PSYCHOLINGUISTICS

4-01

The Analysis of How the Children and Adults Learn Second

Language

Rievky Reviano Gale

(2022130020)

Fauzan Adzim

(2022130005)
Abstract

Learning is the process through which people study to get information or develop an ability. When someone has a
first language that is established, second language learning is the process of integrating and understanding a new
language. The learning process of a second language is different from that of a first language. After improving
knowledge and the ability to speak, a person learns a second language, which helps him or her learn a second
language. Most of us think that when it comes to learning a second language, children are better than adults. The
idea is supported by the general observation that children learning a second language appear to learn the language
quickly even in the lack of instruction. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how various factors affect the learning
of a second language by adults and children. The Three elements are involved in learning a second language,
according to Steinberg (2001). The psychological category comes first. Memory, motor skills, and intellectual
processing—which includes the explication and induction process—are included. Subsequently, natural and
classroom situations represent social situations. Additional psychological factors are the final group. Context,
motivation, and attitude from the ESL or EFL community make up this element. Choosing which age group is better
at learning a second language between children and adults is difficult. Although with some qualifications concerning
the classroom setting, the widely held belief that children are better than adults has been analyzed. Stated differently,
adults perform badly in any situation.

Keywords: Second Language Learning, Language Learning, Ability, Adult, Children, Age.

Introduction

Indonesian children have their first language which is Indonesian because both of their parents
were born and only speak in Indonesia. Researchers were interested to know if it is true that only
children can understand a second language more easily than adults.

Researchers chose the main reference book ‘An Introduction to Psycholinguistics (1993) by
Danny D. Steinberg and Natalia V. Sciarini. The paper specifically analyzed Chapter 6: Children
vs. Adults in Second-Language Learning. It is very important to discuss the topic because
children are better than adults and what factors are important in learning a second language.

American psychologist Jacob Robert Kantor introduced the term psycholinguistics in his 1936
book, "An Objective Psychology of Grammar." The term was popularized by one of Kantor's
students, Nicholas Henry Pronko, in a 1946 article "Language and Psycholinguistics: A Review."
The emergence of psycholinguistics as an academic discipline is generally linked to an
influential seminar at Cornell University in 1951.

According to Oxford Dictionary, Psycholinguistics is the study of the mental faculties involved
in the perception, production, and acquisition of language.

According to David W. Carroll in the book ‘Psychology of Language’, Psycholinguistics is the

study of the mental aspects of language and speech. It is primarily concerned with how language
is represented and processed in the brain. A branch of both linguistics and psychology,
psycholinguistics is part of the field of cognitive science.

Literature Review

According to Ellis (1989), there are 3 key issues in a second language:

1. The Role of First Language

It was believed that because first and second languages were different, the learner's first language
knowledge would influence their second language learning. Additionally, first and second
languages were comparable in that learning a first language would actively support learning a
second language. It can be referred to as a negative transfer when the first and second languages
are different and a positive transfer when they are similar. Difficulties are created by negative
transfer. In order to find the problem areas, a Contrastive Analysis was created. It forecasts the
learner's difficulty by comparing the linguistic differences between the learner's first and second
language. The concept of contrastive analysis is that the first language affects the second
language.

2. The “Natural” Route of Development

According to Ellis (1989), the primary issue was whether there was a "natural" path for
development and, if so, what it included. A related issue was whether first-language acquisition
accompanied the same developmental path as second-language learning. The L2=L1 hypothesis
was created to describe this problem. This states that because of the methods students use, the
processes of learning a second language and a first language are very similar.

He demonstrated that two different methods were used to the investigation of the L2=L1
hypothesis. One method involved using a technique called error analysis to analyze learner
mistakes. Presumably, structures in error frequencies were used for determining the order of
development, with structures with a high error rate being learned earlier than those with a low
error rate. For example, it might be believed that plurals were learned later than pronouns if there
were more errors made when using plurals than when using pronouns.

3. Individual Learner Differences

Five general factors contribute to individual learner differences: age, aptitude, cognitive style,
motivation, and personality.

● Age

Second language learning is different between adults and children. Adults are better able to focus
on a language's purely formal elements and have larger memory abilities. However, a two-part
comparison of second language learning in children and adults is essential. First, it has to be
shown whether the learning path is different. Secondly, research needs to be done on how
quickly adults and kids learn.

● Aptitude

In language learning, it refers to a unique ability. The level of success of language learning in the
classroom is largely determined by it. Being successful in learning a language is highly
influenced by it.

● Motivation and Needs

Learners who have strong motivation and needs to understand the target language will have more
success than those who lack these qualities. A "socio-affective filter" in the learner controls the
level of information that reaches the language processing mechanisms. The learner is either
"open" or "close" to the second language depending on their attitudes, emotional states, and
conscious or unconscious needs or motives.

 Personality and Cognitive Style

The relationship between personality and cognitive style and second-language learning is not
well understood despite widespread agreement that they may both be very significant.

