Bilingualism

Ability to speak two languages. It may be acquired early by children in regions where most
adults speak two languages (e.g., French and Chinese). Children may also become bilingual by
learning languages in two different social settings. An example of a bilingual is a person with
the ability to speak German and Italian.

1. First Language:
A first language (also mother tongue, native language, arterial language, or L1) often
means the language that a person learns first. It helps one understand words and concepts
in the style of that language. This is the acquisition of the mother tongue. This is
a language that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. The first
language learned by a baby is his or her mother tongue. It is the language, which he or she
listens to from his or her birth.

Example:
Native or first language of British is English.

2. Second Language:
SLA is the process of learning other languages in addition to the native language. It deals
with the acquisition of additional languages in both children and adults. A non-native
language officially recognized and adopted in a multilingual country as a means of public
communication.
The definition of second language acquisition and learning describes the process of
understanding, speaking and writing another language fluently. The ability to communicate
in a second language is becoming an essential skill in today’s world.

Example: For instance, a child who speaks Urdu as the mother tongue starts learning
English when he starts going to school. English is learned by the process of second
language acquisition. In fact, a young child can learn a second language faster than an adult
can learn the same language. The reason to learn the second language (i.e., learning at
school, for work, to talk to friends or others).
3. Foreign Language:
A foreign language is a language originally from another country than the speaker. It is also
a language not spoken in the native country of the person referred to, i.e., an English
speaker living in Spain can say that Spanish is a foreign language to him or her.
A foreign language is a language you learn because you are interested in it for whatever
reason. The typical vocabulary of a foreign language speaker will include amazingly varied
topics such as politics, philosophy, science, literature - not necessarily useful in real life
but picked randomly anyway from textbooks and other media used for the enhancement of
language learning. A foreign language may be the one you will never have an
opportunity to use in you day-to-day tasks.

Example: I learned English, French and Japanese as foreign languages. They remain so.
When I lived in the US, I found it rather difficult to discuss my chores or basic necessities
with locals. i.e. an English speaker living in Japan can say that Japanese is a foreign
language to him or her.

4:Target Language: The definition of a target language is a language that someone is

learning, or a language into which a text has to be translated.
The language into which a text in a given language is to be translated.
The target language, also called the receptor language, is the language being translated to.
It is the antonym of source language, which is the language being translated from.
Example
 A target language is Italian for a native born German who is just moving to Italy.
 Translation of a legal text requires not only fluency in the target language but also
familiarity with the terminology specific to the legal field in the target language.

THEORIES FOR SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING

1. Behaviorism:
Behaviorism is a learning theory that only focuses on objectively observable behavior
and discounts any independent activities of the mind. Behavior theorist defines learning
as nothing more than the acquisition of new behavior based on environmental
conditions.

Example of behaviorism :
when teachers reward their class or certain students with a party or special treat
at the end of the week for good behavior throughout the week. The same concept is used
with punishments. The teacher can take away certain privileges if the student misbehaves.

2. Cognitive Theory:
It focuses on mental processes including how people perceive thing, remember learn,
solve problems and direct their attention to one’s stimulus rather than another.

For Example:
In the classroom, instructions should be organized sequenced and presented in a
manner that is understandable and meaningful to the learner.

3. Creative Construction Theory:

The Creative Construction approach has sometimes been connected to Noam
Chomsky's innatist theory. This is due to the idea that as learners are exposed to input,
whether it be via reading or listening, they begin to form mental representations of the
language and it's structures. Two separate mental processes: conscious learning and
subconscious acquisition

Example:
The construction model of language acquisition in linguistic politeness plays an
important role in the character education of the elementary school children who are
friendly, communicative, peace loving, because of the use of polite speeches and loving
and caring approach, parents’ examples and model, especially the mother at the family
level. At the school level there are models from the school community members in
speeches and the way the problem children are handled with love. It is suggested that a
creative construction model in linguistic politeness be used for children’s character
education