Language Acquisition vs Language Learning - Essay Example

This claim, which was motivated by Chomskian UG theory, was interpreted to have implications for classroom language instruction. Krashen argued that because fluency in the target language is acquired-not through formal instruction, but through innate language learning abilities of humans-what language teachers have to do in classrooms is only to provide the students with comprehensible input. This theory gave birth to a teaching methodology called the communicative approach, which is still widely accepted and practiced in language classrooms all over the world today (Krashen 1977, 1985).

The expression "learning of languages" encloses two distinct concepts clearly, however rare understood. One of them is to receive information regarding the language, to transform them into knowledge through intellectual effort and to accumulate this knowledge for the exercise of the memory. The other mentions the development to it of the functional ability to interact with foreigners, understanding and saying its language. Language acquisition refers to the process of natural assimilation, involving intuition and subconscious learning, which is the product of real interactions between people where the learner is an active participant.

It is similar to the way children learn their native tongue, a process that produces functional skill in the spoken language without theoretical knowledge. It develops familiarity with the phonetic characteristics of the language as well as its structure and vocabulary, and is responsible for oral understanding, the capability for creative communication and for the identification of cultural values. Teaching and learning are viewed as activities that happen in a personal psychological plane. The acquisition approach praises the communicative act and develops self-confidence in the learner.

The concept of language learning is linked to the traditional approach to the study of languages and today is still generally practiced in high schools worldwide. Attention is focused on the language in its written form and the objective is for the student to understand the structure and rules of the language through the application of intellect and logical deductive reasoning. The form is of greater importance than communication.In language acquisition, the primary goal is interaction between people, in which one functions as a facilitator and through which the other (learner) selects his own route building his skill in a direction that interests him personally or professionally.

Instead of a syllabus, language acquisition programs offer human interaction. Here, the presence of genuine representatives of the language and culture that one hopes to assimilate is fundamental. Native instructors, therefore, have a clear advantage in a communicative approach, inspired by the concept of language acquisition.According to Krashen, language acquisition is more efficient than language learning for attaining functional skill in a foreign language, and that the efficient teaching of languages isn't that tied to a packaged course of structured lessons nor is the one that relies on technological resources.

Efficient teaching is personalized, based on the personal skills of the facilitator in creating situations of real communication focusing on the student's interests and taking place in a bicultural environment.However, neuroanatomy provides an interface between learning and acquisition when learning is viewed as declarative knowledge and acquisition is viewed as