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Final Reflection Paper: Second Language Acquisition, Second Language Learning, Second

Language Teaching

Kayla Feusner

EDU 435: Language Acquisition and English Linguistics

Dr. Brenda Muzeta

10 May 2022
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In the paper, I will explore various aspects of Second Language Acquisition and I will

begin this paper by exploring my own personal journey and experiences with language. I will

then discuss who English learners are and what role Second Language Acquisition plays in their

language proficiency. I will further explore one theory of Second Language Acquisition and how

English learners acquire language through this theory. In conclusion, I will reflect on the

implications of second language acquisition in my own teaching practice and how I will

incorporate it in my future classroom.

The first language I learned was English through first language acquisition and I had the

opportunity to learn Spanish through middle school and high school. I started learning Spanish in

7th grade and continued to take Spanish courses for the rest of my school career. In my freshman

year of high school, I had the opportunity of travelling to Costa Rica for a week with some of my

peers and exploring the country. This experience made me fall in love with the Spanish language

and want to become fluent in Spanish. At this moment, I am not fluent in Spanish, however, I am

constantly keeping up with the language and I hope to be fluent one day. Another way I

experienced language learning was through other English learning adults. During high school, I

volunteered in an ESL class after school each week that was offered for any adults and students

in the district. This experience made me fall in love with ESL instruction and English learners,

which is how I knew I wanted to be ESL certified and work with English learners in the

classroom. All of these experiences have helped shape my perspective of ESL and English

learning children and adults.

Our textbook defines an English learner as “a student who is in the process of attaining

proficiency in English as a new, additional language” (Wright 1). English learners are a diverse

group and they vary by ethnicity, home language, race, socioeconomic status, level of schooling
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and much more. It is important for educators to learn what each of their English learners need so

they can provide them with the proper materials and support for success. First and foremost,

educators need to make sure their English learners feel safe and welcomed in the classroom or

else they will not be able to learn. Teachers need to care about English learners needs because

they deserve to have the best education we can give them. Not only do educators need to help

them with academic success, but some English learners may need help with social aspects of

being in a classroom such as making friends. Teachers need to recognize the diversity of ELLs

and that each student learns differently, so they need to have multiple strategies and tools to help

them with both content and language skills.

Second language acquisition, which is learning a second language after already

establishing a first language, plays a huge role in the language proficiency of English learners.

Teachers need to understand that second language proficiency develops incrementally and can

vary depending on the learner. By determining what stage of English language proficiency, a

student is at, the teacher can plan instruction accordingly to meet the language needs of the

student. Second language acquisition also impacts the academic and social language

development of English learners. Teachers need to understand that English learners first

language is an asset and will help them learn English, especially with words that are cognates

such as pizza and hospital. However, more content specific words, such as proton and

photosynthesis, will be more challenging for the learner because they don’t know them in their

first language. Teachers also need to recognize that English learners pick up on social language

and become fluent in social language early on since they use it to communicate with peers. When

it comes to academic language, it is more difficult for them to learn and it will take much longer

for them to learn it. This is why educators need to recognize the need for helping them develop
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their academic language fluency in English and to guide them in the right direction using the best

practices and strategies.

When it comes to second language acquisition, there are actually “four major

perspectives from which theories about second language acquisition have emerged: behaviorism,

the innatist perspective, the cognitive/developmental perspective (psychological theories), and

the sociocultural perspective” (Wright 49). I will be going more in depth on the cognitive

approaches to second language acquisition, which focuses on what is happening inside the brain

of the language learner. Stephen Krashen describes five hypotheses when it comes to the

cognitive approach of SLA. The first hypothesis is the acquisition-learning hypothesis which

describes how learning language is acquired rather than consciously learned. The second

hypothesis is the natural order hypothesis which describes how we acquire the parts of a

language in a predictable order. The third hypothesis is the monitor hypothesis which describes

how we can use learned language to monitor what is acquired and then correct the errors. The

fourth hypothesis is the input hypothesis which is his most important hypothesis, describing how

we acquire language through understanding messages or obtaining comprehensible input. The

last hypothesis is the affective filter hypothesis which describes how the affective filter controls

the amount of comprehensible input that gets through to the learner. There are a few parts of the

cognitive approach to second language acquisition that aligned with the experiences of my

interviewee, Jose, from my second reflection paper. For Jose, learning English was a very natural

process and he acquired language in the predictable order, just like the natural order hypothesis

states. Additionally, comprehensible input was a huge part of Jose learning English with input

such as visuals, building context through relatable experiences, background knowledge, and

encouraging interactivity through the use of his native language. His teachers used all of these
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forms of comprehensible input when helping Jose with second language acquisition, especially

encouraging him to use his native language to help learn English. I had a few major takeaways

from this experience in regards to second language acquisition. Through this interview, I realized

that not all English learners learn the same or have the same experiences with language

acquisition. It also emphasized the idea that different teaching methods and strategies work for

different English learners, so we should never force one strategy or method of second language

acquisition on a student. The last takeaway I had from this experience was how important it is to

get to know the English learners’ strengths and weaknesses so you know the best way to help

them learn English.

It is imperative that teachers understand the process and levels of second language

acquisition because it will help them tailor instruction to meet the needs of their diverse group of

English learners. Educators can learn more about second language acquisition by reaching out to

other ESL teachers or doing research on their own time through various books and texts. When

teachers understand language acquisition, they can comprehend how these strategies will support

their English learner’s language development during instruction of all academic areas. It is also

important for teachers to understand how first language acquisition contributes to English

learners second language acquisition and how they can use their native language to help them

learn English. Teachers need to have a complete understanding of language, including the

subsystems of language, which will help English learners in areas such as vocabulary, grammar

and spelling. This course has helped me learn more about language acquisition and the theories

that are involved in it. I also learned more about the importance of understanding the components

of language and the difference between social and academic language. It is essential to

understand that English learners will become fluent in social language first and that, just because
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they are fluent in social language, does not mean they are fluent in academic language. I will use

all of this knowledge in my future classroom to support the development of English learners’

proficiency, literacy and academic language development. I have learned numerous strategies to

effectively help English learners with their academic language and their literacy skills. By having

a better understanding of language through this course, I can use this knowledge when I get to

learn my students’ language needs and use the best practices that will support their second

language acquisition. This knowledge has helped better prepare me for working with English

learners in the field because I will know how important language is. I will also be looking out for

the use of social and academic language when I work with future English learners and, thanks to

this course, I will know the best practices to use when teaching them academic language. I am

looking forward to teaching in an ESL classroom so that I can utilize the skills, knowledge, and

best practices I have learned throughout this course to better support their second language

acquisition and effectively teach my English learners.

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Works Cited

Wright , W. E. (2019). Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research,

Theory, Policy, and Practice (Second ). Caslon.