The Importance Of 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.

Chomsky’s theory for learning language applies to all aspects of language including nouns, verbs, consonants and Vowels (Lukin, et tal, 2008). His theory offers an explanation that a child could not possibly learn a language through imitation alone because the language spoken around them is highly irregular, by which adult’s speech is often broken up and can be ungrammatical (O 'Brien, 1999).

Language is seen as the way in which humans communicate, and the acquisition of language for most humans starts at a young age. Although the debate of Nature vs. Nurture in regards to behaviorist reinforcement principles or universal grammar is used to stratify how child language acquisition comes about, an old and strong theory proposed by Noam Chomsky suggests that the ability to acquire a language is a natural and inborn phenomenon. He changed the world’s perspective by questioning behaviorist Burrhus Frederic Skinner’s theory which at the time held the simplest explanation believed to be most credible.

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.

good example noted from my experience while working for seniors in Assisted Living was the

Currently, there are four main theoretical perspectives on language acquisition: Behaviorist Perspective, Nativist Perspective, Social-Interactionist Perspective, and Neurobiological Perspective. Each theory has merit and is observable in certain situation throughout langue learning. However, no one theory can describe emergent literacy in all situations. It is now believed that each theory is more prevalent at different stages of learning. Researchers believe that the theories replace each other in some form throughout emergent literacy. (Vukelich, Christie & Enz, 2012).

In second language acquisition research, ultimate attainment refers to the outcome of acquisition, interchangeably ultimate attainment is used with the terms final state.

Foreign language classes are almost a necessity in most nations across the world due to the major influence and vast power certain languages, such as English, hold over the world. However, America and a few other nations are falling behind language skills thus falling behind in methods in communication with foreign countries. Not only are certain nations focusing more on other aspects of the educational system, students who do enroll in foreign language classes end up not being able to do their best due to foreign language anxiety. They might freeze up, not be able to talk in the foreign language in front of students, or not be able to learn the language the way they should. Google Pixel Earbuds’ Real-Time translation feature could solve so many of these problems associated with foreign language learning and considerably help students learn a foreign language better than ever since the benefits associated with the implementation of Google Pixel Earbuds are colossus. As schools across the nation continue to embrace the idea of technology within classrooms fully, the integration of Google Pixel Earbuds will not only ease and speed up the process of learning but greatly affect how students internalize what they're taught. This system, when implemented with foreign language, could easily get rid of language anxiety and help the students learn the language simpler and stress-free.

Learning a second language, English in particular, is important these days for any adult wanting to travel widely either for work or leisure, and/or to improve their career chances within their own country. It is the language of commerce, diplomacy, tourism, marketing and customer service and sales etc. In addition (J Dearden, 2014, p2), undertook a study of the growing phenomenon of English being used as a medium of instruction (EMI) in countries where English is not the first language, this was undertaken in 58 countries all of which use EMI. This essay will look at why adults have many reasons to learn English in particular. As well as how they learn and are there some personality traits or interest which enhance their ability to learn?

Should schoolchildren be required to learn a second or even third language from a young age? According to studies at the Cornell Language Acquisition Lab (CLAL), children who learn a second language can maintain attention despite outside stimuli better than those who know only one language. Learning foreign languages from a young age is much easier than trying to pick one up later in life, researchers say that their elementary brains are most receptive to picking it up and enabling them to speak the language fluently with little or no hint of a foreign accent. Schools around the country are struggling to keep their foreign language programs alive. My interest in this topic has developed from my cousins, who live out in California who have been taught a foreign from a younger age, and the school I went to didn’t start teaching it until the ninth grade.

This paper gives a comprehensive comparison of how acquiring a first language differs from acquiring a new or a second language. It provides the similarities and differences of the two analogies and gives a critical appraisal of the strengths and weaknesses of these two issues. Finally, the paper provides personal suggestions and insights for future research on the same topics. Moreover, the paper will detail the differences between first language acquisition in the pre-school period of learning and second language acquisition at an advanced or higher classroom level.

In the era of internationalization, great value is placed on global understanding. The acquisition of foreign languages and multicultural awareness has become an essential asset for new generations. Furthermore, learning a foreign language has been shown to provide students with various additional benefits: students gain access to the cultural and intellectual heritage of other cultures while obtaining a new perspective on the structure and complexity of their own language and culture. For most students, fulfilling the college foreign language requirement is not an issue. However, for students with disabilities, achieving this requirement might be more difficult or even impossible, since students identified as having one or more disabilities have traditionally been excluded from the foreign language classroom. According to Shifrer, Callahan, and Muller (2013), only 26% of students labeled with a disability completes one foreign language high school credit; in contrast with 79% of not labeled students. Because of this, students with disabilities have been customarily denied the benefits foreign language acquisition provides, including admission to post-secondary education institutions.

Krashen used the natural approach to explain the process of second language acquisition. Krashen’s model basically consists of two parts. In the first part, the language acquisition device the comprehensible input triggered and this starts children’s language development. This process is affected by the anxiety factor, which he called affective filter. In the second part, the acquired language combined with the intentional learning result in the language output. In this process, the intentional learning monitors students’ output. Specifically speaking, his model proposes that a low affective filter or a low anxiety is good for children’s acquisition. He further believes that the learned knowledge hinders our acquisition and needs to be avoided (Brown, 2014). This argument indicates that teachers had better avoid such monitoring as correcting students’ responses since it hinders students’ acquisition. Also, Krashen argues that it is good for children to acquire the language subconsciously. Besides, he asserts that children follow a natural order to acquire the rules of the language.

The Natural Order hypothesis is based on research findings (Dulay & Burt, 1974; Fathman, 1975; Makino, 1980 cited in Krashen, 1987) which suggested that the acquisition of grammatical structures follows a 'natural order' which is predictable. For a given language, some grammatical structures tend to be acquired early while others late. This order seemed to be independent of the learners' age, L1 background, conditions of exposure, and although the agreement between individual acquirers was not always 100% in the studies, there were statistically significant similarities that reinforced the existence of a Natural Order of language acquisition. Krashen however points out that the implication of the natural order hypothesis is not that a language program syllabus should be based on the order found in the studies. In fact, he rejects grammatical sequencing when the goal is language acquisition.

This study explores the acquisition of English grammatical morphemes by a Native Arabic speaker. What type of errors the L2 learner makes during acquisition? What percentage of each error they produce. To answer this question, I collected data from an adult named (Mayyadah) through spontaneous speech and a grammar test. Then, a re-testing will take place after L2 learner receive a training sessions on correct use of grammatical morphemes in English. The point of the latter step is to measure the effectiveness of more TL input.