Second language acquisition Essay Example for Free

Second language acquisition Essay Study: To access the impact of anxiety and age on second language learning. Method A personal information questionnaire was first provided to two classes (34) of adults studying in the second semester of a migrant English program, all of whom had undertaken an oral exam within their English program two weeks earlier. From this corpus of 40 questionnaire responses only 7 were selected for this study, based on the fact that they had no knowledge of English prior to arriving and the length of time they had been living in America. Subjects The subjects chosen were all females and all were over the age of 25. Their time living in America varied between 6 months and 1 year but none had learnt or been able to speak or understand English prior to their arrival in America. Data were collected using a questionnaire developed for this purpose. The questionnaire consists of 10 items on a five-point Likert type scale. The items reflect the oral situations the subjects were likely to encounter within their study program. Results Table 1 below provides the results of the questionnaire by subjects ordered by age and numbered 1-7. Table 1: Subject/ age Q. 1 Q. 2 Q. 3 Q. 4 Q. 5 Q. 6 Q. 7 Q. 8 Q. 9 Q. 10 Oral Exam Score 1 (25yrs) Korean 5 5 4 4 4 3 4 4 4 2 48/100 2 (27yrs) Spanish 5 5 4 2 3 3 3 3 3 1 72/100 3 (32yrs) Russian 5 5 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 71/100 4 (36yrs) Spanish 5 5 4 1 3 3 4 3 3 2 66/100 5 (44yrs) Russian 5 5 4 2 3 4 3 4 3 2 53/100 6 (48yrs) Russian 5 5 4 2 4 4 4 4 3 1 47/100 7 (51yrs) Spanish 5 5 4 1 4 4 3 4 4 1 47/100 Discussion This qualitative data shows that talking in front of the class and answering teacher’s questions cause the most anxiety with all 7 feeling extreme anxiety in these two situations. The situation causing least anxiety for all is when they speak to their English teacher in an informal situation. Similarly, the table indicates low anxiety levels for 5 out of 7 subjects in group discussions. An interesting point to note is that anxiety levels proved lower overall when subjects were participating in a one to one situation with their teacher, even under test conditions, in contrast to situations where they were performing in front of their peers. Results also show that correction by the teachers whether for grammar or pronunciation does cause anxiety, whether it be moderately of very for all subjects. Results also indicate that anxiety increased with age with the one exception of subject 1 – the youngest but as anxious as the two eldest subjects. The same results are found in relation to scores received on their oral English exams, scores decreased with age and anxiety levels with the exception of subject 1. It should be noted that subject 1 is the only Asian participant, which may be a factor in her being the exception as all others were of Russian or Spanish descent. APPENDIX Questionnaire. Fill in the circles according to how anxious you feel when you speak English in the following situations. 1: not at all 2: slightly 3: moderately 4: very 5: extremely Situation Anxiety level 1. The teacher asks me a question and I have to answer in English O O O O O 1 2 3 4 5 2. Having to talk or present by myself in front of the class O O O O O 1 2 3 4 5 3. Taking part in a role-play in front of the class O O O O O 1 2 3 4 5 4. Taking part in a group discussion in the class O O O O O 1 2 3 4 5 5. When the teacher corrects my grammar O O O O O 1 2 3 4 5 6. When the teacher corrects my pronunciation O O O O O 1 2 3 4 5. 7. When I think other classmates are criticizing my English O O O O O 1 2 3 4 5 8. When undertaking an oral test O O O O O 1 2 3 4 5 9. Asking English teacher for advice O O O O O 1 2 3 4 5 10. Speaking informally to my English teacher O O O O O 1 2 3 4 5. APPENDIX Personal Information Name: _____________________________________ Age: _______________ Address: _______________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ Place of birth: ______________________________________________ Years living in America: __________ Age you arrived in America: _________ Nationality: _____________________ Score in school oral exam: _________.