Difference Between Second Acquisition And Second Language Acquisition

Many popular theories of second language acquisition have been analyzed throughout history. The socialization of L2 learners, their present emotional state that is present at time of acquisition, as well as the comprehensible input and output with the use of scaffolding play a major role in second language acquisition. Let us also not forget the importance of written expression as well as reading comprehension with these L2 learners. Each play a role in language development. However, I believe that in acquiring a language, one must use a variety of techniques that work together to create a balance within the learning environment. Furthermore, all L2 learners learn differently and so a variety of resources will need to be used based on the ability of each student. There are many theories that have been developed by highly qualified experts in the field on linguistics. However, I will address those areas that I agree with as I present my personal theories on second language acquisition.

As the Noam Chomsky’s centre of interest was how a language is acquired generally, his theory has rather been adapted to be suitable for interpreting second language (or L2) acquisition than intended to be used directly in order to explain it (Menezes 2013: 405). According to Larsen-Freeman and Long (1991), in his works Chomsky claimed that when acquiring a language, whether it is the first or the second, the input a person receives from the outside world through oral communication is deficient in that it is filled with “performance features, such as false starts, slips, fragments, and ungrammaticality”, as well as lacking so called “negative evidence” or information which a learner needs in order to realize what is incorrect in a given language (Larsen-Freeman and Long 1991: 389). Additionally, the American linguist believed children cannot learn a language as quickly, efficiently and effortlessly as they do without “an innate language faculty to guide them” (Mitchell and Myles 2004: 55). Therefore, Chomsky introduced the idea of a Language Acquisition Device (or LAD), an “innate ability to acquire and use language” (Malone 2012: 2), along with the notion of Universal Grammar (Field 2005: 21; Malone 2012: 2). Universal Grammar (UG for short) is a theory which dictates that every human being is born with a “system of categories, mechanisms and constraints”

First, children¡¯s acquisition of language is an innate mechanism that enables a child to analyze language and extract the basic rules of grammar, granted by Chomsky. It basically states that humans are born with a language acquisition device that, the ability to learn a language rapidly as children. However, there is one important controversy in language acquisition concerns how we acquire language; since Chomsky fails to adequately explain individual differences. From the behaviorists¡¯ perspectives, the language is learned like other learned behaviors. It is learned through operant

He also distinguishes between the strategies of learning that learners use and the linguistic rules that are ‘crucially concerned in the actual form of the language system (ibid.).

Since, the second language is an additional language after we acquire the first language, the L2 learning process can be influenced by the L1 learning process This essay will demonstrate the similarities and differences in L1 and L2 acquisition by discussing various theories. Then, draw a conclusion based on the evidence provided and my own experience.

For humans, Language is the prime method of communication, it is a huge achievement of the human species, it is something that all humans can do, (whether that be verbal, gestures, or symbols). Oral Language It gives voice to the thinking that surrounds learning experiences and leads to the construction of concepts and the generation of new knowledge (Fellows 2014). With this achievement in mind, there are many theories that have been proposed on how we acquire language, some take the naturistic approach and propose that the capacity for language is innate and built directly into the human brain, which matures just like an arm on the body. Then there is the Nurtured approach that by which we learn the language from being social beings with intense human need for communication.

Many popular theories of second language acquisition have been analyzed throughout history. The socialization of L2 learners, their present emotional state that is present at the time of acquisition, as well as the comprehensible input and output with the use of scaffolding play a major role in second language acquisition. Kirsten Hummel states, “The one most effective way to increase L2 competence was by exposure to ‘comprehensible input’.” (Hummel, 2014, p. 73) Let us also not forget the importance of written expression as well as reading comprehension with these L2 learners. Each plays a role in language development. However, I believe that to acquire language one must use a variety of techniques that work together to create a balance within the learning environment. Furthermore, all L2 learners acquire language differently and so using a variety of resources that are based on the ability of each student is neccesary. There are many theories that have been developed by highly qualified experts in the field of linguistics. However, I will address those areas that I agree with as I present my personal theories on second language acquisition.

Prior to this class was I assumed language acquisition was gained strictly in a classroom setting. I was wrong, grasping of language can be grasped with social interactions, for instance at work or on the playground. Furthermore, there are different aspects involved with attaining a language in and out of the classroom. When instrumental and integrative motivation is desired, personal awareness will be developed.

Second language acquisition is a process by which people learn a second language. It refers to any language learned in addition to the first language and the differences between both processes. Second language acquisition is a controversial issue; since, there is no a general agreement about how and when it takes place. Several theories and models have tried to explain the facts that may be involved

Language acquisition is the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language, as well as to produce and use words and sentences to communicate. Language acquisition is one of the quintessential human traits, because nonhumans do not

Linguistics has impacted cognitive psychology as the quest to understand language acquisition and the structure of language itself is undertaken. Linguistics is a complex and multifaceted; it includes language structural patterns and language development (Barsalou, 2005). The process of language development is complicated and dense, as the study of language is examined; the role of cognition is inherently examined and analyzed. Sternberg (2006) also explores language as an innate process and presents the idea that humans are born ready for language as a biological and cognitive process.

For many years, the teaching and learning of a second language has been the norm in schools throughout Europe and the United States. Teachers approached language instruction in a variety of ways like the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) method, where students are taught fluency through conversation, or the Lexical Approach in which learners are able to understand and speak in large quantities of specific vocabulary and idioms (Richards and Rodgers 83-229). However, as the world progressed technologically, the methods of learning new languages transformed. Language teachers still inhabited classrooms and implemented these approaches, but computer programs complemented the lessons. Subsequently, desktop and mobile applications such as Duolingo surfaced, completely altering the way in which people were able to learn new languages. Although this media technology was the first of its kind, it is not necessarily new. While it can be considered “old” media, Duolingo still had a major impact on society, affecting social relationships and following technology.

There are many controversies of language gaining procedures, but there is a consensus on the contention that the basic objective of teaching a language to students is to make them able to use the language in the practical situations. Only through this the students will come to know about real- life situations and the specific form of language. The main objective of linguistics is not only to get knowledge from the teachers but the main objective and focus is to use it in the practical life through communicating with the other people. That is why Halliday remarks that when we learn our mother tongue or primary language then we do not learn rules but we learn it in situations (Aouam.A.F, n.d.). Situational

The second language(L2) learners often struggle to identify possible grammars in their second languages. In particular, they fail to form a sentence with an appropriate functional morpheme (Lardiere, 1998; White, 2003). A functional morpheme refers to a morpheme which performs some kind of grammatical function, playing a role in lexical change. It consists of the function words in the language such as definite markers. The inflection of a definite marker, in other words, definiteness, distinguishes a nominal phrase (NP) between identifiable and non-identifiable. That is, whether or not, a referent is identifiable or previously introduced in the discourse. In addition to identifiability, definiteness is expected to incorporate other notion,

The term ‘interlanguage’, coined by Selinker (1972), tries to describe the competence of L2 learners and the source of that competence. Brown defines interlanguage as “[…] a structurally intermediate status between the native and the target languages” (2000:215). Nevertheless, Brown’s definition omits some nuances of interlanguage, thus, it can be defined as the in-between system used in L2 acquisition which contains aspects of the L1 and the L2, but which is an inherently variable system with its own rules as example (1) below illustrates.