Second language

A second language (L2) is any language learned after the first language or mother tongue (L1).

It is quite possible, however, that the first language a speaker acquired is no longer their dominant first language. This is often the case of young immigrant children whose family moved to a new language environment and the child's first language has been lost.

Age

According to some researchers, the defining difference between a first language and a second language is the age in which the language was acquired. For example, linguist Eric Lenneberg used second language to mean a language consciously learned or used by its speaker after puberty.

In most cases, people never achieve the same level of fluency and comprehension in their second languages as in their first language. These views are closely associated with the Critical Period Hypothesis.

In acquiring an L2, Hyltenstam (1992) found that around the age of 6 and 7 seemed to be a cut-off point for bilinguals to achieve native-like proficiency. After that age, L2 learners could get near-native-like-ness but their language would, while consisting of very few actual errors, have enough errors that would set them apart from the L1 group. The inability of some of the subjects then to achieve native-like proficiency must be seen then in relation to the age of onset (AO). "The age of 6 or 7 does seem to be an important period in distinguishing between near-native and native-like ultimate attainment... More specifically, it may be suggested that AO interacts with frequency and intensity of language use" (Hyltenstam, 1992, p. 364).

Later, Hyltenstam & Abrahamsson (2003) modified their age cut-offs to argue that after childhood, in general, it becomes more and more difficult to acquire native-like-ness, but that there is no cut-off point in particular. Furthermore, they discuss a number of cases where a native-like L2 was acquired during adulthood.

Similarities and differences between L2 and L1

Speed

Acquiring a second language could be a lifelong learning process for some, and still, learners may never fully become native-like in the second language. Children, however, by around the age of 5, have more or less mastered the first language, with the exception of vocabulary and a few grammatical structures.

Stages

Acquiring a second language occurs in systematic stages. Much evidence has been gathered to show that basic sounds, vocabulary, negating phrases, forming questions, using relative clauses, and so on are developed. This development is independent from input (we do not hear nor read language in this order), independent from learning situation (in the classroom or on the street), and is generally applicable across a spectrum of learners (from different language backgrounds). This is similar to the learning stages that babies go through when acquiring the first language: babbling (bababa), vocabulary (milk then later milk drink), negation (no play), question forming (where she go), and so on.

Correction

Error correction does not seem to have a direct influence on learning an L2. Instruction may affect the rate of learning, but the stages remain the same. Adolescents and adults who know the rule are faster than those who do not. In the first language, children do not respond to systematic correction. Furthermore, children who have limited input still acquire the first language.

Depth of knowledge

Learners in the first or second language have knowledge that goes beyond the input they received, in other words, the whole is greater than the parts. Learners of a language are able to construct correct utterances (e.g. phrases, sentences, and questions) that they have never seen or heard before.

Success

Success in language learning can be measured in two ways: likelihood and quality. First language learners will be successful in both measurements. It is inevitable that all first language learners will learn a first language and with few exceptions, they will be fully successful. For second language learners, success is not guaranteed. For one, learners may become fossilized* or stuck as it were with ungrammatical items. The difference between learners may be significant. Finally, as noted elsewhere, L2 learners rarely achieve complete native-like control of the second language.

Similarities and differences between L2 and L1
X	L2	L1
speed	NA	acquisition is rapid
stages	systematic stages of development	systematic stages of development
error correction	not directly influential	not involved
depth of knowledge	beyond the level of input	beyond the level of input
success (1)	not inevitable (possible fossilization*)	inevitable
rarely fully successful¦¦successful

*Fossilization occurs when language errors become a permanent feature. See Canale & Swain (1980), Johnson (1992), Selinker (1972), and Selinker and Lamendella (1978).

Theories of second language acquisition (SLA)

main article:Second language acquisition

The distinction between acquiring and learning was made by Stephen Krashen (1982). According to Krashen, the acquisition of a language is a natural process; whereas learning a language is a conscious one. In the former, the student needs to partake in natural communicative situations. In the latter, error correction is present, as is the study of grammatical rules isolated from natural language. Not all educators in second language agree to this distinction; however, the study of how a second language is learned/acquired is referred to as Second Language Acquisition or SLA.

Research in SLA focuses on the developing knowledge and use of a language by children and adults who already know at least one other language... [and] a knowledge of second language acquisition may help educational policy makers set more realistic goals for programmes for both foreign language courses and the learning of the majority language by minority language children and adults' (Spada & Lightbown, p. 115).

SLA has been influenced by both linguistic and psychological theories. One of the dominant linguistic theories hypothesizes that a device or module of sorts in the brain contains innate knowledge. Many psychological theories, on the other hand, hypothesize that cognitive mechanisms, responsible for much of human learning, process language.

Linguistic theories

Universal grammar

Universal grammar (UG) was initially a theory of first language acquisition. Noam Chomsky (1968) argued children acquire a first language before they are able to accomplish simpler tasks. Children with intellectual disabilities acquire language. The acquired language is greater than the input received. Input is often degenerate, with false starts, slips of the tongue, and grammatical errors, still children acquire the language. Not all parents correct errors in their young children, still children overcome those errors. Due to these, Chomsky argued that we must have an innate device that is able to do all languages. Children, on hearing the language around them, set this device to work in this language.One of the features of this language device is the claim that there is a critical period for acquiring a first language. Thus, adolescents and adults would no longer have access to this device to enable them to acquire a second language. Still, proponents of UG argue that the device is still there, it is simply no longer able to assist in the SLA without interference from the first language - that is, the student will see the L2 through the L1.

Monitor theory

While UG is predominantly a theory of first language acquisition, the monitor theory (Krashen, 1982) is predominantly a theory for SLA. As we noted above, Krashen discusses the difference between acquisition and learning. This is the base of the monitor theory. To acquire an L2, according to this model, the learner needs to focus on messages and meanings. Krashen also proposed the natural order hypothesis whereby the acquisition of language is in developmental stages. The comprehensible input hypothesis argues that acquisition takes place when the student is exposed to meaningul and a variety of input. Another component of the model is the affective filter hypothesis which argues that the student must be motivated to learn the new language.Much of Krashen's model has been criticized, for example the vagueness of the model, or the lack of empirical studies; however, many students and teachers feel the difference between learning and acquisition - for many frustrated learners, the rules were studied yet spontaneous language does not flow.

Psychological theories

Cognitive psychology

Connectionism

Other theories

Interactionism

Sociocultural perspective

Foreign language

In pedagogy, a distinction is often made between 'second language' and foreign language, the latter being learned in an area where that language is not generally spoken. English in many European countries must be considered a second language for a number of reasons, such as: the historical links between English and other European languages, media available, opportunities for use, vocabulary, and Latin script. In China, however, English would be considered a foreign language due to the lack of a number of characteristics, such as: historical links, media, opportunities for use, similar vocabulary, and common script.

References

*Chomsky, N. (1968). Language and Mind. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
*Hyltenstam, K. (1992). Non-native Features of Near-native Speakers: On the Ultimate Attainment of Childhood L2 Learners. In R.J. Harris (Ed.), Cognitive Processing in Bilinguals (pp. 351-367). Amsterdam: North-Holland.
*Hyltenstam, K & Abrahamsson, N (2003). Maturational Constraints in SLA. In Doughty & Long (Eds.), The Handbook of Second Language Acquisition. Rowley, MA: Blackwell.
*Krashen, S. D. (1982). Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Pergamon Institute of English.
*Spada, N. and Lightbown, P.M. (2002). Second Language Acquisition. In Schmitt, N. An Introduction to Applied Linguistics. London: Arnold.

Second language: Encyclopedia BETA

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