Primera Y Segunda Lengua

Universidad Cristóbal Colón

Psycho- and Sociolinguistics

Ms. Celia Magdalena Sánchez

Language learning strategies in first and second language

Introduction
When we talk about strategies we referred to different and, in some cases, easiest ways on doing or learning a new topic or subjects. In first and second language strategies we are not just doing or learning a new way on how tolearn new things, but also we applied them, we put them into practice.
In first language strategies it’s about on how children learn their native language and show them different ways where they can learn it. Also, we can know their difficulties when it comes on learning new vocabulary and grammar as well. For children, learning a new language can be really easy but it can also be confusing forthem. That’s why we need strategies.
Now, in second language it’s about when we want to learn a new language and this one may be Spanish, French, Italian, etc… for some students it an get really hard and confusing. So, as well in first language, we have strategies that can help out students and learn new ways on how to master the language they want to learn.
In both languages we have difficultiesbut also we have extra help from our teachers, classmates and books. That’s why we have strategies so we can fully get the language we want to learn and of course we need to commit.



First language acquisition
Normally this topic, first language acquisition, is more based in babies and children. According to Chomsky, we are born with a set of rules about languagein our heads which he refers to as the 'Universal Grammar'. The universal grammar is the basis upon which all human languages build. Children are born, then, with the Universal Grammar wired into their brains. This grammar offers a certain limited number of possibilities - for example, over the word order of a typical sentence. When the child begins to listen to his parents, he will unconsciouslyrecognize which kind of a language he is dealing with - and he will set his grammar to the correct one - this is known as 'setting the parameters'.
It is as if the child were offered at birth a certain number of hypotheses, which he or she then matches with what is happening around him. He knows intuitively that there are some words that behave like verbs and others like nouns, and that there is alimited set of possibilities as to their ordering within the phrase. This is not information that he is taught directly by the adults that surround him, but information that is given. It is as if the traveler were provided at the beginning of his journey with a compass and an astrolabe.
This set of language learning tools, provided at birth, is referred to by Chomsky as the Language AcquisitionDevice. 
In first language acquisition, it doesn’t require any strategies or tools due to the fact that babies are born with their native language in their heads. As they grow older, they will learn the grammar, the vocabulary and the pronunciation as any regular kid. This is what makes it different from the second language acquisition because we learn our first native language when we are bornand we master it as we grow older. Chomsky theory about first language acquisition is the best theory that can explain us how it really works and how is developed without strategies.

Second language acquisition strategies
The literature on learning strategies in second language acquisition emerged from a concern for identifying the characteristics of effective learners. It’simportant that students use strategies so they can learn in an easier way but also effective. There are many strategies a student can use.
Metacognitive strategies involve thinking about the learning process, planning for learning, monitoring of comprehension or production while it is taking place, and self-evaluation after the learning activity has been completed. This is when the student...