What is the difference between language acquisition and language learning.
Some people use the term of language acquisition for all the phases that lead to language fluency, including learning to read and write. Others use the term of language learning even for babies and very young, pre-school children. – But there is a fundamental difference between these two terms.
Children acquire language through a natural, subconscious process during which they are unaware of grammatical rules. This happens especially when they acquire their first language(s). They repeat what is said to them and get a feel for what is and what is not correct.
In order to acquire a language, they need a source of natural communication, which is usually the mother, the father, or the caregiver. Children who grow up with multiple languages, will acquire these languages in the most natural way. They will repeat what they hear, try out sound chains until they make sense (i.e. others will understand their meaning), and they will use them purposefully in their communication. – Some distinguish infant language acquisition – as defining the process of acquiring the first language(s) – from second language acquisition, which takes place "later" and in addition to speech, includes also reading and writing.
As many parents tend to think that they need to teach their language to their children, it is important to make sure the whole concept is clear!
We do not teach our children the first language(s)! We transmit our languages through verbal and non-verbal communication. We do not need to explain all the objects around us. We don't need to show our child what an apple is and say "this is an apple", or a cup "this is a cup". We simply need to use our language like we always do and our children will acquire it by simple and regular exposure. We need though to involve them in conversations with us – also non-verbal ones count! – and encourage them to use our language.
In German we distinguish between Spracherwerb and Sprachenlernen, in Italian between acquisizione di una lingua and apprendimento di una lingua, in French acquisition du language and apprentissage d'une langue.
Language learning, on the other hand, is the result of direct instruction in the rules of language. Language learning is not an age-appropriate activity for very young children as learning presupposes that learners have a conscious knowledge of the new language and can talk about that knowledge.
Language learners usually have a basic knowledge of the grammar of their first languages they acquired. They know the differences in intonation, the sound of words, what a grammatically correct word order is in a sentence in the language, that words can have multiple meanings etc..
When we learn a new language we have a deductive approach to the intonations, phonology, morphology, syntax of the target language. This happens when we start being schooled in this language, when we learn to read and write.
Reading and writing are not skills that come naturally. They are not intuitive. We need to learn that signs (letters and letter combinations) represent a sound, that by combining them we form words that have a meaning, which we can use to convey 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. For example, in "I like the green apple", depending on the intonation and accentuation of one word, we can convey different meanings:
I like the green apple = It's not Tom who likes it!
I like the green apple = Really, I'm honest!
I like the green apple = Not the red one!
I like the green apple = Not the kiwi!
©Fernandes Arung 2016 (see below)
From a neurolinguistic point of view, language acquisition and language learning are processed in two different ways in the brain.
There are many areas of the brain involved in language acquisition and learning, and in the understanding and articulation of languages.
The two main areas are the Broca’s area, which is situated in the left frontal cortex, and is the word production center of the brain, i.e. responsible to the production of the patterns in vocal and sign language.
The Wernicke’s area, in the left temporal cortex, is the word recognition center, which is primarily involved in language comprehension.
Roughly said, the Broca’s area is the one actively involved in language acquisition processes, whereas the Wernicke’s area is active in the language learning process – where the understanding speech takes place.
During speech processing and language learning, these two areas collaborate with multiple other areas of the brain, like the Angular Gyrus – where the assembling of information takes place, and where understanding of words and concepts happens –, the Supramarginal Gyrus, which is involved with language perception and processing, and the Primary Auditory Cortex, where auditory signals are recognised, memorised and may result in a response...
To learn more about how this works, have a look at the video with Kenneth Pugh (Haskins Laboratories/Yale University) and Arturo E. Hernandez (University of Houston):
About Co-Evolution of Language and the Brain: https://blogs.ntu.edu.sg/hss-language-evolution/wiki/chapter-16/
Ute Limacher-Riebold
Ute Limacher-Riebold, PhD, is the founder of Multilingual-Families.com and Owner of Ute’s International Lounge & Academy.
She empowers internationals to maintain their languages and cultures effectively while embracing new ones whilst living “abroad”.
She grew up with multiple languages, holds a PhD in Romance Studies and has worked as an Assistant Professor at the University of Zurich (Department of Italian Historical Linguistics). She taught Italian historical linguistics, researched Italian dialects and minority languages, and contributed to and led various academic projects.
