Comparing and Contrasting

First and Second

The increased pace of research on first language acquisition over process of demythologizing requires a broad understanding of first
the last two decades has attracted the attention not only of linguists of language theory and issues, as well as a keen awareness of the variables
all kinds but also of educators in various language-related fields. In that come into play in drawing analogies to second language learning.
language arts education, for example, it.is not uncommon to find By characterizing and classifying those variables in this chapter 1 hope
teacher trainees studying first language acquisition, particularly that you will be able, on the one hand, to avoid the pitfalls of these
acquisition after age 5, in order to improve their understanding of the and other false assumptions and analogies, and on the other hand, to
task of teaching language skills to native speakers. In foreign language draw enlightened, plausible analogies wherever possible, thereby
education most standard texts and curricula now include some enriching your understanding of the second language learning process
introductory material in first language acquisition. The reasons for this itself.
are clear: we have all observed children acquiring their first language As generative and cognitive research on first language acquisition
easily and well, yet the learning of a second language, particularly in an gathered momentum, second language researchers and foreign language
educational setting, often meets with great difficulty and sometimes teachers began to recognize the mistakes in drawing direct global
failure. We should therefore be able to learn something from a analogies between first and second language acquisition. Some of the
systematic study of that first language learning experience. first warning signals were sent up by the cognitive psychologist David
What may not be quite as obvious, though, is how the second Ausubel (1964). In foreboding terms, Ausubel outlined a number of
language teacher should i.1terpret the hundreds of facets of first glaring problems with the very popular audiolingual method, some of
language research and theory. How does each facet relate to second whose procedures were derived from notions of "natural" (first)
language learning and teaching? It would be conceivable at this point language learning. He warned that the rote learning practice of
simply to ask you to make your own interpretations and draw your own audiolingual drills lacked the meaningfulness necessary for successful
conclusions about the implications of theories and research in first first and second language acquisition, that adults learning a foreign
language acquisition. But that very process of interpretation invokes language could, with their full cognitive capacities, benefit from
so many thorny issues that it is easy to draw false analogies. deductive presentations of grammar, that the native language of the
The purpose of this chapter is to set forth explicitly some of the learner is not just an interfering factor-it can facilitate learning a second
parameters for comparing and contrasting the two types of language language, that the written form of the language could be beneficial, that
acquisition. students could be overwhelmed by language spoken at its "natural
The first step in that interpretation Process might be to dispel. speed" and that they, like children, could benefit from more deliberative
Some myths about the relationship between first and second language speech from the teacher. These warnings were derived from Ausubel's
acquisition. H. H. Stem (1970:57-58) summarized some common cognitive perspective, which ran counter to prevailing behavioristic
arguments that have cropped up from time to time to recommend a paradigms on which the audiolingual method was based. But Ausubel's
second language teaching method or procedure on the basis of first criticism may have been too far ahead of its time, for in 1964 few
language acquisition: teachers were ready to entertain doubts about the widely accepted
method. (See Chapter Twelve for a further discussion of the
1. In language teaching, we must practice and practice, again and audiolingual method.)
again. Just watch a small child learning his mother tongue. He By the late 1960s and early 70s generative linguistics was
repeats things over and over again. During the language learning becoming the accepted theoretical mode of thinking, and criticism of
stage he practices all the time. This is what we must also do when earlier direct analogies between first and second language acquisition
we learn a foreign language. was mounting. Stern’s (1970) article, along with articles by Jakobovits
2. Language learning is mainly a matter of imitation. You must be (1968), Cook (1969, 1973), Macnamara (1975), and others began to
a mimic. Just like a small child. He imitates everything. address the inconsistencies of direct analogies between first and
3. First, we practice the separate sounds, then words, then second language learning, but at the same time recognized the
sentences. That is the natural order and is therefore right for legitimate similarities which, if viewed cautiously, allowed one to
learning a foreign language. draw some constructive conclusions about second language learning.
4. Watch a small child's speech development. First he listens, then
he speaks. Understanding always precedes speaking. TYPES OF COMPARISON
Therefore, this must be the right order of presenting the skills in AND CONTRAST
a foreign language. All too often the comparison of first and second language
5. A small child listens and speaks and no one would dream of acquisition has been quite carelessly treated. At the very least, one
making needs to approach the comparison procedure by first considering the
him read or write. Reading and writing are advanced stages of differences between children and adults. It is, in one sense, rather
language development. The natural order for first and second illogical to compare the first language acquisition of a child with the
language learning is listening, speaking, reading, writing. second language acquisition of an adult. This involves trying to draw
6. You did not have to translate when you were small. If you were analogies not only between first and second language learning
able to learn your own language without translation, you should be situations but also between children and adults. It is much more logical
able to learn a foreign language in the same way. to compare first and second language learning in children, or to
7. A small child simply uses language. He does not learn formal compare second language learning in children and adults. Nevertheless,
grammar. You don't tell him about verbs and nouns. Yet he learns child first language acquisition and adult second language acquisition
the language perfectly. It is equally unnecessary to use are common and important categories of acquisition to compare. It is
grammatical conceptualization in teaching a foreign language.
