English as a Foreign or Second Language

8/4/2019 English as a Foreign or Second Language

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English as a foreign or second language

ESL (English as a second language), ESOL (English for speakers of other languages), and

EFL (English as a foreign language) all refer to the use or study ofEnglishby speakers with

differentnative languages. The precise usage, including the different use of the terms ESLand ESOL in different countries, is described below. These terms are most commonly used in

relation to teaching and learning English, but they may also be used in relation to

demographicinformation.

ELT (English language teaching) is a widely-used teacher-centred term, as in the English

language teaching divisions of large publishing houses, ELT training, etc. The abbreviations

TESL (teaching English as a second language), TESOL (teaching English to speakers of

other languages) and TEFL(teaching English as a foreign language) are also used.

Other terms used in this field include EAL (English as an additional language), EIL(English

as an international language), ELF (English as alingua franca), ESP (English for specialpurposes, orEnglish for specific purposes), EAP(English for academic purposes). Some

terms that refer to those who are learning English are ELL(English language learner), LEP

(limited English proficiency) and CLD (culturally and linguistically diverse).

Terminology and types

The manyacronymsandabbreviationsused in the field of English teaching and learning may

be confusing. English is a language with great reach and influence; it is taught all over the

world under many different circumstances. In English-speaking countries, English language

teaching has essentially evolved in two broad directions: instruction for people who intend tolive in an English-speaking country and for those who don't. These divisions have grown

firmer as the instructors of these two "industries" have used differentterminology, followed

distinct training qualifications, formed separateprofessional associations, and so on.

Crucially, these two arms have very different funding structures, public in the former and

private in the latter, and to some extent this influences the way schools are established and

classes are held. Matters are further complicated by the fact that theUnited Statesand the

United Kingdom, both major engines of the language, describe these categories in different

terms: as many eloquent users of the language have observed, "England and America are two

countries divided by a common language." (Attributed toWinston Churchill,George Bernard

Shaw, andOscar Wilde.) The following technical definitions may therefore have their

currency contested.

English outside English-speaking countries

EFL, English as a foreign language, indicates the use of English in a nonEnglish-speaking

region. Study can occur either in the student's home country, as part of the normal school

curriculum or otherwise, or, for the more privileged minority, in ananglophonecountry that

they visit as a sort of educational tourist, particularly immediately before or after graduating

from university. TEFL is theteaching of English as a foreign language; note that this sort of

instruction can take place in any country, English-speaking or not. Typically, EFL is learned

either to pass exams as a necessary part of one's education, or for career progression while

working for an organisation or business with an international focus. EFL may be part of the

state schoolcurriculumin countries where English has no special status (what linguistBraj
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Kachrucalls the "expanding circle countries"); it may also be supplemented by lessons paid

for privately. Teachers of EFL generally assume that students areliteratein theirmother

tongue. The Chinese EFL Journal[1]

andIranian EFL Journal[2]

are examples of international

journals dedicated to specifics of English language learning within countries where English is

used as a foreign language.

English within English-speaking countries

The other broad grouping is the use of English within theAnglosphere. In what theoristBraj

Kachrucalls "the inner circle", i.e. countries such as the United Kingdom and the United

States, this use of English is generally byrefugees,immigrantsand their children. It also

includes the use of English in "outer circle" countries, oftenformer British colonies, where

English is anofficial languageeven if it is not spoken as amother tongueby the majority of

the population.

In the US, Canada and Australia, this use of English is calledESL (English as a second

language). This term has been criticized on the grounds that many learners already speakmore than one language. A counter-argument says that the word "a" in the phrase "a second

language" means there is no presumption that English is the second acquired language (see

alsoSecond language). TESL is the teaching of English as a second language.

In the UK, Ireland and New Zealand, the term ESL has been replaced byESOL (English for

speakers of other languages). In these countries TESOL (teaching English to speakers of other

languages) is normally used to refer to teaching English only to this group. In the UK, the

termEAL (English as an additional language), rather than ESOL, is usually used when talking

about primary and secondary schools, in order to clarify English is not the students' first

language, but their second or third.

