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1st language and 2nd language aquisition When looking at the learning of a second language, there have been many theories as to how it is best to teach this second language. This article looks at how people learn their first language to give insight as to how the second language should be taught. While the settings of the language one (L1) and language two (L2) are quite different, the author suggests that L2 should be taught in a way as similar as possible to how L1 is taught. It has been found that most of the difficulty in learning a second language is present in the fact that there is no emotional tie to learning the language. Usually with the learning of the first language a person has everyone and their environment involved in their learning where as when learning a second language it is compartmentalized into a section of their life. One of the most important things that this article states is that for a person to learn a second language best, the teacher has to teach to the student?s needs and interests. If a teacher is aware of what the students want out of learning English, it will make their entire learning process smoother. It also states that students will be more likely to learn better if they are being taught things that they can use in their present day to day life. If they are learning something they will use in the future then they are less likely to pay as much attention to that piece of information. The author also focuses on the fact that the quality of learning is based on the learner themselves. All people have different cognitive abilities and that affects how they pick up on a second language. They also point out the cognitive differences between young learners and older ones. It was pointed out that younger learners would be more likely to be on the same level of acquisition in their L1 and L2 languages so the transition between the two isn?t as difficult. For older learners they tend to learn in a different order and pick up on different concepts. They also state that teachers need to focus their curriculum on where students are cognitively to achieve the best learning results. This sometimes makes it easier for older learners because they have already picked up on certain language structures in their L1 so they might know tricks for learning it in their L2. Cognitively the authors also looked at how a learner?s short and long term memory capacity could affect their learning of a second language. While it may be easier in the long run for children to pick up a second language, while they are learning their memory stores cannot handle what an adult learner?s can. They tend to simplify things in their minds and when asked questions or to repeat something, this is extremely visible. That being said teaching from an earlier age will always be more natural and more like the way that people learn their first language both environmentally and cognitively.
