Language is apparently what distinguishes humans from all other species and

the scientific study of the system of communication that humans use every day is called

linguistics. Linguistics ask fundamental questions such as: What aspects of all the

available language are common for all humans? What are the remarkable grammatical

similarities between languages, if there is any at all? What are the grammar rules and

how do humans naturally acquire them? Some linguists focus on the explanation as to

how people happen to use a certain language. Others focused on fields arranged

around the study of language use and learning such as language acquisition, which is a

theoretical or applied study of how linguistic knowledge emerges in children and adults

as first or subsequent languages and the factors that affect language acquisition.

The vast and numerous study of individual differences in second language

acquisition has shown that there are a number of factors that affect the way one learn

second languages, one of which is the contexts for language learning.

It is very important to note that a second language learner is different from a very

young child acquiring a first language. A child learns his first language in an

unbelievable manner as their language acquisition is rapidly developed with an

apparent speed and accuracy. In a humorous way, Lightbown and Spada (2006)

explain first language acquisition by stating that based on Behaviorist Theory, language

acquisition is “Say what I say” meaning language can be observed and imitated, and for

Innatist Theory, “It's all in your mind”, which means that children are equipped with an

innate blueprint for language. We can therefore conclude that each theory has different

explanation as to how we acquire our first language Now big question is how does one

acquire his or her second language. As mentioned earlier, a second language learner is
different from a very young child acquiring a first language as learner’s characteristics

and environment of language acquisition play a big role in the process.

Learners differ from each other in terms of mother tongue, cognitive maturity,

metalinguistic awareness, world knowledge and so on. They also learn in various

learning conditions in terms of the existence of freedom to be silent, ample time,

corrective feedback, modified input, among others. When we better understand the

development of learner language, we eventually become equipped as to how we could

better assess teaching procedures that we could use in order to assist our learner in

their second language acquisition.

Based on contrastive analysis hypothesis, it is assumed that second language

acquisition is dependent upon the transfer from the native language to the second

language being learned. If the first language and the second language share the same

structural elements, order, and meaning, then positive transfer would occur and assist in

learning. However, if structural elements, order, and meaning did not translate

appropriately, then this could cause negative transfer or interference which is deemed

to cause difficulty in second language acquisition. For example, in Korean Language

following their sentence pattern subject-verb-object, it is correct to say “Naneun

ramyeon-eul mokgotda.” Transferring the same sentence in English will be “I noodles

ate.”, which resulted in a negative transfer because the structural elements and order

between two languages are different.

It is said that contrastive analysis hypothesis failed miserably as it could not

explain many aspects of learners’ language. However, I believe that its failure has
opened the gate for a better understanding of language education. Through it we learn

that the student’s first language does interfere with the acquisition of second language

as manifested in a negative transfer. With this knowledge in mind, instructors can come

up with activities that can help students recognize and overcome negative transfer.

Furthermore, we can also focus on the learning conditions to make them well-equipped

in their second language acquisition.

The most significant things I learned as I observed my own students are 1)

language is subconsciously acquired as a result of the massive exposure to it, which

conformed with what Greenberg said about language and that it is a set of culturally

transmitted behavior patterns shared by a group of individuals, 2) there are different

styles of language learners, some are confident and independent, some need to be

spoon-fed, some prefer to emphasize learning about the grammar of the language over

learning to use it, and so on, and lastly 3) one language has its own sets of rules which

are sometimes the same with and sometimes different from another language, or they

are even completely different. Since acquiring a mother language is a mental capability

that we are all born with, as what Noam Chomsky said, these rules or the grammar of

the language are innately stored in our brain, thus, some learners have the tendency to

apply the sets of rules of their mother language, when they learn or use another

language.

The observations I mentioned above have helped me devise schemes as to how

I could better help my students. I learned to make questionnaire to help me recognize

how my students are different. Because of the observation I stated I discover ways to

inject activities that will not only make my students focus on form or the feature of the
language, such as verb tense, but also give them ample opportunities to apply the form

they have learned through Task-based learning.

Because of the comparisons I learned between the two languages, the English

and Korean, I can now better assist my students in overcoming the common errors they

make when they speak English. By pointing out the differences, I can help them retain

in their mind the rules they need to use and not to use when they speak English.

Learning the Korean language and finding its differences from the English language

was not an easy task but it was worth all my effort because I have seen evidence of

improvement in my classes. But of course, I do not take all the credit for myself. Had it

not been for the effort of the people in the field of linguistics such as descriptive

linguistics, comparative linguistics and so on, it would have been difficult, if not

impossible, for me to know these differences.

No matter how hard language teachers effort to make their classes meaningful

and maintain a sense of excitement and engagement in them, if they are not well-

equipped with the development and findings in the field of linguistics, their effort would

not be so much fruitful because these findings can help teacher develop better

strategies to assist the need of their students. And because languages change

inexorably, the strategies that work now might not work tomorrow but then again we

have the linguistics and its findings to help us know how to deal with it. But how does

knowledge of linguistics help a teacher become more responsive to the students’ needs

as learners in general? Language is the medium of instruction. The teachers’ better

understanding of the medium of instruction, its nature and its components, can help

them better impart the knowledge they to give their students. With the knowledge of
linguistics on hand and appropriately applied, the teachers and the learners, as what

Widdowson said, can have shared presuppositions, thus, communication takes

place….learning takes place.