Language Learning - Similarities in First and Second Language Acquisition

Similarities in first and second language acquisition are of great interest to language researchers, teachers and learners as these similarities shed a light on the language acquisition process, and can be utilized to improve language teaching and learning methods. For the sake of convenience let us refer to the first language as L1 and to the second language as L2. On the surface, the similarities between the two are as follows -

• The learners hear the spoken language and begin to understand how it sounds.
• The learners pick up words and phrases in the language and begin to build up a vocabulary.
• The learners begin to learn how to form simple and complex sentences in the language.
• The learners are eventually able to understand new words by context and are able to express complex ideas and thoughts in the language.
• The learners pick up writing and reading skills in the language.

The first language is learned in childhood in what is known as a 'complete immersion' environment. The child is exposed to the language at all times from everyone he or she comes in contact with. The first language is picked up with a natural ease that cannot be replicated when acquiring a second language, unless the second language is learned simultaneously with the first as happens with many bilingual or trilingual people. Let us look at some of the reasons for this -

Firstly, as already mentioned, the input quality of L1 learning is far greater than L2 learning, no matter if you use direct immersion method for the latter. The child is using L1 for everything all the time. The adult, in contrast, may be using L2 only for specific periods in a day. That aside, there is the distinct difference between imbibing from one's parents and learning from a teacher.

The second thing is motivation. In the case of L1, although perhaps not consciously, the motivating factor is the child's desire to communicate with the people around him or her and fit in. The adult learner is not motivated to the same degree, although factors like wanting to fit in with a new culture or wanting to make a beneficial career change can act as an incentive. Without this kind of motivation, where the acquisition of L2 is relevant to your life, second language learning will be an uphill task.

Thirdly, there is a great deal of difference in how children learn and how an adult learns. In fact, some people think it is rather unreasonable to compare the learning methodologies between the two. The child approaches language learning with a clean slate, so to speak, the adult comes equipped with a whole baggage of prior knowledge and experience. Children have it easier as they have a muscular plasticity that adults don't, which means they are able to master tricky pronunciations and memorize new information much faster. Adults also tend to over-analyze everything based on what they already know, and this can both help and hinder the second language acquisition process.

Still, the similarities in first and second language acquisition have led to language learning programs and courses that seek to teach a language or languages by the 'direct immersion' method. Here, you begin learning L2 as an adult in much the same way you learned L1 as a child, by direct use and with the additional benefits of the linguistic knowledge and abilities developed from L1. This teaching strategy can be quite effective, as you can see from my review of Rosetta Stone's Chinese Mandarin software, but will always fall short of L1 learning.

Comparing and Contrasting First and Second Language Acquisition - http://www.literature.freeservers.com/image_polat/ccfsla.html

First and second language acquisition - based on Bley-Vroman 1988 - http://homepage.ntlworld.com/vivian.c/SLA/L1%20and%20L2.htm

First and second language acquisition - by Joseph Galasson - http://www.csun.edu/~galasso/lang1.htm