- Second Language Acquisition

Complexity theory of language:

As the name suggest, complexity theory of language is complex and consist of various components.

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.

How human brains enable second language acquisition:

An article: what brain areas control language and speech

https://jackwestin.com/resources/mcat-content/language/brain-areas-that-control-language-and-speech#:~:text=Wernicke%E2%80%99s%20area%2C%20located%20in%20the%20cerebral%20cortex%2C%20is,results%20in%20receptive%20aphasia%20%28also%20called%20Wernicke%E2%80%99s%20aphasia%29.

How learning a second language benefits our brain

Nowadays, it is scientifically proven that the human brain benefits largely from language learning.

https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/how-learning-a-language-benefits-your-brain

growing the brain:

the areas that grew were the hippocampus — the brain structure involved in memory and emotion — as well as three areas in the cerebral cortex.

Tuning our distractions:

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.