Ankstyvasis užsienio kalbos mokymas – neatsakyti klausimai

INETA DABAS̆INSKIENĖ Vytautas Magnus University RAMINTA GARUCKAITĖ Vytautas Magnus University EARLY FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING – UNANSWERED QUESTIONS The development and quality of the Lithuanian language is an issue of public concern, one that not only linguists, educators, education specialists, and psychologists, but also politicians, seek to address. It is increasingly said that adults’ and especially children’s language has become noticeably poorer over the past decade, that language acquisition is slowing, and that acquiring not only linguistic but also communicative skills has become more difficult. In seeking to answer the question of why children’s language is deteriorating, the following causes are most often cited: social and economic changes in society (as a result of the intense emigration flow in recent years, a large proportion of children remaining in Lithuania have fallen into socially neglected at-risk groups, which may have led to deficiencies in their linguistic and cognitive development) and the growing influence of a foreign language (most often English) (today there is active debate not only about the influence of English spreading through television channels and the internet, but also about the possible negative impact of early foreign language teaching on the development of the mother tongue1). Public and private discussions, academic conferences, and meetings between politicians and members of the public continue to see lively debate over whether children should be taught a foreign language from second grade, whether this will hinder the formation of their mother-tongue system, and so on. Drawing on studies conducted in Lithuania and other countries, we will attempt to review the questions most frequently raised: What is the appropriate age to begin learning a foreign language? Does early foreign language teaching impede the development of the mother tongue or achievement in learning it? What is needed for foreign language teaching to be successful? 1http://www.smm.lt/svietimo_bukle/docs/pr_analize/Ankstyvasis_Kalbu_Ugdymas.pdf 294 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 82 1. EARLIER OR LATER? THE CRITICAL PERIOD HYPOTHESIS (CPH) Researchers are interested in what age is most suitable for beginning foreign language instruction. Research on the critical period (the period before puberty) hypothesis (CPH) is often discussed. Language learning during this period produces the best results and makes it possible to attain native-language proficiency. At the end of this period, changes occur in the brain that lead to poorer results. According to R. Johnstone (2002: 7), at first the term critical period hypothesis was applied to speaking, that is, to describing pronunciation and intonation, and only later was it extended to grammar (morphology and syntax). The critical period hypothesis applies to the acquisition of both a native and a second, i.e. foreign, language, although far fewer studies have been conducted on native language acquisition, limited to cases of children with atypical development, that is, those who failed to acquire linguistic competence because they lived in a linguistically isolated environment. With respect to the first language (L1), CPH means that if a language is not learned by a certain age, this ability is lost and can never be developed again (Moskovsky 2001: 2). Various studies of the relationship between age and foreign-language2 (L2) acquisition are still underway (and the authors disagree about the actual influence of CPH on language learning). The main idea behind the research is that children attain a higher level of L2 proficiency than adults; in other words, they make faster progress and perform better. The claim that children have a certain instinctive ability to learn at an early age is supported by specialized clinical studies; for example, magnetic resonance imaging shows differences in children's brains, namely increased activity in certain brain regions during learning, whereas this was not observed in studies of adults (Johnstone 2002: 7). There is generally agreement about the effect of age, since the decline in procedural memory during adolescence encourages reliance on explicit learning and rules, 2Two terms are used in various studies: foreign language and second language. These terms are often understood differently. The first term indicates that the language being learned is not the learner's native language and that learning takes place in the environment of the native language; for example, French people learn English in France or Spanish people learn French in Spain. Such learning usually takes place in a formal setting, that is, a classroom. Second-language learning generally means that a foreign language is learned in an environment where that language is spoken; for example, Germans learn Japanese in Japan. This learning process does not necessarily take place in a formal setting and, most importantly, the learner has the opportunity to communicate with people for whom that language is native, whereas foreign-language learners usually do not have such an opportunity (Gass, Selinker 2008: 7). This is studied primarily in cases where people emigrate to other countries and they and their children have to learn the language of that country. I. DABAŠINSKIENĖ, R. GARUCKAITĖ. Ankstyvasis užsienio kalbos mokymas – neatsakyti klausimai 295 thus, a different cognitive system is used from the one responsible for native-language acquisition (Paradis 2004: 59). The question that prompts the most discussion concerns the pace of learning and the end result. It is claimed that young children learn a