Language achievement (outcome) is significantly influenced by anxiety, a single element of

personality. Achievement (outcome) and anxiety have a negative relationship, meaning that the
greater the anxiety, the lower the achievement (outcome).

4. The Role of Input

A learner can only learn a second language when they have access to second language input,
according to Ellis (1989). Formal instruction or exposure to natural environments may be the
forms of this input. It could be written or spoken. What part input plays is one of the primary
concerns in learning a second language.

Method
The research method used in the paper is qualitative. Sugiyono (2020:9) states that the
qualitative research method is applied to natural settings in which researchers act as key
instruments, triangulation is used in data collection, inductive reasoning is used in data analysis,
and the findings of the research emphasize meanings rather than generalizations. The reason the
researchers went with a qualitative approach is that, as previously mentioned, it allows for a
thorough analysis of the subject. With consideration for the complex relationships between
psychological, social, and individual factors that impact language learning, this method is
appropriate for investigating the nuances of second language acquisition in both adults and
children.
Results
From the book ‘An Introduction to Psycholinguistics (1993) by Danny D. Steinberg and Natalia
V. Sciarini, the idea that children are more skillful than adults at learning new languages comes
from the observation that children seem to pick up new languages with ease just by exposure.
The elements of second language learning are examined. Both psychological and social factors
are included in the category.

The psychological factors include thinking, which includes analyzing knowledge of grammar
and rules; memory, which is essential to language learning; and motor skills, which include
sound pronunciation. A person's motivation and attitude toward learning a second language are
also very important. The "transfer problem" refers to how learning is impacted by a first
language's and a target language's similarity.

The kinds of interactions, environments, and circumstances people experience are social factors
that affect learning a second language. The natural environments (family, play, and the
workplace) are contrasted with the classroom setting in the book. Additionally, it looks at how
learning a second language in a foreign community (EFL) is different from learning it in a
community where one's first language is spoken (ESL).

Learners of second languages may develop knowledge through two methods: explication and
induction. As with learning a first language, induction involves establishing rules by experience
and observation. On the other hand, explication depends on providing a clear explanation of the
rules. It makes it clear that while complex structures are best learned through induction, simpler
rules can be learned through explication because they need an understanding of how rules work
carefully in different situations. It also emphasizes the role memory plays in language learning,
highlighting that even learning basic vocabulary requires creating a connection between a word’s
sound and meaning.

Memory is crucial to learning a language, especially when it comes to syntax and vocabulary.
For learners to understand how grammatical structures work in various contexts, episodic
memory is helpful, but rote memory is essential for connecting words with their meanings.
Children are better at rote memorization, but as they get older and start to analyze syntactic rules,
their ability to use this skill is affected. This suggests that the limitations of rote memory may
cause older children to change to a more analytical approach.

The book also explores the connection between age and the ability to learn new motor skills,
with a particular emphasis on speech articulation. It states that as we age, our ability to control
the speech muscles weakens, affecting our ability to pronounce words correctly. Research
suggests that the ease with which younger students pick up native-sounding accents points to a
connection between age and the efficiency of second language learning. To improve
pronunciation, the passage emphasizes how important it is to begin learning a language at a
young age. Although the precise cause of this decrease in motor skills is still unknown, the
passage suggests that it might be connected to hormonal or brain changes.

The book explores how age affects the three major psychological components of second
language learning: motor skills, explication, and induction. It shows a table showing the range of
these skills in three age groups: adults over 12, children 7–12, and children under 7.

The book also stated that while explanation rises with age, induction stays comparatively high.
But as people age, their memory weakens while their motor skills significantly decline—
especially in adults. The writer highlights how challenging it is for adults to learn pronunciation
like a native speaker and thinks that as people age, their motor skills related to pronunciation fail.
The writers' personal family experiences and study results confirm this observation.

The writer argues that children perform well at learning a second language in natural
environments because of their high levels of natural situations, inductive learning, memory, and
motor skills. These differences in second-language learning between children and adults,
specifically in natural and classroom settings, are shown. Adults, on the other hand, find it
difficult to be effective in natural environments because of their lower natural situation and
limited capacity for explanation.

Because of the ability to maintain a balance between natural situations and mental abilities,
children perform better than adults. This is related to adults' low social interaction and mental
abilities, which prevent the learning of a second language. While adults perform better in
regulated classroom environments where they can adapt to classroom rules and learning
materials through explicit teaching, in the book, we can understand that children perform very
well in natural settings.

The writer concludes that while adults do well in both natural and classroom environments,
children have an advantage in learning a second language in natural settings. Even though they
can adapt well to classroom settings, adults find it difficult to naturally learn a second language.

The factors that influence the effectiveness of second language learning through age groups and
contexts.

