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The educational ethnographer's task is to sort through the highly
visible elements of cultural differences found in the school setting
and interpret the subtle, but highly significant way that participants
view events so those interested in the research can understand (Geertz,
1973; Wolcott, 1980).
The second part of this section reviewed research on socio
linguistics and second language acquisition. Under natural learning
conditions the process of learning a second language is much like
learning the first. However, adults and teenagers learn the school -
instructed elements of language much faster than younger children
(Ervin-Tripp, 1978). Adults are more conscious of grammar (Krashen,
1978). The social setting is an important motivating factor (Fillmore,
1976) in second language learning. Adults who feel psychologically
or socially distant from the speakers of the target language learn the
language much more slowly, if at all (Schumann, 1978). The political
position of the language in relationship to the learners is very im
portant (Edelsky & Hudelson, 1980). Troike (1981) and Cummins (1981)
emphasize the need to break down social and cultural barriers to
facilitate second language learning.
Canale (in press) presents a framework for defining communicative
proficiency. Damico et al. (1981) believe pragmatic and surface-
oriented criteria are important. Burt and Dulay (1978) emphasize the
need for distinguishing between naturalistic and linguistically manipu
lative tasks. Rodriguez-Brown (1979) finds that educational treatments
greatly influence educational achievements on measures of reading.