foreign language more slowly than adolescents and adults, but achieve better results (Singleton 1989, 2001; Singleton, Ryan 2004; Moyer 2004; DeKeyser, Larson-Hall 2005; MacWhinney 2005). Many studies support the hypothesis that success in foreign-language learning decreases with age (Hakuta, Bialystok, Wiley 2003; Chiswick, Lee, Miller 2004 – studies of millions of immigrants living in the USA and Australia). According to these authors, age does not necessarily affect foreign-language learning because of linguistic factors; it may be associated with personal abilities or social influence. Cognitive processes are also highly significant, since it is more difficult for older learners to learn certain combinations and decode new information—the capacities of memory and attention decline. Since these factors are associated with age, the opportunities for language acquisition also diminish (Hakuta, Bialystok, Wiley 2003: 31–32). 2. DOES FOREIGN-LANGUAGE LEARNING AFFECT NATIVE-LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT? Early foreign-language instruction is viewed ambivalently, especially in Lithuania, where no serious research in this field has been conducted. Despite the positive results of studies carried out in other countries, debate continues in our country about the effects of foreign-language instruction on children's native-language development and on other subjects (see Stunžėnienė 2009). It is claimed that knowledge of the native language acquired at home, in a preschool institution, or elsewhere has a significant influence on success in learning a foreign language (Arnašienė 2007: 167). According to L. Vygotsky, units of meaning that a child has already acquired in the native language can help the child understand a new language system. Moreover, the author argues that a foreign language can also help learners acquire more complex forms of their native language (1962; cited in Vilke 2001: 17). In other words, learning two languages allows a child to compare them continually and provides an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the language system as a whole. It is important that the differences between languages be properly explained to pupils, linking foreign-language instruction not only to their existing knowledge of the native language but also to other school subjects. It is necessary to 296 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 82 point out that comparing several linguistic systems not only broadens a pupil's linguistic knowledge but also fosters understanding and a positive attitude towards different languages and cultures. Documents of the European Union (hereafter, EU) promoting multilingualism and early foreign-language instruction emphasize the advantages of knowing other languages. Languages develop not only general skills (personal, social, communicative, critical-thinking, and problem-solving skills), but also specific ones: they nurture values, cultural attitudes, tolerance, moral and aesthetic views, and develop willpower, attention, memory, and so on. Research has confirmed that children who begin learning a foreign language early have better spoken-language skills and are more confident when speaking another language. Thus, the view that early foreign-language instruction may hinder learning in other subjects seems unfounded, since the skills pupils develop in fact help them in later years at school. There is no clear-cut answer to some questions in the field of foreign-language learning, and research methodology varies depending on the researcher. Many scholars study how a foreign language affects the native language and, conversely, what effect the native language has on a foreign one. One such question is whether it is possible to learn a foreign language in the same way as it is spoken by native speakers. Interestingly, in this field of research it is customary to relate the level of foreign-language attainment to the linguistic competence of its speakers, although some researchers are inclined to criticize this approach. V. Cook (2003: 5) argues that such a comparison is not valid because the native-language knowledge of L1 and L2 users differs. In other words, a person learning a foreign language has grown up under different conditions and often perceives the world differently from a native speaker of that language, so their linguistic knowledge is generally not identical. Moreover, not only the thought patterns of L2 users differ, but also the functions of their language. V. Cook also proposes that L2 research focus not on deficiencies—that is, what language users cannot attain—but on their achievements in using a foreign language. Foreign-language learners should be evaluated on the basis of what they have learned, not on their ability to “look like” native speakers (Cook 2003: 3–4). The question of the effect of L2 on the native language is no less controversial. The negative, positive, and neutral effects of a foreign language are often discussed. Particular concern is expressed about early foreign-language instruction, as it is thought that a foreign language may overshadow still-fragile native-language skills (Stunžėnienė 2009). However, according to many sources, such I. DABAŠINSKIENĖ, R. GARUCKAITĖ. Ankstyvasis užsienio kalbos mokymas – neatsakyti klausimai 297 This belief is unfounded, because learning L2 only promotes positive outcomes in learning other subjects, including the native language. Drawing on data from various studies, V. Cook argues that foreign-language learners often have greater linguistic competence than speakers of only one language. For example, Hungarian pupils learning English use more complex sentence structures in their native language (Kecskes, Papp 2000), while