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LESSON. 2. Principles and practice in Second language acquisition
According to Wikipedia (2017), ‘A person's second language is a language that is not the native language of the speaker, but that is used in the locale of that person.' In other words, a second language is learned in addition to the mother tongue of the learner for its practical utility in day to day life and affairs. Therefore, the mother tongue of the learner is called as the first language or L1 and any language that is learned in addition to the mother tongue is known as second language or L2. Languages are also classified in many such types' i.e. third language (L3), foreign language, a dead language, classical language, target language, etc. In the present context, English has acquired the place of the Second language in most countries for its national and global importance as a language of knowledge, communication, education, business, trade, commerce, science, technology and a window on the modern world. Therefore, English has been or is being used by people for utilitarian purposes, such as; for social, commercial, official and educational activities within the country and abroad, for listening to the national and global broadcast, for reading newspapers and books and to travel across the country or world. It is very important for a teacher of English to make his learners equipped with the command of English which allows him to express himself in speech or in writing that can sustain them in the present world which functions through the English language. Teachers should realize the objectives of teaching English as a second language and enable the learners to: a. understand English when spoken; b. speak English correctly and fluently; c. read English with comprehension at a reasonable speed for gathering information and enjoy reading; d. write English neatly and correctly with proper speed and legibility; e. acquire knowledge of the elements of English for achieving a practical command of the language; and f. translate English into their mother tongue and vice-versa.
Keeping in view the above objectives the teacher educators should design the syllabus of English and teachers should plan their teaching activities. If you observe teaching of English in Indian classrooms, you will come across the following dull irrelevant activities of teachers, such as; writing new words on the blackboard with their mother tongue meanings, instructing learners to write them down in their notebooks, asking learners to memorize the words and their meanings by heart, reading aloud three to four passages of a prose and translating it into their mother tongue, explaining some grammatical items and telling learners to write down the answers to the questions given at the end of the lesson as their homework, etc. Through such activities, we are not going to achieve the objectives of teaching English as a second language. Teachers should follow the principles of language learning. As we all know that English language had become a unique language, even then, there are still many people in the world who don’t know English language. English is one such connecting links. Learning language fascinate opportunities to develop their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills and to express themselves with full confidence. John Stuart Mill referred that “language to be the light of the mind”. In today era, the basic knowledge of a single or more language has become crucial. Language has become the major tool of communication between countries, cultural groups, varies companies and organizations, communities and friends. Wittgenstein says “The limit of my language is the limit of my world”. He implies that people those who speaks one language, live only in one world. A baby is born without language, but even without any formal training, at the age of 4 or 5, the child knows several hundred words and grammar of a particular language. For a last few years, millions of people across the world, who share common interest, are able to communicate with each other and exchange ideas. Not only they are able to do this due to advanced technology, but also because they share a common language. Language is the bridge which connects individual and the outside world. Language is closely related to the culture, you can only get to understand the person very well if you can speak his language. Due to the development of technology, our world today is the world of information with a fast speed of globalization. Thus understanding each other through language become an even more important issue. Language is like a vehicle that we use in presenting our ideas, thoughts, feelings, and opinion to the world. As Chomsky proves the purpose of language he said “the purpose of language is for communication”.
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