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Language Acquisition vs. Language Learning

by Judie Haynes

Should grammar be taught to young elementary age English language learners? Learn

what the difference is between language acquisition and language learning.

One of the questions I am most frequently asked is about teaching grammar rules to

very young English language learners. Those of you who follow the "Ask Judie"

bulletin board already know my answer to that question. I would not teach grammar

out of contet to young students. !I am asked for grammar lessons for st and #nd

graders$% &esearch has shown that "out of contet" grammar drills do not work with

students of any age. Teachers of English language learners should really be

develo'ing the oral communication( reading( vocabulary( and writing skills of their

young students. The grammar will take care of itself. &ead 'redictible books. Teach

thematic units. Any mention of a grammar rule should be within the contet of those

tets.

Language acquisition vs. language learning

There is an im'ortant distinction made by linguists between language acquisition andlanguage learning. )hildren acquire language through a subconscious 'rocess during

which they are unaware of grammatical rules. This is similar to the way they acquire

their first language. They get a feel for what is and what isn*t correct. In order to

acquire language( the learner needs a source of natural communication. The

em'hasis is on the tet of the communication and not on the form. +oung students

who are in the 'rocess of acquiring English get 'lenty of ,on the -ob 'ractice. They

readily acquire the language to communicate with classmates.

/anguage learning( on the other hand( is not communicative. It is the result of direct

instruction in the rules of language. And it certainly is not an age0a''ro'riate activity

for your young learners. In language learning( students have conscious knowledge ofthe new language and can talk about that knowledge. They can fill in the blanks on a

grammar 'age. &esearch has shown( however( that knowing grammar rules does not

necessarily result in good s'eaking or writing.r A student who has memori1ed the

rules of the language may be able to succeed on a standardi1ed test of English

language but may not be able to s'eak or write correctly.

Language learning is where you sit down and learn all the grammar, vocab e.t.c that goes withthe language such as in a lesson in school

While language acquisition is if you leanr a language without sitting down a formally learning. Butlearning it by talking to people such as how you learn to talk English or another native language

The Acquisition-Learningdistinction is the most fundamental of all the

hypotheses in Krashen's theory and the most widely known among linguists

and language practitioners.

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According to Krashen there are two independent systems of second language

performance: 'the acquired system' and 'the learned system'. The 'acquired

system' or 'acquisition' is the product of a subconscious process ery similar to

the process children undergo when they acquire their first language. !t requires

meaningful interaction in the target language " natural communication " in

which speakers are concentrated not in the form of their utterances# but in the

communicatie act.

The 'learned system' or 'learning' is the product of formal instruction and it

comprises a conscious process which results in conscious knowledge 'about' the

language# for e$ample knowledge of grammar rules. According to Krashen

'learning' is less important than 'acquisition'.

/anguage acquisition is the ability of the brain in its cognitive develo'ment 2 'rocess to

conce'tualise conce'ts(structures and semantics in a language ( while learning is the active'artici'ation and effort to learn a language. /anguage teachers devise methods ascom'onents of language acquisition( while learners use them to learn.

/anguage acquisition is a natural 'rocess for any native to acquire his native vernacularlanguage./anguage learning is a structured system for anyone to learn a language.

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LANGUAGE ACU!S!"!#N

Language acquisition refers to the process of natural assimilation, involving intuition andsubconscious learning. It is the product of real interactions between people in environments of thetarget language and culture, where the learner is an active player. It is similar to the way childrenlearn their native tongue, a process that produces functional skill in the spoken language withouttheoretical knowledge. It develops familiarity with the phonetic characteristics of the language aswell as its structure and vocabulary, and is responsible for oral understanding, the capability forcreative communication and for the identification of cultural values.

In acquisitioninspired methodology, teaching and learning are viewed as activities that happenon a personal and psychological level. !he acquisition approach praises the communicative actand develops selfconfidence in the learner.

" classic e#ample of second language acquisition are the adolescents and young adults that liveabroad for a year in an e#change program, often attaining near native fluency, while knowing littleabout the language. !hey have a good pronunciation without a notion of phonology, don$t knowwhat the perfect tense is, modal or phrasal verbs are, but they intuitively recogni%e and know howto use all the structures.

LANGUAGE LEA$N!NG

!he concept of language learning is linked to the traditional approach to the study of languagesand today is still generally practiced in high schools worldwide. "ttention is focused on the

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language in its written form and the ob&ective is for the student to understand the structure andrules of the language, whose parts are dissected and analy%ed. !he task requires intellectualeffort and deductive reasoning. !he form is of greater importance than communication. !eachingand learning are technical and based on a syllabus. 'ne studies the theory in the absence of thepractice. 'ne values the correct and represses the incorrect. Error correction is constant leavinglittle room for spontaneity. !he teacher is an authority figure and the participation of the student ispredominantly passive. !he student will be taught how to form interrogative and negativesentences, will memori%e irregular verbs, study modal verbs, etc., but hardly ever masters theuse of these structures in conversation.

