Second language

A second language is the non-native language of a person or territory, that is, a language learned after the critical period of acquisition by a person after being a competent speaker of their mother tongue.

It is necessary to make a distinction between the terms 'second language' and 'foreign language'. A foreign language (FL) is called a language that does not belong to the country of the individual who wishes to learn it. For example, for a French-speaking Canadian, English is considered a second language, since Canada has two official languages: English and French. However, Spanish is considered a foreign language, since it is not part of the official languages of the country.

The concepts of second language and bilingualism must also be distinguished, since the same person may have learned more than one native or maternal language and in such case the term second language does not apply to said languages. Since in both cases the intention is to learn a different language, the most common and implemented term is learning a second language.

From the moment in which humanity felt the need to learn a second language, whether for cultural, economic, research or scientific reasons, studies have emerged on what processes or methods should be implemented for learning a second language. In this sense, two of the most common and main methods have been identified, which explain how an individual learns a second language: acquisition and learning.

Differences between a second language and a foreign language

Difference between second language and foreign language

It is important to understand the differences between a second language (L2) and a foreign language (FL). Although both the learning of the L2 and a FL are based on the acquisition of a language other than the mother tongue, they enjoy a substantial and basic difference: the L2 is learned in a linguistic community in which that fulfills a social and institutional function, but the FL has a different method of learning, since it is learned in a linguistic environment completely foreign to the language being studied.

It could be affirmed that the teaching of L2 and that of the FL are different in that they pursue different purposes, in the different preparation and selection of the professionals who teach it, in the previous notions of the students, in the interests of teachers, etc. In essence, the conclusion is that the differences are more social than linguistic.

The case of Spain can be taken as an example, since it is possible to find different bilingual areas, such as Catalonia, the Basque Country or Galicia, among others. It is not usual to find places where the territorial borders coincide with the linguistic limits, but these areas are an example of language convergence, since a good part of the population speaks the two official languages of their area. It can then be observed, for example, that in the Catalan autonomous community both Spanish and Catalan are official, so someone born in Catalonia who is fluent in both languages will be bilingual. However, if a person born and raised in the Community of Madrid (who has Spanish as their mother tongue) decides to learn Catalan, they will have this language as L2 or second language.

Even so, the difference between L2 and FL is not always so obvious, since in some cases it is difficult to determine the environment and circumstances of learning a language.

Second Language Acquisition

Second language acquisition is called the gradual process of development and incorporation of the characteristics of the second language, which is carried out by an individual using natural (non-academic) techniques and which they already master. a mother tongue or own language.

Within the process of acquiring a second language we find:

Exhibition

Through exposure, the individual, who will acquire the second language, carries out a less conscious cognitive process than those who learn it. This individual acquires the second language through constant physical exposure to the surrounding environment.

For example, young children who witness the use of the second language are more likely to acquire it much faster. This is the case with the children of immigrants in their day-to-day life in the host country; these children will be, like their parents, at a high level of exposure to the second language. In the same way, adults who end up learning the second language due to the constant social contact in which they are involved.

Regarding phonological development, it is important that the exposure be early, since at birth we are the universal listener and we discriminate the approximately 200 phonemes that exist in the world, but later we are already selecting those phonemes from our environment in function of the input that we receive, and we are losing sensitivity for the phonemes that we do not hear. In this sense, it is important that the exposure to the language be through people who are natives of that language; otherwise, the phonological model will not be of quality, the communicative interaction will not be genuine and, above all, in natural, real learning contexts and with a clear communicative function through social interaction with these language models, and not through screens.

Interaction

Experts say that in order to learn a language satisfactorily, it is necessary to put it into practice in real and direct interactions with other people, expressing our messages clearly and making sure that whoever listens to us understands us. understands. At the same time, the interlocutor or interlocutors let us know directly or indirectly if they are understanding us or not. In the event that our message is not understood, it is necessary to resort to paraphrasing and try a different construction. The most positive aspect of this formula is that individuals feel the need to experiment with the language, try new structures, expressions and words, helping to automate them and produce them more naturally in the future.

