Learning a language and acquiring one are two different but parallel paths that lead to the same destination: individuals becoming proficient in a language. The most elementary and most important distinction entails the stage of life in which the language is taught. This and other distinctions drive home the necessity for teachers to know how and when to optimally teach a language to their students (Lightbown & Spada, 2013).
The subconscious process through which children learn to speak their first language is called language acquisition. It is not a taught phenomenon but rather a naturally occurring impulse that propels children toward speech (Krashen, 1982). The impetus seems to come from within the child. Even in the absence of formal instruction, children have the innate ability to pick up language patterns, sounds, and structures, using their environment and their interactions with parents and peers as the primary vehicle for learning (Brown, 2007). Though young children seem to be primarily "silent" (in that they are not making much speech) during the first part of the language acquisition process, they are actually doing a lot of "listening" (or "synthesising") to the sort of speech they hear around them (Gass & Selinker, 2008). And not just any kind of speech. Young children seem to be programming themselves to understand both the surface level and deep structure of the first language they hear (Ellis, 1997).
In my experience teaching kids online, I've seen that they acquire language in the same effortless, natural way as in a physical classroom and at home. Language acquisition happens through exposure, play, feedback, and the meaningful use of language in context. Although we're not in the same room, we have something akin to immersion in the digital "classroom," where learners pick up structures, vocabulary, and even the rhythms of language in pretty much the same way they'd do it face-to-face.
By contrast, the process of learning a language is a more formal and conscious affair, typically associated with the acquisition of second languages, particularly among older children and adult learners (Lightbown & Spada, 2013). When people learn a second language, they often do so with the aid of direct and relatively formal instructional methods. They study grammar more or less overtly, memorise vocabulary, and practice what are, in effect, contrived dialogues (Pinker, 1994). Though these methods can help you as a learner understand the mechanical as well as the more formal aspects of a language, they do not necessarily propel you toward any sort of meaningful fluency—in part because they largely ignore the informal and meaningful aspects of language as well as the fact that good language learners are often rather good memorisers (Krashen, 1982).
The age at which a person learns a language determines how the brain will store that language. Early bilinguals learn to use both languages in the same area of the brain (Gass & Selinker, 2008). Language acquisition in this shared brain region allows for superior efficiency in using both languages, underscoring the socio-cognitive nature of bilingualism (Brown, 2007). In contrast, late bilinguals must use separate areas in the brain for their two languages. The reasons for these differences are still a matter of debate among neuroscientists (Pinker, 1994). Clearly, though, all bilinguals face substantial mental-health benefits from being proficient with two languages. In addition, successful bilinguals lead extremely efficient brains (Gass & Selinker, 2008). Finally, the bilingual brain must be understood as a socially situated brain. Regardless of when the two languages are learnt or in what sort of contexts they are used, all bilinguals share the same efficient brain structures and processes (Ellis, 1997).
To sum up, the natural and effortless acquisition of language happens for humans largely in childhood, and it is noticeably more prevalent in the youngest of our species. Children possess not just the drive but also the need to communicate. They absorb language in a way that seems not just natural but, at times, nearly magical. In my eight years of teaching children, I have been nothing but amazed at how young language learners acquire not just vocabulary but also linguistic structure without explicit, conscious instruction.
On the other hand, learning a language is a much more aware and specified process, which is usually undertaken by the older child or the adult and not, for example, by the toddler. We tend to use “language study” and “language learning” synonymously, but they are not the same. Vocabulary and grammar are the two basic components of language study. We have to understand grammar to understand (and make) sentences. And no matter how many words we know, we can’t use a language without its grammar.
Bilinguals have a clearer distinction between the two languages. For early bilinguals, both languages tap into the same brain processes, which makes for a more efficient system (Paradis, 2004). Separate acquisitions of two languages, however, can lead to the use of different and more effortful brain systems, as is the case for late bilinguals (Hakuta, 2001). Despite these differences, both early and late bilinguals enjoy enhanced cognitive flexibility (Bialystok, 2009).
- Reece Benson
Sharing insights on language learning and teaching.
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