A Brief Description of Second Language Acquisition

This essay serves as a summary of several of the seminal theories of second language acquisition. It is meant to be used as a supplemental resource for those users who are looking for a more detailed description of the theories mentioned throughout the module. While the perspectives discussed here are theoretical in nature, they are grounded in the needs of the classroom teacher who is increasingly likely to be faced with growing numbers of English language learners in her classroom. Teachers of second language students are faced with many challenges and often have questions about how to best teach these students. Common questions include: • How long does it take to learn a second language? • What do we know about second language learners? • What influences the learning of a second language? • What can I do in my classroom to facilitate the process of second language acquisition? • What should I expect the second language learners in my classroom to be able to do? This paper will address the above questions through an analysis of two second language acquisition theories which have greatly influenced second language teaching today: Nativist Theory, and Environmentalist Theory. Nativist theory explores the linguistic aspects of language acquisition and provides an answer to the question of how people acquire a second language. However, this theory does not adequately address the environmental factors which can affect language acquisition. Environmentalists suggest that social and psychological factors are equally as important as linguistic factors in second language acquisition. This article provides a brief description of both theories and discusses the principal researchers within each camp and the contributions they have made to the teaching and understanding of second language acquisition.