[3]

Other acronyms were created to describe the person rather than the language to be learned.

The term LEP (Limited English proficiency) was created in 1975 by the Lau Remedies

following a decision of theUS Supreme Court. ELL (English Language Learner), used by

United States governments and school systems, was created by James Crawford of the

Institute for Language and Education Policy in an effort to label learners positively, rather

than ascribing a deficiency to them.LOTE(Languages other than English) is a parallel term

used in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Typically, this sort of English (called ESL in the United States, Canada, and Australia, ESOL

in the United Kingdom, Ireland and New Zealand) is learned to function in the new hostcountry, e.g. within the school system (if a child), to find and hold down a job (if an adult), to

perform the necessities of daily life. The teaching of it does not presuppose literacy in the

mother tongue. It is usually paid for by the host government to help newcomers settle into

their adopted country, sometimes as part of an explicitcitizenshipprogram. It is technically

possible for ESL to be taught not in the host country, but in, for example, a refugee camp, as

part of a pre-departure program sponsored by the government soon to receive new potential

citizens. In practice, however, this is extremely rare.

Particularly inCanadaandAustralia, the termESD (English as a seconddialect) is used

alongside ESL, usually in reference to programs for CanadianFirst Nationspeople or

indigenous Australians, respectively.[4]It refers to the use of standard English, which may
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need to be explicitly taught, by speakers of acreoleor non-standard variety. It is often

grouped with ESL asESL/ESD.

Umbrella terms

All these ways of denoting the teaching of English can be bundled together into anumbrellaterm. Unfortunately, all the English teachers in the world cannot agree on just one. The term

TESOL (teaching English to speakers of other languages) is used inAmerican Englishto

include both TEFL and TESL. This is also the case in Canada.British EnglishusesELT

(English language teaching), because TESOL has a different, more specific meaning; see

above.

[edit] Systems of simplified English

For international communication several models of "simplified English" have been suggested

or developed, among them:

Basic English, developed byCharles Kay Ogden(and later alsoI. A. Richards) in the 1930s; arecent revival has been initiated by Bill Templer

[5]

Threshold Level English, developed by van Ek and Alexander[6] Globish, developed by Jean-Paul Nerrire Basic Global English, developed by Joachim Grzega[7] Nuclear English, proposed byRandolph Quirkand Gabriele Stein but never fully developed[8] The English collectively developed in theSimple English Wikipedia, primarilyBasic English

andSpecial English

Difficulties for learners

Language teaching practice often assumes that most of the difficulties that learners face in the

study ofEnglishare a consequence of the degree to which their native language differs from

English (acontrastive analysisapproach). A native speaker ofChinese, for example, may

face many more difficulties than a native speaker ofGerman, because German is closely

related to English, whereas Chinese is not. Another example will be Spanish, because a lot of

the words that come from this language are written in the same way though pronounced

differently. This may be true for anyone of anymother tongue(also called first language,

normally abbreviated L1) setting out to learn any other language (called atarget language,

second language or L2). See alsosecond language acquisition(SLA) for mixed evidence

from linguistic research.

Language learners often produce errors ofsyntaxandpronunciationthought to result from

the influence of their L1, such as mapping its grammatical patterns inappropriately onto the

L2, pronouncing certain sounds incorrectly or with difficulty, and confusing items of

vocabulary known asfalse friends. This is known asL1 transferor "language interference".

However, thesetransfer effectsare typically stronger for beginners' language production, and

SLA research has highlighted many errors which cannot be attributed to the L1, as they areattested in learners of many language backgrounds (for example, failure to apply 3rdperson

present singular -s to verbs, as in 'he make').

