Most people believe that children are better than adults

when attempting to learn a second language.

That seems to be backed up by the common observation

that young second-language learners seem to pick up
another language quickly, just by exposure and without
teaching.

FACTOR INVOLVED IN SECOND-

LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

1. Psychological
a)Intelectual processing
Taken part in the theoretical determination of the grammatical structures and
rules of the individual

1. Explication: Someone can explain them to learner

Explication is the process whereby the rules and structures of a second language are
explained to a learner. Language can not be learnt completely by Explication

There are undiscovered rules of even common language features like tense. [e.g.
the case of present perfect vs. past simple

a language can’t be learned completely by explication: Because not all of the rules
of any one language entirely by explication.
  Explication is used when induction is not available. It needs to be practiced
in the real-world communication.

 Explication is rarely applicable to young children: Children have

learned language by self analysis , induction. Parents do not even attempt to
explain a relatively simple morpheme rule, like that of the plural S

Teaching simple and complex rules: Hammerly (1975) found that explication
functioned best for simple rules.induction was best for complex rules.
Robbinson (1996) found that explication improved the learning not only simple
rules but also complex rules.
We can conclude this ability improves with age. Young children would have
great difficulty in understanding the abstract and complex explanations of a
second language.
2)Induction: In the procedure of induction, discovering rules through self-
discovery.
The second language learning process will often attempt to classify language
by induction.
Induction is a phase that we can use in our daily lives. Such as when meeting
people, listening to music and having relationships.

We observe, we wonder, we make hypotheses and test out those

hypotheses
this ability remains at a relatively high level with age, except with certain
individuals in old age

It is believed that induction is more effective in children
 However, adult learners are better in understanding more complex syntactic
structure.

B)Memory
Vocabulary learning and rote memory
Memory Is important element in learnig . also the learning of simplest
words need your memory.
Ex: a learner in order to learn word dog must make a connection
between the word and the shape of dog.
Relationship between objects and words is arbitrary. To learn a simple word there
is a strong need for memory

Syntax learning and episodic

memory

Memory is important for understanding grammatical structure and rules.

Episodic memory is a memory in which not only whole phrases and sentences are
recalled by the learners, but also the situation in which these phrases were
spoken.

 Episodic memory is remembering rules to use in different situation

[polite – formal – persuasive language]

Examples [close the door – please close the door – would



please be so kind as to close the door?]

Related items may not occur in a

actually, outside the classroom, it would be unusual for a learner to encounter

all the related data for some syntactic rule at any given time, but in actual
situations, the related data could not be obtained for minutes, hours, or even
days.
For example, in order to determine the type of questions that require ‘do’ (as in ‘Do you want
some candy?’ but not in ‘Is the dog barking?’

CHILDREN’S MEMORY ABILITY

The memory capacity of very young children also is unique in that they can store a
phenomenal amount of data.
Although children at 5 to 6 years of age still have a remarkable capacity to rot
memorize, it appears like older children do not.
Younger children generally rely more on memory than older children do.

Older children started to apply their cognitive abilities to their research.

Second-language syntactic rules, whereas younger children depend on
More heavily on their use of rote memory for understanding the language. These
results may be viewed as suggesting, possibly, that older children jumped to
yntactic research earlier when they found that they had difficulty remembering all
the sentences.

ADULTS AND CHILDREN IN SHORT-TERM MEMORY

TASKS
According to a study by Hunter  in which individuals had to recall numbers, short-
term memory seems to have improved to 15 years of age.
Further study has found that training techniques are more effective in inducing
improved adult short-term memory, as adults are better at learning how to recall

Children do not appear to understand that memory has drawbacks and are less
likely to decide about the level of value of what needs to be recalled (

SHARP DECLINE OF MEMORY

Memory seems to begin its sharpest decline around the age of puberty

This is a skill at which very young children are strong. Such a matter The capacity, however,
decreases with age, and so we have given a Medium/High Value for ages 7 to 12 and a Medium
Value for adults.

