1st language vs 2nd language (15)

7/29/2019 1st Language vs 2nd Language (15)

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Sara Campos Roda

1st language vs 2nd language acquisition

In this research article I would like to establish the main differences

between the first language acquisition and the second language

acquisition. Although there is not any absolute certain theory about

that, and the study of the human minds could be considered young,

I have chosen this theme because I found it very interesting andfascinating. The first idea that it comes to our minds when we thing

about how we acquire our mother tongue is that we do it very easily

and naturally. As it is widely said, little children are like sponges

which are absorbing information all the time. Unlike the first

language, the second language seems to be harder to get in some

cases depending on the age of the student. So, what is there in our

minds that origins this difference in acquisition? What factors canmake it happen? Are these the age, the motivation, the personality? I

will try to establish some of them in the following lines.

Most discussions on first and second language acquisition differences

center on the question of whether there is a critical period for

language acquisition, that is, a biologically determined period of life

when language can be acquired more easily and beyond which time

language is increasingly difficult to acquire. The classic argument is

that a critical point for second language acquisition occurs around

puberty, beyond which people seem to be relatively incapable of

acquiring a native like accent of the second language. As I told in the

introductory paragraph, it is only a theory, and we do not know if it is

the absolute truth about language acquisition, but it establishes the

age as a factor to consider in language learning.


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Another possible argument to these differences in language

acquisition is that it is said by many neurologists that there exists a

lateralization of the brain. There is the evidence in neurological

research that as the human brain matures certain functions are

assigned or lateralized to the left hemisphere of the brain and

certain other functions to the right hemisphere. Language functions

appear to be controlled mainly in the left hemisphere. Eric Lenneberg

and others suggested that lateralization is a slow process that begins

around the age of 2 and is completed around puberty. And, Thomas

Scovel suggested that the plasticity of the brain prior to puberty

enables children to acquire not only their first language but also a

second language. That is, when the lateralization process is

accomplished, these scientists consider that the acquisition process is

more difficult.

After analyzing the age and the brain structure as possible factors in

language acquisition, now, I should focus on a very important factor in

humans, the emotions. As we already know, human beings are

emotional creatures, so, can it affect to our acquisition processes?

Some linguists and applied linguists have examined the inner being of

the person to discover if in the affective side of human behavior there

lays an explanation to the mysteries of language. Motivation is a very

important factor because the more motivated you are, the more you

are going to learn. The students attitude is also very important,

positive attitudes are good for language acquisition processes, but

negative attitudes can create some barriers in the learning process.

Self-esteem has a great importance in the fields of oral production

and performance of the language. Risk-taking is very important too.

Impulsivity helps you to acquire a second language easily and

inhibitions or building defenses can be a detriment. So, learners have

to gamble and take the risk of being wrong in order to learn. So, it is

very important for teachers to encourage students and value the risk-


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taking. Another emotional factor is the anxiety. Students tend to be

vulnerable to criticism and negative evaluation. So, in the classroom,

we as teachers should create an anxiety-free atmosphere.

To conclude this research article I would say that I could be pages and

pages talking about language acquisition and the differences between

the mother tongue and a second language. I could also say, that we,

as individuals, are very different and each learning process is greatly

different from another persons learning process. There are people

who have got a great facility to learn languages, and acquire a second

language as almost if it was their mother tongue. We do not

absolutely know the reasons of that, what we have now are a lot of

hypothesis that can be used as a guide to understand the language

acquisition processes.


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Bibliography:

Brown, D. 1994. Principles of Language Learning and Teaching.

Prentice Hall.

Ellis, R. 1985. Understanding Second Language Acquisition. Oxford

University Press

Lightbown, P; Spada, N. 2006. How Languages are Learned. Oxford

University Press

1st language vs 2nd language (15)

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