Survival as a Motivator

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TESL 0100
Unit 4 Reflection

One of the popular ideas about language learning brought up by Lightbrown and Spada (2013) is that "The best predictor of success in second language acquisition is motivation." I think that survival is a huge motivator in learning a second language. When I went to South Korea to teach English I only knew a few basic words and phrases, such as Hello, My name is Sheila, and I am Canadian. The first school that I worked at was a small, private language institute and I was their first and only "native English speaker" teacher. I lived in a small studio apartment by myself, and during the week I had very few interactions with other "native English speakers." I needed to speak Korean to go to the store and buy things, order in restaurants, talk to my landlord, and give directions to taxi drivers. I was surrounded by the language everywhere that I went. I picked up a lot of Korean fairly quickly as it was essential to my survival!

I did receive support and a few crash courses in basic/common words and phrases from one of the Korean teachers at my school, HeeKyeong, who also taught English classes. I also learned some key words and phrases from some other Canadian and American teachers that I met. Of course, my students were happy to teach me Korean as well! By the end of my time there, I could carry on a brief conversation.
I actually still remember some of the words and phrases that I learned while living in South Korea and have even used them when eating out in Korean restaurants in Winnipeg. The restaurant staff are always pleasantly surprised when I give my order in Korean and tell them that their food is delicious!

 I think that having the opportunity and, more specifically, the need to speak a second language greatly influence a student's motivation. If you are living in a country where the second language you are studying is primarily spoken, speaking in the target language is a means to survive.
Reference:
Lightbown, M. & Spada, N. (2013). How languages are learned (4th ed.). Oxford: OUP.

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