1 Introduction

Welcome to this introduction to second language acquisition. What is second

language acquisition (SLA)? In brief, this term refers to beginning the learning
of another language after a first language (L1) has been acquired.
Note that opinions vary about what might be considered the earliest age from
which second language learning would be differentiated from simultaneous
language acquisition or bilingual first language acquisition (two languages
learned at the same time). In general, however, second language acquisition
describes learning another language after the early years of childhood. (Note
that the importance of age in acquiring another language will be discussed in
Chapter 7, and issues related to bilingual acquisition and bilingualism will be
discussed in Chapter 9.)
Second language acquisition is a phenomenon found among people from all
parts of the world and all walks of life. The well-known biblical story about the
Tower of Babel is one of the earliest references to the importance and urgency
of knowing another language. According to the biblical account, in order to
prevent people from cooperating in their goal of building a tower in the town
of Babel that would reach heaven, God commanded “Go to, let us go down, and
there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s
speech.” The tactic was successful and different language groups abandoned
their project and moved to separate areas of the world.
Of course it is not necessary to believe the biblical story of Babel to under-
stand the importance of being able to communicate with one’s neighbor or with
an individual on the other side of the globe. The desire to learn another language
might stem from a personal choice to broaden one’s horizons or from a more
complex set of life circumstances, such as an urgent need to find a job in a
new country. In addition, the growing ubiquity of international travel, along
with electronic means of communicating across time zones, has increased

Introducing Second Language Acquisition: Perspectives and Practices, First Edition.

Kirsten M. Hummel.
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
2 Introduction

opportunities to interact with speakers of other languages and, for many, may
trigger the desire to undertake the learning of another language.
Second language acquisition is
a phenomenon that millions of
individuals worldwide are engaged
in, and it is also a distinct field of
study. The principal aim of this
book is to provide an overview of
the main concepts, issues, and
debates in the field of second lan-
guage acquisition, referring to past
and current research to illustrate
these issues. There has been a huge
increase in empirical research in
the past few decades on a wide
variety of dimensions related to
SLA. Discussions throughout the
book will refer to this research
by highlighting specific studies to
clarify important concepts and
themes.
Research into second language
acquisition is a truly multidiscipli-
Cartoon 1.1 2/15/2000, http://www.reverendfun.com/needy/. nary endeavor. Some of the major
disciplines that contribute to SLA
include theoretical linguistics, education, psychology, and sociology. In the past
several decades, the field of second language acquisition has increasingly come
to be recognized as a discipline of its own, supported by an abundant research
literature. Universities now regularly offer courses in “second language acquisi-
tion” whereas in earlier years the subject was only briefly reviewed in the context
of a basic introductory linguistics or second language pedagogy course, if at all.
Today, disciplines as varied as theoretical linguistics, speech pathology, and
educational psychology refer to aspects of the SLA research literature in their
own fields, and in some instances data from SLA are used in testing theoretical
models or describing concepts in other disciplines.
Note that an additional distinction between “second” language acquisition
and “foreign” language acquisition is an important one in some contexts. In such
cases, “second language acquisition” applies to circumstances in which the lan-
guage learned (the target language) is generally the dominant language used in
the learner’s environment (such as an immigrant’s learning English in the United
States), while “foreign language acquisition” indicates that the learner lives in
the L1 environment and contact with target language speakers is not widely
available (such as learning English in Beijing, China). In this regard, in the
context of learning English, a frequent abbreviation is “ESL” to refer to “English
as a second language” and “EFL” for “English as a foreign language”. The use of
the term “second language acquisition” throughout this book generally includes
 Introduction 3

