Introduction

Recent modernization has brought about active interactions among and within the
countries about the world. The close relationship among these countries requires
effective communication with each other to share and exchange ideas, cultures, views
and even the learning methods. This communication leads to extensive learning of
other countries’ languages. Therefore, learning other languages attracts a great deal of
attention of many researchers, as it has many theories and concepts which lead to the
easiest and best ways to teach other languages. Among these concepts, there are
second language learning and second language acquisition which means the process
by which people learn a second language in addition to their native language. The
terms ‘Acquisition’ and ‘Learning’ are not synonyms; instead they used to refer to the
subconscious ‘Acquisition’ and conscious ‘Learning’ aspects of this process. It is
therefore important to distinguish between these two concepts in order to gain better
understanding of learners and teaching methods. Nevertheless, acquisition and
learning are essential components in the learning of other languages. The former is
mainly concerned with a social context of everyday communication which has no
systematic nor grammar structures. On the other hand, the later is concerned with
regular language instruction which is systematic and has guided and provided in a
learning setting. This essay will argue that the acquisition is more effective than
learning in instructions by comparing these two concepts and their impact on the
educational process beside the conditions that must be existed to obtain best
educational process results.

Second Language Acquisition

Language acquisition is one of the central topics in the learning process which refers
to the gradual development of language ability by using it naturally in interactive
situations. The experience that occurs in this way is likely driven from the childlike
way in picking up their first and second language from long periods spent in social
interaction (Krashen, 1981). In other words, it is a daily use of second language in
social intercourse indicating that second language learners need to live in a country
where their first language is not spoken. Krashen distinguishes acquisition from
learning by citing that the former derives from unawareness of the linguistic rules and
structures used in the process, so it is called subconscious acquisition which focus on

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the form rather than the content of communication. On the contrary, the later occurs
when second language learners have conscious control over the use of grammar,
linguistic and explicit rules. So, it is called conscious learning. Language acquisition
occurs with three elements; language, cognition and environment which interact with
each other. Language and cognition are not separated. However, language acquisition
derives from cognition development through maturation processes which means that
language is a kind of outgrowth of mind (cognition) development. At the same time,
language learning occurs by the positive and optimal environment which is important
to facilitate the acquisition process. For instance, the children who live with parents
who encourage them to express what is pictured and provide informative feedback eg,
correction and expansion in discourse, this will accelerate language learning rate
(Bock-Mi Lee, 1996). According to Krashen (1981), there are some nodes under
acquisition node. The first node is intake which is an important issue in language
acquisition and to make the acquisition more effective. He then states that language
acquisition develops better when the intake is more communicative and understood.
The second node is “fluency” which is also a significant issue. As while intake builds
acquisition, fluency also necessary to enable the acquirer to perform this competence
in a perfect way. The main aim of the fluency is to aid in performance. Regarding
childhood acquisition, it is apparent that children acquire their first language from
their parents naturally. As well, they sometimes acquire grammar or linguistic by
automatic speech on routines and patterns. For instance, Paul who is a Chinese
speaker is 4-years-old and an acquirer of English as a second language he is exposed
to English in an informal environment, interacting with American children in school
and in the playground. During the first month, “it seemed as if Paul was learning by
imitation. He might repeat the sentence immediately after the other person said it or
he might remember it and use it later in appropriate situations”. He also was using
complex routines such as “get out of here” and “it is time to eat or drink” (Hatch,
1972). This clearly shows the significant impact of learning the language naturally.

Second Language Learning

The conscious learning is all the time affected by conscious monitor. The learner’s
aim is to control his output, even by self-correction wherever necessary. So, it is
controlling upon the acquisition of language as the learner has a capacity to guide his

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speech production and comprehension. Moreover, learners in this kind of learning can
gradually use the language from easy contexts to the difficult ones. Unfortunately
there are many factors that weak this guided learning such as focusing on writing and
reading more than speaking and listening which weak its impact in these last two
skills and which leads to the lack of fluency. For example, Pon is a student who
studies English language as a second language in the US. She has previously
undergone extensive formal study of English grammar. After many years, she still
made mistakes with the third person singular for regular verbs in the present tense.
These mistakes were in casual speech while in writing she was able to use her
conscious grammar and can self correct. As well, in second language learning, the
linguistic are limited as the teachers convert only a subset of the linguistics and
students understand only a subset of that (Krashen, 1981). Klein (1986) also confirms
that the learner can find some difficulties in this kind of learning, as he/she can not
utilize the linguistic input under the influence of a specific teaching method. From
another perspective, “free conversation” which occurs in classrooms in guided
learning will often fail as optimal intake, as it is often not understood. Conversely, if
intake is the most essential part of the language teaching program and if it is natural,
interesting and understood, the classroom may be the best place for adults to acquire
language. Nevertheless many methods have been developed to clarify the influence on
the progress of second language acquisition such as audio-lingual method, reading
method, grammar translation method and natural method. In this respect, the main
purpose of teaching second language is to teach effectively and to consider what is
taught. Therefore, the instructor should have the ability to diversity these teaching
methods in order to obtain best results. Moreover, this guided learning should have
some conditions to be more successful. Klein states that the learning can become
effective depending on the learner effort to control his language output and to self-
correct. He also reveals that guided learning becomes more successful in a
communicative situation and this will be only when there is enough time and if the
speakers have concerned with the correctness of their speech production. Another
condition to gain second language perfectly is the motivation which is an important
issue in both learning concepts whether naturally or in guided way.