The social interaction factor is one of the most important in learning, not only of an L2 but of language in general. Several scientific studies reveal that phonic/audiovisual/etc. they are much less effective than social interaction. Patricia Kuhl's research and experiments have been fundamental in reaching these conclusions. The interaction can be seen within the framework of Lev Vygotsky's sociocultural theory, where learning is understood as an act of collaboration between individuals. Over time, the individual ends up establishing the knowledge and stops needing the help of others.

Learning a second language

Learning is the name given to the conscious process of accumulation and study of the grammatical and syntactic characteristics and memorization of vocabulary of the language to be learned. Where the difference between learning and acquisition from the linguistic point of view should be emphasized. The term learning is more commonly used to describe the process of studying a second language in a general way.

Study of form

As mentioned above, the study of form consists of a formal study of the main characteristics of the second language. In the vast majority of cases, this study is carried out in public or private establishments such as nurseries, schools, high schools, institutes, universities, etc. According to the establishment and its regulations, they meet certain criteria at the time of teaching the second language. Objectives such as the development of five competent skills in the use of the second language: reading comprehension, listening comprehension, oral production, written production and pronunciation. Currently, various means and resources are used, such as social networks, to ensure that the learning and acquisition of the second language is as contextualized as possible and is connected with the communities.

Intercultural or sociocultural competence

Especially from the business field, the need to learn not only the management and skills of an L2 (written production, oral production, reading comprehension and listening comprehension) has been highlighted, but also the sociocultural knowledge of the country or the countries in which that language is developed.

Some objectives are intended to be achieved:

• handle lexicon that does not have translation or equivalent in the mother tongue (L1).
• handle lexicon with danger of being misplaced to the sociocultural context of the speaker.
• methods of non-verbal communication (said with two kisses in Spain in a particular environment).
• typical uses in ritual behaviors of everyday life.

Barriers

Within the success of the learning process or acquisition of a second language, it could be the case that the individual presents some inconveniences or barriers. Some of these barriers that influence the process are of a natural nature, such as: age, learning problems, fossilization, individual interest, health problems, frustrations, etc.

As well as external barriers, which occur around the individual and that somehow affect the learning process of the same: Factors such as the quality of the teaching provided by the entity in charge where the knowledge about the language to be learned, the individual may be under pressure or obligation to learn that language, not having the necessary or sufficient time due to other occupations with a level of greater importance (work or children), family or personal problems, etc.

The following are some of the most common cases.

Affective factors

The concept of affective factor is related to the set of experiences, whether good or bad, and the feelings related to their learning process through which they experience said experiences; regarding interference with the learning process. Special cases where the factors mentioned above create obstacles between the student, the environment that surrounds him and his teacher.

This point has been considered a research topic in recent decades, since within it are possible solutions to learning or coexistence problems that a student may experience.

Fossilization

It is a linguistic phenomenon that consists in the fact that the student who learns a second language transfers to the second language characteristics of their first language, such as pronunciation, grammatical aspects or vocabulary.

In most cases, this phenomenon causes the student to experience a blockage (a stagnation) that does not allow them to progress in their process of progressive improvement and does not allow them to reach the same capacities or competences as a native speaker possesses by nature.

Effect of age

Age plays an important role in the process of learning a second language. As previously mentioned, a six-year-old child does not have the same intellectual and learning capacities as a 16- or 17-year-old adolescent (within this stage the student is still within his flexible cognitive capacities and optimal for learning the second language) or an adult, who mostly has responsibilities of a more important nature or has a full-time job, will not have the same abilities as a young person, who has more time available for your studies.

However, some experts say that age is not as conclusive as the number of hours spent studying and learning the L2. A student who begins to study L2 at the age of 20 can be as or more competent than one who began to learn at 8 years of age. However, it is true that the younger the apprentice, the better his accent; that means that someone who learns to speak an L2 as an adult will always have a "foreign accent" and native speakers will recognize it as such.