foreign language acquisition, although the latter term will be used when it is
important to make a distinction between the two circumstances.
The study of second language acquisition also generally encompasses the
acquisition of a third or additional languages (sometimes referred to as the study
of multilingualism), although research specifically devoted to describing how
third (or more) language acquisition might resemble or differ from SLA is
increasing.
In addition, this book uses the terms “acquisition” and “learning” inter-
changeably as this usage has been generally adopted by scholars in the field (see,
for example, Ortega, 2009, p. 5).
Why study second language acquisition? To start, here are a number of ques-
tions that one might one want some answers to:
• Is second language acquisition like first language acquisition?
• Does the first language help or get in the way of second language learning?
• What are some of the circumstances in which people learn a second language?
• Do innate capacities play an important role in second language acquisition?
• Why do we make mistakes in a second language?
• Do learners need their errors to be explicitly corrected?
• Are there any universal processes affecting SLA?
• Is there a teaching method that has proved to be more successful than
others?
• Can adults learn to speak a second language as well as native speakers?
• What about individual differences? Are there factors that enable some people
to learn aspects of a second language better or faster than others?
• Are there certain learning strategies that seem particularly useful?
• What happens when children learn two languages at the same time? Do they
end up confused and does one or both of their languages suffer?
• Can bilinguals “turn off ” or ignore one of their languages?
Our exploration throughout the field of SLA will offer some responses to the pre-
ceding questions. We begin in Chapter 2 by examining first language acquisition.
A basic understanding of this universal process, noting ways in which it resembles
or differs from second language acquisition, should be useful for gaining a clearer
view of SLA. In the following chapter, Chapter 3, the reader is introduced to some
of the variety of contexts, both naturalistic and classroom-related, associated with
the learning of a second language. Chapter 4 presents an overview of main theo-
retical views underlying the field. Chapter 5 recognizes the importance of SLA
applications to language teaching, an area of interest for a growing number of
practitioners: predominant teaching approaches and methods are presented, fol-
lowed by a look at some current instructional issues. Development of the L2
learner’s language is the focus of Chapter 6. Chapter 7 begins an exploration into
individual difference factors, by focusing on the effect of the learner’s age on SLA.
Additional individual difference factors, such as aptitude and motivation, are
discussed in Chapter 8. Finally, in Chapter 9, the overlapping discipline of bilin-
gualism is explored, with a look at characteristics of simultaneous language acqui-
sition along with the possible cognitive effects of bilingualism.
4 Introduction

To help illustrate concepts and issues, starting with Chapter 3 on language

learning contexts we will follow six fictional language learners who are profiled
throughout the book. These individuals each have their own unique back-
grounds and experiences with second language acquisition. The learners pro-
filed are:
• Mila, a widowed woman with two teenaged sons, who immigrated to the
United States from her native war-ravaged Bosnia during the early 1990s;
• Steve, an American university student who chose to study abroad in Beijing
for a year;
• Linda, a Boston schoolteacher who followed her passion for Italian opera to
Tuscany, Italy;
• Alberto, growing up bilingual in English and Spanish in Southern
California;
• Walid, also bilingual, but in Arabic and English, living near Detroit,
Michigan;
• Xia Mei, a native speaker of Cantonese who is learning English in an immer-
sion program at her high school in Hong Kong.
In addition, to clarify connections between research and practice, throughout
the chapters the reader will encounter “Language learning in practice” textboxes
illustrating the more practical applications of discussed research and theoretical
approaches. Other features have also been included to aid in understanding the
book’s material. For example, new terms which may be unfamiliar to readers
are bolded throughout the text and defined in the margins as well as in the end-
of-book glossary. Also, readers can test their own knowledge after reading each
chapter by doing the “Self-assessment questions” and by checking their answers
at the online site (www.wiley.com/go/hummel). Classroom discussions can be
stimulated after each chapter using the “Discussion questions” feature and stu-
dents can undertake projects with reference to the “Exercises/Study projects”
section. Each chapter also contains an annotated “Further reading and viewing”
section which allows students to follow up on subjects treated in that chapter.
Since second language acquisition is an area of study that is increasingly
recognized as relevant to a number of disciplines, I have attempted to write this
book so that it will be accessible to any undergraduate student needing a basic
introduction to the field. I hope it is also accessible to the general reader without
a specialized academic background who is simply interested in learning more
about second language acquisition.
We will begin this exploration by looking at first language acquisition. I hope
you enjoy the journey!

reference
Ortega, L. (2009). Understanding second language acquisition. London: Hodder Education.