Second Language Acquisition Theory

姜娜

摘要：隨着社会的不断进步和国家间文化的不断交流，越来越多的人学习第二语言。第二语言习得是一个多维复杂的动态过程。本文从第二语言习得与第一语言习得的差异、习得过程及其影响因素等方面阐述了第二语言习得理论。

关键词：第二语言习得;第一语言习得;过程;因素

1.Second Language Acquisition Theory

1.1The Concept of “Second Language Acquisition”

The concept of "second language acquisition" is relative to the concept of first language acquisition. First language acquisition is usually referred to as "native language acquisition"， so the behaviors acquired by the learner in any language other than the first language are referred to as second language acquisition.A second language learner is different from a very young child acquiring a first language.This is true in terms of both the learners characteristics and the environments in which first and second language acquisition typically occur.

1.2 The Difference Between “Acquisition” and “Learning” of Language

Language acquisition refers to the informal learning of a certain language in a natural state. Language learning is the purposeful and formal learning of a certain language.Language acquisition is an unconscious process， while language learning is a conscious behavior.The process of acquiring a first language is usually referred to as language acquisition， while the process of acquiring a second language is referred to as language learning.First language acquisition is the process of children acquiring their mother tongue， which is a kind of subconscious behavior.Second language learning refers to learners' learning of the language of the target country. Second language learning is a kind of conscious learning of language knowledge， and learners can be clearly aware of the learned grammar rules and so on.

If learning reaches a certain level， it will become acquisition. Therefore， learning and acquisition are not two opposite concepts， but mutually complementary. There are two ways to acquire language to different degrees.

2. Similarities and Differences between Second Language Acquisition and First Language Acquisition

2.1 The Similarity

Both first language acquisition and second language acquisition have certain subjective and objective conditions.①The subjective condition is that the subject must have a sound brain and language organs， which is the basic condition. Without this condition， the process of language acquisition cannot be successfully completed. Only with the ability to think and speak can language be acquired and conversation be carried out.

Both first and second language acquisition are about being able to communicate with others.Both the first language and the second language belong to the scope of language. As the basic attribute of language， language is for communication. Children learn language to communicate with their parents， satisfy their curiosity， and lay a foundation for better integration into society in the future.Adults learn a second language to broaden their horizons， increase their knowledge， and better understand the culture of another country or nation.Our country now teaches English， Japanese， Korean， French and other second languages to students so as to achieve friendly exchanges between the two countries.

Both first language acquisition and second language acquisition must master phonetics， vocabulary， grammar and other pragmatic rules restricted by culture， and must develop certain listening， speaking， reading and writing skills.

Both first and second language acquisition go through the stages of perception， understanding， imitation， memory and application.②Language learning in both children and adults is a process of repeatedly stimulating the cerebral cortex to achieve memory， and finally using the language learned for conversation.However， the acquisition method of the second language cannot be completely copied from that of the first language.We learn English， for example， listening to the teacher first， establish the concept of English in the brain， slowly understand to imitate the teacher's pronunciation， intonation to read， after people work best is to copy， when learned some simple words， try to put these words according to certain rules to make the sentence， as time passes to form memories， eventually achieve the goal of mastering and used in English conversation.

We see that there are many similarities between first language acquisition and second language acquisition， which reflect the universal law of language acquisition.But we should not confuse the two， after all， there are considerable differences in the nature of the two， so we should also pay attention to the differences between the two.

2.2 The Differences

Different motivation conditions.First language acquisition is the process of children acquiring their mother tongue. Second language acquisition is to learn a language other than their mother tongue for some purpose.The learning environment is different.The first language is acquired in the natural language environment. The second language needs the guidance of a teacher who starts from the most basic pronunciation of the language.The process of learning is different.Acquisition of a first language begins with spoken language and then with written language.Different levels of acquired literacy.In the process of first language acquisition， it is natural to acquire the culture， values and other aspects of the language， but the second language acquisition does not necessarily include the understanding of the culture of the language.

References：

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