Some students may have very different cultural perceptions in the classroom as far aslearning a second language is concerned. Also, cultural differences in communication styles
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and preferences are significant. For example, a study looked at Chinese ESL students and

British teachers and found that the Chinese learners did not see classroom discussion and

interaction as important but placed a heavy emphasis on teacher-directed lectures.[9][10]

Pronunciation

Consonant phonemesEnglish does not have more individualconsonantsounds than most languages. However, the

interdentals, // and // (the sounds written with th), which are common in English (thin,

thing, etc.; and the, this, that, etc.) are relatively rare in other languages, even others in the

Germanic family(e.g., English thousand=Germantausend), and these sounds are missing

even in some English dialects. Some learners substitute a [t] or [d] sound, while others shift

to [s] or [z], [f] or [v] and even [ts] or [dz].

Speakers ofJapanese,Korean,ChineseandThaimay have difficulty distinguishing [] and [l].

Speakers ofXiang Chinesemay have a similar difficulty distinguishing [n] and [l]. Thedistinction between [b] and [v] can cause difficulty for native speakers ofSpanish,Arabic,

Japanese and Korean.

Vowel phonemesThe precise number of distinctvowelsounds depends on the variety of English: for example,

Received Pronunciationhas twelvemonophthongs(single or "pure" vowels), eight

diphthongs(double vowels) and twotriphthongs(triple vowels); whereasGeneral American

has thirteen monophthongs and three diphthongs.[citation needed][dubiousdiscuss] Many learners,

such as speakers ofSpanish,JapaneseorArabic, have fewer vowels, or only pure ones, in

their mother tongue and so may have problems both with hearing and with pronouncing

these distinctions.

Syllable structureIn itssyllable structure, English allows for acluster of up to three consonantsbefore the

vowel and four after it (e.g.,straw, desks, glimpsed). The syllable structure causes problems

for speakers of many other languages.Japanese, for example, broadly alternates consonant

and vowel sounds so learners from Japan often try to force vowels in between the

consonants (e.g.,desks /desks/ becomes "desukusu" or milk shake /mlkek/ becomes

"mirukushku").

Learners from languages where all words end in vowels sometimes tend to make all English

words end in vowels, thus make /mek/ can come out as [mek]. The learner's task is

further complicated by the fact that native speakers may drop consonants in the more

complex blends (e.g., [mns] instead of [mns] for months).

Unstressed vowels - Native English speakers frequently replace almost any vowel in anunstressed syllable with anunstressed vowel, oftenschwa. For example,from has a

distinctly pronounced short 'o' sound when it is stressed (e.g.,Where are youfrom?), but

when it is unstressed, the short 'o' reduces to a schwa (e.g.,I'm from London.). In some
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cases, unstressed vowels may disappear altogether, in words such as chocolate (which has

four syllables in Spanish, but only two as pronounced by Americans: "choc-lit".)

Stress in English more strongly determines vowel quality than it does in most other world

languages (although there are notable exceptions such asRussian). For example, in some

varieties the syllables an, en, in, on and un are pronounced ashomophones, that is, exactly

alike. Native speakers can usually distinguish an able, enable, and unable because of their

position in a sentence, but this is more difficult for inexperienced English speakers.

Moreover, learners tend to overpronounce these unstressed vowels, giving their speech an

unnatural rhythm.

Stress timing - English tends to be astress-timed language- this means that stressedsyllables are roughly equidistant in time, no matter how many syllables come in between.

Although some other languages, e.g.,GermanandRussian, are also stress-timed, most of

the world's other major languages aresyllable-timed, with each syllable coming at an equal

time after the previous one. Learners from these languages often have astaccatorhythmwhen speaking English that is disconcerting to a native speaker.

"Stress for emphasis" - students' own languages may not use stress for emphasis as English

does.

"Stress for contrast" - stressing the right word or expression. This may not come easily to

some non-native speakers.

"Emphatic apologies" - the normally unstressed auxiliary is stressed (I really am very sorry)

In English there are quite a number of words - about fifty - that have two different

pronunciations, depending on whether they are stressed. They are "grammatical words":

pronouns, prepositions, auxiliary verbs and conjunctions. Most students tend to overuse the

strong form, which is pronounced with the written vowel.

