What is a second language (L2)?

A second language, or a second language, is what a person speaks without it being their native language. More specifically, it is the language that a person learned after having developed their mother tongue during their childhood. In linguistics the mother tongue, first language or native language is called L1; while the second language is called L2.

Second language and foreign language

In some cases a distinction is made between a second language and a foreign language (FL). A foreign language is a language that is not spoken in the country or region where the person who speaks or wants to learn a second language is from.

In some regions of Patagonia, southern Chile and Argentina, Spanish and Mapudungun, the language of the original Mapuche people, are spoken. The first language would be the one that was incorporated during childhood; in the case of a Mapuche community, this would be Mapudungun. The second language would be the one that was incorporated later, that is, Spanish. Meanwhile, English, a second language widely spread in these countries, would be a foreign language. Although in both cases it is about the incorporation of a language other than the mother tongue, the difference lies in the environment in which the process takes place and therefore also in the learning methods.

A second distinction between second language and bilingualism can also be noted in this example. When the cultural environment of a person determined that they incorporate two languages ​​at the same time, the term bilingual applies, and it is differentiated from the second language. If in the community of the previous example the two languages ​​are learned at the same time, we would be facing a case of bilingualism. Meanwhile, if the learning of Spanish is later than that of Mapudungun, it would speak of a second language.

The term second language denotes an intention to learn a language other than the one learned in the childhood stage of oral language development. This intention to incorporate a second language is widespread, and is essential in many situations. There can be many possible motivations such as the development of scientific or research activities that involve the use of a language common to all researchers; the insertion of a person in a social environment that speaks a different language; cultural or economic reasons, or simply have better training to access a job.

On the complexity of second languages

Although the previous classifications seem simple, the enormous diversity of languages ​​and situations that can be found in the different societies denote the great complexity of the subject. There are few places in the world where only one language is spoken. In London people speak more than 300 languages ​​and 32% of children live in homes where English is not the main language. In Australia, 15.5% of the population speaks a language other than English at home, with 200 languages ​​being spoken in the societies of that country. In the Congo people speak 212 African languages, while the official language is French. 66 languages ​​are spoken in Pakistan, the most important being Punjabi, Sindhi, Siraiki, Pashtu and Urdu.

The level of knowledge of a second language, the motivation, the social or cultural environment in which the learning took place or in which it is carried out, can be associated with extremely diverse situations. The range of situations is vast and can go from the functional management of the second language to communicate in a basic way on a tourist trip, to its incorporation and daily use at a level similar to that of a native speaker.

Acquisition and learning of a second language

The process of incorporating a mother tongue is usually fast, being part of the learning processes of children’s first years. On the other hand, learning a second language usually involves a long process. Two ways of incorporating a second language are distinguished; acquisition and learning. In the learning process, academic techniques are used where grammatical structures, syntax and vocabulary are studied. A second language acquisition process takes place without the use of learning techniques; it is by direct contact with the new language.

In a process of acquiring a second language, there are two stages.

Exposure

Exposure is the contact of the person who acquires the second language with a social environment in which that language is spoken. This happens with immigrants who begin to insert themselves into a new social environment without speaking their language.

It is important that exposure to new phonemes, which are the sounds that make up words, is as quick as possible. At birth, people are able to discriminate around 200 phonemes, but as they grow older they lose the sensitivity to notice the differences and the already acquired phonemes are fixed. Therefore. In the exposure stage, direct contact with native people is important in order to properly incorporate new phonemes.

Interaction

A second stage in the acquisition of a second language is interaction, that is, expressing oneself and interacting with other people using the new language. The feedback from this interaction is essential for the development of the acquisition, and in situations in which the message is not correctly understood, it is necessary to insist on resorting to paraphrasing, trying different words or expressions. In these situations, people have to experiment with the new language, trying out new structures, words and expressions that are gradually incorporated. Social interaction is one of the most important factors in learning a new language. Various scientific studies have shown that social interaction is a more effective stimulus than audiovisual and phonetic methods. 

institutional learning

Unlike natural acquisition, learning a second language usually takes place in an educational institution or following guided procedures. The learning procedures usually raise the development of five skills; reading comprehension, oral comprehension, writing, oral expression and pronunciation. In some cases, knowledge of socio-cultural aspects of the country in which the second language being learned is spoken is also raised.

Difficulties in incorporating a second language

In the process of incorporating a second language difficulties may arise that limit or condition their learning. The quality of teaching and the aptitude of the student are fundamental aspects. It also often happens that the student does not have the motivation or enough time to adequately develop the educational process. In some cases affective factors arise in the learning process, both positive and negative. Negative affective factors can generate difficulties between the student and the teacher, with the environment in which the learning process takes place, as well as in the student’s attitude towards the activity.

Another difficulty that can arise when incorporating a second language is fossilization. The term alludes to the translation of elements from the mother tongue to the second language that is being incorporated; these elements can be expressions, vocabulary, grammatical turns or pronunciation.

The age of the person may also pose a difficulty. The situation of a child, an adolescent or an adult entails a completely different framework in the process of incorporating a second language. Adolescents are usually in optimal conditions to go through this process, having developed their intellectual and learning capacities, and at the same time being within a stage of flexible cognitive capacities.

In any case, it is argued that the dedication given to the learning process is more important than the person’s age. It should be noted that pronunciation is the aspect in which a better progress is achieved the younger the age of the student.

Sources

• Navarro Romero, B. Acquisition of the first and second language in learners in childhood and adulthood . Philological Urcitana, 2009.
• Mayor, J. Second Language Acquisition . Complutense University, Madrid, Spain ASELE Acts IV, 1994.
• Cook, V. Portraits of the L2 User . Multilingual Matters, 2002.