Optimum age and Affective filters

1. Umm-e-Rooman Yaqoob
Second Language Acquisition
Second-language acquisition,second-language learning,isthe processbywhichpeople learna second
language.Second-languageacquisition alsoreferstothe scientificdisciplinedevotedtostudyingthat
process. Second languagereferstoanylanguage learnedinadditiontoaperson's firstlanguage;
althoughthe conceptisnamed second-languageacquisition,itcanalsoincorporate the learningof third,
fourth,or subsequentlanguages. Second-languageacquisitionreferstowhatlearnersdo;itdoesnot
referto practicesin language teaching,althoughteachingcanaffectacquisition.
Factors affectingL2:
 Age
 Personality
 Motivation
 Experiences
 Cognition
 Native Language
 Curriculum
 Culture
 Status
 Motivation
Optimum Age:
The issue of age wasfirstaddressedwiththe critical periodhypothesis.The strictversionof this
hypothesisstatesthatthere isacut-off age at about 12, afterwhichlearnerslose the abilitytofully
learna language.Thisstrictversionhassince beenrejectedforsecond-languageacquisition,asadult
learnershave beenobservedwhoreachnative-likelevelsof pronunciationandgeneral fluency. Scholars
believethatmanyfactorscan affectsecondlanguage learningandteachingpractices,amongthemage
has beenalwaysregardedasa keyfactor.The startingage for learninga second/foreignlanguage isa
debatable issue aboutwhichdifferentideashave beenproposedbyvariousstakeholdersandscholars.
Some scholarsrefertothe critical periodhypothesisforL1acquisitionandbelievethatbefore pubertyis
the besttime to start learning/teachingaforeignlanguage. Fromanotherpointof view,scholarsreject
the appropriatenessof thisclaiminsecondlanguage learning/teachingregardingthe evidence that
adultlearners,insome aspectsof language,are saidtoacquire a foreignlanguage more easily.These
researchersclaimthatconceptssuchas multiple critical periodandthe presence of motivationbasedon
whichanypersoncan start learninga foreignlanguage atanyage can be goodexamples.
(Umm-e-RoomanYaqoob)

2. The advantages of earlysecond language acquisition
Accordingscientificsurveys,language aspectssuchaspronunciationandintonationcanbe acquired
easierduringchildhood,due toneuromuscularmechanismswhichare onlyactive until tothe age of 12.
Anotherpossibleexplanationof children’s´accent-freepronunciationistheirincreasedcapabilityfor
imitation.Thiscapabilityfadesawaysignificantlyafterpuberty.Anotherfactorthat we shouldtake into
considerationischildren’sflexibility,spontaneityandtolerance tonew experiences.Kidsare more
willingtocommunicate withpeople thanadults,theyare curiousandtheyare not afraidof making
mistakes.Lastbutnot least,aspectssuchas time,greaterlearningandmemorycapacityare inany case
advantagesinearlylanguage learning.Onthe otherhandthere are surveyswhichpointoutthe riskof
semi-lingualismandadvise parentsto organize languageplanningcarefully.
(Rabia Ashiq)
The advantages of late second language acquisition
Considerthe followingfactors:Firstof all,adults(meaningpeopleafterpuberty) have animportant
advantage:cognitive maturityandtheirexperience of the general languagesystem.Throughtheir
knowledge of theirmothertongues,aswell asotherforeignlanguages,notonlycantheyachieve more
advantageouslearningconditionsthanchildren,buttheycanalsomore easilyacquire grammatical rules
and syntacticphenomena.Itwouldbe useful topointoutthatsometimesincorrectpronunciationisnot
a matter of capabilitybutof goodwill.Accordingtodifferentsurveys,adultsdonotfeel likethemselves
whentheyspeaka foreignlanguage andtheyconsiderpronunciationanethno- linguisticidentity-
marker.A positive ornegative attitude towardsaforeignlanguageshouldnotbe underestimated.
Anotherfactorto consideristhe adults‘motivation tolearnaforeignlanguage.Whenanadultlearnsa
foreignlanguage there isalwaysareasonbehindit:education,social prestige,professionorsocial
integration.The latterisconsideredaverystrongone,especiallyinthe case of immigrants.
So whatis the bestage for a personto start learningaforeignlanguage insituationswhere thereisa
choice,andwhere itis notcritical that a native-speaker-likepronunciationisacquired?
The answer,accordingto current research,isearlyadolescence,soabout11-13. Andthe more
motivatedthe childistolearnthe newlanguage,the more successful he will be!
(Sara George)
Definitionofthe Affective FilterHypothesis
Accordingto the affective filterhypothesis,affecteffectsacquisition,butnotlearning,byfacilitatingor
preventingcomprehensibleinputfromreachingthe language acquisitiondevice.Inotherwords,
affective variablessuchasfear,nervousness,boredom, andresistance tochange can affectthe
acquisitionof asecondlanguage bypreventinginformationaboutthe secondlanguage fromreaching
the language areasof the mind. Affective filterscanbe raisedor loweredasa resultof the environment
that individualsare in,interactionswithpeersand/orteachers,ordue topersonal factorssuchas
insecurityandanxiety.

