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Strategies for gifted second language learners.

Article Excerpt
Abstract

Gifted second language learners deserve an optimal learning environment in which to develop talent. Direct grammar instruction capitalizes on the strengths of high-ability students allowing them to form their understanding of the structure of the language and progress rapidly toward communicative competence. Direct instruction of communication strategies can provide the tools that will enable them to develop an effective interlanguage. Gifted and talented students arrive at the classroom with prior skills that must be utilized to enhance their learning experience in meaningful ways.

Introduction

The ongoing debate over the most appropriate and effective method of instruction for second language students has torn the field in opposing directions for decades. The influence of first language studies on second language instruction is clearly visible in immersion programs and acquisition-based methods. As more research emerges demonstrating the differences between first and second language acquisition as distinct processes, curriculum developers are learning to take advantage of students' prior knowledge and experience in an effort to maximize learning potential in the second language classroom. The highly sensitive topic of direct grammar instruction, while taboo for an extended period of time, has resurfaced as a strategy designed to capitalize on the pre-existing structural understanding of one's first language, allowing students to make connections, hypothesize, and utilize higher order thinking skills in the construction of their interlanguage in the process of second language learning.

Gifted and talented students in particular are in a position to apply their superior abilities to the learning of a second language. Advanced verbal and higher order thinking skills inherent in those with a high aptitude for learning can serve as catalysts for linguistic comparisons and rapid competence development if provided instruction on the linguistic structures necessary for those connections to take place. In order to encourage multilingualism among the most capable students in a classroom, direct grammar instruction can be supplemented with the explicit instruction of communication strategies in order to prolong communicative opportunities and strengthen self-confidence. Accepting that certain learners arrive at the classroom with prior knowledge that can prove beneficial to communicative development can help promote motivation and self-efficacy in the second language classroom while maximizing the potential of the learners. Direct grammar instruction coupled with an understanding of communication strategies can enhance language learning in the gifted and talented population furthering the global intelligence and capabilities of the future leaders of society.

Acquisition vs. Learning

Arguably the most controversial perspective regarding second language learning was introduced by the work of Stephen Krashen in the 1980s. The "Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis" claims that adult second language learners internalize language both consciously and subconsciously (Brown, 1994, p. 279). In his pivotal study of 1959, Robert Lado had distinguished between these two distinct and independent ways to develop competence. He stated that 'acquisition' was a process similar, if not identical, to the way children develop their first language, while 'learning' referred to conscious knowledge of a second language, knowing the rules, being aware of them, and being able to talk about them (Lado, 1964). Douglas describes 'acquisition' as a subconscious and intuitive process used by children to "pick up a language," and 'learning' as a conscious process in which...

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