Classroom Situation:

 Adults perform better in the classroom than young children because of their mental
maturity, learning habits, and ability to focus. They have better explicative analyzing
abilities and can adapt to structured learning settings. According to research, adults
perform better on classroom tests.
 Older children are considered to be the best learners in the classroom because they have a
balance of natural situations and mental abilities. This is related to adults' low social
interaction and mental abilities, which prevent second language learning.
  Young children didn’t do well in the classroom because they didn't have the mental
abilities and the ability to adapt to classroom settings. Their classroom experience often
looks like a natural setting, which is less effective than structured learning environments.

ESL/EFL Community Context

 ESL (English as a Second Language): There are more opportunities for language learning
when studying English in a community where the language is spoken (for example,
Pakistanis learning English in London) because of experiencing reality outside of the
classroom. As compared to EFL, this usually causes easier progress.
 EFL (English as a Foreign Language): Learning English in an area where it is not usually
spoken, such as Karachi for Pakistanis studying English, gives less opportunity for
communicating with people in the target language. While adults with mental abilities
may perform well in a classroom environment, natural context is important for language
development in general.

Discussion

Learners of second languages are influenced by many factors. Children and adults can be
different in their ability to learn a second language through induction, or implicitly through usage
and exposure. Compared to adults, children typically have a higher ability for language learning
through induction. This is frequently explained by the fact that their brains are more adaptable
and skilled at taking in novel linguistic structures and patterns. Additionally, children are more
likely to experiment with language and are less likely to be inhibited, which can speed up
learning through immersion and regular exposure.

However, when learning a second language, adults frequently depend more on structured
instruction and explicit learning methods. Adults may learn languages more with greater
diligence and patience than children do, even though they may have advantages like stronger
mental skills and a better understanding of grammar.
Therefore, due to their built cognitive flexibility and immersion in language-rich environments,
children usually have the advantage when it comes to learning more quickly based only on
induction ability. But at any age, learning environments, motivation, and individual differences
all have a big impact on language learning.

We analyze the ways in which explication, memory, and motor skills can affect an individual's
capacity to acquire a second language, regardless of age:

Children usually pick up languages naturally, depending more on context and exposure than on
clear rules. Naturally, they pick up language through their interactions with other people and
adults. Their ability for explanation is likely toward natural understanding as opposed to
analytical analysis. Adults usually take a more analytical approach to learning a language. They
might study vocabulary lists and grammar rules, for example, or use other explicit learning
techniques. Their capacity for explication facilitates a deeper comprehension of language rules
and structures, which is useful in formal educational environments.

Children can quickly learn new words and phrases because of their highly adaptable and efficient
memory systems. They naturally create strong memory connections by learning a lot by
association and repetition. Although adults often have strong memory systems, learning new
vocabulary and grammar rules may take more work for them. They can take advantage of their
mental ability by using mental images and other memory aids to improve retention.

Children who are learning a language need to develop both their motor and mental abilities in
order to produce speech and pronounce words correctly. Their plasticity allows them to acquire
native-like pronunciation and accurately mimic sounds. Pronunciation-related motor skills can be
difficult for adults learn, particularly in languages with foreign phonetic systems. They can,
however, make up for it over time by improving their speech production with practice and
feedback.

Due to their effective memory systems and innate ability to understand language through implicit
learning (explication), children frequently learn basic conversational skills more quickly. Their
motor abilities also help them pick up pronunciation and fluency early on.
Adults may learn more slowly at first because they may have less flexible motor skills and
depend more on explicit learning strategies. However, with time, their complex explication
abilities, developed ideas, and improved memory systems might allow them to understand and
become more familiar with complex linguistic structures.

Conclusion

In conclusion, adults and children learn a second language differently, both age groups show a
remarkable amount of resilience and adaptability when it comes to learning a new language.
Knowing the differences in learning abilities helps develop effective language teaching strategies
and emphasizes the significance of lifelong learning for acquiring second language proficiency.

It is generally true as discussed above that children are more likely to pick up a second language
than adults.

While children typically have an advantage when it comes to language acquisition, adults can
also become highly skilled through hard work, efficient learning techniques, and immersive
experiences. The cognitive maturity of adults allows them to understand grammar rules carefully
and to use language in subtle ways. Over time, this can result in deeper comprehension and more
accurate language production.

Therefore, even though adults can make up through their mental skills and strategic learning
methods, children may have a better initial advantage when learning a second language. This
shows that language acquisition is a dynamic process influenced by age-related factors as well as
individual learning strategies.

References

Danny D. Steinberg and Natalia V. Sciarini, An Introduction to Psycholinguistics, Pearson

Longman, United Kingdom,1993.
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Nengah Sudipa, Psycholinguistic: An Introductory Note, Udayana Networking, 2020.

(https://udayananetworking.unud.ac.id/professor/scientific/1746/psycholinguistik-an-
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Ridha Fadillah, Key Issues in Second Language Acquisition, 2009

(https://idr.uin-antasari.ac.id/4011/1/Key%20issues%20in%20Second%20Language
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Hadna Suryantari, Children and Adults in Second Language Learning, SMA Muhammadiyah
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