Second Language Acquisition
Second language acquisition studies how people learn languages beyond their first, and how that process resembles and differs from native acquisition.
Definition
The process and study of acquiring a language after a first language has been established, in childhood or adulthood.
Scope
This topic covers the development of learner language (interlanguage), the roles of transfer from the first language, input and interaction, and age of acquisition, and the influence of the first language on second-language processing. It surveys the major theoretical positions and findings while describing rather than prescribing teaching methods.
Core questions
- How does the learner's developing system (interlanguage) change over time?
- How does the first language influence second-language learning and processing?
- What roles do input, interaction, and instruction play in acquisition?
Key concepts
- interlanguage
- language transfer
- fossilization
- comprehensible input
- age of acquisition effects
Key theories
- Interlanguage
- Selinker's proposal that learners develop a systematic, rule-governed linguistic system of their own that is distinct from both the first and target languages and can fossilize short of native attainment.
- Input hypothesis
- Krashen's claim that acquisition is driven primarily by comprehensible input slightly beyond the learner's current level, a widely cited but contested account.
History
Second language acquisition emerged as a distinct field in the early 1970s, with Selinker's concept of interlanguage and Krashen's monitor and input theories shaping early debate, later refined by interaction- and processing-oriented research.
Debates
- The role of explicit instruction
- Whether second-language competence develops mainly from naturalistic comprehensible input or whether explicit instruction and attention to form play a necessary part.
Key figures
- Larry Selinker
- Stephen Krashen
- Trevor Harley
Related topics
Seminal works
- selinker1972
- krashen1982
Frequently asked questions
- Why do adult learners often retain an accent?
- Phonological attainment is especially sensitive to age of acquisition; later learners typically find native-like pronunciation harder to reach, which is often linked to maturational and first-language influences.