reported that they became interested in reading newspapers during their
later years at school, after leaving school and especially after completing a study year in the
USA. This suggests that reading for pleasure is linked to an attempt to become integrated in
the culture of the target language. Such an approach tells us that the students are taking a
holistic or field dependent path.

The students also read novels for pleasure as they felt it improved their passive vocabulary.
The choice of author suggests that, whether consciously or unconsciously, the students were
opting for texts that would provide them with enough comprehensible input. This is borne out
by the comment from a student about not reading Passage to India properly at school. Most
people would agree that a work by E.M. Forster is a lot more challenging than anything by
Jeffrey Archer.

It is clear that reading for pleasure is directly linked to the age and maturity of a student.
Nobody is likely to try and keep up with current affairs in a foreign language if they do not
already do it in their own. The students’ strategies depend on their ages and maturity and as
the students got older, they showed more initiative by choosing to read for pleasure as well as
reading magazines.
They used good reader strategies such as guessing vocabulary from context, not relying too
much on dictionaries, and showing initiative in finding reading material.
4. The most frequently practiced activity was listening to music radio. Listening to language
tapes, attending lectures and plays in English and going to the cinema to see original English
language versions of films were less popular activities. This might be simply due to the fact that
listening to the radio is free and enjoyable and in the main easy to understand.

Much of the talk on music radio is repetitive and relatively simple to understand. Students
mentioned that they had the radio on in the background but tried to concentrate on the news
when it came on. It seems likely that a student is going to get more comprehensible input from
the news headlines on music radio then from a station dedicated to a more in depth analysis of
current events. This would tend to confirm Krashen’s input hypothesis.

The study mentions that two thirds of students watched English language TV although Pickard
does not elaborate much on the point. Films in their original version were watched as the
students got older, around 17-18.

5. This is a fairly open question but you should have included a reference to the age factor, the
availability of resources in the country where the language is taught, motivation, classroom
activities and teacher advice.

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In this task you are expected to draw on what you have read about learning strategies.

Do you think the following statement is true or false? Give a reasoned answer, explaining why
you think it is either true or false. You will need to write about 3-4 lines for each answer.

Learning strategies are used by learners of all levels, and all learners are clearly aware that
they are using strategies.

Feedback
This statement is basically true in that learners do use strategies at all levels, but even if they
are generally aware of the strategies they use, they may not be consciously aware that they
are using them until someone asks them to reflect on how they revise or try to help themselves
learn. Some learning strategies are employed sub-consciously (Seliger’s, 1984 (in Ellis, 1994)
type of strategies) and others consciously (tactics according to Seliger) and therefore it can be
difficult for a learner who does not consciously set out to use a particular strategy to realize that
s/he has used one.

According to Anderson (1980:1983) a strategy ceases to be a strategy or strategic, when it

becomes automatic and sub-consciously performed. Following from this definition therefore,
learners are aware of using them.

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In this task, you are expected to draw on what you have read about learning strategies.

Do you think the following statement is true or false? Give a reasoned answer, explaining why
you think it is either true or false. You will need to write about 3-4 lines for each answer.

The strategies used by students of advanced levels seem to be somewhat different to those
used by more elementary learners.

Feedback
This statement is true since advanced learners are, according to research, found to employ
more metacognitive strategies than elementary students. In a study by Cohen and Aphek
(1981) on vocabulary learning strategies, evidence suggested that beginner level students
preferred using listing strategies while more advanced learners used contextualization, and
studies involving children (i.e. Chesterfield & Chesterfield 1985) seem to suggest that the use
of strategies changes with the development of TL knowledge: receptive strategies preceded
interpersonal which in turn preceded metacognitive strategies, thus adding to the suggestion
that strategies used at advanced levels differ from those used at more elementary levels.

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In this task, you are expected to draw on what you have read about learning strategies.

Do you think the following statement is true or false? Give a reasoned answer, explaining why
you think it is either true or false. You will need to write about 3-4 lines for each answer.

The number of years spent in studying the language stands out as an important variable
affecting the learner's choice of strategies.

Feedback
According to the evidence found by Ehrman (1990), students with more years of study appear
to use a higher frequency of functional practice strategies than students with less years of
study. More experienced learners were also found to employ a greater variety of strategies
than less-experiences learners (Chamot et al. 1987/1988) and were able to employ these in a
more automatic manner so tackling problems more effectively suggesting that more
experienced learners are also able to choose strategy according to the task-type in question. It
would seem logical that a learner will become refined in the use of learning strategies the more
time s/he spends studying since s/he will be constantly trying out hypotheses as to how the
learning process can be speeded up. Also, the more time a learner spends studying, the less
time s/he is probably going to have for learning and will thus look for effective means to shorten
the time devoted to learning. The statement is subsequently true.

