Class : Second Language Acquisition A1

Second Language Acquisition

Second Language Acquisition is the field of applied linguistics research and theory that
deals with learning a second or foreign language (i.e., any language other than one's mother
tongue). Second language acquisition ('SLA' for short) is the scientific area of inquiry that
examines the human capacity to acquire languages other than the first, during late childhood,
adolescence or adulthood and after learning the first language or languages. It includes studying
naturalistic and formal language acquisition in light of second, international and heritage
learning. It seeks to understand basic, individual and social forces that affect what is learned by
different people under different learning conditions, how quickly and how well. Second
Language Acquisition (SLA) refers to learning how students acquire a second language (L2) and
their first language (L1) in addition. While it is referred to as second language acquisition, after
the first language it is the process of acquiring every language whether it is the second, third, or
fourth language. Any other language other than the first language is also considered a second
language, which is sometimes considered a target language. The Collins Dictionary defines
second language as the language that a person learns after his or her native language and foreign
language as a language used in a country other than his or her native country (2013).

There are various ways of learning second- or foreign languages. It can be formally as it
is in a classroom environment or informally as it may be when the learner picks up the language
by being the society's culturally active participant. This can be done by going to school in the
target country, watching local TV, listening to the radio or / and reading newspapers in L2. The
learner is constantly in touch with the target language through normal daily routines by being
actively involved in the learning environment. It is highly important to look at the learning
environment and examine whether the age factor has any impact in second language acquisition.
Motivation is also another significant aspect of SLA that needs to be addressed in order to find
out whether it is related to higher language competencies as investigated extensively by Gardner
and Lambert (1979). Second Language Acquisition (SLA) and Early Language Learning (ELL)
have been extensively studied over the years and there is a common perception that the
acquisition of second language among children is accomplished fairly quickly and easily
(Nikolov and Djigunovi'c, 2006).
 As a future teacher, learning second language acquisition is important for me. The
teacher has to understand second language acquisition because they are actively involved with
students in learning the second language. In order to understand second language acquisition, the
teacher must have know stages of second language acqusition, gain a full understanding of
second language acquisition theory, determine teaching strategies can be quickly understood and
applied in the classroom.

The first one is know stages of second language acquisition. In order to require second
language acquisition, there are some stages for students. However, each student moves at their
own pace during the learning process. As a teacher, it is important to know where your students
are in the stages of providing adequate accommodation. How fast students progress through the
stage depends on several factors, such as the family background,  the level of formal education,
and the period of time spent in the nation. As teacher, Knowing this information about each
student helps you to operate inside the proximal development zone-the difference between what
students can do themselves and what they can do with the aid of more experienced people
(Vygotsky, 1978). There are five predictable stages of second language acquisition, such as
Preproduction, Early Production, Speech Emergence, Intermediate Fluency, and Advanced
Fluency (Krashen & Terrell, 1983). The first one is Preproduction. The length of this stage is
zero to six months. This stage often includes a "silent time" during which students do not speak,
but may respond using a variety of techniques, including pointing to an object, image, or person;
performing an act, such as standing up or closing a door; gesturing or nodding; or responding
with a simple "yes" or "no." Teachers should not force students to talk until they are prepared to
do so. The second one is Early Production. The length of stage is six months to a year. Generally
students can speak in one-or two-word sentences at this level, and can demonstrate
understanding of new material by providing brief answers to simple yes or no questions. The
third stage is Speech emergence stage. The length of this stage is one to three years. Students
should start using dialog and ask simple questions, and can also answer simple questions.
Students may generate longer phrases but often with grammatical errors that can interfere with
their communication. The fourth stage is Intermediate Fluency. The length of stage is three to
five years. They start making complicated comments, expressing their opinions, and speaking in
greater length. However, they can also make a few grammatical errors. The fifth is Advanced
Fluency. The length of this stage is five to seven years. In this stage, Students learn near-native
skills and develop highly detailed language. We also demonstrate a high degree of understanding
but do not understand all the academic language. In short, knowing students who are going
through a systematic and sequential sequence of second-language developmental stages helps
teachers foresee and recognize the current stage of a student while modifying their teaching to
promote advancement to the next level.

