- Second Language Acquisition

Complexity theory of language

As the name suggest, complexity theory of language is complex and consist of various components. It is a transdisciplinary systems theory whose central idea is a change. In the past, it was mainly used in physical sciences, nowadays the term is also used in humanities.

Chomskyan idea (the observable phenomena of language (E-language) are caused by neural-based symbolic computations of inner language (I-language)) is thereby replaced.

Saying that language is simply caused by brains, or language is simply caused by social context are all reduction of the multifaceted reality.

"In a complex reality, brains, bodies, interactions, social norms, external artifacts and sociocultural resources all function as enabling conditions that we draw on as, in Cowley’s (2011c) terms, we take a language stance." (Steffensen&Fill,2014)

In short, biological system and social context collabote together to make language aquisition possible. This phenomena corresponds with the definition of cognitive ecology of language:

Language is enabled by the dynamics between biological organisms and their environment (Steffensen&Fill,2014).

How environment affect second language acquisition (Muriel, 2005)

• cultural environment (social interaction, group identity)
• political environment (why to learn another language? Whether the political environment
• encourages acquiring a specific second language)
• educational environment (why some learners are more successful than others? how it is
• acquired?)

How biological system affect second language acquisition

Chomsky-Universal Grammar:

The theory suggests that some rules of grammar are hard-wired into the brain, and manifest without being taught. This means that every individual has an innate predefined mechanism that serves as a basis for processing and acquiring human language. The theory itself is highly complex and there are several other ideas associated with it. Chomsky also argues that our connection to and perception of the reality of nature was carved into our subconscious already in the periods when human self-consciousness did not exist, as we are merely creatures refined by natural selection.

How human brains enable second language acquisition:

Speech is a complex process requiring cooperation of many brain areas. Here, there is a list and brief description of the areas primarily involved in processing and producing language.

Broca's area: it is located in the frontal lobe of the human brain. It is a crucial component in the process of language comprehensioin. This area is responsible for allowing the speaker to remember and use acquired words. A severe damage of this area can result in productive aphasia resulting in inability to produce a coherent and meaningful speech. It is even trickier, that the affected patient understands the spoken langauge perfectly, their own production of language is however largely affected, if not impossible.

Wernicke’s area: This part can be found in the cerebral cortex. Wernicke's area is mainly responsible for understanding and processing of both written and spoken language. If this area happens to be affected, the patient may experience receptive aphasia - the patient is unable to understand both written and spoken language, but in some cases can produce a limited range of utterances.

The primary auditory cortex: This area is located in the temporal lobe. The area is responsible for sound processing, a very important component in processing the language in general.

How learning a second language benefits our brain

Nowadays, it is scientifically proven that the human brain benefits largely from language learning. Not only there is a record of beneficial effects on the human brain and with cognitive abilities associated diseases (dementia, aphasia, see below), there is also evidence of brain growing after a coherent and diligent study of foreign languages. A group of scientist at Lund University examined the brains of students at the Swedish Military Academy who study a foreign language very intensively for thirteen months and the brains of students at Umeå University and found that changes in brain anatomy were more significant in foreign language students. The parts that developed in size were the hippocampus, a deep-lying brain structure that is involved in learning new material and spatial navigation, and three areas in the cerebral cortex. It is also known that the brain of bilingual/multilingual speakers processes information more quickly and efficiently.

Tuning our distractions:

Being bilingual comes with two cognitive advantages.

1. "the ability to filter out unnecessary information, which is key to increasing focus."
2. "being bilingual is like constantly doing a puzzle because the brain is always switching between two languages. This means you’re exercising your brain even without actively doing anything.

Delaying Alzheimer’s Disease And Dementia

A lot of research has been done proving the positive effects of language learning when fighting against dementia. Although the beneficial effects are undeniable, media tend to overestimate the benefits of language learning and tend to misinterpret the data. Studies show that bilingual people tend to have the onset of dementia by at least five to seven years later to their monolingual counterparts. Although it is definitely true that being bi- or multilingual can postpone the onset of dementia, it is not true that it can reduce the risk to zero.

Aphasia and Language Acquisition

Aphasia is an umbrella term for the inability to comprehend or produce spoken language. There are several types of aphasia, but it is almost exclusively the left hemisphere that is affected. The left hemisphere is where the center responsible for language and language acquisition are found.

Appropriate language trainining and assistance can help the patient with the comprehension or production of language. Here it is important to highlight, that there is no universal pattern of damage caused by aphasia, it affects every patient to different level and degree.

Although aphasias are usually accompanied by severe speech impairment, nowadays, we know that some patients show functional language learning abilities.