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In this task, you are expected to draw on what you have read about learning strategies.

Do you think the following statement is true or false? Give a reasoned answer, explaining why
you think it is either true or false. You will need to write about 3-4 lines for each answer.

Strategy use seems to be directly connected with the complexity of the task learners have to
complete. Thus, the more complex the task, the more strategies a learner will employ.

Feedback
There does seem to be a correlation between the use of strategies and the complexity of tasks
in that learners tend to employ different strategies to different type of tasks. A complex task
may be made up of different components and consequently needs the application of a greater
variety of strategies. If the definition of strategies is taken to be that they are problem-oriented,
and the idea that more complex tasks involve more problem-solving, then the learner will have
to employ a greater variety of strategies to tackle the problems than in a simple, linear
question.

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In this task, you are expected to draw on what you have read about learning strategies.

Do you think the following statement is true or false? Give a reasoned answer, explaining why
you think it is either true or false. You will need to write about 3-4 lines for each answer.

Motivation and the learner's attitudes towards the learning of the foreign language do not affect
the use of language learning strategies.
Feedback
Considering the research carried out by Oxford and Nyikos (1989) this statement is false. The
study showed that “motivation was the single most powerful influence on the choice of learning
strategies” (as quoted in Ellis 1994: 542) resulting in more strategies being used in a variety of
different formal, functional, general and conversational situations by highly motivated learners
than by un-motivated learners. The type of motivation manifested by the learner also had
correlation with the type of strategies used so that students having mainly instrumental
motivation to obtain good grades would use more analytic strategies than students with
integrative motivation. Being motivated will inevitably affect the use of learning strategies since
there is more interest involved on the student’s part to understand and improve both as a
learner and in learning. The learners’ attitudes also have certain reciprocity with motivation in
that one can lead to the other. Learners with positive attitudes towards the TL language and
native-speakers would tend to feel a stronger incentive to find out about and speak the
language and thus employ strategies in accordance to what they want to use the language for.

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In this task, you are expected to draw on what you have read about learning strategies.

Do you think the following statement is true or false? Give a reasoned answer, explaining why
you think it is either true or false. You will need to write about 3-4 lines for each answer.

Sex and ethnic differences influence the choice of strategies.

Feedback
Sex has been found to have strong influence on strategy choice in a number of studies (i.e.
Bacon 1992; Bacon and Finnemann 1992; Oxford and Nyikos 1989; Ehrman 1990) suggesting
that women tend to use more overall learning strategies than men. One study found that men
used translation strategies more than women whereas women made more use of
metacognitive strategies involving monitoring their comprehension. Another study provided
evidence that women used conversation input elicitation strategies more than men, which was
accredited to the fact that women are more oriented towards engaging in social interactions.
These findings seem to be closely linked with the differences in how men and women use
language found identified in socio-linguistic research. Sex is also linked with other factors such
as social class, age and ethnic origin which all play a role in the choice of learning strategies.

Ethnic origin is likely to influence the choice of strategies due to the difference in beliefs and
attitudes existing in different parts of the world. A learner coming from a country where it is
seen as improper to reflect on learning and ask for assistance may be reluctant of using
communicative/co-operative or metacognitive strategies, while a learner coming from a
background that encourages individualism may not employ social strategies.

Taking all this into account the statement can hence be seen as true.
Question 10
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In this task, you are expected to draw on what you have read about learning strategies.

Do you think the following statement is true or false? Give a reasoned answer, explaining why
you think it is either true or false. You will need to write about 3-4 lines for each answer.

People with different personalities, learning styles and psychological types will often apply the
same kinds of learning strategies.

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Since people are individuals they will perceive different learning situations in different ways, at
different times and deal with them applying different methods conforming to their own beliefs,
attitudes, motivation, age, sex etc. and as a result use different learning strategies. However,
the range of strategies that these people will apply tends to fit into a certain category and as
such the strategies can be basically the same in kind, but employed differently according to
each individual’s criteria. Strategy appears to be more determined by task type.

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In this task, you are expected to draw on what you have read about learning strategies.

Do you think the following statement is true or false? Give a reasoned answer, explaining why
you think it is either true or false. You will need to write about 3-4 lines for each answer.

Successful and unsuccessful learners do not seem to make a similar use of language learning
strategies.

