MYTH 1: CHILDREN LEARN SECOND LENGUAGES QUICKLY AND EASILY Frequently people think that the children learn more quickly the second language due to the belief of the "critical period hypothesis " that consists in that the brain of the children has a cognitive plasticity superior than that the adults because the cortex of children is more plastic than that of the older learners. Recently this hypothesis has been questioned due to there are other very significant factors that are very relevant at the moment of the learning as psychological and social, for example the personal motivation of the pupils. Nevertheless, this hypothesis isn’t true because there has been verified that the adults learn better and more quickly than children, due to the fact that already they have acquired learning strategies as well as the vocabulary. The only exception that we can find is the relating one to the pronunciation. MYTH 1: CHILDREN LEARN SECOND LANGUAGES QUICKLY AND EASILY People tend to think that children learn second languages more quickly and easily than adults. We are going to explain the pros and cons about this myth. According to the article, on the one hand, children could learn faster a second language because their brains are more flexible and their cortex is more plastic than adults’ brain. As we can see in Chinese shops, kids translate to their parents what people are saying to them. Talking about pronunc iation, children speak without foreign accent. They are more open-minded to receive other languages. Also, kids are more motivated to speak new languages because they aren’t so shy. On the other hand, some studies proved that adults have more skills in order to relate grammatical constructions than young people. In fact, adults’ language tends to be more complex and technical. Also older learners have more memory techniques and strategies to learn a second language, for that reason they have a richer vocabu lary. To sum up, in our opinion teachers have to be aware of children difficulties and assume they will not get it immediately. MYTHS AND MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT SECOND LEARNING: WHAT EVERY TEACHER NEED TO UNLEARN.
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Myth 2: The younger the child, the more skilled in acquiring a second language. On the one hand we can say that this myth is false because in this text appears a study where we can see that older children are better than younger children in acquiring a second language, it can be because the older children are accustomed to study languages in a traditional style or using grammatical styles, so older children have more skills in instructional approach hence this ones are better in tests. But there are other things like older children have more experience than younger children and this ones have a minor cognitive development. On the other hand the text says that younger children are better than older children in pronunciation because pronunciation involves motor patterns and this stop on the first language and it is very difficult to change after a concret age. So younger children have a better native accent because they haven’t closed this motor
patterns yet. The younger children have native accent, this accent is like native persons accent. However this doesn't mean that learning a second language at an early age is a good or bad thing, but it all depends on many factors, but younger children have an advantage because they can increase their potential in communication skills and they can integrate other cultures as their own. Furthermore the text says that people who stay more time in contact with second language don’t learn more than the people who don’t stay in contact a lot of time. All this things says that each children have a different form to learn and acquiring skills and the teachers have a lot of forms to explain languages or other thing, so the younger the child the more skilled in acquiring a second language are false because older children have a determined skills and younger children another determined skills hence the older students will show quicker gains and younger students have an advantage in pronunciation. To conclude the text explain that all the teacher have to be clear the situation of each student and act accordingly to the needs of students because each one's need different thing when they study, learn, memorize… For example, if a teacher have a student who have other mater language and he doesn’t understand a lot of english, the teacher will help him and the teacher have to know a little bit the student’s mater language; so if people who have a minority mater language, they have to use this language to learn the second language because they take as a reference their mater language. MYTH 2: THE YOUNGER THE CHILD, THE MORE SKILLED IN ACQUIRING A SECOND LANGUAGE. This myth talks about the best time to start language instruction. Is supposed that the best time to learn two languages simultaneously. The best way to learn a second language is to begin at the same time that the first language. Exist a discuss between when children learn the second language earlier. A British study shows that older children learn a second language better than younger children. This results are similar in a other studies, as for example Swedish children learning English. However, this results aren't always similars. A program in Canada defends that older guys haven't more skills to learn a second language than younger children. In the pronunciation aspect is better to learn the languages at t he same time because the accent acquired in first language have repercussions in the second language. If the children starts to learn the second language when their motor patterns have been fossilized in the first language, they use this pronunciation for the second. And it repercutes in phonology of the second language learned. Although otherwise, the older children have acquired a cognitive skills which do that they learn better.
