Speaking in Tongues: Second Language Acquisition—the Key to Literacy

Under review Speaking in Tongues: Second Language Acquisition—the Key to Literacyguage Magazine publication

He who does not know foreign languages does not know anything about his own. ~Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, Kunst and Alterthum

“Words! Words! Words!” (Shakespeare, Hamlet). We can find multiple meanings in a singular word, which has been part of our culture of literacy. In the last sixty years, however, there has been a shift from what we know as logos to graphic logos. This kind of deconstruction due to a post modernist curiosity has left us with more disconnection from language and we are as a Nation losing our linguistic heritage and reducing it to mechanics, and pure definition.

Although John Dewey understood the importance of language, metaphor, and symbol, he was more concerned about the initial experience of them and not a collective agreement on the power of their usage. The deficiencies that we will find as more and more schools move away from a language-based pedagogy are found in terms of social acquiescence. As fewer students develop linguistically, they will have difficulty socially and will have been disconnected from what Mortimer Adler calls “The Great Conversation”. They will on a very basic level lack the skills to have meaningful conversations as their reference points will draw closer and closer together; their metaphors will only go as far as the latest comment from twitter or a micro-blog. We are faced with a Nation of children who are receiving ecclipsed approaches to literacy which are limiting their understanding of meaning and further dulling their ability to become independent thinkers. The over emphasis on phonetics produces a disconnect with literature and over arching themes, eliminating the joy of reading.

According to studies retrieved from https://www.ethnologue.com/ there are approximately 6,809 languages in the world, with roughly 311 spoken languages in the United States. A variety of research has been conducted on the correlation between second language acquisition and increasing literacy rates. Many educators are making a case for foreign language education as foreign language acquisition was once part of core curriculum, not to mention academic language (Greek,Latin). I am proposing that Second Language Acquisition (SLA) has embedded instruction and propels a comprehensive literacy program; by it’s very nature, learning a foreign language offers children a rich literacy experience that is desired in a Comprehensive Balanced Literacy Program.

“A strong connection between oral language and reading has been clearly established in all learners” (Cazden, Garcia et al., as cited in Cooper, 2008, p. 5). Although in this context, the authors are speaking of the social process and the language base that a child has already developed, I am suggesting that a literacy program include not only the language heritage that a child has developed but an additional language. Should a child have to master more than one language? No, however the strategies obtained through the experience of learning a new language is vital to a Comprehensive Balanced Literacy Program (CBLC). It is most effective because it helps children construct meaning. The key points that I would like to address are:

I How children acquire language

II How Second Language Acquisition can improve literacy skills as part of a Comprehensive Balanced Literacy Program

III How Foreign language has embedded instruction

Since literacy begins at the oral level, I’m convinced that this developmental stage of phonetic awareness is optimal for learning and acquiring a foreign language. Furthermore, if it is during this early stage of literacy that children learn to recognize symbol and letter-sound association, then learning a foreign language in addition to the child’s base language (Cooper, 2008) is not only beneficial to their constructing meaning and using text analogy, it is intrinsic to a Comprehensive Balanced Literacy Program. It is primarily in the listening and speaking components of literacy that children begin to achieve comprehension.

I How children acquire language

There are many ways that a child can learn a second language. There are cases where with the help of scaffolding, language activities, and immersion, children can learn a foreign language innately. Cooper supports the notion that children acquire language and construct meaning in a variety of ways, which can be circumstantial.

1) They have a need that is meaningful and real (Cooper, 2008, p. 6.). For example, a child who is new to a school and does not speak the native language needs to communicate, make friendships, find self-expression, and command the language in order to make connections, construct meaning and achieve fluency.

2) Through interaction with peers (p. 6.). This is a fascinating method of language acquisition which far exceeds any conventional instruction. Through peer initiation and coaching, a child models after his peers and learns orally, approximations and correct forms of syntax, segmentation, sentence structure and phrasing, expressions, colloquialism and in most cases, dialect. Through this kind of immersion, the child learns context, meaning and linguistic concepts in a short amount of time, until implicitly, a verbal contract is made and the child becomes fluent in the newly acquired language.

3) Making approximations (p.6). A child is able to make generalizations when learning a new language which gives them the conceptual foundation for further and more developed study and practice of that language. It is in the innocent investigation and exploration of words that children begin to develop fluency. It is by making these approximations that whole language is acquired and children are able to derive meaning and begin to see flexibility in language.

4) At varying rates and stages of development (p.6). Since every child develops oral language at various stages, the introduction of an additional language is not taxing on a child. They are capable of processing many languages, even at a basic level, for instance, by comparing and contrasting the sound of a new language with that of their mother tongue. I share my own experience learning French at the age of three:

I welcomed the sudden invasion of a foreign language at the age of three and remember distinctly how very normal it felt to hear it in the house. My sisters had spoken French to each other, to me and to my parents, which gave me the kind of exposure that I needed. Even though I could not always understand word for word, I could grasp the concept of the language because my sisters made connections and were able to construct meaning in their conversations. I was not as quick with the language until I was in 2nd grade, but with exposure and constructing meaning through conversation and practice, I was able to make up for time so-to-speak.

5) By language model directly/indirectly (Cooper, 2008, p.6). This is an invaluable way to learn a foreign language, provided the person coaching has mastered the language. An effective model is found in teacher-directed instruction, when children can learn basic grammar and letter-sound association, by hearing the language spoken. They are able to learn patterns through guided practice and make comparisons with their own language. Another effective model is student-centered instruction, which allows the students to practice the new language in different contexts and make connections through meaningful tasks.

As Cooper mentions, even though only “approximation” of the language is attained, the framework is in place to develop vocabulary, grammar and syntax. The process in similar to that of a musician who learns by ear and then applies himself to music theory and the Circle of Fifths.

II How Second Language Acquisition can improve literacy skills as part of a Comprehensive Balanced Literacy Program

What is notable about Second Language Acquisition (SLA) is its standards of higher order thinking skills. When a child is introduced to a foreign language, he or she is automatically charged with comparing and contrasting both their language-base with the new language. They are now in the process of evaluating two separate linguistic systems. Once they are trained this way, voluntarily, they begin to develop problem-solving skills and comprehension strategies. They must make sense out of pattern, symbol, definitions and terminology. This is a literacy island and a wonderful playground for phonetic awareness.

III How Foreign Language Acquisition has embedded instruction

Because foreign language demands that the child employ many domains of thinking such as use of body language, use of hands and facial expression, rolling of R’s (Psycho Motor Domain), understanding context and meaning in a particular language (Cognitive Domain) and comprehension of linguistic intention (Affective Domain), there are greater chances for literacy development and advancement. The Diagram below illustrates the power of Foreign Language Acquisition and how many domains of thinking it permeates. It was an exercise for me in working out visually, how foreign language affects the way we think, speak, interact, and comprehend. I strongly believe that Foreign Language Acquisition affects a fourth domain and what I discovered empirically and later through theory is what I propose as the Perceptive Domain from cross cultural exposure and adaptation.

Table 1.1 Quadrogram. Relationship study of cognitive effects of Foreign Language Education at the elementary school level.

Diagram rationale: 3 Domains with 4th domain proposed with associated literacy skills (foreign language)

*******************CODA**********************