KAVITHA M*
How do we describe a language? A language, as it is often characterized, is a means for communication. But does it really stop there? To me, a language we know and speak is also several layers of fragrant memories packed together. Is it not the first endearment we heard and still remember after several years? Does it not remind us of our favourite food as a child? It evokes the stories of generations of our ancestors, their way of life and what they considered as values to live by. A lot of the words we know in our native tongue might not have an equivalent word for them in another language and their meaning can rarely be captured in all its nuances in another language.
An example of this, in Tamil, is the word neer veezhchi which is a literal translation of the English word ‘waterfall’. But there is an original Tamil term for this natural phenomenon of water descending in all its glory from the majestic heights of misty hills. That word would be aruvi. Though they are supposed to eventually label the same thing, these two words are separated by a huge chasm of feeling; only the latter evokes a sense of authenticity. I am sure one can recollect many such words and ideas from each of the languages we speak. I remember the word mayilu as a little child, an endearment that, when one attempts to translate it, results in a very ambiguous English word ‘peacock’. A saying that my grandmother spoke, Karthigai masathile kathrika kaambu kooda innikum, uses the poetic device of alliteration to express how every part of the brinjal including its peduncle tastes lovely in the Tamil month of Karthigai i.e., the monsoon season. A language is hence much beyond simply being a device for communication. It transports the meanings and memories of the life of the people speaking it!
‘A different language is a different vision of life.’
—Federico Fellini, Italian film director and screenwriter.
So how do we learn a language? Is it through nature or nurture? Can a child learn multiple languages at the same time? Does learning one language interfere with another? Or does it support the learning of another? In this article I explore some of these questions.
Nature and nurture
The physiology of learning and speaking a language is said to rely on two areas of the left hemisphere of the brain. The Broca’s area (in front of and just above the left ear) and the Wernicke’s area (around and under the left ear). Damage to Broca’s area is known to cause problems in speech production and damage in Wernicke’s area is known to cause problems in comprehension. There have been studies of people who have lost their ability to speak and comprehend. There are also examples of others who have managed to cope or relearn these facilities, resulting in studies on neuroplasticity and the ability of the brain to repair itself after an injury.
Apart from physiology, a language rich environment is seen as imperative in triggering the natural human predisposition to acquire language. This is an environment where the child can hear others talk to each other, to the child herself, and in which they have interactions with other children, along with singing songs, listening to music, reading books and many such culturally rich activities. While human beings are indeed born with an innate ability to acquire language, it is important for each one of us educators to appreciate this. It is also equally important to understand that this ability does not blossom if it does not get a language-rich and affection-filled environment.
There also seems to be a critical period for language acquisition, bestowed by nature and physiology. This is believed to be between two and fourteen years and during this time it seems like almost an effortless task. We do learn new languages beyond these years too, but this becomes much more challenging. It seems safe to conclude that while biology naturally provides us with this immense potential, an environment of exposure and nurture is needed to support our linguistic abilities. Moreover, while the first language is thus acquired more organically, the other languages we learn to speak are truly that—learnt rather than acquired. First language acquisition is largely a subconscious process. We may not be consciously aware of the rules of the language; instead, we have a ‘feel’ for correctness. A sentence simply ‘sounds’ right, or ‘feels’ right, and errors feel ‘wrong’, even if we do not consciously know which particular rule is being violated. Whereas in learning another language, a second language, we need to study the rules and learn from the errors even as we make them. In other words, we need to consciously learn the grammar and syntax of the new language.
Pedagogy for learning a new language
‘You can never understand one language until you understand at least two.’ This statement by the English writer, Geoffrey Willans, feels intuitively convincing to anyone who has taught and learnt a second language. And schools are often the places where we teach a second language. So how do we help children learn another language? In their second language, children require ‘comprehensible inputs’. ‘Comprehensible input’ refers to using language which children are capable of understanding, and at the same time holds a challenge for them. An important part of making it comprehensible is to provide it in natural, communicative situations that are meaningful for children, and this helps children in making meaning of the language. For example, if children learning English already know some vocabulary in English, then ‘comprehensible input’ might mean using these words in sentences that are meaningful for them. Unlike traditional second language teaching, which requires the child to learn the structures and grammar rules first and then practice them as communication, effective second language acquisition requires ‘going from meaning’ to ‘structure’.
