Learning a new language is not an easy process. It is complicated, and it requires a great deal of patience and diligence. Once one starts learning a new language, there must be some strategies to be taken into consideration. First, all languages consists of vocabulary and grammar. They are the core of the learning process. Vocabulary in the process of acquiring a language is like money. You earn it with your conscious effort, or you get it as a gift. To show how important vocabulary is, imagine that you enter a hypermarket such as WalMart. If you have a lot of money, you can buy whatever you want; on the other hand, if you are broke, you will not be able to purchase any item. The second element of acquiring a new language is concerned with grammar. If vocabulary, as previously mentioned, is money, grammar can similarly be the right investment of that money. You might lose your money if you do not invest it in the proper way. Grammar, in this case, defines the structures that organize your earnings.
Learning a language can take place consciously or unconsciously. In a conscious learning of a new language, you are learning with paying your fullest attention to what is given to you. For instance, if you learn a language at school, you are aware of your learning; in other words, you know what you are taught. This can be beneficial when you learn the grammar of the target language. In an unconscious learning, you acquire the language without being aware of the learning process. A good example to clarify it is when you read a story or listen to the media. You are looking for amusement or for news in the first place; however, you are learning new vocabulary and structures at the same time. This type of learning is subtle and effective since it involves learning the lexical items and grammatical structures all together. You get the items in context, and that is the ultimate goal of learning any language.
These strategies are not novel, and I am suer that we all realize the cruciality of learning the vocabulary and grammar of any new language. However, it is worth mentioning that language learning is a great field of study, and there are many theories that investigate how we acquire a language. Those theories are not perfect by themselves; in other words, there is not a single and perfect theory which offer a full explanation of how every language learner acquires the language. The theories of language acquisitions focus on certain aspects of the language is acquired. In some cases, a theory such as the Behaviorist can successfully trace, attribute, and demonstrate language acquisition. In other cases, the Behaviorist approach fails, and the Innateness approach provides a more logical explanation to the process of acquiring the new language.
The reason why I mention the existence of such theories is to emphasize the fact that theories and scholars differ when it comes to explaining language acquisition. The same thing applies for language learners. Learner are disparate; but the only thing they have in common is motivation. The accuracy of the language acquired is dependent on the motivation element. When the learner wants to be native-like, he normally exerts more effort to learn new vocabulary and grammatical structures. He does not have any shyness of using what he has just learnt; he will endeavor to pick up the pronunciation of the native speakers, and he will seek corrections when he doubts a misuse of any element of the language. Other learners, on the other hand, learn the language because it can facilitate a certain privilege which cannot be gained without learning the language. This type of learners will only seek the minimal knowledge that entitles them to obtain such a benefit.
To sum up, learning a second language is fascinating in terms of acquiring the language or as a field of a study. As to me, I am learning a second language and will probably study language acquisition for my masters. As to you, enjoy your learning and have the utmost of it.
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