Language Learning vs Language Acquisition

Second language acquisition is different from foreign language learning for different aspects.

Acquiring a language is a process that takes place naturally. The person is not aware of structures and rules. The person repeats and imitates what he/she sees and listens to.

That process also takes place in an immersion context. The learner is currently using the language and is more exposed to it, not only in a school, but in everyday life.

In the process of learning a foreign language the process is more conscious. The learner is aware of the rules. The exposure to the language is less, sometimes it only consists on the time of the lesson.

In addition, the language learnt is more standardized, whereas a student acquiring a second language is able to learn vocabulary and expressions that are currently used.

I think that SLA has advantage on FLL for phonology, semantics and pragmatics. Students are more exposed to native speakers; therefore, they are more able to imitate the pronunciation. As mentioned above, they can learn the meaning of words by using them in a real context so missuses are less frequent and they can learn to interpret the what people really mean when speaking.

In contrast, foreign language instruction, despite communicative language teaching and constructivism, still focuses on grammar teaching; therefore students are more aware of rules and sentence formation. 

Gass, S., & Selinker, L. (2001). Second language acquisition. LEA. Pp. 1-13. 

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Second Language Acquisition in Early Childhood

Some authors consider language acquisition a different from second language learning, based on the premise that the former is a natural process, similar to the first language acquisition process.
The presentation above describes the stages of the process. Second Language Acquisition

View more presentations from Marisol Smith

Pragmatics in ELT

Teaching pragmatics is important in language teaching. Learners should know what language is appropriate in certain situations, in order to avoid misunderstandings. 

The following presentation defines the concept of pragmatics and give a series of Do's and Don'ts when teaching pragmatics.

The following sties provide further explanation about pragmatics in ELT:

http://exchanges.state.gov/media/oelp/teaching-pragmatics/introms.pdf

http://ihjournal.com/activities-for-using-films-in-english-language-teaching-by-arizio-sweeting

http://www.ameprc.mq.edu.au/docs/prospect_journal/volume_24_no_2/Vittoria_Grossi.pdf

A lesson for teaching pragmatics:

http://exchanges.state.gov/media/oelp/teaching-pragmatics/edwardsedit.pdf

The importance of teaching pronunciation

Teaching pronunciation is sometimes left aside in EFL classes. 


Although teacher cannot oblige students to achieve a native like pronunciation, it is important to make them aware of differences that can also affect meaning of words and therefore semantics. 


The following video exemplifies the importance of teaching pronunciation.

The following sites offer different techniques to teach pronunciation:

How to teach pronunciation

http://www.teachingenglishgames.com/Articles/Teaching_Pronunciation.htm

Techniques for teaching pronunciation

http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Dalton-Pronunciation.html

Teaching pronunciation lesson plans

http://www.eslflow.com/pronunciationlessonplans.html

Rules for teaching pronunciation

http://members.fortunecity.com/leanora/engpinen.html 

Teaching minimal pairs: 

http://www.shiporsheep.com/

http://www.speak-read-write.com/minimalpairs.html

http://esl.about.com/library/lessons/blminimal.htm

Sociolinguistics... an Overview

Teaching a language does not imply the simple learning of the language itself but the sharing the knowledge about the culture of that language, be it a single country or more. Many societal aspects influence the development of languages, their policies, their uses, their status, their evolution. 

Teachers of English or of any other languages should take those aspects into account in the language teaching process. 

Sociolingusitics is a part of linguistics that studies the interaction between society and language.

This video presents a brief overview of the filed of study of Sociolinguistics.