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Considering the fact that the use of learning strategies is seen as having a major influence on
L2 learning it would seem illogical if there was no difference between how these two groups of
learners used strategies. Drawing on evidence from research concerning “good language
learner” studies it appears that successful learners are much more proficient at choosing
strategies appropriate for determined tasks, using metacognitive strategies to monitor their
needs and progress in order to take more control and responsibility for their learning, and use
the knowledge they already possess (linguistic and general). Successful learners appear to
make a more effective use of strategies.

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In this task, you are expected to draw on what you have read about learning strategies.

Do you think the following statement is true or false? Give a reasoned answer, explaining why
you think it is either true or false. You will need to write about 3-4 lines for each answer.

The number of communication strategies used by students correlates with their proficiency
rating. In other words, the more strategies a learner uses, the 'better' his/her English is.

Feedback
It is true that Good Language Learners tend to make use of a more varied range of strategies,
but I would be inclined to say that rather than considering the quantity of strategies a learner
uses, what is important is how s/he uses them. Also it would depend for what purpose the
learner needs his/her English for. For a learner who is going to use the language for
communication, the use of communicative strategies would probably enhance his/her
proficiency rating in interactive and perhaps oral communication, but it may not be the case for
someone who needs language to read technical texts or write extensive essays in which case
the communicative strategies would have to be complemented by cognitive and probably
metacognitive strategies as well.

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In this task, you are expected to draw on what you have read about learning strategies.

Do you think the following statement is true or false? Give a reasoned answer, explaining why
you think it is either true or false. You will need to write about 3-4 lines for each answer.

Teachers, on the whole, are relatively aware of their own students' use of strategies.

Feedback
In the case where the students are children this is probably true since children tend to use
observable strategies such as social and discourse strategies. However if the students in
question are adults the matter is more complicated since adults tend to emphasize the use of
cognitive and metacognitive strategies that occur inside the learner’s head and can thus not be
as readily observed.

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In this task, you are expected to draw on what you have read about learning strategies.

Do you think the following statement is true or false? Give a reasoned answer, explaining why
you think it is either true or false. You will need to write about 3-4 lines for each answer.

Language learning strategies are teachable and students can be trained in their use.

Feedback
According to Ellis (Ellis, R.1994: 556):

“...not enough is yet known about the relations between learning strategies and language
learning to justify attempts to train learners to use particular strategies. In particular, not
enough is known about what combinations of strategies are most effective.”

However, another Ellis (Guy Ellis) has together with Sinclair written a course in Learner
training, (Ellis and Sinclair 1989 Learning to Learn English: A Course in Learner Training CUP)
and there are plenty of coursebooks nowadays that include a aspects of LS, either as a
separate section, or intercalated in the “normal” coursework.

From the evidence suggesting that learning strategies are not fixed entities, and that learners
employ them consciously, together with all the research done on both Sociological and
Psychological aspects of learning, it would however appear that they can be influenced and
taught, if only by awareness raising, to help students help themselves.

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In this task, you are expected to draw on what you have read about learning strategies.

Do you think the following statement is true or false? Give a reasoned answer, explaining why
you think it is either true or false. You will need to write about 3-4 lines for each answer.

It is quite difficult to introduce a 'learner training' component into a language course.

Feedback
Considering the second part of the quote by Ellis included in the previous question on the
effectiveness of different combinations, together with the fact that it is rather difficult to include
every learner’s preferred strategies if the class is big, the minor problem involving acceptance
on the part of learners who may not see the relevance of such training, and the question of
how to include it in the teaching materials, does make the introduction of such a component
rather laborious. However, the very fact that learning strategies are being dealt with in
research, articles and literature as well as in coursebooks, on a much greater scale than a
couple of years ago, does appear to point towards a greater acceptance of the importance of
such a component in language courses, and as such it is nowadays easier to include learner
training in the classroom.

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1. Of the four motivational types examined above, which are your students most most display?
Why do you thing this is the case?
2. Which of these motivational types can we, as language teachers directly influence in the
language classroom? How?

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1. This part of the task encourages you to reflect on the motivation present in your particular
situation. Insights into such aspects can be extremely helpful in planning coursework and
dealing with classroom management issues. As such we recommend that you take a couple of
minutes to reflect on your students and the type of motivation they tend to display.

2. In the classroom, teachers can directly influence extrinsic motivation by using materials that
are meaningful to the learner, and to which s/he can relate, by using a methodology or
combination of methodologies that agree with the learner’s learning style and individual needs,
and by making sure that the learner is a part of the learning process.

