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Date Posted: 13:47:45 10/15/05 Sat
Author: Mariléia Xavier
Subject: Final Draft: Learner Roles in Second Language Acquisition

Learner Roles in Second Language Acquisition

For a long time the success in second language acquisition was due to a good method, a teacher and the cognitive factor only. But if it was true, why some learners did not achieve a successful level in the target language, even though they were involved by those three factors? After many researches on successful and unsuccessful learners, nowadays we know that there are other factors involved in the whole language learning process. Among those factors it is vital to emphasize the learners roles. Their contributions are as important as the teachers` - or more so. Thus successful mastery of the second language will be due to a large extent to a learners` own personal effort.
The first, and maybe the most important factor related to the learner roles is the Intrinsic Motivation. If the learner are aware of their needs, wants or desires they will be positively motivated to learn a foreign language. According to Brown (2003), Intrinsic Motivation is an important element that works as a kind of reward. Thus, learners will participate in class because of their self-rewarding, and not because they anticipate some reward from the teachers.
A second element that contributes to a successful second language acquisition is the learner`s belief in his or her own capacity to learn a language. It means, a learner can not succeed in the learning process without some degree of self-esteem, knowledge of him or herself, and belief in his or her own capabilities. In summary, the Self-confidence, which is related to the self-esteem, deals with the fact that the learners believe that they “can do it”.
Another factor is the Strategic Investment. It means, “learner`s own personal investment of time, effort, and attention to the second language in the form of an individualized battery of strategies for comprehending and producing the language” (Brown, 2003, p. 20). Also it is important to say that “the methods that the learner employs to internalize and to perform in the language” (Brown, 2003, p. 20), are so important as the teaching methods, textbooks, or even grammatical paradigms.
One of the characteristics of a good language learner is the ability to take risk. The Risk-taking, that is the willingness to try out the new language, is an important factor that contributes to the development of learners` skills, mainly the speaking. The Risk-taking seems to be connected with the self esteem. Some learners avoid speaking in class because they are very afraid of making mistakes or appearing foolish. On the other hand , those with high self-esteem take risks in attempting to produce and to interpret the acquired language.
It is important teachers and learners know that a large number of variables are implied in the acquisition of a second language. Furthermore, the awareness of the several factors that affect and contribute to the learning process help them to find solutions to problems in the classroom. In conclusion , classroom techniques have a much greater chance for success if teachers and learners work together , each one doing his role. Finally, knowing the learner roles teachers can create an atmosphere in the classroom that encourages and motivates students participate of the learning process. In the same way, being aware of their role learners are expected to participate of the process instead of just wait for teachers` effort.


References

BROWN,H. Douglas. Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy.Second Edition. Addison Wesley Longman: New York,2003.
BROWN, H. Douglas. Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. Second Edition. Prentice-hall, Inc.: New Jersey, 1987.

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