Teaching and Researching Autonomy in Language Learning

Question: Discuss about the case study Teaching and Researching for Autonomy in Language Learning. Answer: Problem Statement Within the field of linguistics, literacy is obtained through proper methods of instruction, unlike spoken language. It has been found that speech is innate within individuals while writing tends to be acquired (Stein, 2010). To go along with these concepts, there is an important need for literacy instruction within the process of learning a language, especially when vocabulary acquisition is involved (Hung, 2012). For most students attempting to learn Chinese as a second language, there is often a significant challenge with regard to reading, writing and understanding vocabulary words as a whole. Since many of those learners have a dominant language as English, it has been determined that there is a strong contrast in terms of vocabulary (Li, 2004). Within the English language, there is an emphasis on the alphabet whereas in the Chinese language, there is a strong emphasis on the logo-graphics (Ku, 2010). There is a stark different between the two languages and proper understanding of vocabulary words is difficult when there is seldom communication on a daily basis. Finally, the grammatical systems are different as well which may cause challenges when trying to learn vocabulary words (Shen, 2007). Purpose Statement The purpose of this study is to understand the challenges that are encountered among students who are learning Chinese as a second language in terms of vocabulary acquisition. In addition, the study also aims to contribute to second language learning knowledge by examining the factors that affect students difficulties in learning the Chinese language. 1. What are the perspectives of Primary 5 low progress learners on the vocabulary acquisition difficulties when learning Chinese as a second language? 2. How would Primary 5 low progress learners explain the difficulties they encountered in learning Chinese as a second language? Second-Language Acquisition Language acquisition can be defined as the process of human acquiring and comprehending a language that can be used to produce, use words and sentences for the purpose of communication. An individuals second language is not the native language of the speaker but a foreign language (Cohen, 2014). According to Luk (2013), English is a dominant language. Chinese is the second language growing in popularity. The Chinese teaching services are significantly increasing. It is important to learn Chinese as China is an economic and cultural giant in the world today. There are several motives to learn Chinese. People may choose to learn Chinese due to their economic influence, exotic language, fascination and exploring a foreign culture. Low Progress Learners The learning problems of slow learners are uniform across the world.Different students have different learning abilities. There are certain factors broadly categorized as internal and external that determines the speed and facility within which the new language shall be learned. The internal factors comprise of age, personality, motivation, experiences, native language and cognition. The children learn more efficiently than the older ones as they have solid literacy skills (Cohen, 2014). The anxious learners make slow progress as they take fewer opportunities to speak or make mistakes. The students who take pride in learning a new language shall enjoy learning more. The students who have lived in different countries have a stronger base to learn a new language. The students who have the similar native background shall easily learn the new language (Benson, 2011). The external factors comprise of curriculum, instruction, extrinsic motivation, and culture and status. Language learning is difficult if the language does not form a part of the mainstream course. The teachers providing instruction play a critical role in the learning process. If the students perceive their culture of a lower status then learning would make slower progress. The students from families have less extrinsic motivation and do not get sufficient support from family may make slow progress in learning second language (Mitchell Myles, 2013). Learning Chinese as a Second Language The people are well aware that Chinese is a complicated language. The people find the language difficult as the writing system is mysterious, complex yet beautiful. It may be one of the fascinating scriptures, but it is difficult to learn the characters and become functionally literate. There are a large number of characters to learn. Chinese writing system is also hard as there is no correspondence to the alphabet. Chinese characters are arrayed in two dimensions, rather than in the neat one-dimensional rows of alphabetic writing (Hsiao et al., 2013). Like English has phonetic components, Chinese does not have the same. People find it difficult to even look up a single word in the dictionary. The characters are ambiguous that makes it complicated to understand. Chinese is a tonal language that makes it difficult as the same syllable can be pronounced with different tones. Difficulty also lies in diversification of Chinese semantics as the same sentence can be expressed in different meanings (Tang Tian, 2014). References Benson, P. (2011).Teaching and researching: Autonomy in language learning. Harlow, England: Longman/Pearson. Cohen, A. (2014).Strategies in learning and using a second language. London: Longman. Hsiao, H., Chang, C., Chen, C., Wu, C., Lin, C. (2013). The influence of Chinese character handwriting diagnosis and remedial instruction system on learners of Chinese as a foreign language.Computer Assisted Language Learning,28(4), 306-324. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2013.818562 Mitchell, R. Myles, F. (2013).Second language learning theories. London: Hodder Arnold. Luk, G., Bialystok, E. (2013). Bilingualism is not a categorical variable: Interaction between language proficiency and usage.Journal of Cognitive Psychology,25(5), 605-621. Tang, M. Tian, J. (2014). Associations between Chinese EFL graduate students' beliefs and language learning strategies.International Journal Of Bilingual Education And Bilingualism,18(2), 131-152. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2014.882882