The second one is gain a full understanding of second language acquisition theory. Basic
knowledge of second language learning theories is highly useful for teachers in the traditional
classroom and directly impacts their ability to provide students with effective content-area
instruction. It is especially important in certain schools where limited resources lead to little to
no educational help in learning a student's second language. One theory supported by most
language acquisition researchers is the second language acquisition theory by Stephen Krashen.
Stephen Krashen (University of Southern California) is a linguistics specialist, who specializes in
language learning and development theories. The well established and well-accepted second-
language learning theory of Stephen Krashen has had a significant influence in all fields of
second-language study and teaching since the 1980s. Stephen Krashen's Second Language
Acquisition Theory consists of five main hypotheses. The first one is the acquisition-learning
hypothesis. The distinction between learning and acquisition is the most basic of all the
hypotheses in the theory of Stephen Krashen and the most common among linguists and
language practitioners. The second one is the monitor hypothesis. The monitor
hypothesis describes the relationship between learning and development and determines the
effect of the latter on the former. The monitoring feature is the practical product of the grammar
learned. The third one is the natural order hypothesis. The natural order hypothesis is based on
research findings (Stephen Krashen, 1988; et al.) that indicate that the acquisition of grammatical
structures follows a predetermined "normal order". The fourth one is the input hypothesis. The
input hypothesis is Stephen Krashen discusses how the second language is learned. The last one
is the affective filter hypothesis affective filter hypothesis reflects Krashen's view that many
"affective factors" play a facilitative, but non-causal, role in the learning of second language.
These variables include motivation, anxiety, and self-confidence. In the short, all these theories
of Sephed Krashen should be understand by the teacher because it will help and support teacher
in the teaching and learning process.
 The third one is determine teaching strategies can be quickly understood and applied in
the classroom. After the teacher know and understanding of second language acquisition theory,
they wil be able to determine teaching strategies that can be quikly understood and applied in the
classroom to teach the second language acquisition. There six five strategies that is needed to
apply by the teacher. The first one is analyzing characteristics of the second language learners.
Generally speaking, second language learners are more efficient and less efficient in classrooms.
Teachers should educate specific language learners according to their unique characteristics and
provide an individualized quality education or adapt various teaching methods to fit second
language learners ' special needs. The second strategies is signing classroom contracts to build
the language learners’ expectation toward independence. A contract for a classroom consists of
an arrangement between teachers and language learners or students about how each should
participate and behave in the classroom. Contracts are most effective if the students offer
feedback from the teacher to the input on the agreement. Language students in different classes
can have different characteristics that are good, since the point is that teachers and language
learners have formed a sense of trust and shared responsibility. The third strategy is creating the
learner-centered classroom to set students’ learning responsibilities. A learner-centered
classroom is an atmosphere that develops and encourages active learners who are conscious of
their learning processes and who are able to take control of their learning through this
knowledge. Initially, a teacher-centered classroom must be generated and then accepted by
students. The fourth strategy is setting goals for the language learners to lead to increased
motivation. Having language learners set their personal language objectives increases their
participation by increasing their participation in the learning process. Giving students the
opportunity to set their own objectives, in addition to or in collaboration with those set out in the
instruction program, enables students to focus on their purposes for second language learning
which, in effect, can lead to increased motivation. The fifth strategy is integrating theories of
second language acquisition with practice. Theory is vital for teachers because it gives an insight
into why language students respond to instruction in some ways. Understanding the theory of
Stephen Krashen will help teachers develop effective teaching strategies and assessments to
direct students across a continuum of language learning, from cognitively undemanding, context-
based curricula to cognitively challenging, context-reduced curricula. However, uniting theory
with practice is becoming ever more relevant. The last strategy is Building second language
learner motivation including value, self-efficacy and attributions. Good teaching techniques will
increase the motivation of students to take on second language learning tasks. Value, self-
efficacy and attribution are several critical components which play a major role in motivating
second-language learners. In the short, determine teaching strategies can be quickly understood
and applied in the classroom will help the teacher to teach second language acquisition in
appropriate way.

The part of Second Language Acquistion that is the key point which can support my career
in the future as English Teacher is the what SLA offers to ESL Teacher. First, SLA provides
teachers with guidelines or suggestions regarding what to focus on in our teaching. As to the
suggestions in the literature, Nation (2005) offers An interesting viewpoint on the role of
teachers in the sense of classrooms, noting that teaching is just one of the four key roles of
teachers, with the other three being preparing suitable lessons, educating students in language
skills and testing their progress. In his framework for instruction, Nation (2005, 2007) argues
four strands are necessary, namely meaning-focused input, meaning-focused output, deliberate
language study, and fluency development, and each has practical implications in the classroom.
Also, Cook (2002) offers A useful SLA perspective by applying L2 user concepts to instruction,
noting a) that our language teaching focus should be on learners, not native speakers, b) that
successful L2 users should be used as models, not just native speakers; c) Learners will
understand the richness of use of L2, d) interact as much as possible with the goals of our
students and e) stress the importance of the native languages of the students for language
learning (pp. 335-341). The implication is that these researchers and others recommend that
teachers should use a variety of classroom activities to allow students to learn their English skills

Second, SLA offers ESL/EFL teachers encouragement, because Instruction in the

classroom appears to support learning a second language. An early attempt by Long (1983) to
evaluate applicable instructional research compared to L2 experience based on the acquisition /
instruction distinction proposed by Krashen. Long-concluded teaching was beneficial; however,
it was also clear that these comparisons presented major problems. In a subsequent attempt to
determine whether training makes a difference, Long (1988) focused on four domains of SLA:
processes (transfer, generalization, noticing, etc.), route (developmental sequences in negation,
questions, word order, etc.), rate (speed of learning), and level of ultimate attainment.
 Third, SLA influences on the activity of brain is mesmerizing. “SLA could contribute to
brain changes” (Maftoon et al., 2013, p. 35). The brain lacks any program as a hardwired device.
Maftoon et al. insist that considering SLA as software contributes undeniably to brain function
and changeIn particular, Seliger (1982) has long stated "many functions performed by the right
hemisphere may play a significant role in SLA" (p. 307). Genesee (1982) also argues that the
degree to which the right hemisphere is involved in the development of second language is
inevitable. By studying SLA the right-hemisphere activity is rising. In addition, "the cortical
thickness and hipocampal volumes of conscript interpreters before and after three months of
language studies" in Martensson's (2012) study; (p. 240) are taken into account. Wilson (2013 )
argues along the same line that SLA can expand one's hippocampus. Provided that hippocampus
is the center of verbal memory (Kimura, 199), SLA undeniably contributes to long-term memory
development (Wilson, 2013).