Fluency in speech for a second language learner emerges over a period of time. Early speech will come only when the acquirer feels ‘ready’ This state of readiness, however, arrives at somewhat different times for different people. Early speech, moreover, is typically not grammatically accurate. Accuracy develops over time as the acquirer hears and understands more comprehensible inputs (Krashen,1982:22). Besides the need for ‘comprehensible input’, some other factors also affect the acquisition of a second language. Children’s motivation to learn the target language, their self-confidence, their curiosity, any anxiety about learning in general, and their attitude towards the language all affect language learning. These factors can either impede or encourage second language acquisition.
Most of the pedagogical literature in this area suggests that any successful attempt at the language acquisition process should bring together two key aspects: a) building skills; and b) building language experiences. Having worked with children over the last few years in teaching English and Tamil, I share here some of my approaches in the latter domain. My emphasis has always been on developing a connection to and confidence in the language being taught and learnt rather than on instructing and checking for correctness. In order to build language experiences, I repeatedly go back to the following approaches:
- Reading stories of varying genres and appreciating that most creative expression emerges from a writer’s questions and our attempts to understand the world around us. This implies also looking for the writer’s meaning when reading and finding one’s relationship with it.
- Reading curated stories with perspectives that allow one to glimpse things through other lenses, and this requires thinking through the text, gaining insights and building critical thinking.
- Exposure to poetry of different kinds as an attempt to build appreciation for the language and the writer. In doing this, we also understand and use the many poetic devices that make the language richer and sweeter.
- Doing role plays to encourage and to provide an outlet to the dramatic instinct in each of us, which is particularly so in young children. This has often resulted in a feeling of joy and copious laughter as well as serious critical thinking.
All these are but attempts to value literature as a way of appreciating the beauty in a language and to understand human life at large as well as one’s own experiences.
Talking about the happenings around us often adds excitement and provides additional interesting inputs to learning in general and more so while learning languages. I share below some learning experiences specific to teaching English that I have deployed and enjoyed with children. A project titled ‘POSTs’ (Poems on Steps) by a duo calling themselves ‘Step Sisters’, Sheryl McCammon and Ruth Arnison, attracted our attention while learning poetry. Their effort is to make poetry accessible to the community at large by painting poems, up and down, down and up, across and along, steps and benches in public spaces scattered throughout the city of Dunedin in New Zealand. Sherly paints while Ruth reads books to her. Both also talk to passersby. They paint the steps in random order letting the passersby guess the verse that is left out. ‘POTS’ was another venture by Melanie, a teaching artist in Hartford, Connecticut, USA. She developed ‘Poetry on the Streets’ as a public art project designed to engage communities in creative self-expression, connect people through the poetry of everyday life, and share the words of people from different walks of life to promote compassion and greater understanding of one another. Each of her ‘poets’ picks a word from Melanie’s ‘jar of emotions’ which they then use to compose a short poem right there on the spot and display it. Reading out loud and enacting poems, especially two or more voice poems from books such as You read to me, I’ll read to you by Mary Ann Hoberman have given us hours of enjoyment. For prose pieces, expressive reading and role plays have been the equivalent of this. Activities such as encouraging reading poetry aloud to others at home as a homework activity, making bookmarks with favourite poems as we read the poem, keep a poem in your pocket, has also inspired poetry reading and writing in many of our young readers.
‘To have another language is to possess a second soul’
Charlemagne (King of Franks)
Having had the fortune of loving Tamil and English and the greater joy of teaching both these to younger children as well, what can I say in conclusion? It simply brings me back to learning to love the language. If we
can manage that then all else might just take care of itself!