reasonable, therefore, to view the latter type of comparison within a
matrix of possible comparisons. The figure below represents four
These statements represent the views of those who felt that the
possible categories to compare, defined by age and type of acquisition.
first language learner was looked upon as the foreign language
Note that the vertical shaded line between the "child" and "adult" is
teacher's dream: a pupil who mysteriously laps up his vocabulary,
"fuzzy" to allow for varying definitions of adulthood. It is generally
whose pronunciation, in spite of occasional lapses, is impeccable,
understood, however, that an adult is one who has reached the age of
while morphology and syntax, instead of being a constant headache,
puberty.
come to him like a dream" (ibid., p. 58). The statements also tend to CHILD ADULT
represent the views of those who have been dominated by a
behavioristic theory of language in which the first language acquisition L1 C1 A1
process is viewed as consisting of rote practice, habit formation, L2 C2 A2
shaping, over learning, reinforcement, conditioning, association, L1 = First Language
stimulus and response, and who therefore assume that the second L2 = Second Language
language learning process involves the same constructs. C = Child
There are flaws in each view. Sometimes the flaw is in the A = Adult
assumption behind the statement about first language learning and
sometimes it is in the analogy or implication that is drawn; sometimes Figure 3-1. First and second language
it is in both. The flaws represent some of the misunderstandings that acquisition in adults and children.
need to be demythologized for the second language teacher. The
Cell Al is clearly representative of an abnormal situation. There Eric Lenneberg (1967) and others have suggested that lateralization is a
have been few recorded instances of an adult acquiring his , first slow process that begins around the age of 2 and is completed around
language. Curtiss (1977) has written about Genie, a 13-year- , old girl puberty. During this time the child is neurologically assigning functions
who had be en socially isolated all her life until she was discovered, little by little to one side of the brain or the other; included in these
and who was faced with the task of acquiring a first language. Accounts functions, of course, is language. And it has been found that children up
of "wolf children" and other instances of severe retardation fall into to the age of puberty who suffer injury to the left hemisphere are able to
this category. Since it is not imperative at this time to, deal with relocalize linguistic functions to the right hemisphere, to "relearn" their
abnormal or pathological cases of language acquisition, we, can ignore first language with relatively little impairment. Thomas Scovel (1969)
category Al. extended these findings to propose a relationship between lateralization
That leaves three possible comparisons: C1-C2, C2-A2, and, CI- and second language acquisition. He suggested that the plasticity of the
A2. For the sake of considering issues in this chapter the three, brain prior to puberty enables the child to acquire not only his first
comparisons language but also a second language, and that possibly it is the very
will be referred to by accomplishment of lateralization that makes it difficult for a person to
type: be able ever again to easily acquire fluent control of a second language,
or at least to acquire it with what Alexander Guiora et al. (1972a) call
"authentic" (native like) pronunciation.
Type 1 comparison: first and second language acquisition in children (C1- While Scovel's suggestion had only marginal experimental basis,
C2), holding age constant it was a suggestion that prompted other researchers to take a careful
Type 2 comparison: second language acquisition in children and adults (C2- look at neurological factors in first and second language acquisition with
A2), holding second language constant respect to all three types of comparisons. This research has considered
Type 3 comparison: first language acquisition in children and second the possibility that there is a critical period not only for first language
language acquisition in adults (C1-A2) acquisition but also, by extension, for second language acquisition.
Much of the neurological argument centers on the time of lateralization.
In the first type of comparison, holding age constant, one is While Lenneberg (1967) contended that lateralization is complete
manipulating the language variable. It is important to remember, around puberty, Norman Geschwind (1970), among others, suggested a
however, that a 3-year- old and a 9-year-old-both children by much earlier age. Stephen Krashen (1973) believed that the development
definition-exhibit vast cognitive affective, and physical differences, of lateralization may be complete around age 5. Krashen's suggestion
and that comparisons of all three types must be treated with caution does not grossly conflict with research on first language acquisition if
when varying ages of children are being considered. In the second one considers "fluency" in the first language to be achieved by age 5.
type of comparison one is manipulating the differences between But Krashen's findings do not square with Scovel's suggestion that
children and adults. In the third type of comparison, of course, both lateralization accounts for the inability of persons to acquire fluent,
variables are being manipulated. Most of the traditional comparisons authentic pronunciation of a second language, since we know that
have been of Type 3, and such comparisons are difficult to make children of age 5 on through puberty generally acquire authentic
because of the enormous cognitive, affective, and physical pronunciation of a second language.
