Second Language Acquisition Inhibitions

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@SuperbGyrolite3732

Study Notes

Adults often experience inhibitions when learning a second language. These inhibitions appear in classroom settings, where speaking the foreign language can be uncomfortable and embarrassing.
Even in natural settings, the necessity to communicate can sometimes override the inhibitions.
These inhibitions are related to "ego identification," suggesting that the learner has to acquire a new identity while learning a second language.

Negative attitudes towards individuals, languages, or cultures can negatively impact the success of language learning.
Young children may be less affected by negative attitudes because they are not yet developed enough to form such prejudices.
As children reach school age, they begin to develop attitudes towards various groups and languages, which can be influenced by their parents, peers, and other adults.

Peer pressure can exert a significant influence on a child’s language learning.
As children grow older, they become more self-conscious and seek to define their identity, leading to inhibitions about revealing their self-doubt.
These inhibitions are amplified during puberty, as adolescents undergo significant physical, cognitive, and emotional changes, requiring them to develop a new identity.

The language ego—a concept developed by researcher Alexander Guiora—refers to the identity a person develops in relation to the language they speak.
It's connected to a person’s self-identity as it’s shaped through communicative interactions.
Adults may struggle to learn a new language because of the language ego, which becomes protective and defensive during puberty.
The growing and adaptable nature of a child's ego makes acquiring a new language less threatening before puberty.
Due to the physical, emotional, and cognitive changes of puberty, the language ego becomes protective, clinging to the native language to safeguard the fragile ego.

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