Connected speechPhonological processes such asassimilation,elisionandepenthesistogether with indistinct

word boundaries can confuse learners when listening to natural spoken English, as well as

making their speech sound too formal if they do not use them. For example, inRPeight

beetles and three ants /et bitlz nd ri nts/ becomes [etbitlzni jns].

See also:Accent reduction

Grammar

Tense, aspect, and mood - English has a relatively large number oftenseaspectmoodforms with some quite subtle differences, such as the difference between the simple past "I

ate" and the present perfect "I have eaten." Progressive and perfect progressive forms add

complexity. (SeeEnglish verbs.)

Functions of auxiliaries - Learners of English tend to find it difficult to manipulate thevarious ways in which English usesauxiliary verbs. These include negation (e.g. He hasn't

been drinking.), inversion with the subject to form a question (e.g. Has he been drinking?),

short answers (e.g. Yes, he has.) andtag questions(has he?). A further complication is that
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the dummy auxiliary verb do /does /didis added to fulfil these functions in the simple

present and simple past, but not for the verb to be.

Modal verbs - English also has a significant number ofmodal auxiliary verbswhich each havea number of uses. For example, the opposite of "You must be here at 8" (obligation) is

usually "You don't have to be here at 8" (lack of obligation, choice), while "must" in "You

must not drink the water" (prohibition) has a different meaning from "must" in "You mustnot be a native speaker" (deduction). This complexity takes considerable work for most

English language learners to master.

Idiomatic usage - English is reputed to have a relatively high degree ofidiomaticusage. Forexample, the use of different main verb forms in such apparently parallel constructions as

"try to learn", "help learn", and "avoid learning" pose difficulty for learners. Another

example is the idiomatic distinction between "make" and "do": "make a mistake", not "do a

mistake"; and "do a favor", not "make a favor".

Articles - English has an appreciable number ofarticles, including the "the"definite articleand the "a, an"indefinite article. At times English nouns can or indeed must be used without

an article; this is called thezero article. Some of the differences between definite, indefinite

and zero article are fairly easy to learn, but others are not, particularly since a learner'snative language may lack articles or use them in different ways than English does. Although

the information conveyed by articles is rarely essential for communication, English uses

them frequently (several times in the average sentence), so that they require some effort

from the learner.

Vocabulary

Phrasal verbs -Phrasal verbsin English can cause difficulties for many learners because theyhave several meanings and different syntactic patterns. There are also a number of phrasal

verb differences between American and British English.

Word derivation -Word derivationin English requires a lot ofrote learning. For example, anadjective can be negated by using theprefixun- (e.g. unable), in- (e.g. inappropriate), dis-(e.g. dishonest), or a- (e.g. amoral), or through the use of one of a myriad related but rarer

prefixes, all modified versions of the first four.

Size of lexicon - Thehistory of Englishhas resulted in a very large vocabulary, essentially onestream fromOld Englishand one from theNormaninfusion ofLatin-derived terms. (Schmitt

& Marsden claim that English has one of the largest vocabularies of any known language.)

This inevitably requires more work for a learner to master the language.

Collocations -Collocationsin English refer to the tendency for words to occur regularly withothers. For example, nouns and verbs that go together (ride a bike/ drive a car). Native

speakers tend to use chunks of collocations and the ESL learners make mistakes with

collocations in their writing/speaking which sometimes results in awkwardness. Slang and Colloquialisms In most native English speaking countries, large numbers of slang

and colloquial terms are used in everyday speech. Many learners may find that classroom

based English is significantly different from how English is spoken in normal situations. This

can often be difficult and confusing for learners with little experience of using English in

Anglophone countries. Also, slang terms differ greatly between different regions and can

change quickly in response to popular culture. Some phrases can become unintentionally

rude if misused.

