Chapter 1 – Introducing Second Language Acquisition
L1 is the first language you began to acquire when you were a very young child. L2 refers to the
additional language acquired later on.
What is SLA?
Second Language Acquisition (SLA) refers both to the study of individuals and groups who are
learning a language subsequent to learning their first one as young children, and to the process of
learning that language. The additional language is called a second language (L2), even though it may
actually be the third, fourth, or tenth to be acquired. It is also commonly called a target language
(TL), which refers to any language that is the aim or goal of learning. The scope of SLA includes
informal L2 learning that takes place in naturalistic contexts, formal L2 learning that takes place in
classrooms, and L2 learning that involves a mixture of these settings and circumstances.
In trying to understand the process of second language acquisition, we are seeking to answer three
basic questions:
(1) What exactly does the L2 learner come to know?
(2) How does the learner acquire this knowledge?
(3) Why are some learners more successful than others?
There are probably no answers that all second language researchers would agree on completely.
In part this is because SLA is highly complex in nature, and in part because scholars studying SLA
come from academic disciplines which differ greatly in theory and research methods.
There are corresponding differences in what is emphasized by researchers who come from each of
these fields:
Linguists emphasize the characteristics of the differences and similarities in the languages
that are being learned, and the linguistic competence (underlying knowledge) and linguistic
performance (actual production) of learners at various stages of acquisition.
Psychologists and psycholinguists emphasize the mental or cognitive processes involved in
acquisition, and the representation of language(s) in the brain.
Sociolinguists emphasize variability in learner linguistic performance, and extend the scope
of study to communicative competence (underlying knowledge that additionally accounts
for language use, or pragmatic competence).
Social psychologists emphasize group-related phenomena, such as identity and social
motivation, and the interactional and larger social contexts of learning.
Applied linguists who specialize in SLA may take any one or more of these perspectives, but they are
also often concerned with the implications of theory and research for teaching second languages.
Each discipline and subdiscipline uses different methods for gathering and analyzing data in research
on SLA, employs different theoretical frameworks, and reaches its interpretation of research findings
and conclusions in different ways.
What is a second language?
The following are distinctions commonly made in the literature:
A second language is typically an official or societally dominant language needed for
education, employment, and other basic purposes. It is often acquired by minority group
members or immigrants who speak another language natively. In this more restricted sense,
the term is contrasted with other terms in this list.
A foreign language is one not widely used in the learners’ immediate social context which
might be used for future travel or other cross-cultural communication situations, or studied
as a curricular requirement or elective in school, but with no immediate or necessary
practical application.
L1 is the first language you began to acquire when you were a very young child. L2 refers to the
additional language acquired later on.
What is SLA?
Second Language Acquisition (SLA) refers both to the study of individuals and groups who are
learning a language subsequent to learning their first one as young children, and to the process of
learning that language. The additional language is called a second language (L2), even though it may
actually be the third, fourth, or tenth to be acquired. It is also commonly called a target language
(TL), which refers to any language that is the aim or goal of learning. The scope of SLA includes
informal L2 learning that takes place in naturalistic contexts, formal L2 learning that takes place in
classrooms, and L2 learning that involves a mixture of these settings and circumstances.
In trying to understand the process of second language acquisition, we are seeking to answer three
basic questions:
(1) What exactly does the L2 learner come to know?
(2) How does the learner acquire this knowledge?
(3) Why are some learners more successful than others?
There are probably no answers that all second language researchers would agree on completely.
In part this is because SLA is highly complex in nature, and in part because scholars studying SLA
come from academic disciplines which differ greatly in theory and research methods.
There are corresponding differences in what is emphasized by researchers who come from each of
these fields:
Linguists emphasize the characteristics of the differences and similarities in the languages
that are being learned, and the linguistic competence (underlying knowledge) and linguistic
performance (actual production) of learners at various stages of acquisition.
Psychologists and psycholinguists emphasize the mental or cognitive processes involved in
acquisition, and the representation of language(s) in the brain.
Sociolinguists emphasize variability in learner linguistic performance, and extend the scope
of study to communicative competence (underlying knowledge that additionally accounts
for language use, or pragmatic competence).
Social psychologists emphasize group-related phenomena, such as identity and social
motivation, and the interactional and larger social contexts of learning.
Applied linguists who specialize in SLA may take any one or more of these perspectives, but they are
also often concerned with the implications of theory and research for teaching second languages.
Each discipline and subdiscipline uses different methods for gathering and analyzing data in research
on SLA, employs different theoretical frameworks, and reaches its interpretation of research findings
and conclusions in different ways.
What is a second language?
The following are distinctions commonly made in the literature:
A second language is typically an official or societally dominant language needed for
education, employment, and other basic purposes. It is often acquired by minority group
members or immigrants who speak another language natively. In this more restricted sense,
the term is contrasted with other terms in this list.
A foreign language is one not widely used in the learners’ immediate social context which
might be used for future travel or other cross-cultural communication situations, or studied
as a curricular requirement or elective in school, but with no immediate or necessary
practical application.
