LIN8001 Learning activity 1.4

Given below are some second language scenarios. Provide a plausible explanation for the level of achievement in the SL in each case:

1. Catherine is a 25 year old when she moves from Moscow to Sydney. She had six years of high school English as a subject. She is 35 years old now, is married to an Anglo-Australian, has one child and speaks English well but with a Russian accent.

Although immersed in an Australian English speaking culture for 10 years and studying (as opposed to acquiring) English as a school subject, we have no information about how much L2 practice/immersion was available to Catherine during the critical period (as per critical period hypothesis, CPH). Her speech production would be instinctive at age 25 as a result of 'muscle memory' and therefore the tendency to accent her sounds according to her L1 would be automatic. The range of morphemes that are dissimilar between English and Russian would be the most problematic for Catherine.

2. Jagit Singh moved from Fiji to USA when he was 3 years old. He is now 22 years old and one cannot distinguish his speech from the speech of peers in that particular area where he has lived all his life since migrating.

Although we have insufficient information to provide a full observation, Jagit was relocated to USA during his critical period for FLA, and would therefore have started acquiring American English as a 'second L1'. We are not informed as to what language Jagit's family spoke in the home either before or after the relocation.

3. Paul moved to Japan to teach English when he was 28 years old. He has been in Japan for 10 years and speaks Japanese with a foreign accent and has limited fluency.

Although not stated, we can probably assume that Paul is a native-speaker of English. Although immersed in a SL culture, his primary motivation for being in Japan is to teach English, not to acquire a L2. His social position in Japanese culture would lead native-speaking Japanese to attempt to speak to him in English. Japanese dialects are pitch accented beyond what is experienced in English (which may use inflection to differentiate between a declarative statement and a question, at best) and Paul may be unable to hear/produce the pitch variations without formal training.

4. Chen Suqin moved from Hong Kong to Brisbane when she was 12 years old. She is now 18 years old and in Year 11 at a high school. She is doing very well academically, especially in the sciences and maths. Her spoken English is a little hesitant and is accented. Her written work is quite acceptable though she does not have a complete grasp of the idioms of the English language.

As the scenario states the Chen is doing well academically, and we would assume that classes are taught in Australian English, it is clear that comprehension is not a factor. Researchers differ as to when the critical period ends, although there is general agreement that it fades rather than ends abruptly, and from the literature we can assume that Chen would have still been in the critical period to some degree during her 6 years in Brisbane, so child L1 / adult L2 factors are not as significant. Chen's language production is likely to be impacted by affective factors, possibly including anxiety, introversion, and self-esteem, resulting from changing cultures during puberty. The scenario does not provide information on what language is spoken in Chen's family home. If her L1 and her family-language is Mandarin (for example) she is possibly thinking in Mandarin and translating to English on-the-fly.

There are no right or wrong answers so you may wish to discuss your responses with your fellow students on the Discussion Board.