User:Kahi333/sandbox

= Second Language Acquisition (SLA) = Second language acquisition is the process where people are able to perceive and comprehend a language in addition to their native tongue, being able to hear and understand it, as well as outputting the language (using words and sentences to communicate).

The process of second language acquisition can be influenced by many different factors, like similarities between first and second language, the learning context, the age at which the person starts to learn, and the learners proficiency and background. The language to be learned is often referred to as 'target language' or 'L2'. The term 'language acquisition' became commonly used after Stephen Krashen, an American linguist, contrasted it with formal on constructive learning.

Age
The issue about age when it comes to language acquisition is argued by many linguists. Krashen, an American linguist, researched and indicated that the older a person is the faster they learn the language, but the younger a person is the better. There is a critical period hypothesis that states that children have a great advantage when learning a language over adults or adolescents. This hypothesis was first introduced in 1959 and it states that there is a period when language acquisition can take place naturally and efficiently, but after the a certain age the brain is longer able to process language in this way. Lenneberg used the term "lateralization" to express that puberty means a period of time when the localization of language-processing ability in the humans left hemisphere was connected with human's biological change/development. That means that language learning for children's brains are more flexible than adult brains. Brain flexibility permits children to acquire native like pronunciation. Although children are more likely to gain native like proficiency, adults are often able to progress faster in the initial stages of learning the second language.

Children who gain the ability to be able to speak two languages from birth are usually spoken to by their parents. People often assume that a bilingual's first language is their most proficient language, but that is not always the case. Over time and experience a child's second language may become their strongest language. This is likely to happen if the second language is the majority of what the child hears in school or in everyday life.

Pre- production

 * This is also known as "the silent period" this is when the student immerses themselves within the new language, but doesn't speak it. This period can last six weeks or longer, depending on the individual.

Early production

 * This stage is where the student begins to speak using short words and sentences, but the main focus should still be immersing in the language and absorbing the new language. There will be many errors in the early production stage.

Speech Emergent

 * This is where speech becomes more frequent, words and sentences are longer, but the individual will still rely heavily on context clues and familiar topics. The individuals vocabulary will continue to increase and errors will begin to decrease, especially on common or repeated interactions.

Beginning Fluency

 * This is when the individual's speech is fairly fluent in social situations with minimal errors. New contexts and academic language are challenging and the individual will struggle to express themselves due to gaps in their vocabulary and appropriate phrases.

Intermediate Fluency

 * The individual is able to fluently communicate in the second language. The individual is able to speak fluently in new situations, but there will be gaps in vocabulary knowledge and some unknown expressions. There are very few errors, and the individual is able to demonstrate higher order thinking skills in the second language such as offering an opinion or analyzing a problem.

Advanced fluency

 * The individual is able to communicate fluently in all contexts and can maneuver successfully in new contexts and when exposed to new academic information. At this stage the individual may have an accent and use incorrect expressions at times, but the individual is essentially fluent and comfortable in the second language.

The Direct Method

 * This method is where the teaching of the language is done entirely in the language being learned. The student cannot and is not allowed to use their original language. Grammar rules are avoided and there is an emphasis on good pronunciation.

Grammar Translation

 * In this method, learning is done by translating to and from the target language. Grammar rules are to be memorized and lots of vocabulary too. there is little emphasis on developing oral skills.

Immersion

 * This method is done by immersing in the target language entirely.; either by listening or reading in the target language. This causes the brain to work in the unconscious and conscious part of the mind to figure out words and their meanings; the same way babies learn their native language.

The Structural Approach

 * This method sees a language as a complex of grammatical rules which are to be learned on at a time in a set of order. For example the verb "to be" is introduced and practiced before the present continuous tense which uses "to be" as an auxiliary.

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)

 * This method is to enable the learner to communicate effectively and appropriately in various scenarios they would likely be in. This involves using communication to learn and practice the target language by interacting with other people and the instructor.