Differences between spoken and written English

As with most languages, written language tends to use a more formalregisterthanspokenlanguage. The acquisition ofliteracytakes significant effort in English.
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Spelling: probably the biggest difficulty for non-native speakers since English spelling doesn'tfollow thealphabetic principleconsistently. Because of the many changes in pronunciation

which have occurred since a written standard developed, the retention of many historical

idiosyncrasies inspelling, and the large influx of foreign words (mainly fromDanish,Norman

French,Classical LatinandGreek) with different and overlapping spelling patterns,[11]

English

spelling is difficult even for native speakers to master. This difficulty is shown in suchactivities asspelling beesthat generally require the memorization of words. The

generalizations that exist are quite complex and there are many exceptions leading to a

considerable amount ofrote learning. The spelling system causes problems in both

directions - a learner may know a word by sound but not be able to write it correctly (or

indeed find it in a dictionary), or they may see a word written but not know how to

pronounce it or mislearn the pronunciation. However, despite the variety of spelling

patterns in English, there are dozens of rules that are 75% or more reliable.[12]

For further discussion of English spelling patterns and rules, seePhonics.

Varieties of English

England, the historical home of English,has significant regional language differencesinpronunciation, accent, vocabulary and grammar.

The thriving communities of English native speakers incountries all over the worldalso havesome noticeable differences in pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar.

English has no organisation that determines the most prestigious form of the language -unlike theFrench languagewhich has theAcademie de la langue franaise,Spanish

language'sReal Academia Espaola, the Brazilian PortugueseAcademia Brasileira de Letras,

or theItalianAccademia della Crusca.

Teaching English therefore involves not only helping the student to use the form of Englishmost suitable for his purposes, but also exposure to regional forms and cultural styles so that

the student will be able to discern meaning even when the words, grammar or pronunciation

are different to the form of English he is being taught to speak.

Qualifications for teachers

Non-native speakers

Most people who teach English are in fact not native speakers of that language. They arestate

schoolteachers in countries around the world, and as such they hold the relevantteaching

qualificationof their country, usually with a specialization in teaching English. For example,

teachers inHong Konghold theLanguage Proficiency Assessment for Teachers. Those who

work in privatelanguage schoolsmay, from commercial pressures, have the same

qualifications as native speakers (see below). Widespread problems exist of minimal

qualifications and poor quality providers of training, and as the industry becomes more

professional, it is trying to self-regulate to eliminate these.[15]

United States qualifications

Most U.S. instructors atcommunity collegesanduniversitiesqualify by taking aMaster of

Arts(MA) in TESOL[citation needed]

. This degree also qualifies them to teach in most EFLcontexts. In some areas of theUnited States, a growing number ofelementary schoolteachers
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EIL - English as aninternational language(see main article atInternational English) ELF - English as alingua franca ELL - English language learner. The use of this term is restricted to certain countries. See the

discussion inTerminology and types.

ELT - English language teaching. The use of this term is restricted to certain countries. Seethe discussion inTerminology and types.

ESL - English as a second language. English for use in an English-speaking region, by someonewhose first language is not English. The use of this term is restricted to certain countries. See

the discussion inTerminology and types.

ESOL - English for speakers of other languages. This term is used differently in differentcountries. See the discussion inTerminology and types.

ESP -English for specific purposes, or English for special purposes (e.g. technical English,scientific English, English for medical professionals, English for waiters).

EST - English for science and technology (e.g. technical English, scientific English). TEFL -Teaching English as a foreign language. This link is to a page about a subset of TEFL,

namely travel-teaching. More generally, see the discussion inTerminology and types.

TESL - Teaching English as a second language. The use of this term is restricted to certaincountries. See the discussion inTerminology and types.

TESOL - Teaching English to speakers of other languages, or Teaching English as a second orother language. See the discussion inTerminology and types.

TYLE - Teaching Young Learners English. Note that "Young Learners" can mean under 18, ormuch younger.