Languagelearning inspired methods are progressive and cumulative, normally tied to a presetsyllabus that includes memori%ation of vocabulary. It seeks to transmit to the student knowledgeabout the language, its functioning and grammatical structures, its contrasts with the student$snative language, knowledge that hopefully will produce the practical skills of understanding andspeaking the language. (owever, the effort of accumulating knowledge about the language withall its irregularity becomes frustrating because of the lack of familiarity with the language.

Innumerable graduates in Bra%il with arts degrees in English are classic e#amples of languagelearning. !hey are certified teachers with knowledge about the language and its literature but able

to communicate in English only with poor pronunciation, limited vocabulary and lackingawareness of the target culture.

"ccording to linguists )i.e. scientists who engage in the scientific study of human language*there is an important distinction between language acquisition and language learning.

"s you may well have noticed, children acquire their mother tongue through interaction withtheir parents and the environment that surrounds them. !heir need to communicate pavesthe way for language acquisition to take place. "s e#perts suggest, there is an innatecapacity in every human being to acquire language.

By the time a child is five years old, s+he can e#press ideas clearly and almost perfectly fromthe point of view of language and grammar. "lthough parents never sit with children to

e#plain to them the workings of the language, their utterances show a superb command ofintricate rules and patterns that would drive an adult cra%y if s+he tried to memori%e them anduse them accurately. !his suggests that it is through e#posure to the language andmeaningful communication that a first language is acquired, without the need of systematicstudies of any kind. When it comes to second language learning in children, you will noticethat this happens almost identically to their first language acquisition. "nd even teachersfocus more on the communicative aspect of the language rather than on &ust rules andpatterns for the children to repeat and memori%e. In order to acquire language, the learnerneeds a source of natural communication.

!he emphasis is on the te#t of the communication and not on the form. oung students whoare in the process of acquiring a second language get plenty of -on the &ob- practice. !heyreadily acquire the language to communicate with classmates.

In short, we see this tendency in which second language teachers are quite aware of theimportance of communication in young learners and their inability to memori%e rulesconsciously )although they will definitely acquire them through a handson approach &ust asthey did with their mother tongue*.

nfortunately, when it comes to adult students, a quick look at the current methodologiesand language courses available clearly shows that communication is set aside, neglected oreven disregarded. In almost all cases, courses revolve around grammar, patterns,

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repetitions, drillings and rote memori%ation without even a human interlocutor to interactwith.

!he very same courses that promise you language independence and the ability tocommunicate upon completion of the courses do /'! offer you a single chance to engage inmeaningful conversations. (ow many times have you bought or read about -the ultimate

language course on 01- in which the learner simply has to sit in front of a computer to listento and repeat words and phrases time and again. !hat is not communication. !hat is the wayyou train a parrot2 !he animal will definitely learn and repeat a few phrases and amuse youand your friends, but it will never ever be able to communicate effectively.

(ow could you be e#pected to communicate if you are never given the chance to speak witha real person3 Language without real communication is as useless as 4aint 5alentine$s daywithout lovers or 0hildren$s day without kids.

In some other scenarios, in which there is a teacher, the work done in class is mostlygrammatically oriented6 tenses, rules, multiple choice e#ercises and so on and so forth. Isthis similar to the way in which a child -acquires a language3- 1efinitely not. /o wonder whyso many people fail in acquiring a second language naturally. 4imply because whatever they

are doing is highly unnatural and devoid of meaning to them. !his is the field of languagelearning.

Language learning as seen today is not communicative. It is the result of direct instruction inthe rules of language. "nd it certainly is not an ageappropriate activity for your younglearners as it is not for adults either. In language learning, students have consciousknowledge of the new language and can talk about that knowledge.

!hey can fill in the blanks on a grammar page. 7esearch has shown, however, that knowinggrammar rules does not necessarily result in good speaking or writing. " student who hasmemori%ed the rules of the language may be able to succeed on a standardi%ed test ofEnglish language but may not be able to speak or write correctly.

"s teachers, it is our duty to make sure that our students -acquire- rather than -learn- thelanguage.

!here has been many discrepancies in defining the 8 terms. In general the previous e#planations are valid.!he second language acquisition would be the acquistion of the language that follows the maternallanguage ) 9st language*,regardless from the place of birth or the current residence.If you are a 0hinese born in England, English would be your second language acquired. If you are Britishborn in India, learning (indu would be your acquisition of a second language. our second language is thatone where you use more cognitive skills like reasoning ,perception to learn it than your 9st mothertongue,that you start to learn very early. "t that stage your acquisition is more dependent on intuition andimplicit subconscious acquirement. "t a later stage at school you will be developing more and morecognitive skills in improving both your 9st and 8nd language,but your maternal language will usually bebetter because of the initial acquisition at a very early stage.!his is one of the possible definitions of the 8nd language acquisition. "ccordingly a second language isalso a foreign language, but marked by an early childhood learning process due to residence in the countryspeaking the language for e#ample.Every foreign language is not a second language though. !he foreign language could be defined as thelanguage one didn$t learn at home at early stages, where its acquisition depends more on developingcognitive skills than merely on early childhood intuitive acquisition such as taking language courses, learninga new language as an adult etc. I hope this definition helps you distinguish between the 8 terms 6*