First Language Vs L2 Acquisition Essay

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The analysis of first language (L1) and second language (L2) acquisition has always been a controversial subject to many linguists such as Krashen (1982) and Ipek (1984). Their theories regarding the characteristics of each L1 and L2 acquisition illustrate that they have both similarities and differences. Even when it comes to the similarities and differences, linguistics have different opinions. This paper covers similarities and differences that have been investigated and gathered by different theorists. L1 and L2 acquisition share several similarities. First of all, regarding the language acquisition stages. There are similar patterns in learning a language, whether it is for L1 or L2. Ross Ellis suggested that there are three developmental stages that any language learner goes through (1984, cited in Ipek, 2009). The first one is the silent period, which is when the learner starts by listening to the language without any interaction. According to Ipek (2009), in the case of second language learning in an academic context, learners might be forced to skip this stage. The second one is the formulaic speech, which is when the learner memorizes expressions and uses them frequently. …show more content…

Asher and Garcia proposed that the reason why it is easier for children than adults to learn a language is due to the playful environment in which they are being taught, which is different that the contextual situation of adults (as cited in Frith, n.d.). Liu and Cao (2016) discovered in an experiment that L2 processing is a lot more challenging that L1 processing because it involves more regions in the brain. According to Liu and Cao (2016), the critical period exists because the brain undergoes deterioration of the ability to process language and the intrusion of the existing linguistic system. This shows how L1 and L2 shape the functional bilingual

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