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Learning versus Acquisition
There is a parallel distinction between “learning” and “acquisition”. Lawler and
Selinker (1971), propose that language acquisition has two types: (1) automatic
language performance where speed and spontaneity are crucial and learner has no
time to learn linguistic and (2) puzzle or problem solving performance. These two
types differ from each other in many ways such as the presentation and order of
materials and the time duration. According to the presentation of materials, in guided
learning the materials are supplied in digested form, so the learner can only describe
the material. Therefore, teachers should have “communicative instruction” with a
little grammar and tends to use role play in imitation of real life communication to
achieve best result of learning process. In the other hand, in spontaneous language
acquisition where the learner can access to the target language in everyday
communication which leads the learner to embed in a relevant situational context and
the learner’s task is to extract the rules for the use of the language from this material.
Guided and spontaneous learning differ not only in the manner but also in the order in
which material is presented. The selection and order of presentation in guided learning
depends on the degree of difficulty and relevance of various portions of the material.
While in the spontaneous way the learners acquire difficult and easy materials at the
same time (Muller, 1980). In the respect of the time, guided learning occurs in a
limited time. On the contrary, the learner in acquisition uses the second language all
the time. Another distinction brought by Klein (1986), as he points out that
communication is based on a set of stable rules that the learner as listener and speaker
can follow, while as a learner in guided learning he can not consider the rules that he
follow at the time to be a stable rather he must prepared to control, to revise and to
drop them. Spontaneous learners take a different attitude to the means of verbal
communication than is customary in a language teaching setting. From the above and
my experience, second language acquisition in a natural way and by every day
communication where second language spoken all the time is more effective than
guided learning which has limited time and quantity of information. Further strong
evidence, is from my experience that I have largely studied English language in a
formal manner with a smaller proportion of informal learning. Accordingly, my
writing and reading skills have improved much more than my listening and speaking
skills. Krashen (1986) suggests that adults can not only increase their proficiency in

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informal environments but also do as well as or better than learners who have spent
the amount of time in formal situations. Otherwise, formal learning can be efficient in
increasing second language proficiency in adults. He also confirms that performers
who have acquired large amount of second language without any conscious learning
are able to use surprisingly difficult structures. Klein (1986) also verifies the
effectiveness of acquisition by many cases, including that of a Turkish worker who
settled in a West European country without knowing even a single word of the local
language, and he managed to acquire the language through his communication and
unsystematic social structure. Another evidence to prove that the acquisition is the
superior method is the way in which children pick up their language, as they acquire
their language through a subconscious process and they are unaware of grammatical
rules. Their interaction with the environment results in a perfect mastery of their
native tongue in a short period of time. Furthermore, the learner in acquisition
learning pays attention to the language itself and focuses on communication, so he/she
is prepared to use any means to serve that end so, it obviously shows that language
acquisition is more central than language learning.

Conclusion
In conclusion, a mutual relationship of guided and spontaneous language acquisition
is existed. It has shown some crucial distinction between “acquisition” and “learning”
in second language learning and their impact in the educational process. It also has
discussed L2 learning process from the perspective of both the learners and the
teachers. For both concepts, some conditions have to occur such as motivation, learner
effort and enough periods. Regarding some researchers’ evidence and my experience,
I have argued that learning in a communicative way is more valuable than guided
learning as it improves speaking and listening and the learner needs a source of
natural communication. While guided learning has a practical importance and is
effective in increasing the proficiency of the language, it still has to improve.
Development should focus on providing much comprehensible input and should be
more natural to make the learner acquire the language in the absence of formal and
restricted issues. It can be concluded that Second language acquisition may be slow
but in the long run is more useful, especially when language is used for the purpose of
communication.

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References

Hatch, E (1972), Some Studies in Language Learning, UCLA Work papers in

Teaching English as a Second Language, vol. 6, pp 29-36.

Klein, W, (1986), Second Language Acquisition, Cambridge University, Australia.

Krashen, S, (1981), Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning,

Pergamon press Ltd, England.

Lawler, J and Selinker, L (1971), ‘On Paradoxes, Rules and Research in Second
Language Learning’, Language Learning, vol. 21, pp 27-34

Lee, B, M (1996), Lectures on Language Learning and Acquisition, Pustaka Antara

Sdn. Bhd, Kuala Lumpur

Muller, k, E, eds. (1980), ‘The Foreign Language Syllabus and Communicative

Approaches to Teaching’ in, Studies in Second Language Acquisition.