differences between children and adults. That is not to say that Type 3 We know, too, that some adults -after the age of puberty- have
comparisons ought to be avoided entirely; some valuable insights are acquired authentic control of a second language. Anthropologist Jane
to be gained from such comparisons. Hill (1970) provided one of the most interesting answers to Scovel's
proposal by citing anthropological research on non-Western societies
yielding evidence that adults can, in the normal course of their lives,
DOMAINS OF COMPARISON ANO acquire second languages perfectly. One unique instance of second
CONTRAST language acquisition in adulthood classified by the language was
One way to approach the content of this chapter might be to reported by Sorenson (1967), who studied the Tukano tribes of
examine issues within the three types outlined above. A potentially South America. At least two dozen languages are spoken among
more fruitful approach is taken, however, and that is to consider all these peoples, and each tribal group, classified by the language it
three types of comparisons within four general domains of comparison speaks, is an exogamous unit-people, must marry outside their group,
and contrast. In so doing psychological and linguistic issues form the and hence almost always marry, someone who speaks another
central focus, with types of comparisons serving as subcategories language. Sorenson reported that during adolescence individuals
,

within each domain. The four domains that have been chosen include actively and almost suddenly begin to speak two or three other
the three within which educational psychologists have traditionally languages to which they have been exposed at some point.
operated--the physical, cognitive, and affective domains- plus a fourth, Moreover, "in adulthood [a person] may acquire more ,
,

the linguistic domain. The linguistic domain obviously cuts across all languages; as he approaches old age, field observation indicates,
three of the. traditional domains, but the separate category seems he , will go on to perfect his knowledge of all the languages at his
appropriate for capturing some issues that are unique and otherwise disposal" (Sorenson 1967:678). In conclusion Hill (1970:247-48)
difficult to categorize. suggests that

The Physical Domain the language acquisition situation seen in adult language learners
The physical domain is a particularly important one in in the largely monolingual American English middle class speech
comparisons of Types 2 and 3. Language acquisition has little to do communities . . . may have been inappropriately taken to be a
with physical size, large-muscle growth and coordination, body universal situation in proposing an innatist explanation for adult
functions, and the like, but it has a lot to do with the brain and the foreign accents. Multilingual speech communities of various
types deserve careful study. . . . We will have to explore the
coordination of several hundred small muscles controlling the
influence of social and cultural roles which language and
articulation of speech as well as reading and writing. We will deal in phonation play, and the role which attitudes about language play,
this section with neurological issues and the articulation of speech. as an alternative or a supplement to the cerebral dominance theory
Discussions of first and second language acquisition differences as an explanation of adult foreign accents.
often center on the question of whether there is a critical period for
language acquisition: a biologically determined period of life when Hill 's suggestion has be en followed in more recent years.
language can be acquired most easily and beyond which time language Today, researchers are examining the cognitive and affective domains
is increasingly difficult to acquire. Often such discussions involve for more relevant' evidence of a "critical period," and are less hopeful
probing the nature of neurological development. Does the maturation of of finding evidence in the neurological field-a field that remains as
the brain at some point spell the doom of language acquisition ability? much a mystery today as it was a decade ago. More is said about
Some scholars have singled out the lateralization of the brain as the key cognitive and affective research in the next two sections of this chapter,
to answering such a question. There is evidence in neurological and in Chapter Seven I venture to define a culturally based critical
research that as the human brain matures certain functions are assigned period for second language acquisition.
to the left hemisphere of the brain and certain other functions to the A second area within the physical domain that is significant
right hemisphere. Intellectual, logical, and analytic functions appear to to touch on is the role of the coordination of "speech muscles" in
be largely located in the left hemisphere while the right hemisphere second language acquisition. We all know that great athletes, great
controls functions related to emotional and social needs. Language musicians, and others who have become accomplished in a set of
functions appear to be controlled mainly in the left hemisphere, though skills requiring muscular dexterity have almost always begun to
there is a good deal of conflicting evidence. For example, patients who develop that skill in childhood, probably before the age of puberty.
have had left hemispherectomies have been capable of comprehending We can also appreciate the fact that given the existence of several
producing an amazing amount of language (see Zangwill1971:220). But hundred muscles that are used in the articulation of human speech
generally speaking, a stroke or accident victim who suffers a lesion in (throat, larynx, mouth, lips, tongue, and other muscles), a
the left hemisphere will manifest some degree of language impairment, tremendous degree of muscular control is required to achieve the
and such is generally not the case with right-hemisphere lesions. fluency of a native speaker of a language. The physical
While one interesting question concerns whether or not language development of the child must be considered carefully in Type 1
is lateralized and if it is, how it is lateralized, the question here is, if comparisons. At birth the speech muscles are developed only to the
language is indeed lateralized, when does this lateralization take place? extent that the larynx can control sustained cries. These speech
And how, if at all, does that lateralization affect language o acquisition? muscles gradually develop, and control of some complex sounds in
certain languages (in English the r and 1 are typical) sometimes is clearly some intervening variables are allowing some persons to be
not achieved until after age 5, though virtually complete phonemic quite successful second language learners after puberty. These
control is present in most 5-year-old children. Children who variables may in most cases lie outside the cognitive domain
acquire a second language after the age of 5 may have a physical entirely, perhaps more centrally in the affective-or emotional-domain.
