Second Language Acquisition

What is SLA?
Second Language Acquisition (SLA) is the study of individuals and groups
who are learning a language subsequent to learning their first as young
children, and to the process of learning that language (Saville-Troike, p.
2006).
A second language may be learnt formally (specialized language
instruction) or informally through social interactions.
Examples:

Formal Instruction --- A British student taking a class

in French
Informal Instruction --- A Japanese child who has migrated
to the US learns English during the course of playing and
attending school with English natives
Second language acquisition has been studied from multiple perspectives
in an effort to ascertain a holistic understanding of the process by which
individuals learn or acquire a second language.
The perspectives are as follows:
Linguistics: Examine the linguistic competence (underlying knowledge
of the language) and linguistic performance (actual production) of
learners at various stages of acquisition
Psychologists and psycholinguists: Emphasize the mental or
cognitive processes involved in acquisition, and the representation of
language in the brain (different learning strategies, personality factors,
types and strength of motivation)

Sociolinguists: Emphasize variances in linguistic performance and

communicative and pragmatic competence (social, economic, and
political differences and learner experiences)
Social psychologists --- Emphasize impact of the social environment
and social motivation on language learning (group identity and attitudes
toward target language speakers or toward L2 learning)
Gradations of Second Language Acquisition
Second language: A societally dominant language needed for
education, employment, and other basic purposes. Example, language
acquired by immigrants or minority group members who speak another
language
Foreign language: language not widely used in the learners immediate
social context which might be used for future travel or other cross-cultural
communication or studied as a curricular elective, but with no immediate
practical application
Library language: Language that functions primarily as a tool for further
learning through reading, especially when publications in a desired field of
study are not in the learners native tongue
Auxiliary language: Language that learners need to know for some
official function or will need for purposes of wider communication
What is a first language?
Language/s acquired during early child-hood --- normally beginning before
the age of about three years.
Simultaneous multilingualism --- Acquisition of more than one
language during early childhood

Sequential multilingualism --- Learning additional languages after L1

has already been established

Factors Affecting Second Language Acquisition

Informal exposure to speakers of the languages

Immersion in a setting where one needs a new language
Formal instruction in school
Learning conditions

Motivation for Second Language Acquisition

Invasion or conquest
Need or desire for contact
Immigration
Adoption of religious beliefs and practices
Need or desire to pursue education experiences
A desire for occupational or social advancement
An interest in outside culture
The Nature of Language Learning

The initial stages of L1 acquisition usually occurs without direct

instruction or conscious effort
Six months The infant has produced all the vowel sounds and most of
the consonant sounds of the language in the world
They disregard sounds (phonemes) not consistent with the language
spoken around them.
Before age three ----- Children have mastered the distinctive sounds of
their language

L2 Learning
The Initial State
The inherent aptitude to acquire L1 remains for the SLA, but the
potency of such ability debilitates with age
No intrinsic capacity for language acquisition extends beyond
childhood
Methods of the above evaluation cannot yield conclusive data as
language processing/acquisition is mentally imperceptible
Moreover, the tests are done indirect and often done in unnatural
settings thus compromising the accuracy of the findings
The initial state for L2 learning has resources of L1 competence,
world knowledge, and established skills for interactions, which can
be both an asset and an impediment.