Language Acquisition vs. Language Learning
I have been asked why I chose Acquire-English for the name of my website. After all, if I teach English, presumably, my students “learn English.” Here is a basic distinction. Please note that both learning and acquisition are important. My goal is to help my students acquire FLUENCY English communications, both in their speaking and writing. Research shows that acquiring a language leads to fluency faster than memorizing rules, and that fluency is also retained longer than memorization. Acquisition is the more natural way to become fluent. Many of my students find that I do not immediately correct all of their speaking and writing mistakes. Over time, I will address all errors, but, in the beginning, it is more important for the student to communicate than to be accurate. not all mistakes are as important as other errors, so it is more efficient to “pick and choose” the mistakes that should be corrected, immediately. Other corrections will come with time and practice.
“There is an important distinction made by linguists between language acquisition and language learning. Children acquire language through a subconscious process during which they are unaware of grammatical rules. This is similar to the way they acquire their first language. They get a feel for what is and what isn’t correct. In order to acquire language, the learner needs a source of natural communication. The emphasis is on the text of the communication and not on the form. (emphasis added) Young students who are in the process of acquiring English get plenty of “on the job” practice. They readily acquire the language to communicate with classmates.
“Language learning, on the other hand, is not communicative. It is the result of direct instruction in the rules of language. And it certainly is not an age-appropriate activity for your young learners. In language learning, students have conscious knowledge of the new language and can talk about that knowledge. They can fill in the blanks on a grammar page. Research has shown, however, that knowing grammar rules does not necessarily result in good speaking or writing. A student who has memorized the rules of the language may be able to succeed on a standardized test of English language but may not be able to speak or write correctly. (emphasis added)”
—– Judie Haynes, everything ESL
Excerpt from Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition, pg. 10 by Stephen D Krashen; retrieved September 3, 2015 from http://www.sdkrashen.com/content/books/principles_and_practice.pdf
THE ACQUISITION-LEARNING DISTINCTION
The acquisition-learning distinction is perhaps the most fundamental of all the hypotheses to be presented here. It states that adults have two distinct and independent ways of developing competence in a second language.
The first way is language acquisition, a process similar, if not identical to the way children develop ability in their first language. Language acquisition is a subconscious process; language acquirers are not usually aware of the fact that they are acquiring language, but are only aware of the fact that they are using the language for communication. The result of language acquisition, acquired competence, is also subconscious. We are generally not consciously aware of the rules of the languages we have acquired. Instead, we have a “feel” for correctness. Grammatical sentences “sound” right, or “feel” right, and errors feel wrong, even if we do not consciously know what rule was violated.
Other ways of describing acquisition include implicit learning, informal learning, and natural learning. In non-technical language, acquisition is “picking-up” a language.
The second way to develop competence in a second language is by language learning. We will use the term “learning” henceforth to refer to conscious knowledge of a second language, knowing the rules, being aware of them, and being able to talk about them. In non-technical terms, learning is “knowing about” a language, known to most people as “grammar”, or “rules”. Some synonyms include formal knowledge of a language, or explicit learning.
Some second language theorists have assumed that children acquire, while adults can only learn. The acquisition-learning hypothesis claims, however, that adults also acquire, that the ability to “pick-up” languages does not disappear at puberty. This does not mean that adults will always be able to achieve native-like levels in a second language. It does mean that adults can access the same natural “language acquisition device” that children use. As we shall see later, acquisition is a very powerful process in the adult.