Five Stages Of Second Language Acquisition

The learning of a foreign language is such a complex process that involves a multitude of factors. Among these factors, one can mention the age and length of exposure to language as two determining and influential factors. The present researchers’ years of teaching experiences show that students who start language learning before the puberty age are different from those who start their language education at later times. Besides, the learners'intellectual and cognitive maturity makes them perform differently in different skills. Another important variable is the duration of language education. These factors have been covered to a large extent by different scholars. Outstanding among them is the famous critical period hypothesis.

There are two ways to acquire second or foreign languages. It can

This is feasible by attending schools in the target country, watching television, listening to radio and reading newspapers in second language. By being actively involved in the learning atmosphere, the learner is always in touch with the target language through normal daily chores. It is extremely vital in second language acquisition to look at the learning environment and investigate if the age factor has any relevant effect.

Five phases of Second Language Acquisition are as follows: It is generally believed that the process of second language acquisition takes place in various stages. In order to examine SLA, looking at the five stages of second language acquisition seems inevitable. Haynes (2007) calls the first stage as ‘preproduction’ which is also referred to as “the silent period” in which language learners gradually constitute their vocabulary to a range of 500 words without being able to speak the language but just pretending to echo the language. After that comes the second