The Idea of an Essay, Volume 4

110 The Idea of an Essay: Volume 4 to meet, he or she was unable to meet with his or her partner as many times as planned. Other time-related problems existed as well. The writers of essays 13, 14, and 15 state that they did not have enough time to absorb the language and found themselves misusing what little time they had. The author of essay 15 states that he or she would become frustrated with the Arabic alphabet and fail to work on it for weeks at a time. The lack and mismanagement of time bedeviled the authors and stifled their efforts to effectively acquire their second languages. Of a Structured Learning Environment The final hindrance to second language acquisition results from a loosely structured learning environment. This seems surprising at first, but it’s shown in the essays to be a frustrating impediment. The author of essay 10 identifies closely with this problem and determines that he or she lacked the self-discipline needed to make satisfactory progress. Likewise, the author of essay 9 states, “Not having a structured classroom and teacher hindered my learning and caused frustration (Essay 9, pg. 3).” Even the use of online programs failed to provide any sort of structured learning environment. Another side effect of lacking a structured learning environment was the absence of a teacher to instruct the students in their respective languages. Already facing a lack of resources, the author of essay 15 desired the help of a teacher. Without a proficient teacher, he or she was uncertain of the correct usage for different aspects of Arabic. Conversely, some were able to supplement this lack of a structured learning environment to a degree. The author of essay 12 had female roommates who spoke Portuguese. Through them, she was able to fill some of the gaps of not having a classroom setting, but she still struggled to develop the non-oral parts of the language. In general, the lack of a structured learning environment negatively affected motivation and frustrated the efforts of the writers. Conclusion The essays provide solutions to the complications found in the language learning project. Pertaining to motivation, success results from attaining both integrative and instrumental motivation and having helpful accountability partners. Pertaining to time, it is necessary to utilize it properly and to have an ample supply of it.