Other abbreviations

BULATS - Business Language Testing Services, a computer-based test of business English,produced by CambridgeEsol. The test also exists for French, German, and Spanish.

CELT - Certificate in English Language Teaching, certified by the National QualificationsAuthority of Ireland (ACELS). CELTA- Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults CELTYL- Certificate in English Language Teaching to Young Learners DELTA- Diploma in English Language Teaching to Adults ECPE- Examination for the Certificate of Proficiency in English IELTS- International English Language Testing System LTE- London Tests of English byPearson Language Tests TOEFL- Test of English as a Foreign Language TOEIC- Test of English for International Communication UCLES-University of CambridgeLocal Examinations Syndicate, an exam board

Language terminology

A second language or L2 is anylanguagelearned after thefirst languageormother tongue.Some languages, often calledauxiliary languages, are used primarily as second languages or

lingua francas(such asEsperanto).

A person's first language may not be their dominant language, the one they use most or are

most comfortable with. For example, theCanadiancensus definesfirst language for its

purposes as "the first language learned in childhood and still spoken", recognizing that for

some, the earliest language may be lost, a process known aslanguage attrition. This can
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edia.org/wiki/Auxiliary_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_tonguehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Cambridgehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UCLEShttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TOEIChttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TOEFLhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearson_Language_Testshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Tests_of_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IELTShttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Examination_for_the_Certificate_of_Proficiency_in_English&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DELTA_%28ELT%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=CELTYL&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CELTAhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language_learning_and_teaching#Terminology_and_typeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language_learning_and_teaching#Terminology_and_typeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language_learning_and_teaching#Terminology_and_typeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teaching_English_as_a_foreign_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_for_specific_purposeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language_learning_and_teaching#Terminology_and_typeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language_learning_and_teaching#Terminology_and_typeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language_learning_and_teaching#Terminology_and_typeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language_learning_and_teaching#Terminology_and_typeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingua_francahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_language


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happen when young children move, with or without their family (because ofimmigrationor

international adoption), to a new language environment.

Age

According to some researchers, the defining difference between a first language (L1) and asecond language (L2) is the age the person learned the language. For example,linguistEric

Lennebergused second language to mean a language consciously acquired or used by its

speaker after puberty. In most cases, people never achieve the same level of fluency and

comprehension in their second languages as in their first language. These views are closely

associated with theCritical Period Hypothesis.

In acquiring an L2, Hyltenstam (1992) found that around the age of six or seven seemed to be

a cut-off point forbilingualsto achieve native-like proficiency. After that age, L2 learners

could get near-native-like-ness but their language would, while consisting of few actual

errors, have enough errors to set them apart from the L1 group. The inability of some subjects

to achieve native-like proficiency must be seen in relation to the age of onset(AO). The age

of 6 or 8 does seem to be an important period in distinguishing between near-native and

native-like ultimate attainment... More specifically, it may be suggested that AO interacts

with frequency and intensity of language use (Hyltenstam, 1992, p. 364).

Later, Hyltenstam & Abrahamsson (2003) modified their age cut-offs to argue that after

childhood, in general, it becomes more and more difficult to acquire native-like-ness, but that

there is no cut-off point in particular. Furthermore, they discuss a number of cases where a

native-like L2 was acquired during adulthood.

As we are learning more and more about the brain, there is a hypothesis that when a child isgoing through puberty, that is the time that accents start. Before a child goes through puberty,

the chemical processes in the brain are more geared towards language and social

communication. Whereas after puberty, the ability for learning a language without an accent

has been rerouted to function in another area of the brainmost likely in the frontal lobe area

promoting cognitive functions, or in the neural system of hormone allocated for reproduction

and sexual organ growth.

Similarities and differences between L2 and L1

Speed

Acquiring a second language can be a lifelong learning process for many. Despite persistentefforts, most learners of a second language will never become fully native-like in it, although

with practice considerable fluency can be achieved. However, children by around the age of 5

have more or less mastered their first language, with the exception ofvocabularyand a few

grammaticalstructures.