Instrumental motivation can be influenced to some extent by providing the learner with
attainable objectives or by promising some kind of reward for learning particular features etc.
The nature of the reward or objective would determine to what extent the motivation will be
sustained once the objective is reached or the reward has been given out.

Intrinsic motivation can not be directly influenced as such as it comes from within the learner. It
can however, result from certain types of extrinsic motivation, and therefore be indirectly
influenced. It can also be argued that providing positive input about the target language, culture
and speakers can greatly enhance the intrinsic motivation the students have.

Integrative motivation is probably the most difficult type for the teacher to influence since it is
part of the learner’s personality, although there is a possibility that cultural awareness raising
and information about the country and its people could have some effect on it. As in the
previous point, positive input about the target country, language and its people does tend to
have an impact on the integrative motivation.

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Reading 2.1 in your printed study materials consists of a short extract from a book on Second
Language Acquisition detailing Gardner’s socio-educational model of motivation. The extract
describes the components of Gardner’s model below. Read the extract and fill in the blank
squares in the model.

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social and cultural background Stage 1
motivation and attitude Stage 2
formal language learning Stage 3
intelligence Stage 2
bilingual proficiency Stage 4
situational anxiety Stage 2
language aptitude Stage 2
non-linguistic outcomes Stage 4
informal language experience Stage 3

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List the pros and cons of introducing the study of a foreign language at an early age.

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Pros of introducing the study of a foreign language at an early age:

• Less afraid to make mistakes.

• Less self-conscious.
• Critical period hypothesis states that the optimal period for language learning is before the
age of ten (Penfield & Roberts 1959; Critical Period Hypothesis proposed by Lenneberg 1967).
• Before puberty the lateralization of the language function in the brain has not yet taken place
making the brain more receptive (Penfield & Roberts 1959).
• Children have a lower “affective filter” (Krashen’s Affective Filter Hypothesis) due to less
stress, anxiety, set beliefs, fixed attitudes.
• The learner will benefit from more years of language learning thus allowing them to proceed
through the stages of development.
• Chomsky’s Language Acquisition Device can still be used.
• Since L1 and L2 information is stored separately, children are less likely to transfer
information from the L1.
• Children are usually allowed to take more time in producing in the TL (i.e. allowed a silent
period) and can thus concentrate on the receptive and understanding skills.
• Due to children’s intolerance to boredom, activities that provide variety and action would have
to be used, providing a more memorable contexts to learn in; children are allowed to learn
through action more than adults, making the experience more invigorating.
• Children are exposed to more comprehensible input.
• The articulatory (sound) system is still flexible and many different sounds can be produced.
As time goes by the muscles responsible for forming different sounds get moulded according to
our mother tongue sound system, thus making it more difficult to adopt new sounds. Children
are thus in an advantageous position when it comes to attaining native-like pronunciation,
which in turn, and especially in an L2 situation, can increase the integrative motivation.
• Children do not have fixed social identities and are thus more open to adopt different accents
and behaviours.

Cons of introducing the study of a foreign language at an early age:

• Formal classroom learning of an L2 needs the ability and skill to be able to analyse the
language as an abstract system (Spolsky 1989:19).This ability develops over time and is thus
more prominent in young adults and adults than in children. According to Piaget this would be
part of formal operational thinking which happens during adolescence (Williams and Burden
1997:22).
• If pressure is put on the child to produce, or the learning experience is a negative one, s/he
will be negatively inclined towards future language learning which could lead to fossilization.
• Teachers may not have the necessary training to effectively introduce children into a new
language, given that the way in which a child is taught for optimum learning is not the same as
the way in which an adult is taught (Williams and burden 1997).
• Preparing teachers and adapting the schools for this sector would mean more investment in
teacher training and resources.
• More emphasis would have to be given to the language since children require exposure to
the language to learn effectively, meaning that more class hours would have to be designated
for foreign language learning, again constituting greater investment in staff and other
resources.
• People tend to develop/mature at different rates, something which is more noticeable in early
childhood, introducing the question of mixed-ability at a very early and crucial stage.
• Research into the benefits of earlier English starts in EFL countries are inconclusive and
seem to suggest that early starts only benefit the learner in terms of phonology.
• The decision to include a language at a particular age is often based on political or economic
decisions that later try to find an educational justification (Spolsky 1989:91) thus questioning
the reliability of some research.

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In this task we would like you to review your assumptions about age and language learning. Do
you think the following statement is true or false? Why? (You will need to write about 3-4 lines
for each answer.)

Younger children learn languages better than older ones; children learn better than adults.

