Article Review

So, do you want to know why nobody hears from me anymore? It's because I'm constantly completing readings in either my textbooks (Handbook of Intercultural Training, and Learning from the Stranger: Christian Faith and Cultural Diversity) or recommended journal articles, and then writing critical analyses about what I've read.

Here's an example. (Personally, I think I could have done better, but I wasn't feeling well this week.)

Journal Article Review:
Can Cross-Cultural Understanding Aid Second Language Acquisition?
Toward a Theory of Ethno-Lingual Relativity

Overview

In the article Can Cross-Cultural Understanding Aid Second Language Acquisition? Toward a Theory of Ethno-Lingual Relativity, author James Citron introduces the concept of ethno-lingual relativity as “a perspective that is not limited by one’s own culture and linguistic experiences, but rather is open to the contrasting cultural and linguistic patterns of other people” (Citron, p. 105). He hypothesizes that having a perspective that is open to new and different cultural and linguistic patterns and experiences can aid a person in acquiring a second language (Citron, p. 111). This is converse to earlier studies which view multilingualism as influential and effectual to acculturation. He lists language aptitude studies, theories of motivation, studies of personality differences, acculturation, and research into pragmatic failure as evidence for his hypothesis (Citron, p. 105). He completes his article with pedagogical implications for the second language classroom.

Citron begins with a discussion on the theory of ethno-linguistic relativity. He lists two sub-components to the theory: the ability of a person to recognize that languages do not always translate directly, and the ability of a person to recognize how much of one’s L1 language is culture-bound. The first sub-component is further broken down into syntax and lexical expression: thought is expressed in different grammatical means in each language, with neither being more correct than the other, and words may have the same dictionary definition between languages, but may evoke different mental images. The second sub-component likewise breaks down into concrete and abstract levels. In the concrete, Citron explains that certain aspects of vocabulary can be culture-bound. Examples of this can be found in agriculture and food in which words may exist in one culture but not in another (Citron, p. 106). According to the ethno-lingual relative theory, a language learner who can empathize with his or her interlocutors and recognize the effect that culture has on language would be better able to learn a target language than one who cannot (Citron, p. 106). On the abstract level, value differences in culture are reflective in the language of that group. Language learners who can identify with the value principles of the target culture are better able to understand and pick up the target language (Citron, p. 106).

Citron uses several research models to support his views. He suggests that ethno-lingual relativity might actually be an aid to both early and later stages of learning by enabling the learner to progress beyond basic communication levels to a stage of fuller mastery of the intricacies in a new language. He argues that beginning learners use universal principles and strategies, while successful higher level learners may draw upon cultural perspectives congruent with ethno-lingual relativity (Citron, p. 108). He cites several studies in language aptitude to support his case. He then explains that learner motivation directly relates to learning proficiency because a desire to learn about cultural attitudes may correspond to openness to contrasting cultural and linguistic patterns (Citron, p. 108). Likewise, personality factors such as tolerance for ambiguity and ego permeability may affect openness. He explains that learners with low tolerance may avoid cultural situations where responses in conversation are ambiguous. They may even shutdown altogether (Citron, p. 108). Studies into ego permeability show that those who are temporarily able to suspend their cultural identities are better able to pick up on subtleties in pronunciation than those who are not, thus reducing accents (Citron, p. 108).

Regarding acculturation and pragmatics, Citron explains that when learners experience greater social distance they generally also experience greater difficulty picking up the target language. In contrast, the less social distance the learner experiences between their native culture and the target culture, the less difficulty they generally have in acquiring the new language of that culture (Citron, p. 109). Pragmatic failure can be divided into either pragmalinguistic failure, describing basic failures in translation and interpretation, or sociopragmatic failures that involve assessments and value judgments that can be very culturally biased (Citron, p. 111).

Citron concludes the article with several suggestions for pedagogical approaches in the second language classroom. He suggests teachers should apply ethno-linguistic relativity to the classroom by encouraging students to think outside of their own cultural schema. He discusses an example of how one teacher asked his students to measure their books at the start of their language class in inches and then centimeters. The activity that pursued encouraged the students to think outside of their cultural norms and consider a different mode of thinking when they approached their language learning. Later, when the instructor needed to remind students to think outside of their cultural schema, he used the phrase “you’re thinking in inches rather than centimeters” (Citron, p. 112). Citron summarizes that language teachers can increase their students’ ability to master a new language if they can find a way to open their minds to new perspectives of thought (Citron, p. 112).

Assessment

I found the article both interesting and persuasive. Previous to reading this article, I generally accepted that multi-linguistic competence affected how one adapted to another culture, and his converse approach challenged that thinking. Citron’s note that people who have successfully learned a second language generally find it easier to learn a third or even fourth language appears to support his hypothesis by suggesting as people come into contact with other languages that their minds become more open to new ideas, thoughts, and linguistic patterns so that language learning is easier. It was also interesting to note at the end of his article that the United States ranks relatively low in second language proficiency, and that our nation’s low experience in cross-cultural boundaries may be at least partially to blame. I thought this made sense if you consider that countries in Europe, which often share multiple boarders with other countries, rank relatively high on second language proficiency.

As stated previously, Citron cites multiple sources to backup his findings, and generally states his arguments very succinctly; however, I did find the article somewhat one-dimensional as the author never seems to take into consideration phases of intercultural sensitivity. Two types of people seem represented in the article: those who do not have intercultural experience, and those who do. Those who have intercultural experience are automatically assumed to also possess openness to contrasting cultural and linguistic patterns which in turn allow them to acquire a second language easier than those in the contrasting group. While I believe it would be relatively easy to understand how learners in the ethnocentric stages of intercultural sensitivity would have a great deal of trouble benefiting from ethno-lingual relativity, it would have been interesting to hear Citron’s view of how the theory effects language learning depending upon where the learner is in the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity.