What Counts Most in Second-Language Instruction

From the Marshall Memo #435

In this article in Review of Educational Research, a team of eight researchers led by Quentin Dixon of Texas A&M University synthesize research to answer four questions about second-language (L2) acquisition:

• What are optimal conditions for L2 acquisition? In situations where second-language learners are in a majority, optimal conditions include higher family SES and parent and grandparent education, strong home literacy practices, opportunities for informal L2 use, well-designed and well-implemented educational programs specifically designed for L2 learners, and sufficient time for L2 literacy instruction. Schools can contribute by:

• Encouraging home literacy practices by sending home books and other materials and prompting parents to read to their children (in either the home language or English) and taking children to the library; 
• Promoting informal L2 use by mixing L2 learners with L1 speakers and organizing integrated extracurricular activities;
• Ensuring the classroom programs and lesson plans follow research-tested designs and are well implemented;
• Providing sufficient time for literacy development in the L2.

For L2 learners in a foreign language setting, there is less research, but it appears that explicit instruction helps students, especially in learning grammar; that intensity of L2 instruction makes no difference; and that using academic content to teach the L2 may be beneficial to building L2 vocabulary.

• Why are some L2 students noticeably more successful than others? Two key factors are motivation (girls are generally more motivated to learn the second language than boys) and aptitude (with memory for text being the strongest predictor for younger students and analytical ability being strongest for older students). Other factors include first-language skills and feeling comfortable in the classroom setting.

• What are the characteristics of successful L2 teachers? Proficiency in English appears to be a key factor, as is a desire to teach well, classroom organization, and proficiency in students’ native language, but the authors say that more research is needed on key instructional qualities in L2 instruction. 

• How long should it take for an L2 learner to succeed academically in grade-level work in English? For L2 learners in majority English classrooms, one California study found that in two years, 80 percent of students had reached intermediate status on state assessments, but it took seven years for 80 percent of students to reach proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Arriving in American classrooms at a younger age gave L2 children some advantages in pronunciation, grammar, and ultimate attainment, but children who enter in later grades learn more quickly and efficiently. Previous education in the first language is a big advantage for L2 students entering American schools. The linguistic gap between students’ native language and English was also a factor – for example, it’s easier for Dutch students to learn English than Korean students. 

For L2 students in foreign-language settings, the saying “younger is better” isn’t true. An early start is helpful, but even teenagers can make excellent progress, if not to native-like proficiency. 

The authors conclude by calling for further research, especially on the teacher characteristics that are most important to successful L2 learning. “What personality traits, attitudes, or competencies should educators look for in recruiting future L2 teachers?” they ask. “Which of these characteristics are potentially malleable, and how could pre-service teacher education programs promote them?”

“What We Know About Second-Language Acquisition: A Synthesis from Four Perspectives” by Quentin Dixon, Jing Zhao, Jee-Young Shin, Shuang Wu, Jung-Hsuan Su, Renata Burgess-Brigham, Melike Unal Gezer, and Catherine Snow in Review of Educational Research, March 2012 (Vol. 82, #1, p. 5-60), http://rer.sagepub.com/content/82/1/5