Feedback
It would appear that in a naturalistic setting children are better at learning the TL than adults
since they are more likely to interact with other native-speaking children while engaging in play
etc., resulting in the exposure to more TL input, and they are also less likely to have adhered
strongly to their original culture and are thus more open to integrating fully into the new society
and culture. The vehicle for this integration would primarily be language. Adults however are
more likely to feel identified with their original culture and language and are thus less
concerned with not sounding foreign. Retaining an accent may be a way to hold on to that
original L1 culture.

In a formal language setting however, adults possessing more cognitive abilities and
metalinguistic awareness would have an advantage over children who would not be able to
treat the language as a separate entity to the same extent. The adult’s previous knowledge (of
the L1 linguistic system and of the world) would also help in the rate at which the language is
learned, especially in the fields of reading and writing.

Generally speaking, children appear to be better at acquiring (in Krashen’s sense of the word)
and adults are better at formally and consciously learning a new language.

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In this task we would like you to review your assumptions about age and language learning. Do
you think the following statement is true or false? Why? (You will need to write about 3-4 lines
for each answer.)

Children tend to have ‘better accents’ than adult learners.

Feedback
Children seem to be better at acquiring a native-like accent than adults or older children
probably due to a number of different factors such as their articulary muscles being less fixed,
they are better at imitating (pronunciation does not require pulling apart the components and
cognitive thinking in the same way as grammar) and they tend to spend more years learning
the language. In a naturalistic setting the integrative motivation factor plays an important role
since children usually want to “belong” where they are. Group pressure and loose identification
with their L1-cuture can also be seen as influential.

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In this task we would like you to review your assumptions about age and language learning. Do
you think the following statement is true or false? Why? (You will need to write about 3-4 lines
for each answer.)

Foreign language learning in schools should be started at as early an age as possible.

Feedback
Research into the benefits of earlier English starts in EFL countries is inconclusive. Most
studies appear to point in the direction that the benefits are mainly in relation to phonological
aspects of language and tend to consider second language situations rather than foreign
language situations. The following is therefore a possible answer to the above statement.

If the child receives a lot of TL input both in the school and at home, or at least in one of these
environments, (as in the case of bilingual schools or bilingual or native TL- family settings) then
the child will probably benefit from learning the language from an as early age as possible.
However, if the foreign language learning is to take the characteristics of a couple of hours a
day or a week, in the confinement of a classroom, then it could be argued that the child would
benefit more from the learning once some basic fundamental aspects of his/her L1 have been
laid down. The type of instruction the child receives is also important to consider as, according
to the research conducted by Piaget concerning the child’s ability to see the language as an
abstract system (Williams & Burden 1997), young children would not benefit from having to
analyse rules and grammar but would rather need to experience language in relation to the
world around them through i.e. games and songs etc.

Question 22
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In this task we would like you to review your assumptions about age and language learning. Do
you think the following statement is true or false? Why? (You will need to write about 3-4 lines
for each answer.)

Children learn languages in basically the same way.

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Due to the fact that all individuals are different, with their own make-up of general and personal
factors, it can safely be concluded that children do not learn languages in the same way. The
actual route of learning may be similar, but the way in which each child learns the language will
depend on motivational factors, individual learning style, social and cultural aspects, previous
experience with the language and/or with the school environment, degree of self-
consciousness, affective factors, whether he/she is more field dependent or field independent,
etc.

Question 23
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In this task we would like you to review your assumptions about age and language learning. Do
you think the following statement is true or false? Why? (You will need to write about 3-4 lines
for each answer.)

Adults have a longer concentration span than children.

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Children have less tolerance than adults if they think that something is boring, and require
more variety in their activities, while adults are able to concentrate on something due to its
instrumental value, as well as the interest the actual item/text/activity generates. It can be said
that adults have a more disciplined concentration span while children need constant variation.

A normal attention span is approximately 3 to 5 minutes per year of a child's age. Therefore,
and along these lines, a 2-year-old should be able to concentrate on a particular task for at
least 6 minutes, and a child entering kindergarten should be able to concentrate for at least 15
minutes which is clearly much less than what most adults are capable of.

Developing a longer attention span is like building muscle strength. As time goes by, the child
develops and so does his/her mind and cognitive abilities, and as a result also the ability to
make a conscious effort to concentrate on something past the initial period of interest. It should
be mentioned however, that the optimum concentration span of an adult is in fact 40 minutes,
which would correspond, according to the above mentioned calculation of 3-5 minutes per year
of age, to that of an 8-year-old. We would thus need to distinguish between a very young
learner and a primary school learner in order to determine whether an adult has a longer
concentration span than a child.