Driven by her passion for successful language development and maintenance, and personal experiences with language shifts, Ute supports multilingual families worldwide in nurturing their languages and cultural identities in the most effective and healthy way.
This has been very helpful in doing my coursework and it has also enhanced my knowledge on language acquisition and language learning.
Thank you, Rebecca. I am very pleased that this helped you. I would love to know more about your coursework!
It was really nice to find the answer for what i was looking for ,, thanks
I’m glad you found what you were looking for.
special tanks to you for your contribution
Hassan, thank you for commenting.
I need the books where I can quote from, please!!
Thanks for asking!
There are a lot of books and studies about this topic, Mwila. I will publish a reading list on Bilingualism on my site soon.
can acquisition not take place after you learn your first language and are out of your babyhood?
Thank you for your question, Areeb. Indeed, acquisition can take place also later in life. When we are exposed to an only spoken language for example – like many dialects – we would solely rely on what people say and repeat it. We wouldn’t start with cooing and babbling, of course, we would start with forming short words or words we understand and need, and easy / short sentences, and build up from there.
It’s really best one .it enhance my knowledge. Thank you for such contribution.
Thank you very much for your feedback! Please let me know what other topics you’d like to read about.
i’m very happy with d answer provided above for my question…..thanks so much dear
You’re very welcome! 😉
which is a better way to learn and why?
can we become or should we learn by the method of acquisition ?
if yes/no then why and which is the better way?
which is the better way to learn as an adult?
is it through language acquisition or through learning using another language.
also, exlpain ways to learn through acquisition.
Dear Aditya, I can help you find out what is the better way to learn for you, personally. There is not one way that is better for everyone. Language acquisition, i.e. the way our children learn language, is the most natural way. But we adults have the advantage that we already know one or more languages and we build on our knowledge, we link the “new” with the “old”/”known” and this makes it easier in some way because we know for example what we need to know to great a person or to order something in a restaurant and learn those words and sentences by heart.
What makes it more difficult for many adults is the fear to fail, the expectation to learn fast and be perfectly fluent as quickly as possible. Some also had bad experiences learning a language before and feel that learning another means to start from case 1. This is actually not the case. If you are British, learning Chinese is more difficult than learning French because Chinese differs more from English than French.
Acquiring a language like children can be done for adults if you immerse into the language. If you repeat what you hear (by repeating aloud or in your head – depending on where you are) and by asking people around you to only speak the language with you that you want to acquire. There needs to be a need, that you have to speak that new language every day, but you need also to be ready to make many many mistakes, to have many trials and errors before you get it right. I always advice to start with small sentences, to listen to music in that language, to radio, TV everything you can find that helps you learn the intonations, the way people say things in that other language. – I could go on and on, sorry. I guess this is to long for a response. If I can help you with anything, please send me a mail at info@UtesInternationalLounge.com, ok?
Thank you so much , it was perfectly helpful for me in my coursework . And no, that response was not at all too long , it makes it even clearer .
Hi, I am very pleased to hear that this was helpful for you and your coursework! I would love to know what your experience is and how it is going. Please stay in touch 😉
Thats amazing thanks.. yesterday i found a task by my mam to find out difference..nd its helpful for me.. i m student of linguistics.i neend more help how can i contact u nd can u help me out
Hi Nida, thank you for your comment. I’m very glad you find it useful. You can contact me by mail at info@UtesInternationalLounge.com. I’m always happy to help 😉
This work has greatly helped me, thanks, but I have some questions on psycholinguistic,
1. what are the field related to psycholinguistic and
2. On what parameters do you think the sub division in psycholinguistic can be base if there are any and what are these subdivisions. thanks
Hi Ayodele, thank you for your comment. I’m very glad this helped you. Well, psycholinguistics or “psychology of language” is the study of the psychological and neurobiological factors that enable humans to acquire, use, comprehend and produce language. There are many topics studied by psycholinguists. For example, language acquisition, language comprehension, language production, second language acquisition… It is about studying the way language is acquired and perceived, and in each area of studies one can focus on phonetics and phonology (study of speech sounds), for example one can focus on how the brain processes and understands these sounds, morphology (study of word structures, ex. car vs cars), the formation of words based on rules, like the plural formation or diminutives etc. , then syntax (which is the study of the patterns that dictate how words are combined to form sentences), semantics (meaning of words and sentences), pragmatics (what is the role of the context when interpreting the meaning)…
I suppose you know that in psycholinguistic there are several approaches to language acquisition. The behaviorist theory, innateness theory, cognitive theory, social interactionist theory, the usage based theory, optimality theory and the native language magnet model. You would choose one or the other – or some of the approaches – depending on what you are analyzing.