advantage in that phonemic control of a second language is The lateralization hypothesis may provide another key to
physically possible yet that mysterious plasticity is still present. cognitive differences between child and adult language acquisition. As
Comparisons of Types 2 and 3 may be more significant than the child matures into adulthood, the left hemisphere (which controls the
Type 1 comparisons in considering the role of muscular analytical and intellectual functions) becomes more dominant than the
coordination. If it is indeed true, and it appears to be so, that right hemisphere (which controls the emotional functions). It is
starting a physical skill at a young age is advantageous, the same possible that the dominance of the left hemisphere con tributes to a
should clearly be true of language with respect to pronunciation of tendency to overanalyze and to be too intellectually centered on the
a language. It is no wonder that children acquire authentic task of second language learning.
pronunciation while adults generally do not, since pronunciation Another construct that should be considered in examining the
involves the control of so many muscles. cognitive domain is the Piagetian notion of equilibration. Equilibration
Research on the acquisition of authentic control of the phonology is defined as "progressive interior organization of knowledge in a
of a foreign language supports the notion of a critical period. The stepwise fashion" (Sullivan 1967:12), and is related to the concept of
evidence thus far indicates that persons beyond the age of puberty do equilibrium. That is, cognition develops as a process of moving from
not generally acquire authentic pronunciation of the second language. states of doubt and uncertainty (disequilibrium) to states of resolution
Such a critical period may have little to do with the lateralization of the and certainty (equilibrium) and then back to further doubt which is, in
brain, though, and much to do with the child's neuromuscular time, also resolved. And so the cycle continues. Piaget claimed that
plasticity. Of course, you can cite immediate exceptions to this rule- conceptual development is a process of progressively moving from
adult who, well after puberty, learned a second language and now states of disequilibrium to equilibrium and that periods of
speak it flawlessly. (You can also cite cases of athletes or musicians disequilibrium mark virtually all cognitive development up through age
who started developing their skill relatively late in lie and became very 14 or 15, when formal operations finally are firmly organized and
proficient.) These, however, appear to be isolated instances. But what equilibrium is reached.
is tantalizingly interesting about the isolated instances is that those It is conceivable that disequilibrium may provide the key
special people possess somewhere within their competence the ability motivation for language acquisition: language interacts with cognition
to override and overcome the general tendency to be less than perfect to achieve equilibrium. Perhaps until that state of final equilibrium is
in the pronunciation of a foreign language. lf we could only discover reached, the child is cognitively ready and eager to acquire the
what those unique properties are! language necessary for achieving the cognitive equilibrium of
It is important to remember in all these considerations that adulthood. That same child is, until that time, decreasingly tolerant of
pronunciation of a language is not by any means the sole criterion for cognitive ambiguities. Children are amazingly indifferent to
acquisition, nor is it really the most important one: We all know people contradictions; but intellectual growth produces an awareness of
who have less than perfect pronunciation but who also have ambiguities about them and heightens the need for resolution. Perhaps
magnificent and fluent control of a second language, control that can a general intolerance of contradictions produces an acute awareness of
even exceed that of many native speakers. So, muscular coordination the myriad of differences between two languages and undergoing
may be of minimal significance in establishing criteria 'for overall critical physical, cognitive, and emotional changes. The adolescent
successful acquisition of a second language. The acquisition of the must acquire a totally new physical; cognitive, and, emotional identity.
communicative and functional purposes of language is far more His ego is affected not only in how he under stand s himself but also in
important. how he reaches out beyond himself, how he relates to others socially,
All three types of comparisons relate to the cognitive domain and how he uses the communicative process to bring on affective
of human behavior. Human cognition develops rapidly throughout the: equilibrium.
