“Is Native Language Decisive in Language Learning Results?”
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Siirtolaisuus-Migration 2/2008 “Is Native Language Decisive in Language Learning Results?” A study on acculturation and the effect of language distance: Finnish and Dutch migrants in Australia compared Saara Louko Up until 1979 when Austral- The respondents and the the Dutch migrants benefi t from ia introduced stricter language hypotheses the linguistic similarity between requirements for the new immi- English and Dutch - an advantage grants it was not uncommon for For the comparison I collected the Finns lack as their language is migrants to arrive in Austral- answers from native speakers of unrelated to the target language. ia with little or no knowledge of Dutch and native speakers of Finn- Dutch and English are both Indo- English. Yet most of these adult ish. The other criteria for choosing European languages while Finnish migrants acquired language the respondents were that they belongs to a completely different skills that enabled them to lead would have to be fi rst-generation group of Uralic languages. an independent and full life in migrants and that they had arrived The empiric data was collected Australia. in Australia in the 1950s, the 1960s through two online questionnaires: However, for various reasons or the 1970s. My working hy- one for the Dutch and the other for these migrants have achieved va- pothesis was that the two migrant the Finnish speakers. I received al- rying levels of proficiency. Na- groups, the Finnish and Dutch together 46 responses, out of which turally differences can be found speakers, would differ consider- 20 came from Finnish and 26 from between individual learners, but ably in their level of acculturation, Dutch speakers. The sex ratio in the different migrant groups also current profi ciency in English, and the answers from the Finns was show divergent tendencies. Whe- attitudes concerning native lan- balanced, but among the Dutch reas the Dutch are generally con- guage effect on learning English. respondents the men were slightly sidered to be successful English I assumed Finnish speakers to overrepresented. In my study 72 learners, the image of Finnish be slightly more distant from the percent of all respondents were now migrants is quite the opposite. Australians due to their consider- in their sixties or older, and on aver- The objective of this study was able ethnic vitality and diffi culties age they had lived in Australia now to explore this matter further by with acquiring the target language, for 42 years. Altogether 15 percent comparing two groups of adult English. I believe the Finns’ cul- of the respondents had prior migra- migrants which in many respects tural introversion and the diffi cul- tion experience. In my data a quar- seem quite similar, but differ in ties in English acquisition to be ter of the Finns had lived in another terms of native language. interdependent phenomena. foreign country before settling in My second assumption was Australia. that for the most part learning Eng- The questionnaires I prepared Saara Louko is Master of Philo- lish comes more easily to Dutch- for this study addressed matters sophy (since 1.5.2008) Pro gradu speakers and that the cultural sim- that are viewed to be central in sec- -research Learning English: Fin- ilarities between the Netherlands ond language acquisition (SLA) or nish and Dutch Migrants in Aust- and Australia assist this acquisi- indicative of the migrants’ level of ralia Compared (2007). tion process. I also believed that acculturation. I was particularly in- 2 "Is Native Language Decisive in Language Learning Results?" Opinions on L1 influence on SLA Finns vs. the Dutch helped 33,3 % 15,8 % Dutch no effect 66,7 % 57,9 % Finns hindered 26,3 % answers in proportion with respective L1-group Abbreviations SLA second language acquisition; the process of learning a new language TL target language; the language studied by the learner L1 native language L2 second language; typically a foreign language terested in the subjects’ social life The acculturation process is of- been the overriding diffi culty in in- and everyday communication. The ten easier for migrants who come tegrating. My own data also indi- respondents were asked to evaluate from a cultural background simi- cated that the Dutch were socially their current English profi ciency lar to that of the host society. This more integrated with the core-pop- and to estimate how diffi cult the is because they are able to recover ulation than the Finns. A third of SLA process had been for them. In from the inevitable cultural shock the Dutch reported that they speak one of the questions the respond- faster, and after this recovery they only English with their friends, but ents were asked whether they felt can either assimilate with the host none of the Finns gave a similar re- that their native language had hin- society or adapt themselves to sponse. At work only 3.8 percent dered or assisted learning English. it. When the cultural distance is of the Dutch relied on communica- small, adapting oneself to the new tion in their native language either environment is relatively easy and partly of wholly, against 15 per- Integration the same applies to language learn- cent of the Finns. ing and language distance. In a nut- SLA is often also linked with Social integration and second lan- shell, the more similarities there attitudes and motivation. My study guage acquisition among migrants are between the languages and the indicated that the Finns had very are undoubtedly intertwined phe- cultures the easier it usually is for positive views about the Austral- nomena and this is essentially the the migrants to feel at home in the ian society, but their motivation idea that John Schumann bases his new country. for learning English was some- Acculturation Theory (1978) on. Views supporting this observa- what lower than in the comparison In this theory Schumann argues that tion, that successful SLA and so- group. The Dutch held quite differ- migrants who have a desire to inte- cial integration go hand in hand, ing views on language: nearly all grate with the dominant population can be found in previous studies of them viewed it very important are more likely to become fl uent in about Finnish Australians. Both to become fl uent in English. Their the target language (TL). In other Olavi Koivukangas (1975, 109) preference for using English is evi- words, Schumann views accultura- and Tuulikki Mattila (1985, 16-17) dent also in the language mainte- tion as the key to successful second conclude that inadequate com- nance patterns (see e.g. Pauwels language acquisition (SLA). mand of English has for the Finns 1991; Clyne 2003). The Finns 3 Siirtolaisuus-Migration 2/2008 Language use among the Dutch speakers 100 % only Dutch 80 % mostly Dutch 60 % Dutch and English half- 40 % and-half 20 % mostly English 0 % only English neighbour- circle of at w ork at home hood friends on the other hand are famous for lastly, on the impact of one’s na- cal explanations for the differenc- maintaining their native language. tive language, most linguists agree es found in language acquisition Other factors considered im- that native speakers of a language between people of differing ages. portant for Natural Second Lan- closely related to the TL can learn In his work Biological Founda- guage Acquisition (i.e. learning the TL faster and become more pro- tions of Language Eric Lenneberg the target language in the environ- fi cient users than native speakers of discusses individual language ap- ment where it is spoken) are age, an unrelated language. This juxta- titude and various developmental social and psychological factors, position means that in general the stages which affect the way peo- length of residence and the learn- Dutch speakers should have a con- ple process language. He suggests er’s native language. Traditionally siderable vantage over the Finnish that the factors that impede SLA, it has been assumed that young- speakers in learning English. the “language-learning blocks”, er people are better at acquiring The impact of age, native lan- increase after puberty. And there- new languages. The social factors guage infl uence, and social factors fore learning a second language which impact the language acqui- on adult second language acquisi- requires a conscious and laboured sition process include e.g. social tion results are further discussed in effort from an adult while children integration, attitude and intended the following sections. are known to have acquired new length of stay, and the psychologi- languages from mere exposure cal factors include among others (1967, 156, 176). language shock and motivation. Does age matter? Similar fi ndings were made Length of residence can indi- by Stephen Krashen who suggests cate if the language acquisition Most of the respondents in my that at puberty our affective fi lter process is still at an active phase. study came to Australia in their (which blocks language acquisi- Individuals do differ in this re- late twenties, and although many tion e.g. when the person is anx- spect, but all learners will eventu- of them had studied a little English ious or feels that s/he already has ally cease learning the target lan- before migrating, for the most part adequate TL competence) grows guage. When the average length of their English acquisition did take stronger and is very unlikely ever residence in Australia in my data place only in Australia. Therefore to return to the level of child learn- (42 years) is considered, it is safe the question about the role of age in ers, whose affective fi lter is rarely to assume that the second language SLA is quite central to this study.