English-speaking children whose foreign language is Italian are better able to read in their native language (Yelland et al. 1993; cited in Cook 2003: 11–12). Thus, these studies show that learning L2 does not impoverish the native language; on the contrary, it has a positive effect and helps learners achieve better results. Processes often associated with the negative influence of a foreign language are language loss or language attrition; however, such cases involve broader-scale research and usually concern language changes among immigrants. When such a social group settles in a foreign-language environment, opportunities to use L1 may decrease or disappear entirely. According to V. Cook, when a language is not used for the main purposes of everyday life and no longer serves its function, it inevitably becomes impoverished or is eventually lost (2003: 12). Language loss or attrition can also be discussed from the individual’s perspective. S. Jarvis (2003) proposes viewing the influence of L2 not as a sociocultural phenomenon involving several linguistic communities, but as an individual, psycholinguistic phenomenon—that is, the loss of each person’s individual L1 skills. According to the author, a foreign language expands a person’s L1 capacities but does not replace the native language; it merely supplements it. Although this phenomenon is also regarded in scholarly literature as an example of language attrition, since changes in language indicate changes in an individual’s L1 competence, it means a departure from the usual norms of language use among monolinguals (Sharwood Smith 1983: 188–189; cited in Jarvis 2003: 82). In other words, language can become unnatural because it becomes filled with foreign constructions or modes of expression. The influence of L2 can also be discussed neutrally. Evaluation is always problematic, since what is good and what is bad are subjective matters. It is proposed that the loss of certain native-language skills be viewed negatively only when it prevents a language user from successfully completing a task (Cook 2003: 12). This, too, entails a degree of evaluation, although the differences between L1 and L2 users are generally difficult to compare or criticize. 298 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 82 3. WHAT DOES SUCCESS IN EARLY FOREIGN-LANGUAGE LEARNING DEPEND ON? The outcomes of early foreign-language learning depend on the curriculum developed—that is, the teaching methods and the teacher’s contribution—as well as on the number of hours allocated and the intensity of learning. It is worth looking at early language-learning programs implemented in other EU countries and the time allocated to them. Eurydice (2008) tyrimų duomenimis, 2006 metais pradinio ugdymo etape užsienio kalbų buvo mokomasi beveik visose šalyse. Keliose jų mokymasis privalomas nuo pat pirmųjų metų mokykloje arba net ikimokyklinio ugdymo amžiuje (Belgija ir Ispanija). Lietuvoje iki 2008 metų privalomasis užsienio kalbų mokymas prasidėdavo nuo 10 metų amžiaus, arba ketvirtos klasės. Tiesa, tėvų pageidavimu jis galėjo būti ankstinamas ir prasidėti nuo antros klasės. Daugelyje šalių 50 proc. ar daugiau visų pradinukų mokėsi bent vienos užsienio kalbos. Lietuvoje pirmosios užsienio kalbos mokėsi 60,8 proc., antrosios – 0,2 proc., o visai kalbų pradinėse klasėse nesimokė 39 proc. mokinių. Reikia atkreipti dėmesį, kad nė vienos užsienio kalbos nesimokančių mokinių skaičius pradinėse mokyklose yra gana didelis. Despite the growth in early foreign-language teaching, many EU countries still allocate insufficient time to it—just 10 percent of total teaching time. A few countries are exceptions: Luxembourg allocates 39 percent of the time, Malta 15 percent, and Belgium (the German-speaking community) 14 percent. Unfortunately, in as many as ten countries this percentage is below 5 percent, including Lithuania, where it is just 2.3 percent. At the secondary education level in Lithuania, foreign-language teaching accounts for 15 percent of total time. As for the most popular languages, English is the most frequently chosen language at the primary education level in Europe (except in Belgium and Luxembourg, where the most popular languages are French and German, respectively). In 17 countries, 50 percent or more of primary pupils study English. Since 2002, the figures for learning this language have risen in almost all countries. For example, in Lithuania, 46 percent of pupils were studying English that year, compared with 59 percent in 2006. German and French are the second most frequently chosen languages to study in Europe, whereas in Lithuania, particularly in recent years, Russian takes second place. Having discussed the statistical data, it is essential to examine the results of the studies conducted and the measures proposed by their authors to ensure successful early- I. DABAŠINSKIENĖ, R. GARUCKAITĖ. Ankstyvasis užsienio kalbos mokymas – neatsakyti klausimai 299 foreign language teaching. The authors of a project conducted in Croatia, J. Djigunovic and M. Vilke, argue that the appropriate age to begin teaching children a foreign language is six, but learning must be intensive. The authors propose 45 minutes of language instruction per day, five days a week. Groups of students should be small, consisting of 10–15 children, so that attention can be given to each of them. The teacher’s role must not be forgotten either: the teacher must be well versed in the language being taught, and their pronunciation and intonation must be clear (Djigunovic, Vilke 2000). According to M. Nikolov, if these essential conditions are not met, it is better not to begin early instruction at all, because inadequate teaching can affect a student’s attitude