Language acquisition is one of the most impressive and fascinating aspects of human development.

Indeed,
learning a language is an amazing feat, one that has attracted the attention of linguists and psychologists for
generations. I will focus on Second Language Acquisition.

By definition all second language learners, regardless of age, have already acquired at least one language. This
prior knowledge may be an advantage in the sense that they have an idea of how languages work. On the other
hand, knowledge of other languages can lead learners to make incorrect guesses about how the second
language works, what can lead them to make errors.

It is known that second language learners, like first language learners, pass through systematic and
developmental sequences of development: what is learned early by one is learned early by others. Something
interesting about the developmental sequences is that many features of these developmental stages are similar
among learners from different first language backgrounds and that research has shown that learners who receive
instruction exhibit similar developmental sequences and error patterns. However, it is important to emphasize
that developmental stages are not like closed rooms. Learners do not leave one behind when they enter another.
At a given point in time, learners may use sentences typical of several different stages. What is more, progress
to a higher stage does not always mean fewer errors.

Another important observation about developmental sequences is the way they interact with first language
influence. When learners reach a developmental stage at which perceive a crucial similarity between their first
language and their interlanguage (Learner’s developing second language knowledge), they may generalize their
first language pattern and end up making errors that speakers of other languages are less likely to make. They
may also have difficulty moving beyond that stage if their errors do not interfere with communication because
those errors may become fossilized.

One of the main challenges for researchers and educators is understanding the relationship between individual
learner’s characteristics, social situations and success in second language learning. This is particularly important
for educators since they hope to find ways of helping learners with different characteristics to achieve success
in SLL. These differences are related to learners’ intelligence, language learning aptitude, learning styles,
personality, attitudes and motivation, age, among others. However, it is important to take into account that
relationships between individual characteristics and learning environments are complex, and different learners
will react differently to the same learning conditions. Indeed, the same learner will react differently to the same
conditions at different times. Nonetheless, in a classroom, the goal of the sensitive teacher is to create a learning
environment with a wide variety of instructional activities so that learners with different abilities and learning
preferences can be successful in learning a second language.

Another important point of second language acquisition is that, as first language acquisition, it has been
explained according to different perspectives throughout the 20th century. These theories emphasize the mind
perceives, retains, organizes, and retrieves information.

 On the one hand, the behaviourist theory explained learning in terms of imitation, practice, reinforcement
(or feedback on success), and habit formation. This theory had a powerful influence on foreign and
second language teaching from the 1940s to the 1970s. Brooks and Lado were two proponents of this
perspective. This theory developed on the audio-lingual approach to learning. This approach was based
on the idea that language was a system of habits that could be taught by reinforcing correct responses
and punishing incorrect ones. Although aspects of this method, such as drills in the beginning stages of
language learning continue to be used, most language educators now realize that languages is more
complex than mere mimicking.
 The innatist perspective, whose proponent is Chomsky (1976), counterattacks the theory of Behaviorism
by bringing into light the concept of Universal Grammar (UG) in which every human is biologically
equipped to learn language using the language faculty or the Language Acquisition Device (LAD), which
is responsible for the initial stage of language development. Based on the UG theory, the input from the
 environment alone is not sufficient to determine the success of L2 learning. The learners are viewed as
processors of a mind that contains language and not just by repetition of mechanical aspects of language.
 A cognitive theory of learning sees second language acquisition as a conscious and reasoned thinking
process, involving the deliberate use of learning strategies. Learning strategies are special ways of
processing information that enhance comprehension, learning or retention of information. This
explanation of language learning also contrasts strongly with the behaviorist account of language
learning, which sees language learning as an unconscious, automatic process. This view leads to a view
of the learner as an 'information-processor', with limitations as to how much new information can be
retained, and who needs strategies to be able to transfer information into memory.
 At last, in the sociocultural perspective children are seen as active participants in the learning process
whose capacities are influenced by the culture of the environment in which they develop. Such cultural
and linguistic settings include family life, peer groups, schooling and organized sports activities. The core
of sociocultural theory is that learning and cognitive development (which includes language as well)
happen as a result of social interactions. In other words, interactions with people and artefacts from the
environment are essential in the development of thinking.
From this perspective, a child may be able to complete more cognitively demanding tasks if s/he has the
right support from an adult or a peer. This leads us to the concept of ZPD which is defined as “the distance
between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of
potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration
with more capable peers”. The assumption is that what a child was once able to achieve with the help of
others, s/he will be able to achieve on his/her own in the future.

Kumaradivelu states that one of the sources of ambiguity that afflicts language teaching is the absence
of a principled way to categorize language teaching methods in a conceptually coherent fashion. In this
sense, he says that it is therefore beneficial, for the purpose of analysis and understanding, to categorize
established methods into a) language centered methods, b) learner centered methods, and c) learning
centered methods.

a) Language-centered methods are those that are principally concerned with linguistic forms. These
methods (such as Audiolingual Method) seek to provide opportunities for learners to practice
preselected, presequenced linguistic structures through form-focused exercises in class, assuming
that a preoccupation with form will ultimately lead to the mastery of the target language and that the
learners can draw from this formal repertoire whenever they wish to communicate in the target
language outside the class. According to this view, language development is more intentional than
incidental. That is, learners are expected to pay continual and conscious attention to linguistic
features through systematic planning and sustained practice in order to learn and to use them.

b) Learner-centered methods are those that are principally concerned with learner needs, wants, and
situations. These methods (such as Communicative Language Teaching) seek to provide
opportunities for learners to practice preselected, presequenced linguistic structures and
communicative notions/functions through meaning-focused activities, assuming that a preoccupation
with form and function will ultimately lead to target language mastery and that the learners can make
use of both formal and functional repertoire to fulfill their communicative needs outside the class. In
this view, as in the previous case, language development is more intentional than incidental.

c) Learning-centered methods are those that are principally concerned with cognitive processes of
language learning (see chap. 2, this volume, for details). These methods (such as the Natural
Approach) seek to provide opportunities for learners to participate in open-ended meaningful
interaction through problem-solving tasks in class, assuming that a preoccupation with meaning-
making will ultimately lead to target language mastery and that the learners can deploy the still-
developing interlanguage to achieve linguistic as well as pragmatic knowledge/ability. In this case,
unlike in the CONSTITUENTS AND CATEGORIES OF METHODS 91 other two, language
development is more incidental than intentional. That is, grammar construction can take place when
the learners pay attention to the process of meaning-making, even if they are not explicitly focused
on the formal properties of the language.