3. (MehakRasool)
Krashen’swork
In Krashen’swork,the affective filterhypothesisexplainsthe role of affectivefactorsinthe processof
language acquisition(2003).It suggeststhatemotional variablescanhindercomprehensible inputfrom
reachingthe part of the brainresponsibleforacquiringlanguage.Krashen(1981) postulatedthatan
affective filterexiststhatcanincrease ordecrease the intake of the comprehensible input.He found
that a highlevel of stressandanxiety createsafilterthatimpedeslearning,blocksthe intake,and
reducesL2 acquisition.Whenthe filterisup,inputcan’treachthose parts of the brain where acquisition
occurs. Many language learnersrealize thatthe reasontheyhave trouble isbecause theyare nervousor
embarrassedandsimplycan’tconcentrate.Inotherwords,the inputisfilteredout.Krashenalso
concludedthata lowaffective filteronthe otherside facilitateslearningandpromotessecondlanguage
acquisition.
(Samia Shabbir)
Affective filterandsecond language acquisition
The Affective FilterhypothesisembodiesKrashen'sview thatanumberof 'affective variables' play a
facilitative,butnon-causal,role insecondlanguage acquisition. These variablesinclude:motivation,self-
confidence andanxiety.Accordingtohim, itiseasierfora learnertoacquire a language whenhe/she is
not tense,angry,anxious,andbored.Krashenclaimedthatlearnerswithhighmotivation,self-
confidence,agoodself-image,andalowlevel of anxietyare betterequippedforsuccessinsecond
language acquisition.Lowmotivation,low self-esteem, anddebilitatinganxietycancombine to'raise'
the affective filterandforma 'mental block'thatpreventscomprehensibleinputfrombeingusedfor
acquisition.Inotherwords,whenthe filteris'up'itimpedeslanguage acquisition.Onthe otherhand,
positive affectisnecessary,butnotsufficient onitsown,foracquisitiontotake place.Therefore,
educatorsneedtoprovide anenvironmentthatreducesstressandanxietyandalsoincreasesthe ELL
students’motivationandself-esteem.This,accordingtoKrashen,providesopportunitiesforlanguage
acquisitiontooccurmore efficientlyandquicklyamongthe learners(2003).
How to make use of Affective filterhypothesis insecondlanguage teaching
Analyze students’learningmotivation,motivatethem, andhelpthempossessapositiveattitude Some
studentshave verypoorperformance onthe L2, onlybecause theyhave little ornotenoughmotivation
for itand there are mainlyfive reasons:1) nointerest.2) Noconfidence.3) Teacher’sinappropriate
teachingmethod.4) Some negative nationalemotionsagainstthe targetlanguage.5) Studentsthinkit
no use to learn.Fromthe above reasonswe can see that teacherscanmotivate students’learning
motivation.
(Umm-e-RoomanYaqoob)