toward the foreign language and learning it (Nikolov 2000: 43; cited in Johnstone 2002: 10). R. Johnstone argues that time is a particularly important factor in countries where the foreign language is not used in public, and the school becomes virtually the only place where it is used (2002: 18). Research shows that there is a direct relationship between the time devoted to language learning and the level of language proficiency, so it is important to pay attention to the factors of time and intensity; otherwise, even early instruction may be completely ineffective. It is not enough to devote many hours to instruction; it is important that the time be used effectively (Curtain 2000; cited in Johnstone 2002: 18). Lietuvoje atlikto tyrimo (Bulajeva 2005) duomenys leidžia įvertinti mokytojų požiūrį į ankstyvąjį užsienio kalbų mokymą. Deja, turimi tik 2005 metais vykdyto projekto rezultatai, kai dar tik buvo kalbama apie užsienio kalbos mokymo ankstinimą. Tada didesnė mokytojų dalis pasisakė prieš ankstyvąjį užsienio kalbos mokymą. Taip pat didesnė pradinių klasių mokytojų dalis (79,6 proc.) nesutiko su savaitinių valandų skaičiaus didinimu ir teigė, kad dviejų savaitinių valandų užsienio kalbai mokyti pakanka. Kad privalomas ankstyvasis užsienio kalbos mokymas lemtų prastesnius gimtosios kalbos mokymosi rezultatus, manė 33,4 proc. apklaustųjų, o nepritarė 56,3 proc. Pusė visų mokytojų pritarė ir tokiam teiginiui, kad privalomo mokymo atveju vaikai patirtų daugiau mokymosi sunkumų, tačiau 41 proc. respondentų su tuo nesutiko (Bulajeva 2005: 49–50). Taigi šio tyrimo rezultatai rodo, jog dar prieš ketverius metus Lietuvos mokytojų požiūris į ankstyvąjį užsienio kalbų mokymą buvo neigiamas. Šiuos duomenis įdomu būtų palyginti su dabartiniais, kai užsienio kalbų mokymas tapo privalomas nuo antros klasės, – ar tai nepakeitė mokytojų nuomonės. 300 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 82 4. ARE INDIVIDUAL APTITUDES IMPORTANT IN LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE? In learning a foreign language, not only a student’s cognitive but also individual characteristics are important. Some students are more successful than others at learning languages, so the language-learning process is often associated with individual aptitudes, which have become an important part of foreign-language-learning research. Researchers have identified several factors that influence foreign-language learning: motivation, aptitude, attitude, learning style and strategy, creativity, and so on. According to some authors, aptitude is the most important factor determining a person’s ability to learn another language (Gass, Selinker 2008: 417). However, language aptitude does not in itself indicate whether a person can learn a foreign language; aptitude should therefore be understood as a factor that helps predict the rate of learning progress. In other words, knowing a person’s particular aptitudes makes it possible to predict the amount of effort and motivation they will need for successful learning. If a person has fewer abilities, they will need to make more effort to achieve good results (Dörnyei 2005: 43). Thus, the level of language acquisition directly depends on such innate language aptitudes as phonemic discrimination (i.e., recognizing a foreign sound system and being able to remember its sounds), grammatical sensitivity (i.e., recognizing the functions of the words that make up a sentence), inductive language-learning ability (i.e., inferring or generalizing rules and general principles of language), memory, and language-learning aptitude (i.e., the ability to recognize and describe associations between words and phrases in a foreign language and the native language) (Gass, Selinker 2008: 418). Foreign-language teaching specialists assign an important role to motivation, learning styles, and strategies. All these factors determine success in foreign-language learning (Oxford 1994; Djīgunovic 2006). As stated (Dörnyei 2005: 65), motivation provides the initial impulse and later becomes the principal driving force that sustains learners through a long and often tiring learning process. However, motivation, like learning style and strategy, is individual, and different things encourage each student in what and how to learn. The teacher’s role, mentioned earlier, and parents’ attitudes are also very important and can shape children’s views on many things. If parents encourage a child to take an interest in the language and culture and show interest in the child’s achievements at school, this provides an even greater incentive to learn a foreign language. The opinions of those around them are also very important to children, especially their peers’ attitudes toward the language being learned or the learning process itself (McGroarty 2001: 73, 85). I. DABAŠINSKIENĖ, R. GARUCKAITĖ. Ankstyvasis užsienio kalbos mokymas – neatsakyti klausimai 301 5. RESEARCH PERSPECTIVES IN LITHUANIA It is difficult to identify and evaluate language quality, developmental tendencies, and impact. On the basis of longitudinal and experimental studies of the language of children aged 3–4 conducted in Lithuania (Savickienė 2003, 2005a, 2005b, 2006, 2007; Savickienė et al. 2007a, 2007b, 2009; Dabašinskienė 2009a, 2009b; Kamandulytė 2005, 2006a, 2006b, 2007, 2008; Balčiūnienė 2005, 2006, 2007a, 2007b), today we could attempt to describe language-development trends in this age group. However, it is difficult to assess the language of older children because it is more complex in terms of vocabulary, grammar, discourse production, and language functions. A number of language-correction methodological resources have been published in Lithuania, and language standards have been issued, but these