If you tell me what field of research you’re most interested in, I can help you further. – You can always contact me at info@UtesInternationalLounge.com if you prefer. Or ask here 😉 As you like. I’m looking forward to continuing this conversation! ~ Ute
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Fascinating, thank you!
Jodina, I imagine that you can relate with this? Vedo che dai lezioni di italiano 😉
Well understood concept on what I was about to know. Keep writing it may help, Thanks
Thank you, Jamada, for your feedback. What exactly are you studying about this subject?
I thank you in every possible languages u know and yet i would know ever. This article has been a breakthrough discovery for me in ending up the prolonged debate i was struggling with regarding language Acquisition and language learning.
I an fascinated with the simplicity of your presentation. Quite for a long time I was looking for a constructive notion in this concern and I’m satiated through this article. Thank you so much again .
Dear Kabir, you made my day! Thank you so much for your encouraging comment. I always try to translate research and more complex issues into a language that is more understandable. I am very happy to hear/read that this post made the difference between language acquisition and learning clearer for you! Please let me know how else I can be of help. – Wishing you a lovely end of the decade and a fantastic start in the new one! 😉
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Thank you so much.it was really helpful task.
thanks a lot it was amazing getting to know the difference between language acquisition and language learning for my course which is acquisition of second language
Thank you very much for such an informative information
after 20 minutes I have my examination. and now i am remembering this. thank you very much.
How was your examination? I’d like to know more about your study… Please let me know 😉
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR DEVELOPING SUCH A HELPFUL SITE. HONESTLY, I AM VERY MUCH PLEASED AFTER READING BECAUSE IT HAS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS LOOK FOR. I HOPE WITH THIS SITE I WILL SURELY GET GRADE A IN MY EXAM.
gladly i found something amazing from u,what u made is so helpful to me,keep on because u pave the way to our academic success,may God bless u now and then
amazing illustration !!!
This was very helpful, indeed; however, I could not wrap my head around the fact that language acquisition is subconscious yet we say Second Language ‘Acquisition’? Could you, please, give a brief explanation?
Thank you, Zarathustra, for your feedback and your question. I am aware that my distinction between acquisition and learning sounds confusing and some linguists think that the sharp distinction that Krashen (1982) made between learning and acquisition, “using learning to refer to the conscious aspects of the language learning process and acquisition to refer to the subconscious aspects.” is an oversimplification. They think that separating strictly the learning and acquisition should not be done. Personally, I see the importance of separating the two different ways of becoming fluent in a language because they are quite different on many levels. In my opinion, teaching has an influence on the language acquisition. The language acquisition by an adult or by someone who is exposed to another language once he or she has already attained a considerable fluency in another language – like in sequential bilinguals for example – the approach to any new language is different.
If I understand the function of the language (and it can be any of the functions Jakobson describes)– but let’s focus on the metalinguistic one, i.e. the one where we describe the use of words in a sentence for example, I have another way to approach this language than a child. I don’t repeat sentences, play with words, try out word orders etc. until someone responds or approves them, but I try to find a pattern that is similar to the one I know in the other language(s) I know.
As adults we can have a more intuitive approach to language when we repeat what others say, or when we learn a language that is completely different in structure, sounds, alphabet etc. than the one(s) we know. I am currently trying to acquire Chinese… it might take a lot of time until I actually will speak it, but I’m doing an experiment and will surely share my observations. I know that at some point I will feel the need to bridge between the languages I know and Chinese – I already do… – and this is the first step to the “learning”…
I hope this all makes sense and gives you a clearer idea of what the difference is between acquiring and learning a language? Have also a look at my other post on adults who acquire a language.
That’s what I need the most, it’s been very helpful to me and it’s the most brief elaboration and also comprehensive.
Thank you very much, Arman, for your feedback! It’s a very brief description of the difference, yes. There is a lot of literature about this but it is quite diverse and I like to make things, concepts, methods accessible 😉
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(A student knows the proper English grammar rules and the correct ways of sentence structuring, but lack the confidence to have a conversation with a native. Do you think he is learning or acquiring the Language? Explain why. ) can anyone help me with this..please..thank you.