first sixteen years of life and less rapidly after adulthood. Some of Alexander Guiora, a researcher in the study of personality
these changes are critical, others are more gradual and difficult to variables in second language learning, proposed what he called the
detect. Jean Piaget outlines the course of intellectual development in a language ego (Guiora et al. 1972b) to account for the identity a person
child through various stages: the sensorimotor stage from ages 0 to 2, develops in reference to the language he speaks. For any monolingual
the preoperational stage from ages 2 to 7, and the operational stage person the language ego involves the interaction of the native
from ages 7 to 16, with a crucial change from the concrete operational language and ego development. Your self-identity is inextricably bound
stage to the formal operational stage around the age of o 11. The most up with your language, for it is in the communicative process- the
critical stage for a consideration of first and second language process of sending out messages and having them "bounced" back- that
acquisition appears to occur, in Piaget's outline, at puberty. It is here such identities are confirmed, shaped, and reshaped. Guiora suggested
that a person becomes capable of abstraction, of formal thinking which that the language ego may account for the difficulties that adults have
transcends concrete experience and direct perception. Cognitively, then, in learning a second language. The child's ego is dynamic and growing
you can make a strong argument for a critical period of language and flexible through the age of o puberty, and thus a new language at
acquisition by connecting language acquisition , and the concrete/formal this stage does not pose a substantial "threat" or inhibition to the ego and
stage transition. adaptation is made relatively easily as long as there are not undue
Ausubel (1964) hinted at the relevance of such a connection confounding socio-cultural factors such as, for example, a damaging
in noting that adults learning a second language could profit from attitude toward a language or language group at a young age. However,
certain grammatical explanations and deductive thinking that the simultaneous physical, emotional; and cognitive changes of puberty
obviously would be pointless for a child. Whether adults do in fact give rise to a defensive mechanism in which the language ego becomes
profit from such explanations depends, of course, on the suitability protective and defensive. The language ego clings to the security of the
and efficiency o of the explanation, the teacher, the context, and native language to protect .the fragile ego of the young adult. The
other pedagogical variables. We have observed, though, that language ego, which has now become part and parcel of self-identity, is
children do learn second languages well without the benefit-or threatened, and thus a context develops in which you must be willing
hindrance-of formal operational thought. Adults, possessing literally to make a fool of yourself in the trial-and-error struggle of
superior cognitive capacity, often do not successfully learn a speaking and understanding a foreign language. Y lounger children are
second language. Is this capacity, then, a facilitating or inhibiting less frightened because they are less aware of language forms, and the
effect on language acquisition? Ellen Rosansky (1975:96) offers possibility of making mistakes on those forms-mistakes that one really
an explanation noting that initial language acquisition takes place must make in an attempt to communicate spontaneously does not
when the child is highly "centered": "He is not only egocentric at concern them greatly.
this time, but when faced with a problem he can focus (and then It is no wonder, then, that the acquisition of a new language ego is
only fleetingly) on one dimension at a time. This lack of flexibility an enormous undertaking, not only for young adolescents but also for
and lack of concentration may well be a necessity for language
an adult who has grown comfortable and secure in his own identity, and
acquisition." The young child is generally not "aware" that he is
who possesses inhibitions which serve as a wall of defensive protection
acquiring a language, nor is he aware of societal values and
around the ego. Making the leap to a new or second identity is no simple
attitudes placed on one language or another. It is said that "a
matter; it can be successful only when one musters the necessary ego
watched pot never boils"; is it possible that a language learner who
strength to overcome inhibitions. It is possible that the successful adult
is too consciously aware of what he is doing will have difficulty in
language learner is someone who can bridge this affective gap. Some of
learning another second language?
You may be tempted to answer that question affirmatively, the seeds of success might be sown early in life. In a bilingual setting,
but there is both, logical and anecdotal counterevidence. for example, if a child has already learned one second language in
Logically, a superior intellect should facilitate what is in one sense childhood, then affectively, learning a third language might represent
an intellectual activity. Anecdotal evidence shows that some adults much less of a threat. Or such seeds may be independent of a bilingual
who have been successful language learners have been very much setting; they may simply arise out of whatever combination of nature
aware of the process they were going through, even to the point of and nurture makes for the development of a strong ego.
utilizing' self made paradigms and other fabricated linguistic In Type 1 comparisons of first and second language
devices to facilitate the learning process. So, if it is true that mature acquisition, ego development and identification may be relevant
cognition is a liability to successful second language acquisition, factors. Preadolescent children of 9 or 10, for example, are
beginning to develop inhibitions, and it is conceivable, though little language learning in children are in general similar to first language
research evidence is available, that children of this age who are processes. Ravem (1968), Milon (1974), Natalicio and Natalicio
exposed to a second language will have more difficulty in learning (1971), Dulay and Burt (1974a), Ervin-Tripp (1974), and Hansen-Bede
the second language than younger children. Type 2 and 3 (1975), among others, concluded that similar strategies and linguistic
comparisons are of course highly relevant. We know from both features are present in both first and second language learning in
observational and research evidence that even mature adults are children. Dulay and Burt (1974a) found, for example, that in mi
highly inhibited organisms, particularly in Western society. Again, examination of over 500 errors made by Spanish. speaking children
cross-cultural research such as that reported by Hill (1970) is learning English, 86 percent of the errors reflected normal
important to consider. These inhibitions surface in modern language developmental characteristics-that is, expected intralingual strategies,
classes where the learner's attempts to speak in the foreign not interference errors from the first language. Hansen-Bede (1975)
language are often fraught with embarrassment. We have also examined such linguistic structures as possession, gender, word order,
observed the same inhibition in the "natural'" setting (a non- verb forms, questions, and negation in an English-speaking 3-yearold
classroom setting, such as a learner living in a foreign culture), child who learned Urdu upon moving to Pakistan. In spite of some
though in such instances there is the likelihood that the necessity to marked linguistic contrasts between English and Urdu, the child's
communicate will soon override the inhibitions. acquisition did not appear to show first language interference and,
Other affective factors seem to hinge on the basic notion of ego except for negation, showed similar strategies and rules for both the
identification. It would appear that the study of second language first and the second language.