publications often provide either only the most general requirements for the language of children in a particular age group3, or highly detailed information concerning standards for the acquisition of specific phonetic and lexical features and certain grammatical characteristics (see Garšvienė, Ivoškuvienė 1993). Thus, an analysis of existing sources and theoretical literature reveals that the greatest problem is the lack of a comprehensive study covering the characteristics of Lithuanian children’s language at different ages. The main reason is that assessing language development and quality requires relatively complex research. Some language features, such as vocabulary size and grammar, are somewhat easier to study, but others can be identified only by applying and combining various research methods. Spoken-language research is a relatively lengthy undertaking requiring considerable time, financial resources, and specialized skills. For these reasons, Lithuania still has no children’s language corpus whose data would reveal language characteristics typical of different age groups and enable conclusions to be drawn about the links between certain social factors and language development. Researchers at Vytautas Magnus University, together with colleagues from Croatia and Italy, have begun developing a methodology and collecting material for a study4 intended to assess the quality of Lithuanian children’s language, its possible impact, and developmental tendencies. The planned study would at least partly fill this gap and reveal the most general language characteristics of preschool- and early-school-age children, making it possible to identify the possible influence of linguistic factors (multilingualism, early foreign- 3 For example, General Curriculum Framework and Educational Standards for Pre-primary Education: http://www.smm.lt/ugdymas/docs/Priesmokyklinis.pdf 4 A research project supported by the Research Council of Lithuania The Language of Lithuanian Children: Influences and Trends. 302 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 82 the influence of linguistic (language teaching) and non-linguistic (social deprivation, family migration, etc.) factors on the development of Lithuanian as a native language. Until now, as already mentioned, studies of Lithuanian children’s language have most often been limited to analyzing a single level of language (lexicon, grammar, word formation, etc.). Using a new research methodology, the main focus will be on integrating different scientific methods, taking into account their most important advantages. The methods commonly used in sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics are to be applied: a) cross-sectional, b) longitudinal observation, c) experimental, d) corpus analysis, and e) questionnaire survey. The study will include about 260 children, and the language data collected from them will make it possible to compile a corpus. Analysis of this corpus will allow conclusions to be drawn based on qualitative and quantitative analysis. It is hoped that in the future this will help answer some questions related to attitudes toward early foreign language teaching. Experience in other countries has shown in many cases that early foreign language teaching also promotes the development of the mother tongue and creates the conditions for the parallel acquisition of not just one, but several language systems. 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A deteriorating language urges to seek reasons and raise new questions: when and how children should start learning a foreign language, which factors should be taken into consideration to achieve better results, and what impact a foreign language has on one’s native tongue. Most apprehensions on early foreign language teaching/learning are concerned with its negative influence on one’s mother tongue. In Lithuania there has been hardly any research done; research conducted in other countries has not confirmed any of the apprehensions. The negative impact on one’s native language can only be discussed in reference to the language loss and deterioration noticed in the language of immigrant groups who have lived in a foreign country for a longer time. On the other hand, there are numerous advantages of the early language teaching/learning: acquisition of values, development of tolerance and culture, acquisition of general skills concerned with cognition and thinking, memory and attention. The research has shown that foreign language learners tend to acquire more linguistic competences than those who only know their native language. It is important that the advantage is also seen in the better results of the native language learning, for example, in the usage of complex sentences or better reading skills. Moreover, a positive effect in the opposite direction has also been noticed when one’s mother tongue helps develop foreign language competences, since there appears a possibility to compare two different language systems. Studies of foreign researchers help find answers to all questions raised in the paper, because in Lithuania there is an obvious gap in the research on early language acquisition. Specialists of Vytautas Magnus University together with their colleagues from Croatia and Italy are currently working on a project aimed at filling in the gap and possibly providing answers to the key questions in the area. INETA DABAŠINSKIENĖ Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas K. Donelaičio g. 58, LT-44248 Kaunas [email protected] RAMINTA GARUCKAITĖ Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas K. Donelaičio g. 58, LT-44248 Kaunas I. DABAŠINSKIENĖ, R. GARUCKAITĖ. Ankstyvasis užsienio kalbos mokymas – neatsakyti klausimai 307