Stages

Acquiring a second language occurs in systematic stages. Much evidence has been gathered

to show that basic sounds, vocabulary,negating phrases, forming questions, usingrelative

clauses, and so on are developed. This development is independent of input (we do not hear

nor read language in this order) and learning situation (in the classroom or on the street). It is
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also generally applicable across a spectrum of learners (from different language

backgrounds). This is similar to the learning stages that babies go through when acquiring the

first language: babbling (bababa), vocabulary (milkthen later milk drink), negation (no play),

question forming (where she go), and so on.

Correction

Error correction does not seem to have a directinfluence on learning a second language.

Instruction may affect the rate of learning, but the stages remain the same. Adolescents and

adults who know the rule are faster than those who do not. In the first language, children do

not respond to systematic correction. Furthermore, children who have limited input still

acquire the first language.

Depth of knowledge

Learners in the first or second language have knowledge that goes beyond the input they

received, in other words, the whole is greater than the parts. Learners of a language are able

to construct correct utterances (e.g. phrases, sentences, and questions) that they have never

seen or heard before.

Success

Success in language learning can be measured in two ways: likelihood and quality. First

language learners will be successful in both measurements. It is inevitable that all first

language learners will learn a first language and with few exceptions, they will be fully

successful. For second language learners, success is not guaranteed. For one, learners may

become fossilized or stuckas it were with ungrammatical items. (Fossilization occurs whenlanguage errors become a permanent feature. See Canale & Swain (1980), Johnson (1992),

Selinker (1972), and Selinker and Lamendella (1978)). The difference between learners may

be significant. Finally, as noted elsewhere, L2 learners rarely achieve complete native-like

control of the second language.

Similarities and differences between L2 and L1

L2 L1

speed NA acquisition is rapid

stages systematic stages of development systematic stages of development

error correction not directlyinfluential not involved

depth of knowledgebeyond the level of input beyond the level of input

success (1) not inevitable (possiblefossilization*)inevitable

success (2) rarely fully successful successful


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Theories of second language acquisition (SLA)

Blackboardused inclassatHarvardshowsstudents' efforts at placing theandacute accentdiacriticused inSpanish orthography.

The distinction between acquiring and learning was made byStephen Krashen(1982) as

part of hisMonitor Theory. According to Krashen, the acquisition of a language is a natural

process; whereas learning a language is a conscious one. In the former, the student needs to

partake in natural communicative situations. In the latter, error correction is present, as is the

study of grammatical rules isolated from natural language. Not all educators in second

language agree to this distinction; however, the study of how a second language is

learned/acquiredis referred to as Second Language Acquisition or SLA.

Research in SLAfocuses on the developing knowledge and use of a language by children and

adults who already know at least one other language... [and] a knowledge of second

language acquisition may help educational policy makers set more realistic goals for

programmes for both foreign language courses and the learning of the majority language by

minority language children and adults (Spada & Lightbown, p. 115).

SLA has been influenced by both linguistic andpsychologicaltheories. One of the dominant

linguistic theories hypothesizes that a device or module of sorts in the brain contains innate

knowledge. Many psychological theories, on the other hand, hypothesize thatcognitive

mechanisms, responsible for much of human learning, process language.

Foreign language

AGermanstudent learningFrenchIn pedagogy, a distinction is often made between 'second

language' andforeign language, the latter being learned for use in an area where that language is

not generally spoken. Arguably,Englishin countries such asIndia,Pakistan,Bangladesh, the

Scandinaviancountries and theNetherlandscan be considered a second language for many of its

speakers, because they learn it young, speak it fluently, and use it regularly, indeed in southern Asia

it is the official language of the courts, government and business.