learning as the acquisition of a second identity might pose a fruitful Adult second language linguistic processes are more difficult to
and important issue in understanding not only some differences pin down. Only a few detailed studies have been carried out on the
between child and adult first and second language learning, but second natural, untutored acquisition of a second language by adults. So much
language learning in general (see Chapter Seven). of adult second language acquisition in Western culture is tempered and
Another affectively related variable deserves mention here even shaped by c1assroom variables-textbooks, methods, and the like- that it
though it will be given fuller consideration in Chapter Six: the role of is difficult to conclude much about the natural , process. While other
attitudes in language learning. From the growing body of literature on chapters in this book will touch on this issue, what can be said here is
attitudes, it seems clear that negative attitudes can affect success in that adults do approach a second language, systematically and attempt
learning a language. Very young children, however, who are not to formulate linguistic rules on the basis, of whatever linguistic
developed enough cognitively to possess "attitudes" toward races, information is available to them-information, from both the native
cultures, ethnic groups, classes of people, and languages, are language and from the second language itself. The nature and
unaffected. Macnamara (1975:79) notes that "a child suddenly trans sequencing of these systems is the subject of a good, deal of second
ported from Montreal to Berlin will rapidly learn German 'no matter , language research today. What we have learned above, all else from
what he thinks of the Germans." But as a child reaches school age, . he this research is that the saliency of interference from the first language
also begins to acquire certain attitudes toward types and stereo. types does not imply that interference is the most relevant or most crucial
of people. Most of these attitudes are "taught," consciously or . factor in adult second language acquisition. Adults learning a second
unconsciously, by parents, other adults, and peers. The learning of . language manifest some of the same types of errors found in children
negative attitudes toward the people who speak the second language . learning their first language.
or toward the second language itself has been shown to affect the , One of the first steps demonstrating the importance of factors ,
success of language learning in persons from school age on up. other than first language interference was taken in a series of re,
Finally, peer pressure is a particularly important variable in. search studies by Heidi Dulay and Marina Burt (1972, 1974a, 1974b,,
Type 2 and Type 3 comparisons. The peer pressure children en, 1976). They even went so far at one point as to claim that "transfer , of
counter in language learning is quite unlike what the adult L1 syntactic patterns rarely occurs" (italics mine) in child second ,
experiences. Children usually have strong constraints upon them to . language acquisition (1976:72). They claimed that children learning . a
conform. They are told in words, thoughts, and actions that they had . second language use a creative construction process, just as they do , in
better "be like the rest of the kids." Such peer pressure extends to their first language. This conc1usion was supported by some massive ,
.language. Adults experience some peer pressure, but of a different research data collected on the acquisition order of eleven English
kind. Adults tend to tolerate linguistic differences more than children, morphemes in children learning English as a second language. Dulay
and therefore errors in speech are more easily excused. If an adult can and Burt found a common order of acquisition among children of
understand a second language speaker, for example, he will usually several native language backgrounds, an order very similar to that
provide positive cognitive and affective feedback, a level of tolerance found by Roger Brown (1973) using the same morphemes but for
which might encourage some adult learners to "get by." Children are children acquiring English as their first language.
harsher critics of one another's actions and words and may thus There are logical and methodological arguments about the
provide a necessary and sufficient degree of pressure to learn the validity of Dulay and Burt's findings. Rosansky (1976) argued that the
second language. statistical procedures used were suspect, and others (Larsen Freeman
1976, Andersen 1978) noted that eleven English morphemes constitute
The Linguistic Domain only a minute, portion of English syntax. Never the less the assertion
The linguistic "domain" is not a part of traditional that children do not appear to be as distracted by the first language as
categorizing of human behavior, but since language is such a do adults is upheld by other research on children's second language
specialized and pervading aspect of all of behavior and of a1l three acquisition, though the assertion that first language interference is
previous domains, and since if is the very subject matter with which "rare" is an overstatement. It may be more prudent to assert that the
we are dealing, it deserves unique consideration. We have so far first language, for cognitive and affective reasons a1ready discussed,
looked at the organism and considered a number of different types of does not pose the same degree of interference in children learning a
comparisons; now we look at the subject matter itself. What are some second language as it does in adults.
of the linguistic Adults, more cognitively secure, appear to operate from the solid
differences between first and second language learning? foundation of the first language and thus manifest more interference.
