CHAPTER I

A. Background
Language is the method of expressing ideas and emotions in the form of signs
and symbols. These signs and symbols are used to encode and decode the
information. There are many languages spoken in the world. The first language
learned by a baby is his or her mother tongue. It is the language, which he or she
listens to from his or her birth. Any other language learned or acquired is known as
the second language.
Second language acquisition or SLA is the process of learning other languages
in addition to the native language. For instance, a child who speaks Hindi as the
mother tongue starts learning English when he starts going to school. English is
learned by the process of second language acquisition. In fact, a young child can learn
a second language faster than an adult can learn the same language.
Though most scholars use the terms language learning and language
acquistion interchangeably, actually these terms differ. Language learning refers to
the formal learning of a language in the classroom. On the other hand, language
acquisition means acquiring the language with little or no formal training or learning.
There are several things to consideration when teaching a second language.
These factors may include the language spoken at home, the willingness of the
learner, the reason to learn the second language (i.e., learning at school, for work, to
talk to friends or others).
Though all the students of second language acquisition go through the same
stages of learning, the period of learning varies. Students can learn better by
responding to pictures and visuals. Attention to listening comprehension and building
a receptive and active vocabulary is essential.

B. The Problems
1. What is SLA ?
2. What is second language ?
3. What is the goal of SLA ?
C. The Purpose
1. To know does SLA should be mastered ?

CHAPTER II
A The defintion of Second Language Acquisition (SLA)
Muriel Saville-Troike (2006: 3) defined the scope of SLA as
concerned with any phenomenainvolved in learning an L2.Sometimes it is
necessary to make furtherdistinctions according to the function the L2 will
serve in daily lives, sincethis may significantly affect what will be
learnt.Second language acquisition or SLA is the process of learning other
languages in addition to the native language. For instance, a child who speaks
Hindi as the mother tongue starts learning English when

he starts going to

school. English is learned by the process of second language acquisition. In

fact, a young child can learn a second language faster than an adult can learn
the same language.

According to Rod Ellis (1997 : 3) second can refer to any language

that is learnt subsquent to the mother tongue. Thus it can refer to the learning
of a third or fourth language. Also, second is not intended to contrast with
foreign. Whether it is learning language naturally as a result of living in
country where it is spoken, or learning in a classroom through instruction.
language acquisition can defined as the way in which people learn a
language other than their mother tongue, inside or outside of classroom, and
Second Language Acquisition as study of this The definition of second
language acquisition describes the process of understanding, speaking and
writing another language fluently. The ability to communicate in a second
language is becoming an essential skill in today's world.
These differences may determinethe specific areas of vocabulary
knowledge which is needed, the level of grammaticalcomplexity have to
attain, and whether speaking or readingskills are more important. The
following are distinctions commonly madein the literature:
a

A second language is typically an official or societally dominantlanguage

needed for education, employment, and other basic purposes.It is often
acquired by minority group members or immigrants whospeak another
language natively. In this more restricted sense, theterm is contrasted with
other terms in this list.

A foreign language is one not widely used in the learners

immediatesocial context which might be used for future travel or other
crossculturalcommunication

situations,

or

studied

as

curricularrequirement or elective in school, but with no immediate or

necessarypractical application.

A library language is one which functions primarily as a tool forfurther

learning through reading, especially when books or journals ina desired
field of study are not commonly published in the learners native tongue.

An auxiliary language is one which learners need to know for

someofficial functions in their immediate political setting, or will need
forpurposes of wider communication, although their first language
servesmost other needs in their lives.
The Second Language Acquisition (SLA) involves a wide range of

languagelearning settings and learner characteristics and circumstances.

Thisbook will consider a broad scope of these, examining them from
threedifferent disciplinary perspectives: linguistic, psychological, and
social.Other restricted or highly specialized functions for second languages
aredesignated language for specific purposes (such as French for
HotelManagement, English for Aviation Technology, Spanish for Agriculture,
and a hostof others), and the learning of these typically focuses only on a
narrow setof occupation-specific uses and functions. One such prominent
area isEnglish for Academic Purposes (EAP).
B What is the goal of Second Language Acquisition (SLA)
This Approach has been used and has provided some variable insight.
It is, however, somewhat limited in that learners are probably not aware of or
cannot remember the actual learning processes they engaged in. A better
approach might be to find out what learners actually do, as opposed to what
they think they do, when they they try to learn an L2. One way of doing this is
by collecting samples of learner language which is language that learners
produce when they are called on to use an L2 in speech or writing and anlyse
them carefully. SLA has not focused on these communicative aspect of
language development but on the formal features of language tht linguistic

have traditionally concentrated on. The example might be the pronunciation of

an L2; how learners accent change over time and the words which is learners
use; how learners build up their vocabulary. Most often, however, the focus
has been the grammar of the L2. The specific grammatical structure, such as
plurals or relative clauses, and explore how learners ability to produce this
structure develop over time.
One of the goal of SLA, then, is the description of L2 acquisition.
Another is explaination; identifying the external and internal factor that
account for why learners acquire an L2 in the way do. The external factor is
the social milieu in which learning takes place. Social conditions influence the
pportunities that learners have to hear and speak the language and the attitudes
tha they develop towards it. While the internal factor is the input taht learners
receive, that is the sample of language to which a learner is exposed.
Language learning cannot occur without some input. L2 acquisition can be
explaine in part by these external factor but we also need to consider internal
factors. Learner posess cognitive mechanism which enable them to extract
information about the L2 from the input to notice, for example, the plurality in
English is conveyed by adding an-s to a noun or that the relative pronouns
who and which substitute respectively for human and non-human noun.
L2 learners bring an enermous amount of knowledge to the task of
learning L2. For a start they have already learnt the mother tongue and expect
them to draw on this when they learn an L2. They also posses general
knowledge about the world which they can draw on to help them understand
L2 input. Finally the learners posses communication strategies that can help
them make effective use of their L2 knowledge.

