王歡

【Abstact】this paper deals with the main contents and characteristics of two foreign language learning models which is the Acculturation Model and the Socio-educational Model. Their similarities and differences are compared and analyzed. This paper tends to provide implications for further relative study.

【Key words】the acculturation model the socio-educational model learning environment

1. Introduction

Acculturation is defined by Brown （1980：129） as “the process of becoming adapted to a new culture”. Schumann （1978：34） also states that the Second Language Acquisition is just one aspect of acculturation and the degree to which a learner acculturates to the target language group will control the degree to which he acquires the second language. The socio-education model is proposed by Gardner in 1985， and the most influential in the area of second language acquisition theory. While Gardner identified a number off actors which are involved when learning a second language， it was earlier work by Gardner and Lambert， to which laid the foundations for the model.

2. Comparison and contrast of the Acculturation Model and the Socio-educational Model

2. 1. Similarities.① learning environment.These two models attach importance to the cultural and social elements in the input or the content of language contact of the learning environment， compared to the emphasis on the linguistic elements. No matter the language input in the regular classroom environment in the Social-education model or from natural language environment in the acculturation model， it have to go through the learner mental processing， that is， it can absorb and export though the learner cognitive and emotional role. And Krashen （1985： 2） thought that if input is understood， and there is enough of it， then the necessary grammar is automatically provided. ② Affective factors of learners.Besides the outside learning environment， the two models both stress the individual features of the learner， for example， the affective factors， mainly formed or influenced by the social and cultural background. These two models are both regarded the affective factor as one of the most important key factors in Second Language Acquisition. For instance， the Acculturation Model contains emotional variables： shocking language， culture shock， motivation and ego permeability； the Model of Socio-educational contains motivation and situational anxiety.

2.2. Differences.① Natural and class learning environment.These two models are discussing the different language learning environment. The Acculturation Model discussed the natural language environment in the process of language acquisition. Learning a second language in the natural environment can help improve spoken fluency of language and social relevance， and the learning goal is to obtain information. Learners awareness of cultural differences， motivations， attitudes， and other emotional factors are more obvious on the impact of language learning； and intelligence and language ability have a little impact of language acquisition. For instance， Ellis （1985： 252） states that acculturation is determined by the degree of social and psychological distance between the learner and the target language culture. So， we could learn that the language is mainly acquired in the social environment， according to the Acculturation Model. The Socio-educational Model used to explain the classroom environment language learning process. Learning foreign language in the formal classroom environment， the learners are mainly acquiring language knowledge， learning language for us， stressing the accuracy of language； and the learners emotional and cognitive ability of language have a greater influence on second language acquisition. For instance， professor Yang and professor Zhang （2007： 91） summered that Gardner thought that in the Socio- educational Model， classroom teaching plays a leading role in the foreign language acquisition， and it affected by the four elements， which is the learners intelligence， language learning skills， motivation and scenes of anxiety. But it is pity that the learners in a classroom setting often fail to develop much functional language ability （Ellis， 1994：228）.②Degree and focus of the individual affective factors.Although the two models stress the social and cultural influence on to the individual affective factors， but the degree and focus are different. These two models are focusing on the different aspects in learning foreign language. The Acculturation Model believes that the culture plays the decisive role in learning foreign language. Acculturation is determined by the degree of social and psychological between the learner and the target language culture （Ellis 1985： 252）. The Socio- educational Model holds that the learners attitudes and faiths towards the target language play the decisive role in learning foreign language. So， the learning result is determined by the learners attitudes and faiths to the target language in some degree.

Conclusion

In the process of learning the Acculturation Model and the Socio-educational Model， learned more theories about the second language acquisition. This paper has compared and contrasted the Acculturation Model and Socio-educational Model in terms of their similarities and differences. It tends to provide implications for further study.

References：

[1]Krashen，S.The Input Hypothesis：Issues and Implications[M]Harlow：Longman Press，1985.