The Second Language acquisition and the Second Language Teaching

Second language acquisition, or sequential language acquisition, is learning a second language after a first language is already established. Many times it happens when a child who speaks a language other than English goes to school for the first time or when people travel to a country where English is spoken. Children have an easier time learning a second language, but anyone can do it at any age. It takes a lot of practice.

Acquiring a second language is a natural process; whereas learning a second language is a conscious process and the students who start an early age are better than the ones that started after puberty. Whereas the second-language acquisition is the process by which people learn a second language, and it refers to any language learned in addition to a person`s first language, it can also incorporate a third, fourth or more languages; the second language teaching.

To acquire a second language differs from teach a second language because the first one is an spontaneous action and the second is a required activity. There is an important distinction  between language acquisition and language learning. Children acquire language through a subconscious process during which they are unaware of grammatical rules. This is similar to the way they acquire their first language. They get a feel for what is and what isn’t correct. In order to acquire language, the learner needs a source of natural communication. The emphasis is on the text of the communication and not on the form. Young students who are in the process of acquiring English get plenty of  practice. They readily acquire the language to communicate with classmates.

Language learning, on the other hand, sometimes is not communicative. It is the result of direct instruction from the teacher in the rules of language. And it certainly is not an age-appropriate activity for your young learners. In language learning, students have conscious knowledge of the new language and can talk about that knowledge. They can fill in the blanks on a grammar page. Research has shown, however, that knowing grammar rules does not necessarily result in good speaking or writing. A student who has memorized the rules of the language may be able to succeed on a standardized test of English language but may not be able to speak or write correctly.   

There is a big link between The Second Language acquisition and the Second language teaching because if there wasn`t the necessity of learning a second language, the second language teaching would not exist. Also, the predisposition of the students to learn a second language requires an excellent program to teach a second language effectively; besides to improve a second language that has been learned it is necessary to develop a grammatical structure.

                                                                              Juan Lara                 June 13, 2012