Communicative approaches

Communicative approaches consist of the purposes for which a second language is learned. In many cases, this language is learned for a purely work purpose; the subject needs to speak the other language to be able to make a business trip abroad or simply to obtain a specific job.

On the other hand, you learn a foreign language for travel purposes; For example, a family that is going to move abroad and before that, they decide to take practical courses to get a base of the new language.

Finally, we have the academic reason, where the subject learns the language because it is part of their curriculum or part of their core school subjects.

Due to the increase in immigration around the world, many people whose language is different from the local one use public services. In principle, all people should have access to these services, since in many cases equal access is required by law. Likewise, good communication is important so that they can provide effective help to those who use them. In this sense, communication problems can lead to making wrong decisions and poor results, so communications that are adapted to people with limited language skills in the country in which they reside should be offered.

A systematic review of four comparative studies examined the effectiveness of communication aids between public services and immigrants. These aids were divided into three categories:

• Oral or direct communication.
• Written communication.
• Wider help.

The results suggest that there are no clear indications as to whether any particular interpretation approach works better than another. On the other hand, a study proposed that an English as a Second Language course that integrates parental knowledge and behavior was more effective than a standard course. Given the small number of studies, these findings may not be reliable.

History of the lingua francas

Currently, English is the language most frequently presented as a second language among multilingual speakers, after the end of World War II in September 1945. This is due to socio-economic and geopolitical factors, both by the historical influence of the Anglo-Saxon countries as well as the fact that English, especially since the 20th century, has been the main language of diplomacy and the publication of scientific papers. This has meant that there is a greater amount of recently published information (physically and digitally) in this language than in any other.

Historically, the second most widespread language in Europe (the lingua franca) had been until the 14th century Latin. This has been used by the Catholic Church, in Law (it is still used today), in Medicine and in the biological classification of animals, plants, fruits, etc. (scientific name). Latin was so widely used that it was known as the vulgar language (of the vulgar, of the people). For this reason, the translation that Jerome of Estridon (Saint Jerome) made into Latin of the Bible in the fifth century is known as the Vulgate.

Between the late 17th century and XIX, French was for a time the second language of much of Europe. Later, the influence of this language spread with the colonization of the French Empire to the Asian, African and American continents.

In other regions of the planet there have been other important second languages.

• In the early states of Mesopotamia and the Middle East, approximately between the 20th century BC and 15th BC, the acadium was widely used in diplomatic relations, while the sumerium for a similar period was studied as a language of culture in certain areas of knowledge. Subsequently, the Aramaic replaced both languages as a second language in the area.
• In the far east, the Sanskrit was a second important language in both India and Southeast Asia and Indonesia. And further north the classic Chinese was a second language studied by scholars from Vietnam, Korea and Japan as a second language.
• In North America a sign language was used as a means of intergroup communication between the peoples of the great meadows, mainly. In Mesoamerica, shortly before the arrival of Europeans and for a while after the arrival of these, the nahuatl was widely used as lingua franca. And in South America the quechua expanded basically as a second language of understanding in the Inca empire, as the original language of the first incas seems to have been the pukina.

Neuromyths

There are many neuromyths about bilingualism and multilingualism, such as that we must wait to learn another language until we master the first, that when we learn a second language we lose the first, that different languages occupy separate areas in the brain, or that bilingual children are smarter.

These beliefs are not scientifically proven. If the boy or girl grows up in a multilingual environment, what we are likely to observe is a certain slowdown in the appearance of speech compared to children who grow up in a monolingual environment, as well as a mixture of languages in their oral productions in the early years. However, if the exposure to the language is of quality and genuine, these difficulties will disappear when the child is already a competent speaker, easily differentiating one language from another, without mixing or confusion. On the other hand, although speaking more than one language does not increase intelligence, various benefits have been observed at the cognitive level (attention skills, cognitive flexibility and social cognition, understood as a greater ease of putting oneself in another's place or empathy). The most noticeable benefit that studies have shown is that it could delay the onset of neurodegenerative diseases.