Language acquisition vs language learning
There is an important distinction made by linguists between language acquisition and language learning . Children acquire language through a subconscious process during which they are unaware of grammatical rules. So, acquisition is the natural, inherent, subconscious experience all native speakers undertake as they pick up their own language. The child has an inborn capacity for language acquisition. This psycholinguistic acquisition experience is universal and occurs in both first and foreign language develeopment. Language learning , on the other hand, is not communicative. It is the result of direct instruction in the rules of language. And it certainly is not an age-appropriate activity for your young learners. In language learning, students have conscious knowledge of the new language and can talk about that knowledge. They can fill in the blanks on a grammar page. Research has shown, however, that knowing grammar rules does not necessarily result in good speaking or writin...