The acquisition-learning distinction is perhaps one of the more fundamental hypotheses when it comes to second language studies. It maintains that adults have two distinct and independent ways of developing competence in a second language.

THE ACQUISITION-LEARNING DISTINCTION IN SECOND LANGUAGE

The first way is language acquisition. Languageacquisition is a subconscious process; language acquirers are not usually aware of the fact that they are acquiring language, but are only aware of the fact that they are using the language for communication.The result of language acquisition, acquired competence, is also subconscious.We are generally not consciously aware of the rules of the languages we have acquired. Instead, we have a "feel" for correctness.Grammatical sentences "sound" right, or "feel" right, and errors feel wrong, even if we do not consciously know what rule was violated.

Acquisition

The second way to develop competence in a second language is by language learning. The term "learning" is used to refer to conscious knowledge of a second language, knowing the rules, being aware of them, and being able to talk about them. In non-technical terms, learning is "knowing about" a language, known to most people as "grammar", or "rules". Some synonyms include formal knowledge of a language, or explicit learning.

Learning

The present volume examines the relationship between second language practice and what is known about the process of second language acquisition, summarising the current state of second language acquisition theory, drawing general conclusions about its application to methods and materials and describing what characteristics effective materials should have. The author concludes that a solution to language teaching lies not so much in expensive equipment, exotic new methods, or sophisticated language analysis, but rather in the full utilisation of the most important resources - native speakers of the language - in real communication.

education

Learning & Education

communication

Communication

Stephen D. Krashen

Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition

1.displacementAn animal may be able to warn its fellow animals of a predator in its environment, but what if it needed to express the notion that in an hour it will be dangerous to go to the river bank. There seems to be no way for them to signal the possibility of a future event. Yet, when it comes to humans we can discuss phenomena, which have no physical and immediate presence in our surroundings without any difficulty. The capacity to discuss objects and events that are removed in time and space is called displacement.

Four ways animal language differ from ours 

Animals which use vocal signals have a stock of certain sounds they can utter, and in extreme cases, some of them, such as birdes do combine sounds, though it takes place quite seldom. But when it comes to humans we can combine these sound units which are called phonemes to create larger units. By doing so we add another layer to the already existing basic sound units to create a more sophisticated type of language. This process of double layering is known as duality.

2. Duality

As far as animal communication is concerned, there are only a handful of messages they can send or receive. So, inevitably these messages will be repeated time and again. On the other hand, humans are not restricted in what they can communicate, as they can convey a variety of different messages in ways that no other human has ever done. So, we can be abundantly creative with our language in comparison to animals which are bound to a few signals, regardless of how many sounds they can produce.

3. Creativity  

In human language, the number of words in a sentence is irrelevant to its basic structure. For example, some one can't express the past in English by always adding an -ed to the third word in a sentence.Because mechanical means do not determine the meaning of a sentence. In fact, it is impossible for anyone to infer the meaning of a sentence unless they realize that each sentence has an inaudible, invisible structure. In other words, language operations are structure-dependent, they depend on the internal structure of a sentence, rather than the number of elements involved.

4. Structure dependence

This straightforward introduction to linguistics answers two fundamental questions: 'What is language?' and 'How does language work?' Understand Linguistics outlines the scope of linguistics, explaining basic concepts and essential terminology with examples drawn mainly from English. Sound patterning, syntax and meaning--the inner core of linguistics--are discussed simply and clearly, as are the rapidly growing areas of pragmatics, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics and stylistics.

books

Books

This straightforward introduction to linguistics answers two fundamental questions: 'What is language?' and 'How does language work?' Understand Linguistics outlines the scope of linguistics, explaining basic concepts and essential terminology with examples drawn mainly from English. Sound patterning, syntax and meaning--the inner core of linguistics--are discussed simply and clearly, as are the rapidly growing areas of pragmatics, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics and stylistics.

Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition

Understand Linguistics: A Teach Yourself Guide

sina rashidyani