The same can be said forFrenchin theArab Maghreb Union, except forLibya, although

like for English in the Scandinavian countries and the NetherlandsFrench is not an official

language in any of theseArabic-speaking countries. In thepost-Soviet statesstates such as

Uzbekistan,KyrgyzstanandKazakhstan,Russiancan be considered a second language, and

there are largeRussophonecommunities there.

InChina(with the exception perhaps ofHong Kong), however, English would be considered

a foreign language due to the lack of a number of characteristics, such as historical links,

media, opportunities for use, similar vocabulary, and common script.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackboardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackboardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_%28education%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_%28education%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_%28education%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Universityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Universityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Universityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%9Chttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%9Chttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%9Chttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acute_accenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acute_accenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acute_accenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diacritichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diacritichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_orthographyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_orthographyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_orthographyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Krashenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Krashenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Krashenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monitor_Theoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monitor_Theoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monitor_Theoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognition#Cognition_as_social_processhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognition#Cognition_as_social_processhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognition#Cognition_as_social_processhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognition#Cognition_as_social_processhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_peoplehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_peoplehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_peoplehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladeshhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladeshhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladeshhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scandinaviahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scandinaviahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlandshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlandshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlandshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Maghreb_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Maghreb_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Maghreb_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libyahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libyahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libyahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_worldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_worldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_worldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-Soviet_stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-Soviet_stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-Soviet_stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uzbekistanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uzbekistanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyrgyzstanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyrgyzstanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyrgyzstanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazakhstanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazakhstanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazakhstanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russophonehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russophonehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russophonehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Konghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Konghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Konghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ldl-wortschatz.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Spanish_orthography.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ldl-wortschatz.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Spanish_orthography.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Konghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russophonehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazakhstanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyrgyzstanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uzbekistanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-Soviet_stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_worldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libyahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Maghreb_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlandshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scandinaviahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladeshhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_peoplehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognition#Cognition_as_social_processhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognition#Cognition_as_social_processhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monitor_Theoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Krashenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_orthographyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diacritichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acute_accenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%9Chttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Universityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_%28education%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackboard


14/14

French would be considered a foreign language inRomania,LebanonandMoldovaas well.

This is despiteRomanianandFrenchbeingRomance languages(unlikeChineseandEnglish,

which come from two different language families). This is also despite Romania and

Moldova being the only two countries in the world where Romanian is an official language at

the federal level, Romania's historical links toFrance, and both Romanian-speaking countries'

membership in the Francophonie. For Lebanon, French would be considered aforeignlanguage, even though most of its universities operate in either that language or English,

French is anadministrative languageandlike RomaniaLebanon has historical ties to

France and is a Francophonie member state.

George H. J. Weber, a Swiss businessman and independent scholar, founder of the Andaman

Association and creator of the encyclopedic andaman.org Web site, made a report in

December 1997 about the number of secondary speakers of the world's leading

languages.[1][2]

Weber used the Fischer Weltalmanach of 1986 as his only source[3]

] for the

L2-speakers data, in preparing the data in the next table. These numbers should be compared

with those referred to byEthnologue, an authoritative site in the linguistics field, however,

the data for English as L2 has not been yet reported by Ethnologue.

Language Weltalmanach 1986Ethnologue.com

1.French 190 million 50 million

2.English 150 million N/A

3.Russian 125 million 110 million

4.Portuguese28 million 15 million

5.Arabic 21 million 246 million

6.Mandarin 20 million 178 million

7.Spanish 20 million 60 million

8.German 9 million 28 million

9.Japanese 8 million 1 million
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romaniahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romaniahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romaniahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebanonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebanonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebanonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moldovahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moldovahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moldovahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrative_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrative_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrative_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_language#cite_note-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_language#cite_note-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_language#cite_note-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_language#cite_note-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_language#cite_note-2http://www.ethnologue.com/http://www.ethnologue.com/http://www.ethnologue.com/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandarin_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandarin_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandarin_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandarin_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_languagehttp://www.ethnologue.com/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_language#cite_note-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wik

Documents

English as a Foreign or Second Language