What is meant by social and Psychological distance? Social and Psychological distances are basically derived from Acculturation Theory of SLA provided by Schumann.The theory is, “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.” Social Distance : It is the result of number of factors which affect the learner as a member of a social group in contact with the target language group. Psychological Distance : It is the result of various affective factors which concern the learner as individual. Social Factors: There can be good or bad learning situation which are included in social factors . A good learning situation contains these: 1. The target language group and the L2 group both view each other socially equal. 2. The target language and L2 group both are desirous that the L2 group will assimilate. 3. Both the target language and the L2 group expect the L2 group to share social facilities with the target language group. 4. The L2 group is small and not very cohesive. 5. The L2 group’s culture is congruent with that of the target language group. 6. Both groups have positive attitude to each other. 7. The L2 group envisages staying in the target language area for an extended period. Bad learning situation contains the opposite conditions of the ones described above. Psychological Factors: It includes: 1 Language Shock 2. Culture Shock 3. Motivation 4. Ego boundaries How these distances influence SLA: Social and Psychological distance influence SLA by determining the amount of contact between the target language group and L2 group. It also determines the degree that the learner is open to that input which is available. The learner will receive very little input in bad learning situation. The learner will