C The role of Second Language

Where learners have little opportunity to meet and use the L2 outside
the classroom, it isvery important that L2 use is maximised in the classroom.
One obvious way to do this iscarry out classroom management in the L2,
English. Classroom management involvesthings like telling the class what to
do, controllingbehaviour, explaining activities. This requires a little bit
ofcareful thought by the teacher so that the vocabulary and structures used in
the language ofclassroom management are also generally useful. If the use of
English in classroommanagement is done in a planned, consistent way, then
classroom management can be avery effective opportunity for learning
through meaning focused input.A very useful pieceof classroom-based
research would be to identify through observation the functions andforms of
the language of classroom management, and then devise a classified list of
usefulsentences that make use of generally high frequency words and
grammatical structures. Inthis way the role of the L1 in classroom
management can be minimized and the role of theL2 increased.
In classrooms where the learners all share the same L1 or national
language, there is atendency for tasks which should be done in the L2 such as
conversation activities,discussion of intensive reading, preparation for writing
etc to be done in the L1. There aremany reasons for this L1 use. Firstly it is
more natural to use the L1 with others who havethe same L1. Secondly, it is
easier and more communicatively effective to use the L1, andthirdly, using the
L2 can be a source of embarrassment particularly for shy learners andthose
who feel they are not very proficient in the L2.Towards the end of this article
we willlook at a range of options for overcoming this reluctance to use the L2,
because as a generalpolicy it is important to have strong strands of L2
meaning focused use and fluencydevelopment in a course.

D What is first language?

A first language also known as native language or mother tongue or

L1is the language a person has learned from birth or within the critical period,
or that a person speaks the best and so is often the basis for
sociolinguisticidentity. In some countries, the terms native language or
mother tongue refer to the language of one's ethnic group rather than one's
first language. Sometimes, there can be more than one mother tongue, (for
example, when the child's parents speak different languages). Those children
are usually called bilingual.Sometimes the term native language is used to
indicate a language that a person is as proficient in as a native individual of
that language's "base country", or as proficient as the average person who
speaks no other language but that language. Furthermore the term mother
tongue or mother language is used for the language that a person learned as a
child at home (usually from their parents). Children growing up in bilingual
homes can, according to this definition, have more than one mother tongue or
native language.The first language of a child is part of their personal, social
and cultural identity. Another impact of the first language is that it brings
about the reflection and learning of successful social patterns of acting and
speaking. It is basically responsible for differentiating the linguistic
competence of acting.

E The benefit of the second language

People used to think that learning two languages created confusion in
the mind. Far better, it was thought, to get one right than bother with two. An
even more extreme and absurd view was that learning two languages caused a
kind of schizophrenia or dual personality. Some studies did seem to back up
the idea that learning two languages could be problematic; early researchers
noted that bilingual people tended to have smaller vocabularies and slower
access to words. But these myths and minor disadvantages have now been

overshadowed by a wave of new research showing the incredible

psychological benefits of learning a second language. And these extend way
beyond being able to order a cup of coffee abroad or ask directions to your
hotel.
1

Brain growth
The fact that language centres in the brain actually grow is one of the
major benefits of learning a second language.The better you learn, the
more those vital areas of the brain grow (Mrtensson et al., 2012).

Stave off dementia

Bilingualism delays Alzheimers disease in susceptible people by as much
as five years (Craik et al., 2010). Seems incredible, but the studies are
continuing to support this result.To put this in context: the effect on
dementia of learning another language is much greater than anything
achievable with the latest drugs.

Hear language better

Being bilingual can lead to improved listening skills, since the brain has
to work harder to distinguish different types of sounds in two or more
languages (Krizman et al., 2012).

Become more language sensitive

Infants in bilingual households can distinguish languages theyve never
even heard before (Werker& Sebastian-Galles, 2011).Just being exposed
to the different sounds in, for example, Spanish and Catalan, helps them
tell the difference between English and French is another of the benefits
of learning a second language.

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Boost your memory

Babies brought up in a bilingual environment have stronger working
memories than those brought up with only one language (Morales et al.,
2013).This means they are better at mental calculation, reading and many
other vital skills.

Better multi-tasking
Bilingual people can switch from one task to another more quickly.They
show more cognitive flexibility and find it easier to adapt to unexpected
circumstances (Gold et al., 2013)

New ways of seeing

Learning a new language can literally change the way you see the
world.Learning Japanese, for example, which has basic terms for light
and dark blue, may help you perceive the colour in different ways
(Athanasopoulos et al., 2010).

Improve your first language

Since learning a second language draws your attention to the abstract
rules and structure of language, it can make you better at your first
language.As Geoffrey Willans said: You can never understand one
language until you understand at least two.

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CHAPTER III
A Conclusion
SLA is study about process learning of language where people learn
about the L2 after their first language. It involves many langugae widely.
Second language is used for education, employment, and many other purposes
that can be used by L2. Moreover second language could be used as the

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national language of the certain country after the first language or foreign
language which is learn by some peope who need foreign language as their
abilty or need. The role of second language as classroom management, devise
a classified list of useful sentences and can be a source of embarrassment
particularly for shy learners and those who feel they are not very proficient in
the L2. SLA also not focused on has not focused on the communicative aspect
of language development but on the formal features