Language Acquisition and Learning Essay

There are several theories as to how people acquire and learn the intricacies of language not only to communicate but also to communicate their ideas across an audience. As a matter of fact, most of these theories if not all of them contends with each other. The two famous contending ideas are that of the Behaviorist Theory purported by B. F. Skinner which argues that language learning is a matter of â€Å"imitation, practice, reinforcement, and habit formation (Author, Year)† and the Innatist Theory posited by Noam Chomsky which presents the notion of a Universal Grammar found in every human being’s mind that made them cognitively capable in learning a language (Author, Year). While both of these theories account for the similarities and differences in first language and second language learning, it is Stephen Krashen who first made a basic distinction that first language is acquired while second language is learned (Author, Year). According to Krashen, to acquire a language is to understand the language just like that of a child acquiring his/her first language without any conscious attention to the language form. On one hand, learning a language is to focus on the form and rules of a particular language. Aside from these basic differences there are also other factors that affect both first language acquisition and second language learning such as the cognitive and environmental aspects. In the cognitive aspect, Chomsky said that humans in terms of language learning have The Critical Period Hypothesis, a genetic program that contains the kinds of knowledge and skill necessary for the learning of a language in a specific period of every human’s life. This further suggests that most of human’s first language endeavor happens in this period which makes it easier to learn as opposed to second language learning that will happen beyond CPH. It is argued that beyond these critical periods, it is already difficult if not impossible to acquire those language learning skills as supported by the case study of a 12-year old boy Victor who grew up in the wilderness of France without any contact with any human language but the sound of the animals and the woods (Author, Year). It is believed that second language can no loner access the innate acquisition they have when they learn their first language which lead them to rely on their other cognitive skills. The second cognitive aspect is the knowledge of a prior language. Second language whether children or adults have already acquired a first language on their own that works both as an advantage and a disadvantage. It is an advantage because of the fact that they have a prior language on how languages work. It is a disadvantage in a sense that this prior knowledge would affect and influence the learner’s knowledge of the second language that would inevitable lead them to make incorrect guesses on how the second language works. Second language learners already have cognitive maturity and metalinguistic awareness that a first language learner does not have which allows them to solve problems and engage themselves in language discussions. Moreover, there are also attitudinal and cultural differences involve in between first language acquisition and second language learning. First is the willingness to use and experiment the new language. For instance, children learning their first language would try to express themselves in different ways sometimes in erroneous ways even when their proficiency in the language is limited. However, adult second language learners would find it stressful to not able to express themselves which inhibits them to endeavor with the language. Lastly, there is an environmental differences involved in language learning acquisition and learning. For instance, first language learners are exposed in an informal environment where parents respond to their children’s language in a natural way such as a correction based on meaning as opposed to a correction based grammar accuracy. Correction is often made through reaction as opposed to a second language learning setting where every wrong utterance is corrected. In this way, second language learners are deprived of the experiencing language in a real communication set- up which is hazardous in their learning.