C)Motor skill

Defined as the use of muscles in performing certain skills

They are involved in the control of muscles that shape organs of

speech.
Effective pronunciation is obviously an important aspect of the learning of a
foreign language. This influence the way learners pronounce SL sounds

The better our pronunciation, the better we communicate.

d

right time. This will result in good pronunciation

We all agree that to have excellent motor skill, one have to start young [sport, typing,
artwork]
As we age and our ability to learn new motor abilities decreases, our ability to
regulate our speech articulators has become effected.

Around the age of 12 it is difficult to gain new motor skills.

This decline affects all body muscles including organs of speech. Children are,
therefor, better in mastering better pronunciation than adults

d)Motivation

From 1 – 2 year of age children need no motivation, they learn automatically.

By 5 – 6 children know the status of language and this will motivate or demotivate
them to learn it

In classroom setting motivation plays an important role. It is connected to like or

dislike of teacher amount of efforts (assignments) exposure to the language

e) Attitudes

Negative attitudes towards language or language speakers may affect one

determination and (motivation) to learn it.

These attitudes may be caused by [religious, political, or social background of a

language. These attitudes are most influential to older children
Younger children have no knowledge about cultural, political, social
background of language
2.Social Factors
A)The Natural situation

It is a situation for L2 learning which is similar to the setting of the first language
acquisition.In this case language is learned in relation to surrounding objects.

Example: a young child live in another country.

he will learn language from his playmate. From the exposure to their input. In
natural situation, Children can learn L2 even faster than their L1. Adults are
exposed to less L2 in foreign community. They do not use L2 much, native
speakers do not talk to them much. Even when they do so they use foreigner talk
lang. Conscious willingness to communicate is also considered critical for acquiring and
improving a foreign language

Adults and older children also resist learning L2. They try to maintain their
identity. This is more true when there is difference between the two cultures of L1
and L2. The psychological factors also play role with adults learners.we conclude
that Natural situation is good only to young children.
The opportunities to experience language in a natural situation decline with age.

b) Classroom situation

Classroom is isolated from the rest of social life. There is a teacher who knows the
L2and learners who come to learn.
Nothing happen unless the teacher makes it happen! The language is used is very
limited, planned and fixed. What students do is a result of directions.

These characteristics makes it different from natural situation

Learners in Classroom situation need to adjust their social interaction according

to:
Classroom procedures and discipline .
The other learners in the group.
Older children and adult are better in controlling. Classroom situation is better for
adult and older children .Learning in classroom situation is improved with age.

In natural situation

Children are better in inductive. They are better in natural situation. No

motivation needed in this case. Adults are not good in inductive. They use less L2
in Natural Situations

In Classroom situation

Children are not good in Explication. They cannot control their behavior well
They cannot analyze language .In other side adults are better in Explication.
They control their behavior. They can analyze language

Generally/
Children are better in Memory. They are better in Motor Skills. They did not not
affected by attitudes

Adults memory decline by age growing .Their motor skills decline.

Attitudes affect their learning

Children are better in Second Language Acquisition .But adults are better in
classroom. children are better in natural situation

Conclusion
In the classroom situation, older children will do best. Adults will do better than young
children to the extent that the young children’s classroom is not a simulation of the
natural situation.

C) ESL or EFL community context

Because the ESL contex provides second language learners with more
opportunities for exposuse and experience to natural sitation these
learners will progressed rapidly in second language learning than those
who live in EFL context because they have not any exposure to native
speakers and native environment . We also can say that ESL context is
beneficial for children more than adults and adults benefit from ESL
context in a lesser degree. Conversely adults can do better in the EFL
context because they use their superior cognitive skills for classroom
learning.

Is there a critical age for second-language learning?

We can say that many adults learn the syntax of other languagw successfully .
according to studies which have done we an see that expousure to languagr leads
to most successful learning second language in later stage. Aascordin to studies
we conclude that there is no critica for learning a language language and adults
can achieve competence of second languge like native speakers .but the point here
is that there is no critical perod just for learnin the syntax f second
language.althoufgh we agree there is no critical period for learning syntax but we
are not sure about the accent and pronunciation