Characteristic
of Good Learners (Nina Spada)
 |
| Nina Spada |
1. Age of
Acquisition
Many adult
second language learning become capable of communicating very successfully in
the language but, for most, differences of accent, word choice, or grammatical
features distinguish them from native speakers and from second language speakers
who began learning the language while they were very young.
There was study
say that there is a “critical period for second language acquisition”. Critical
Period Hypothesis suggests that there is
a time in human developments when the brain is predisposed for success in language
learning. Language learning which occurs after the end of
critical period may not be based on the innate biological structures believed
to contribute to first language acquisition or second language acquisition in
early childhood. Rather, older learners depend on more general learning
abilities.
Younger
learners in informal language learning environments usually have more time to
devote to learning language, more opportunities to hear and use the language. Older learners often
in situations which demand much more complex language and the expression of
much more complicated ideas. And that
situations often make them frustated to say what they mean in the second
language.
Older learners almost inevitably have a noticeable “foreign accent”. Mark
Patkowski hypothesized, even if accent were ignored, only those who had begun
learning their second language before the age of 15 could ever achieve full,
native-like mastery of that language.
Older learner would learn more effective but younger
learner has more time to learn from childhood until old.
2. Intelligence
Over the years, many studies using a variety of intelligence (IQ) tests and
different methods of assessing language learning have found that IQ scores were
a good means of predicting how successful a learner would be. Some recent
studies have a conclusion, say that this characteristic is more strongly than
to others.
A study found that, while intelligence was related to the development of
French second language reading, grammar and vocabulary, it was unrelated to
oral productive skills.
Intelligence is complex and
individuals have many kinds of abilities and strengths. Many students whose
academic performance has been weak have experienced considerable success in
second language learning.
3. Motivation and
Attitude
The overall findings show that positive attitudes and
motivation are related to success in second language learning. Motivation can
be defined in terms of two factors:
-
Learners communicative needs, if learners need to
speak the second language in a wide range of social situations or to fulfil
professional ambitions, they will perceive the communicative value of the
second language and will therefore be motivated to acquire proficiency.
-
Learners attitudes towards the second language
community, if learners have favourable attitudes towards the speakers of
language, they will desire more contact with them.
Other opinion from Robert Gardner and Wallace
Lambert :
-
Integrative motivation to refer to language
learning for personal growth and cultural enrichment.
- Instrumental motivation for language learning for
more immediate or practical goals.
4. Personality
It is often argued that an extroverted person is well suited to language
learning. However, research does not always support this conclusion. Although
some studies have found that success in second language learning is correlated
with extroversion such as assertiveness and adventurousness, others have found
that many successful language learners do not get high scores on measures of
extroversion.
Many researchers believe that
personality will be shown to have an important influence on success in language
learning.
5. Aptitude
Learning is distinguishing feature of aptitude. There are two tests for
aptitude that usually used by many people, MLAT and PLAB, both tests are based
on the view that aptitude is composed of different types of abilities:
-
The ability to identify and memorize new sounds
-
The ability to understand the particular words in
sentences
-
The ability to figure out grammatical rules from
language
-
Memory for new words
One could determine learner’s profile
of strengths and weaknesses and use this information to place students in
appropriate teaching programs. Some evidence incated that matched students were
able to attain significantly higher level of achievement than those who were
unmatched.
6. Learners
Preferences
Visual learners usually cannot learn something until they have seen it.
Aural learners, seem to need only to hear something once or twice before they
know it. Kinasesthetic learners, there is a need to add a physical action to
the learning process.
The result of a research is that
while field independence is related to some degree to performance on certain
kinds of tasks, it is not good predictor of performance on others.
7. Learner Beliefs
Out there, so many beliefs in many learners that involves
a learner in their process of learning. In particular, older learners have strong beliefs and opinions about how their
instruction should be delivered. These beliefs are usually based on previous
learning experiences and the assumption that a particular type of instruction
is the best way for them to learn.
A research indicates that learner
beliefs can be strong mediating factors in their experience in the classroom.
Several students were convinced that their progress was negatively affected by
an instructional approach which was not consistent with their beliefs about the
best way for them to learn. This characteristic will influence the kinds of
strategies they choose in order to learn new material.
Indonesia which has so many poor people often faces robbery cases. Robbers are usually poor people. Most of suspect of robbery give
the police reason that they are poor and have no choice but to rob. Many robbers
are jobless, they cannot make money to buy foods and other primary needs. Their
poverty forces them to choose the easiest way, robbing.