Fourth, SLA offers us a balanced view of vocabulary and grammar, and mentions the
importance of type emphasis. Partly in response to Krashen 's study, Laufer's (2003) research
asked whether, as Krashen implies, learners actually acquire the most vocabulary by reading. In
Israeli EFL classes, she compared reading alone with constructive tasks (such as using glosses,
writing sentences, writing a poem, completing sentences). In all instances, the empirical evidence
indicated (in relation to vocabulary) that the meaning of a word is more likely to be learned in a
"successful word-focused job" than merely through reading, even though the term is looked up in
a dictionary (p. 581). With several class tests and statistical significance, this key finding clearly
suggests that the benefits of L2/FL teaching are not limited to type or grammar. So free
voluntary reading is fine, but for effective L2 learning, it's simply not enough, particularly in the
L2 / FL classroom.

Fifth, SLA offers teachers a reminder that appropriate input, output, and interaction are all
crucial to L2 learning. Research on L2 learning and instruction reveals that we need both rich
and varied input in the target language and opportunities to use the language to be successful
learners (VanPatten, 2003). While Krashen (2003) is right that input is key, Swain 's research
(1995, 2005) and others also shows the importance of output and interaction. Swain (1993)
suggested that output does at least four things, providing learners with opportunities for
meaningful language practice, helping them move from semantic to syntactic processing,
providing them with opportunities to develop and test learning hypotheses, and generating
responses from others they interact with, which in turn can help them (re)process their own
output.. In short, Adequate input of various types is great, but output is also important. SLA
researchers Gass and Mackey (2006) build on input and output in outlining their interaction
hypothesis, noting that positive and negative feedback in interaction is an important component
of second language learning for students. So The implications here are that teachers need to
provide students with rich input into the classroom, performance opportunities (both written and
spoken) and realistic interaction (see DeKeyser, 2007), and valuable feedback on their use of
L2/FL.

One of my weaknesses is the lack of mastering in teaching second languages. In English

Language Teaching (ELT), teachers need to understand how children acquire or learn a second
or foreign language in order to help them plan and teach English as a foreign language in
Indonesia. Therefore, I should have mastered how to teach second language acquisition to be
good English teacher in future. Although I as a teacher have acquired a second language
acquisition, it does not guarantee that I can teach second language well. Teaching second
language acquistion is not easy. Many things must be considered one of them is a student. There
are various kinds of students with different personalities. Individual differences affect second
language acquisition. These differences may be developmental, cognitive, affective or social.
There are factors that are fixed which we cannot control such as age and language learning
aptitude. There are some variable factors such as motivation which are controlled by social
setting and the course taken for developing the second language. Therefore, teachers need to
know that variable factors are controlled through the learning environment, knowing the
cognitive styles, learning preferences of their students, how they teach and what they are
teaching.

In conclusion, Second Language Acquisition (SLA) refers to the study of how students
learn a second language (L2) additionally to their first language (L1). learning second language
acquisition for the teacher is important for teacher. As a future teacher, learning second language
acquisition is important for me because the teacher have to understand second language
acquisition because they are actively involved with students in learning second language.
Teachers should understand the stages of second language acquisition and Stephen Krashen’s
theory of second language acquisition and apply some teaching strategies in the language
classrooms. What SLA offers to ESL Teacher is the key point which can support my career in
the future as English Teacher. SLA offers teachers guidelines or suggestions for what to focus
on in our teaching, SLA offers ESL/EFL teachers encouragement, SLA influence on the activity
of brain is mesmerizing, SLA offers us a balanced view of vocabulary and grammar, and
mentions the importance of type emphasis, and SLA offers teachers a reminder that appropriate
input, output, and interaction are all crucial to L2 learning. Last, One of my weaknesses is the
lack of mastering in teaching second languages.

REFERENCES

Yang, H. (2008). On teaching strategies in second language acquisition. Online Submission, 5(1),

61-67.
Krashen, S. (1981). Second language acquisition. Second Language Learning, 3(7), 19-39.

Hill, J. D., & Bjork, C. L. (2008). Classroom Instruction that Works with English Language

Learners Facilitators Guide. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

1703 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria, VA 22311-1714.

Stefánsson, E. (2013). Second Language Acquisition: The Effect of Age and Motivation.

Shakouri, N. & Shokouhi, M. (2015). Theories in Second Language Acquisition Need to be

Corroborated. Studies in English Language Teaching, 3 (1)

Ortega, L. (2009). Understanding Second language acquisition. Hodder Education : New York