MYTH 3: THE MORE TIME STUDENTS SPEND IN A SECOND LANGUAGE CONTEXT, THE QUICKER THEY LEARN THE LANGUAGE Myth 3 talks about the time students spend in a second language context and the quicker they learn the language. On the one hand, the first part of this myth explains that some educators think that the best way to know a second language is a structured immersion. However, students that go a bilingual classroom acquire the same knowledge that the structured immersion because the most important is the language learning, not the time. On the other hand there is a great deal of evidence that, while oral communication skills in a second language maybe purchase within two or three years, it may take up to four to six years to gain the level of proficiency for understanding the language. Also, bilingual classroom are beneficial to students its allow do a good word. The children who go a bilingual classroom acquire as much English as children who have more exposure from an earlier age. In conclusion, children learn more and quick when they expend more time in contact with the second language, but we think that children learn the same in a public school, bilingual, or if they have an exchange. The important is that children have a competent teacher. Nevertheless is not necessary that they are native. Myth 3 In first place, our myth talk about the time a child spends learning a second language and the relation between this time and the speed of the child’s learning. It is said that children who receive all the instructions in the second language (English) and attend only lessons in this language are faster developing the English language skills than children who attend lessons in the mother language and in the second language. However, research has demonstrated that this is not truth. Furthermore, research has proved that children who attend lessons in both languages, that is in their mother language and in the second language, have a level of English which is equilavent to the level that have the children who only learn in English. Finally, as future teachers, we should promote the use of both languages at the same time because with this kind of lessons we will be sure that our children will learn the second language and also that they will not fall behind school work. MYTH 4: CHILDREN HAVE ACQUIRED A SECOND LANGUAGE ONCE THEY CAN SPEAK IT Myth 4 says that children have acquired a second language once they can speak it. It's not true because children can speak proficiency English sometimes they aren't good at writing, listening, nouns, verbs, synonyms and antonyms. Jim Cummins says that children who are not ready for all-English classroom may be harmful to the children academic success. Also, if the children can't understand English, they won't be able to have success in English class.
English summary myth 4 We often think that children know English properly when they know how to speak it but that´s not true because English doesn´t consist in oral expression only but also in vocabulary, syntactic knowledge and other grammatical objects. This thesis is supported by the Canadian educator Jim Cummins by an investigation done by him that indicates kids take longer to handle cognitive language skills properly rather than oral communicative skills. He and other investigators argue that children show fluency in a language because they have good oral skills but don’t understand the abstract aspects of the language like synonyms, nouns, adverbs, adjectives and many others. All exposed above has a great influence in teaching. Teachers have to be careful with placing children in all-English classes because it can be dangerous for their academic success and knowledge. It is inappropriate to put children in a classroom where the assessment is based in oral unrollment. Children can have problems in reading and writing even if they can speak properly the language. Many problems with English language can be due to the bad teaching and limitations in middle and high school. Basically, learning a second language is not as easy as it seems and isn’t finished in a year or two. MYTH 5: All children learn a language in the same way To answer this question we say that there are we two issues. In the First place we can find from difference cultures, with its own language and in the second place we can find difference ways to learning the language. Parents teach their children through language, this is used to communicate meaning and to convey information, and things like that. .. when children come to school the language is very difference is more formal, often do not understand, so children will be frustrated. Some children in some cultures are more accustomed to learning from peers than from adults. They learned to be quiet in the presence of adults and had little experience in interactive with them. We can find children shy and quiet and children extrovert and talkative. They learn language the difference way. While the first will feel worry about mistakes, the others children will don’t feel worry about mistakes and therefore they will speak more and will learn faster. Therefore, teachers need to be aware of cultural and individual differences in learner styles to use the best strategies and methods to help the students reach success. What does this mean for the teacher? Teacher must make; small group, cooperative learning, peer tutoring, individualized instructions, and other strategies that take the children’s diversity of experience into account. Finally, teachers need to be aware of how the child’s experiences in the home and in the home culture affect values, patters of language, and interpersonal style. This myth says that all children learn a second language in the same way, but it is false, each child learn to different rate and different way.
In addition, education does not only depend on the school but also it is work of the parents. Each child comes from a different culture so not everyone speak the same way. Some children in some cultures are more accustomed to learning from peers than from adults. They learn to be quiet in the presence of adults and have little experience in interacting with them. We can find shy and quiet children and other extrovert and talkative children. The first feel worry about mistakes however other children don’t feel worry about it so they speak more and learn faster than the first. Therefore, teachers need to be aware of cultural and individual differences in learner styles to use the best strategies and methods to help the students reach success. MYTH 5 All children learn a second language in the same way. This myth is false, teachers admit that not every child learn the same way. A research showed that children from American that become from minority cultural background have different ways of talking. Some schools from there teach language in order to communicate meaning to convey information, to control social behavior and to solve problems and later in upper grades the style of talk is analytic and deductive. Furthermore in social middle-class parents teach their children through language where instructions are given verbally from a very early age. In addiction some children in some cultures are more accustomed to learn from peers rather than adults. All these facts are the things that teachers have to take into account when teaching. We need to be aware that many culturally and linguistically diverse children enter school with cognitive and social norms that differ from those which the govern of every country wants to teach in every classroom. This is why this myth it isn’t true.
