A Critical Examination of the Beliefs about Learning a Foreign Language at Primary School

4.4.1 Empathy

Being able to empathise with the speakers of the target language is generally
considered a vital ingredient in successful se∞nd language acquisition.

Exchanging one's own native culture for a different culture does indeed require
a degree of empathy, adaptability, flexibility and a desire to integrate in the first
place. Schumann's 'acculturation theory' originated from a natural second
language acquisition context, however, and the relation between his theory and
language learning success has already been questioned in Chapter Two. In the
context of foreign language learning Hawkins states that:

"Learning a foreign language...makes heavy demands on empathy. The
learner is required not only to show interest in the foreigner and his way of life,
as in a geography or history lesson, but to behave like the foreigner, making
the foreigner's ridiculous noises out loud for his mates to hear."

(Hawkins, 1981:189)

As far as not worrying about 'making foreign noises' goes, younger is generally
assumed to be better although it will be shown later in the context of the two
case studies that in a classroom even young children can be ^,worried' about
speaking aloud in front of others. Affective variables therefore take on a very
different role in the foreign language classroom where successful learning is
likely to be a matter of both cognition and affect. In the foreign language
classroom there is often little need for children to empathise with the speakers
and the culture or cultures of any particular language. As Ringboem argued:

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