Learning a Language: Are we too old to learn another language?

Studies show motivation is a key factor in successfully acquiring a language; and because it has always had a central place in second language acquisition, it has become almost synonymous with the term “ego permeability” (Ellis, 1984). While motivation here is taken as a coping mechanism (integrative) or a “narcissistic gratification” (instrumental) to language learning, ego permeability, in this case, is a Janus-faced phenomenon that could either improve or impale a language learner’s ability to successfully acquire a language.

John Schumann (1978) defines the latter as a language learner’s ability to partially and temporarily give up his individuality in order to learn a language. This means that, where the mastery of communication in a particular language is absolutely necessary to guarantee survival  in a foreign land, an individual has the choice to violate or respect the modal tendency of a particular social group to become a successful and socially accepted individual in that community (page 401).

In order to do this, an individual creates within himself a system of marked and unmarked utterances or pidgins that almost resemble the native language of that land. In a sense, then, language, or communication, in particular, becomes a ‘functional’ commodity rather than an affective instrument necessary for social and psychological growth to resolve language and culture shock.

Furthermore, other studies showed that when opportunities to improve language skills were presented to through formal language instruction, an artificial response mechanism was observed.[1] Since the elicitation task used was highly monitored, improvement “was not powerful enough to overcome the Pidginization engendered by his social and psychological distance” from the Americans.

Although the researchers hoped that through instruction, learners reorganized their “simplified linguistic system,” their pidginized speech was ‘adequate’ for his needs (page 403). Next, while it is culturally appropriate to adapt to the host country’s lifestyle and values, some chose to alienate and isolate themselves from the Americans by engaging in the usual tasks they have become accustomed to. This proves then, that where motivation predetermines successful language acquisition, ego (permeability) overshadows both integrative and instrumental reasons for acquiring native-like language competency.

In sum, although the tendency to pidginize is somewhat caused by persistent cognitive, social, and even psychological constraints, an individual’s ego could just be “the straw that could break the camel’s back.”

As a foreign language learner, I am faced with the choice to either abandon the foreign languages I speak. Because there are no immediate French, Spanish, and German communities present in our country (unless I go to the schools I attended), I find it difficult to maintain or even remember the three linguistic systems I am proficient in, on many occasions.

On the other hand, because I have goals to use them in the future both as a means of assimilating my lifestyle to my future host countries, and to survive, my innate motivation to completely grasp the language persists over my ego. Though ego permeability may be considered as a positive and inevitable factor in language acquisition, it still does not hold water for me because I am not about willing to abandon my own identity. Speaking a language, in my opinion, involves the careful collaboration of my idiosyncrasies and my schema about that country’s native language without necessarily compromising my proficiency in that language.

Finally, when I interpret for foreigners, it is always crucial that I do not appear like a ‘parrot’ to them. Although, foreigners appreciate the effort a person puts in when attempting to speak his language, they appreciate and respect you even more if you do not appear and sound patronizing and stupid. This, then, results in a more fluid and natural conversation between two distinct and intelligent interlocutors.*

Reference:

Ellis, R. 1985. Understanding Second Language Acquisition. Oxford. 19-41.

Best, J. & Kahn, J. (1989). Research in Education: Sixth Edition. New Jersey. 105-107.

Schumann, J. 1978. Second Language Acquisition: The Pidginization Hypothesis. Language Learning 28, 367-369.