First Language

Second Language

Learn informally in daily life. First language acquisition takes place in a natural context and in the social group the child is growing up. For examples, children can learn this language by playing with their friends, listening to the conversation

Learn formally in classroom. Second language cannot be learned without a teacher who master in this language because without a teacher no one will guide learners if they make some mistakes especially in grammar and pronunciations.

between people around them. According to Albert Bandura, children can learn by observing a model and duplicating a skill, process, strategy, or task that is

demonstrated by the model. They can learn this language without a teacher. Obtain genetically. Almost everyone acquires a first language. Acquiring a first language happens naturally since childhood. Easy to learn - Learners are easily educated through the medium of their mother tongue. - Learners can learn this by people around them. Obtain through learning process in the classroom. Second language often requires conscious effort in order to master this language. Quite tough to learn - Foreign language - Learners need to know the word and the meaning in order to understand the people who speak by using second

- Learners have many chances to practice with native speakers (especially caregivers).

language. - Learners also need to do some references from books and dictionary so that they are able to use the correct word when they want to communicate with others by using this language. - Time to learn this language is limited because we can learn this language two or three hours in a week. - Learners may or may not have the opportunity to practice extensively with native speakers.

Maximal input Input is defined as "language which a learner hears or receives and from which he or she can learn (Richards et al.,1989, p. 143) A child hears first language all day every day,

Minimum input Whereas an adult learner may only hear the second language in the classroom which could be as little as three hours a week. In order to master this language people should get maximum input so that they can use this language to communicate fluently. For example they should know about the grammar, vocabularies, and correct pronunciations

Essential First language is essential in daily life and people should know this language in order to communicate and understand the others in daily life. Depend on the races. People

Non-essential

Worldwide. The advantage of using second language is it is worldwide. People who are master in this language can understand and communicate with the people who only used the 2nd language to speak with

Children and adult normally achieve perfect mastery.

Even adult unlikely to master the second language. The one advantage adults seem to have over children is their cognitive ability. Adults are better able to benefit from learning about structure and grammar. Unfortunately this slight advantage in ability does not help adult second language acquisition in general. In fact this ability almost hinders them in that they analyze too much. Specifically, they cannot leave behind what they know about their first language, which leads to a tendency to overanalyze and to second guess what they are

learning. Children are naturally egocentric. While learning their language they are not afraid to make mistakes, and in general, they do not feel abashed when they are corrected. Also, their thoughts usually do not surpass their language ability. Adults, on the other hand usually suffer form a fairly large amount of language learning anxiety. Adults often "feel frustrated or threatened in the struggle of learning a different language" (5). Mistakes are seen more as failures then as opportunities for growth. "The adult learner may also feel greatly frustrated, for being only able to express their highly complex ideas at a discourse level of an elementary school pupil" (5). These new emotions leave an adult learner in a slightly helpless position, unable to regain the egocentricity of their childhood, which is just on more hindrance in a line of many.

In first language acquisition, the basis for learning is universal grammar alone. In second language acquisition, knowledge of the first language also serves as a basis for learning the

second language. There may be both positive and negative transfer between languages in second language learning. In first language acquisition, children spend several years listening to language, babbling, and using telegraphic speech before they can form sentences. In second language

acquisition in older learners, learning is more rapid and people are able to form sentences within a shorter period of time. In formal second language learning in older learners, learners are able to use more metacognitive processes in their learning. They can consciously analyze and manipulate grammatical structures, and they can explicitly describe how language works. This can speed the learning process. In second language learning in older learners, learners bring more life experience and background knowledge to their learning. They have more schemata and more learning

strategies to help them learn the second language. In second language learning in older learners, there may be less access to universal grammar, and sensitivity to

phonological distinctions not present in the native language will be reduced. Students learning in a classroom setting may also have fewer opportunities to learn language authentically. These factors may reduce the likelihood that second language learners will attain native-like proficiency. First-language

learners always attain native proficiency, unless they have a disability that affects language learning.