Dear Jeff, I understand this student has learnt the language at school, in a “traditional” way (sorry if I overgeneralize), i.e. by learning grammar rules. By learning all the rules first, without fostering the speaking, we can feel overwhelmed by all the rules and scared to make mistakes. It’s usually the fear of mistakes that makes him lack in confidence. So, if your question is if this student learnt or acquired the language, he/she learnt it. If you want to know how to help this student: you can stimulate the speech, model the right way to speak without correcting and by praising what he/she does well. And give him/her the time to get there at his/her own pace.
I hope this was helpful? Please let me know what you think. ~ Ute
I found this very helpful and interesting.
Thank you, Michael. I’m very happy it was helpful for you. Please don’t hesitate to ask if you have any further questions about this topic. ~ Ute
very helpful. Thanks alot!
Thank you, Daniel, for your comment. Let me know if you need more details.
Surely this was so amazing ,it’s short and brief to the point. So amaze by your good work!
Thank you for your kind words! I am very happy to know that you find it useful!
hello
Amazing work , i really like your ideas
I would love to take some notes from this great work (of course if you don’t mind) and put them in my research paper.
thanks a lot. 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
Hi Said, sure, feel free to quote part of it. Please quote it following the quoting rules by referring to my post on this site. – Can you please share your research paper with me? I’m looking forward to reading it! 😉
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Hello!
This was very helpful in answering a discussion question about language acquisition vs. language development. I learned so much! I would like to reference it in my post, but I can’t find a date that you posted this article.
Thank you!
Dear Nichole, thank you! I am happy you found it useful. The date of this article is not on the site, that’s right. That is because I update it regularly. In order to quote it in your post or in an article, you can indicate the date you rad it on my site.
A lot goes into a great English Language Classes dialog,
and understanding vocabulary isn’t enough.
Can Learning become acquisition? If yes,how and why? If no,why?
Good question. Do you mean referring to the same language? I mean, that one can start “learning” and then “acquiring”? If we consider the processes of learning and acquiring, it would be difficult to first learn a language – read and write, understand grammar etc. – and then acquire it the way I described it here, and the way acquiring a language is considered in linguistics. If you refer to two different languages, then my answer is “yes”. You can learn language A, and acquire language B. Although, once you have learned how a language is structured, its grammar, and the patterns we need to learn in order to “use” it, you will approach each additional language by comparing it to the previous ones you acquired and learned. This process can take place consciously – or not. Fact is, that with every additional language we want to learn or acquire, we connect it to what we already know. You can have a more natural approach, i.e. without formal instruction, but still make the connections between for example the word order in language A and the one in language B, some words that sound similar or have similar or the same meaning etc.
The way children acquire languages from day one is different from how we acquire and learn languages later in life.
I hope this makes sense? – I’m looking forward to hearing from you! – Ute
Thank you for sharing such a knowledge .Really i appreciate you to use the entire theme in a simple words.
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good day from the philippines! i have learned so much from you..it even help me straighten/corrected myself on some wrong notions/beliefs..thanks and appreciate it so much..
Thank you for your feedback! I am happy it was useful for you. Greetings from the Netherlands 😉
Find your blog really fascinating! Thank you for the great blog.
Thank you very much, Joy! I am happy you find it helpful. ~ Kind regards, Ute
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I have an assignment that requires me to start with providing a general overview of the circumstances, issues, and background of the acquisition- learning hypothesis and present its implications in language teaching. And I’m now really struggling with it, so can you please clarify for me the distinction between acquiring and learning, and give me some recommendations for the introduction?
Thank you so much and have a good day.
Hi, I’m happy to help. What exactly have you read so far? What exactly do you want to focus on? You’re welcome to send me an email at info@UtesInternationalLounge.com
I’ve read some materials to get information about this hypothesis, but still not find out the implications in teaching. Btw, I sent you an email yesterday 😉
Thank you so much
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Miss Ute Limacher, your work has been my salvation, I was very confused about these two topics and now I am more interested. I am studying for a MA degree and this post, for sure will be part of my academic project. Thank you so much.
Thank you very much for the kind and encouraging feedback! I am now curious about your academic project! Can you please tell me more about it?
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hello I have an assignment, I’m curious about this question, is language is something that can be acquired of learn. hoping someone could answer this. thank you
Hi, language is something one can acquire and learn, sure. I think you got the answer in the post? If not, let me please know how I can help you further.
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