A growing number of research studies are now available to But it was pointed out earlier that adults, too, manifest errors not
shed some light on the linguistic processes of second language unlike some of the errors children make, the result of creative
learning, and how those processes differ between children and adults. perception of the second language and an attempt to discover its' rules
A good deal of this research will be treated in Chapters Eight, Nine, apart from the rules of the first language. The first language, however,
and Ten, but at this point we can look briefly at some of the linguistic may be more readily used to bridge gap s that the adult learner cannot
findings, particularly in the child 's acquisition of a second language fill by generalization within the second language. In this case we do
(Type 1 comparison). It is clear that children learning two languages well to remember that first language can be a facilitating factor, and
simultaneously acquire them by the use of similar strategies. They not just an interfering factor.
are, in essence, learning two first languages, and the key to success is We have touched on four domains that hold significant factors
in distinguishing separate contexts for the two languages. This for the comparison of first and second language acquisition. In all
children do with amazing dexterity. Usually there are two distinct four, though, it is important to maintain the distinction among the
contexts such as home/ neighborhood, home/school, or mother/father. three types of comparisons between first and second language
Children generally do not have difficulty discerning the separateness acquisition. Beware of the pitfalls of merely comparing "first" and
of such contexts, though sometimes acquisition in both languages is "second" language acquisition! By considering the three logically
slightly slower than the normal schedule of first language acquisition. possible comparisons, unnecessary loopholes in logic should be
It was shown by Wallace Lambert (1962) that such bilingualism does minimized. Once again, final answers have not been provided, but
not retard intelligence. If anything, bilinguals may be slightly superior; parameters for considering the comparisons have been set forth. By
as Lambert notes, "they have a language asset, are more facile at operating on them you can construct your own personal integrated
concept formation, and have a greater mental flexibility" (p. 155). understanding of what the relationship is between first and second "
Non simultaneous second language acquisition is difficult to language acquisition, and how that relationship might hold fruitful",
define within the limits of childhood. One could refer to a child who is implications for second language teaching.
acquiring a second language soon after he has begun to learn his first
language (say at age 3 or 4), or as late as age 10. For the most part,
research confirms that the linguistic and cognitive processes of second
ISSUES IN FIRST LANGUAGE ACQUISITION REVISITED
Imitation
Having examined the comparison of first and second language While children are good deep-structure imitators, adults can fare
acquisition in four general domains of human behavior, we turn in this much better in imitating surface structure if they are explicitly directed
final section to a brief consideration of the eight issues in first either internally or externally to do so. Sometimes their ability to
language acquisition that were presented in Chapter Two. In most center on surface distinctions is a distracting factor; at other times it is
cases the implications of these issues are already clear. from the helpful. Adults learning a second language might do well to attend
comments in the previous chapter. from your own logical thinking or consciously to truth value and to be less aware of surface structure as
from comments in this chapter. Therefore what follows is a way of' they communicate. The implication is that meaningful contexts for
highlighting the implications of the issues for second language language learning are necessary; second language learners ought not to
learning. become too preoccupied. with form lest they lose sight of the function
and purpose of language.
Competence-performance
It is as difficult to "get at" linguistic competence in a second Practice
language as it is in a first. For children, judgments of grammaticality Too many language classes are filled with rote practice that
may elicit a second language "pop-go-weasel" effect. For adults you centers on surface forms. If Ausubel is correct in his theory of learn-
can be a little more direct in inferring competence; adults can make ing, the frequency of stimuli and the number of times spent practicing
choices between two alternative forms and sometimes they , manifest a form are not highly important in learning an item. What is important
an awareness of grammaticality in a second language. But you must is meaningfulness. Contextualized, appropriate, meaningful
remember that adults are not generally able to verbalize "rules" and communication in the second language seems to be the best possible
paradigms consciously even in their native language. Furthermore, in practice the second language learner could engage in.
judging utterances in the modem language classroom, and responses
on various tests, teachers need to be cautiously alternative to the Input
discrepancy between performance on a given day or in a given context In the case of adult second language learning, parental input is
and competence in a second language in general. Remember that one replaced by peer and/or teacher input. The teacher might do well to be
isolated sample of second language speech may on the surface appear as deliberate, but meaningful, in his communications with students, as
to be rather malformed until you consider that sample in comparison the parent is to the child, since input is as important to the second
with the everyday mistakes and errors of native speakers. language learner as it is to the first language learner. And that input,
should foster meaningful communicative use of the language.
Comprehension vs. production
Can you now more adequately dispel the myths represented in ,
Whether comprehension is derived from a separate level of the statements cited by H. H. Stem at the beginning of the chapter? It
competence or not, there is a universal distinction between is probably apparent why you cannot, in simple statements, cannot
comprehension and production. Learning a second language usually pare first and second language acquisition. The fallacies of many of,
means learning to speak it and to comprehend it! When we say "Do you such statements should be more clearly perceived with carefully
speak English?" or "Parlez-vous francais?" we usually mean "... and do integrated considerations of the several! types and domains of
you understand it too?" Learning involves both modes (unless you are comparison and some of the implications of the issues of first
interested only in, say, learning to read in the second language). So language, acquisition.
teaching involves attending to both comprehension and production and
the full consideration of the gaps and differences, between the two. SUGGESTED READINGS
Adult second language learners will, like children, often hear a
distinction and not be able to produce it. The inability to produce an There are several well-known articles that have compared first
item, therefore, should not be taken to mean that the, learner cannot and second language acquisition. Ausubel (1964), Cook (1969), and
comprehend the item. Stern (1970) were some of the first to deal with the issue. Dulay and
Burt (1972) and Macnamara (1975) added some important arguments
Innateness to the comparison.
