Social distance in language acquisition refers to the perceived cultural gap between a language learner and the community that speaks the target language.
In the field of second language acquisition, Schumann (1976) defined social distance as the perceived difference between the language learner's home culture and the target language culture. This degree of social distance between the host and home cultures impacts learning efforts. Essentially, it's about how connected or separated a learner feels from the people who use the language they are trying to learn.
Understanding Perceived Difference
The key word here is "perceived." Social distance isn't just about objective differences between cultures; it's about how the individual learner feels about these differences and their relationship with the target language community. A learner might perceive a large social distance even if the objective differences are small, or vice versa.
How Social Distance Impacts Learning Efforts
Schumann's work highlighted that a greater perceived social distance can create psychological barriers that hinder successful language acquisition. Conversely, a smaller perceived social distance tends to facilitate learning.
Factors contributing to perceived social distance often include:
- Social Dominance: Is one group dominant over the other?
- Integration: How well is the learner's group integrated into the target language community? (Assimilation, Acculturation, Preservation)
- Enclosure: Does the learner's group share social facilities (schools, churches, etc.) with the target group?
- Cohesiveness: How unified is the learner's group?
- Size: How large is the learner's group relative to the target group?
- Attitude: Do the two groups have positive or negative attitudes towards each other?
- Length of Stay: How long does the learner plan to stay in the target language environment?
Think of it this way:
| Perceived Social Distance | Potential Impact on Learning |
|---|---|
| Low | Facilitates integration and interaction, leading to better learning outcomes. |
| High | Creates barriers to interaction and motivation, potentially slowing or hindering acquisition. |
Practical Insights
For language learners and educators, understanding social distance means recognizing that psychological and social factors are just as crucial as linguistic ones.
- For Learners: Actively seeking interaction with target language speakers and finding ways to connect with aspects of the target culture can help reduce perceived social distance.
- For Educators: Creating an inclusive classroom environment and incorporating cultural learning can help bridge the gap and make learners feel more connected to the language.
Ultimately, social distance is a crucial concept in understanding why some learners acquire a second language more successfully than others, emphasizing the interconnectedness of language, culture, and social psychology.
