A for Acculturation

Acculturation is a model or theory that explains the process of cultural change, more specifically the process in which members of one cultural group adopt the beliefs and the behaviors of another group.

This model is known today under the name socialization,(Wikipedia). According to this model, there are two major factors identified in acculturation. These two factors have been shown to have a direct effect on the success in learning L2. The first of these factors is social. This refers to the characteristics of a language group and the relationship of the individual to the group. It also includes the group's attitude, the cohesiveness and size of the group, and the length of exposure to language between individuals in the group. The second factor is psychological distance, which refers to the extent to which learners cope psychologically with learning an L2. Some of these factors include the individual's level of anxiety, motivation, and self-confidence.

One of the first researchers who investigated the model of acculturation was John Schumann.He became well known for his articles, the"acculturation process of Mexican students A-NON native context" and" The Pidginization process A Model for second language acquisition"(Schuman, 1976).

"The degree to which learner acculturates to the target language group will control the degree to which s/he acquires the language." Schumann, 1976,

Schumann refers in her research that the term pronunciation in SLA is the stronger linguistic marker of a speaker's acculturation

A case study,(Schuman, 1976), of the acculturation theory followed a group of L2 language learner in Norway. 9 American women residing in a positive network relationship were examined. It was concluded that learners who developed connections with native speakers of Norwegian showed more native-like pronunciation than those who had greater difficulty establishing such relationships. This is strong evidence for the social factors involved in L2 language acquisition.

His second study followed four young Mexican students who travelled to study abroad in a university to improve and/or master a second language. The level of linguistic competence achieved by the students was associated with the level of acculturation that the student experienced in each country.

Finally, it is important to clarify, as Schumann did, that the students' acculturation and his/her integration into the target linguistic community is not a direct cause of acquisition of a second language (SLA), but it is one of many factors that heavily influences SLA.

 In my opinion I think that the term acculturation is very important, whether it was toward English language or for other language, because the more you will be social and active in the society, the more you will improve and acquire the language, as an Arab people in Israel I can tell about my second language the Hebrew: Hebrew is a language that developing very well following the acculturation.