What happens to the magic "little black box" called LAD after, The discussion of the effects of lateralization on first and second
puberty? Does the adult suffer from linguistic "hardening of the language acquisition is an interesting topic of debate. Lenneberg
arteries"? Does LAD "grow up" somehow? Does lateralization signal the (1967) gave the c1assic position, then Seouel's (1969) article related
death of LAD? We do not have the answers to these questions, but lateralization to foreign accents. Krashen 's (1973) work on the notion
there have been some hints in the discussion of physical, cognitive, and of a critical period for language acquisition extended the argument
affective factors. What we do know is that adults and children alike further. Hill's (1970) response to Scovel was an intriguing account of
appear to have the capacity to acquire a second language at any age. If language learning in non-Western contexts.
a person does not acquire a second language successfully it is probably Since cognition is so central to the comparison of
because of intervening cognitive or affective variables and not the children
absence of innate capacities. Defining those intervening variables and adults in language acquisition, it is worthwhile to read some of
appears to be more relevant than probing the properties of innateness. Piaget's monumental works. An excellent short summary of Piaget's
theory of intellectual development was given by Sullivan (1967).
Universals
Rosansky (1975) discussed the application of Piaget's notion) of
Is there a universal deep structure, common to all languages? If
equilibration to second language learning.
so, then second language learning is merely the learning of a new
The series of studies by Dulay and Burt (1972, 1974a,
surface structure, a new set of forms for the basic meanings already
1974b,
established. However, there seems to be little evidence that deep
1976) are widely known as being among the first few attempts to
structures are all so universal. Meaning and thought seem to be as
demonstrate empirically that children learning a second language do
culturally determined as surface structures are. So the quest for
not manifest the same degree of interference attributed to adults.
universals is a slow and tedious process, something to look toward in
Larsen-
the distant future, but we should not expect immediately applicable
Freeman's (1976) study provided an important commentary
results soon. The best we can do in applying universal s to second
on Dulay and Burt's data.
language learning may be to look for commonalities between the first
and the second language itself and to examine the process of
TOPICS AND QUESTIONS FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION
acquisition. Learners may all use similar strategies at similar stages in
their acquisition process. If there is a universally successful way to
learn a second language, detailed studies of the characteristics of "good 1. Read over each of the common arguments (p. 42) cited by Stern (1970)
language learners" around the world may begin to open up some new which have been used to justify analogies between first language
vistas. learning and second language teaching. For each statement determine
what is assumed or presupposed. Then decide whether the analogy is
Language and thought correct or not. If so, why? If not, why not?
Another mind-boggling issue in both first and second language 2. What are the implications of including cell Al in the possible
acquisition is the precise relationship between language and thought. comparisons on page 44? You might speculate a little on what the
We can see that surely language helps to shape thinking and speech therapist has to face in getting a person to relearn his first
that thinking helps to shape language. What happens to this language, if he has lost the ability to use language through a stroke or
interdependent once when a second language is acquired? Does the accident.
bilingual person's' memory consist of one storage system or two? The 3. This chapter is organized around physical, cognitive, affective, and
second language learner is c1early presented with a tremendous task in linguistic considerations in making various types of comparisons. To
sorting out new meaning~ from old, distinguishing thoughts and review the arguments, turn the procedure around and list the separate
concepts in one language that are similar but not quite parallel to the physical, cognitive, affective, and linguistic arguments within each of
second language, perhaps really acquiring a whole new system of the three major types of comparisons.
conceptualization. The second language thought patterns that may be as 4. Cite anecdotal evidence in your own experience of a critical period for
interfering as the linguistic patterns themselves. the acquisition of a second language phonology (pronunciation).
5. The notion of a critical period is important in considering first and
second language acquisition. Summarize cognitive arguments for an
optimal critical period for second language acquisition. Next,
summarize affective and then physical arguments. Which set of
arguments do you consider the most powerful for distinguishing
between: children and adults in second language learning (Type 2)?
Does the combination of arguments begin to achieve explanatory
power in distinguishing child and adult second language learning
abilities?
6. It was noted on page 57 that "the saliency of interference . . . from the
first language does not imply that interference is the most relevant . . .
factor in adult language acquisition." Explain what is meant by that
statement.
7. Summarize the eight "revisited" issues in your own words. How does
your understanding of those issues, as they apply to second language
learning, help you to formulate a better understanding of the total
process of second language acquisition? Cite what you think might be
some practical class. room implications of the eight issues.
8. Do you think it is worthwhile at all to teach children a second language
in the classroom? If so, how might approaches and methods differ
between a class of children and a class of adults?
9. Review some of the arguments and issues in this chapter in view of
their possible bias toward Western society. Do you think all the same
arguments would hold for non-Western cultures?