Dan Slobin Comes to Paris

The famous American linguist, Dan Slobin, was in Paris a few months ago to attend a conferencefirst and second language acquisition. His speech drew parallels between the process oflanguage learning for whild and adult learners. This is my "Compte Rendu" of his talk:

Dan Slobin’s lecture addressed interesting similarities between the process of first language learning and language that is acquired as an adult learning a second language. Slobin pointed out that these processes have more in common than we thought twenty years ago. Though young children have spurts in their language acquisition and make shocking strides in production of language, Slobin remarked that first language acquisition extends over a period of ten years. Language, he said, is a “complex sensory motor skill” that takes time to master.

Fluency in language is important to Slobin, who seeks to find out why all adult second language learners don’t become nearly native speakers. He posits that the lack of fluent second language speakers is a result of the role that cultures, and cultural differences, play in the experience of learning a second language. Slobin suggests that adult learners do not strive to integrate into their adopted linguistic community to the same extent that children do. The idea of being an “other” or foreigner among natives works against the adult learner, who recognizes cultural differences between themselves and their new community and uses them as a justification for not sounding or speaking like those around them.

In considering this information and its potential application, methods of teaching second languages come to mind. It seems to me that, if cultural differences and feelings of alienation can impede language acquisition and eventual fluency, then language classes should include a cultural component, something that not only familiarizes the student with where the language is spoken, but would also help their integration into the culture. However, this brings up questions regarding the difficult, but crucial, balance that must be struck between keeping one’s own cultural identity and adapting to a new environment.

A cultural component in language instruction shouldn’t be intended to replace or discourage native customs, practices, or comforts, but should make an understanding and involvement in their equivalents abroad seem accessible. Teachers of a second language have the awesome opportunity to engender an atmosphere of mutual respect for the cultures present in their classroom as well as the culture that is predominant outside the classroom. I believe that access to and increased understanding of the culture that surrounds the language being learned can sensitize and encourage the interest of the learner to engage in the culture. It would be interesting to follow up on this theory and see if there is a correlation between higher levels of proficiency in language and degrees of interest and interaction in the culture of the language’s native speakers. It seems to me that the two go hand in hand, which is why language taught with an attention to including socio-cultural elements would be an effective approach to teaching language to adult learners.