An Ecological Approach to Second Language Acquisition: Family as an English Language Learning Community

Abstract

In the world of applied linguistics, there is a growing interest among researchers in studying second language acquisition (SLA) as an ecological phenomenon, meaning the focus of SLA studies has shifted from the language classroom to other social contexts beyond the classroom. This ecological approach provides researchers with a whole new perspective in understanding language learning beyond the classroom that offers an insight into the way how a community can promote language learning among its members and become a learning system. Adopting Palfreyman’s ecological approach to language learning, this paper is aimed at exploring a family functioning as an English language learning community in an EFL context. To reach the aforementioned objective, online interviews were employed in the study with four participants, who are members of a Vietnamese family. The findings provided an analytical description of the chosen family as a demonstration showing how Palfreyman’s theories work in practice, focusing on the autonomous role of each family member in contributing and receiving learning resources. Despite some miscommunications due to the age difference, the interviewed family is overall an excellent example of a family functioning as a learning community, which can serve as a role model for other families in the same EFL context to promote better English language learning. The study offers interesting implications in the area of SLA: EFL learners should be aware of their language learning opportunities and take advantage of available resources for the sake of a mutually supportive environment for English learning in the family.