Influence of Native Language During the Second Language Acquisition Process
Major
Educational Studies
Second Major
Hispanic Studies
Submission Type
Poster
Area of Study or Work
Educational Studies
Faculty Advisor
Leah Nillas
Location
State Farm Hall
Start Date
4-13-2024 9:00 AM
End Date
4-13-2024 12:00 PM
Abstract
The second language acquisition process encompasses a multitude of factors that affect one’s ability to learn another language. Second language acquisition (SLA) describes the process through which individuals learn a language beyond their native or first language (Rogers & Young-Scholten, 2013). Teachers of the second language acquisition process often completely avoid usage of one’s native language within their classroom, but often are silent when challenged to defend this harsh and unrealistic principle. It is inappropriate to assume one can acquire a second language to the same ability as one who is a native speaker of the target language. The usage of one’s mother tongue during the second language acquisition process encourages language learners to strengthen both their native language and target language simultaneously. The purpose of this teacher research is to determine the influences one’s native language has on their ability to acquire a second language. Specifically, this research examined multiple research studies and teaching methodologies tailored to ameliorate the SLA process and analyzed a plethora of original student work samples. Student work samples were collected from 40 students who attended a rural school district - comprising 93% white students whose native language is English. These 40 students were enrolled in either a Spanish I or Spanish III class. Student work samples consist of summative exams, oral presentations, and in-class assignments. The goal of this teacher research is to encourage teachers of a foreign language to consider the implementation of instructional strategies in the language learners’ native language. Through an increased volume of one’s native language in combination with the target language, the SLA process is expected to be more accommodating for every language learner.
Influence of Native Language During the Second Language Acquisition Process
State Farm Hall
The second language acquisition process encompasses a multitude of factors that affect one’s ability to learn another language. Second language acquisition (SLA) describes the process through which individuals learn a language beyond their native or first language (Rogers & Young-Scholten, 2013). Teachers of the second language acquisition process often completely avoid usage of one’s native language within their classroom, but often are silent when challenged to defend this harsh and unrealistic principle. It is inappropriate to assume one can acquire a second language to the same ability as one who is a native speaker of the target language. The usage of one’s mother tongue during the second language acquisition process encourages language learners to strengthen both their native language and target language simultaneously. The purpose of this teacher research is to determine the influences one’s native language has on their ability to acquire a second language. Specifically, this research examined multiple research studies and teaching methodologies tailored to ameliorate the SLA process and analyzed a plethora of original student work samples. Student work samples were collected from 40 students who attended a rural school district - comprising 93% white students whose native language is English. These 40 students were enrolled in either a Spanish I or Spanish III class. Student work samples consist of summative exams, oral presentations, and in-class assignments. The goal of this teacher research is to encourage teachers of a foreign language to consider the implementation of instructional strategies in the language learners’ native language. Through an increased volume of one’s native language in combination with the target language, the SLA process is expected to be more accommodating for every language learner.