BA S IC S T A ND A R D O F

FOREIGN L A N G U A G E
CO M P E TE N C E
EFSET FREE ONLINE EXAM
 STAGES OF
SECOND LA N G U A G E
AC Q U IS I T I ON
STAGES OF SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
•PREPRODUCTION STAGE
• EARLY PRODUCTION STAGE
• SPEECH EMERGENCE STAGE
• INTERMEDIATE FLUENCY STAGE
• ADVANCED FLUENCY STAGE
1. PREPRODUCTION STAGE
• THIS STAGE IS ALSO CALLED THE ‘SILENT PERIOD’.
• IT LASTS FOR ABOUT SIX WEEKS OR LONGER.
• AT THIS STAGE LEARNERS DO NOT SPEAK THEY JUST LISTEN TO SECOND
LANGUAGE AND OBSERVE WHAT IS GOING ON AROUND THEM.
• LEARNERS HAVE HUNDREDS OF WORDS AND CAN REPEAT WORDS AND
EXPRESSIONS, AND FORMS OF THE TARGET LANGUAGE. HOWEVER, THEY LACK
THE ABILITY TO PRODUCE THE TARGET LANGUAGE.
2. EARLY PRODUCTION STAGE
• THIS STAGE MAY LAST UP TO SIX MONTHS.
• SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNERS BEGIN TO SPEAK USING SHORT WORDS,
SIMPLE PHRASES OF TWO-WORDS, AND SENTENCES. HOWEVER, THERE WILL
BE MANY ERRORS IN THEIR UTTERANCES.
• MOST OF THE NEW WORDS THEY CAN USE RELATE TO THE CLASSROOM
3. SPEECH EMERGENCE STAGE:
• LEARNERS CAN COMMUNICATE WITH SIMPLE PHRASES AND SENTENCES
USING LONGER WORDS AND MORE COMPLICATED STRUCTURES. HOWEVER,
THEY STILL RELY HEAVILY ON CONTEXT CLUES AND FAMILIAR TOPICS.
• THEIR ERRORS BEGIN TO DECREASE SPECIFICALLY IN REPEATED
CONTEXTS.
• THEY CAN START SIMPLE CONVERSATIONS WITH CLASSMATES.
• CAN UNDERSTAND DIFFERENT TOPICS AND STORIES READ IN CLASSES.
4. INTERMEDIATE FLUENCY STAGE
• LEARNERS HAVE A LARGE BODY OF ACTIVE VOCABULARY.
• THEY START TO USE MORE COMPLEX SENTENCES IN WRITING AND
SPEAKING.
• THEY CAN EXPRESS OPINION AND SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS.
• THEY CAN SPEAK FLUENTLY WITH MINIMAL ERRORS
NEW CONTEXTS AND ACADEMIC LANGUAGE SEEM TO BE CHALLENGING FOR
LEARNERS DUE TO GAPS IN VOCABULARY, IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS, AND
PHRASES. NEW FIELDS LIKE COMPUTER SCIENCE, MEDICINE, JOURNALISM,
ETC. SEEM TO BE DIFFICULT FOR SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNERS TO TALK OR
WRITE ABOUT AS THEY STILL LACK THE APPROPRIATE WORDS. BODY
SYSTEMS, ORGANS DISEASES MEDICAL EXPRESSIONS
LEARNERS, AT THIS STAGE, PRODUCE MANY ERRORS WHEN WRITING IN
TARGET LANGUAGE.
1. DUE TO THE COMPLEXITY OF THE TARGET LANGUAGE GRAMMAR AND
STRUCTURES.
2. THE USE OF THE NATIVE LANGUAGE KNOWLEDGE. LEARNERS TRANSFER
THE STRUCTURES OF THEIR NATIVE LANGUAGE (FIRST LANGUAGE) TO THE
SECOND LANGUAGE.
5. ADVANCED FLUENCY STAGE
• IT TAKES FROM 4-10 YEARS TO ACHIEVE COGNITIVE LANGUAGE
PROFICIENCY IN SECOND LANGUAGE.
• AT THIS STAGE, LEARNERS ARE CLOSE TO NATIVE LANGUAGE FLUENCY AND
CAN INTERACT WELL IN VARIETY OF SITUATIONS.
• THEY SHOW A HIGH LEVEL OF LANGUAGE ORAL AND WRITTEN PRODUCTION.