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Language Acquisition vs. Learning Explained

Language acquisition occurs subconsciously as children learn from natural communication with caregivers. They absorb the grammar through exposure rather than explicit instruction. Language learning, on the other hand, involves direct and conscious instruction in the grammatical rules of a language. It requires an existing knowledge base to understand concepts like phonology, morphology, and syntax. Students can discuss and apply their grammatical knowledge through activities like filling in worksheets, though memorizing rules does not guarantee fluency in speaking or writing the language.

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Genalyn Cui
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57 views1 page

Language Acquisition vs. Learning Explained

Language acquisition occurs subconsciously as children learn from natural communication with caregivers. They absorb the grammar through exposure rather than explicit instruction. Language learning, on the other hand, involves direct and conscious instruction in the grammatical rules of a language. It requires an existing knowledge base to understand concepts like phonology, morphology, and syntax. Students can discuss and apply their grammatical knowledge through activities like filling in worksheets, though memorizing rules does not guarantee fluency in speaking or writing the language.

Uploaded by

Genalyn Cui
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Language acquisition vs.

Language learning

Language acquisition: Children acquire language through a subconscious process during which
they are unaware of grammatical rules. This is similar to the way they acquire their first
language. They repeat what is said to them and get a feel for what is and what is not correct. In
order to acquire language, the learner needs a source of natural communication which is usually
the mother, the father, or the caregiver.

Language learning: is the result of direct instruction in the rules of language. And it certainly is
not an age-appropriate activity for your young children as learning presupposes that learners
have a conscious knowledge of the new language and can talk about that knowledge.

-They usually have a basic knowledge of the grammar. When we learn a language we have a
deductive approach to the intonations, phonology, morphology, syntax of the target language.
This happen when we start being schooled in this language, when we learn to read and write.
Reading and writing is not intuitive. We need to learn that signs (letters and letter combinations)
represents a sound, and that their combinations, have a meaning that conveys our thoughts. We
learn that there are rules for each language, concerning the position of the words in a sentence,
that intonation can vary and change the meaning of a word and a sentence, that one word can
have many different meanings, depending on the context.

- In language learning, students have conscious knowledge of the new language and can talk
about that knowledge. They can fill in the blanks on a grammar page.. A student who has
memorized the rules of the language may be able to succeed on a standardized test of English
language but may not be able to speak or write correctly.

LEARNING ACQUISITION
Implicit; subconscious Explicit; conscious
Informal situations Formal situation
Uses grammatical “fee” Uses grammatical rules
Depends on attitude Depends on aptitude
Stable order of acquisition Simple to complex order of learning

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