ACCULTURATION MODEL

FOR L2 ACQUISITION

Rubén ÁvilaJenny Miranda

The Acculturation Concept The acculturation concept started to be

used by American social anthropologists towards the end of the 19th century. Its wide application to the study of social changes and cultural contacts between different communities .

Definition: Acculturation is the way people adapt to

a new culture. 

One of the earliest definitions of acculturation as a process came precisely from (Redfield, et. al., 1936, P. 149 cited in Navas, et. al., 2005), for whom acculturation comprises ‘‘those phenomena which result when groups of individuals having different cultures come into continuous first-hand contact with subsequent changes in the original culture patterns of either or both groups’’.

The Acculturation Model The acculturation model, developed by

Schumann, is based on social and psychological factors. “Acculturation” is defined as the social and psychological taxonomy of factors which are believed to be important in the process of SLA in natural contexts.

Schumann (1986) claims that acculturation, or the integration of the L2 learner into the target linguistic community is not a direct cause of second language acquisition (SLA), but rather it is the first in a chain of factors which results in natural SLA.

The Schumann theory on acculturation is mainly based off the social factors experienced by those learning English as their second language within the mainstream culture.

The factors determine the social distance between the second language learner and the mainstream culture in which they are living in.

This distance between the learner and the mainstream culture in turn determine the rate of language acquisition. Schumann states that “the degree to which a learner acculturates to the target language group will control the degree to which he acquires the second language”

According to Schumann (1978), social distance refers to the learner as a member of a social group that is in contact with another social group whose members speak a different language.

Limited integration of cultural groups Size of minority group – the group is more self-sufficient the larger

they are How tight-knit the group is The variance of characteristics between their culture and the

mainstream culture Majority groups attitude towards the minority group Language learner expects to stay a short time in the country Motivation, culture shock and attitude of language learner Language learner and mainstream culture both view each other

as equal Language learner and mainstream culture both desire assimilation

There are several social factors that Schumann accounts for the rate of second language acquisition.

The psychological factors, mainly affective in nature, are secondary important. To him, the following factors affect the psychological distance:

• Language shock (Learner's confusion when using L2)

• Culture shock (learners' disorientation as a result of culture differences).

Critique/Classroom Implications When people from one culture move into an area

dominated by another culture there are going to be changes or adaptations made by people on both sides. The non-majority culture will be making most of these changes. During this acculturation process there will inevitably be aspects of the native culture that will be lost. Although it will not be as drastic or damaging as assimilation, the effects cannot be avoided (Berry, 2008). 

Another possible critique is that students who maintain their culture in a society that is dominated by a different culture may feel alienated from others. This could lead to poor self-esteem and other social difficulties.

One way to promote acculturation in the classroom is the help all students feel that their culture is appreciated and respected. Teachers can do this by inviting students to share different aspects of their culture with the class. This can be during cultural holidays, or any time.