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Learning a new language is a task that sometimes can seem impossible, and at times very frustrating. Unlike one would probably feel when learning their first language. That is partially because learning a second language is different than learning the first one in many ways. Other than biological factors and the fact that normally children tend to assimilate things more easily than adults. Learning a second language compared to the first language is usually less practical to get the same exposure, as well as the same repetition of words they got from their parents as children. That is why when you sign up for an English class, or any other language for that matter, teachers will try to replicate that scenario with endless repetitions and fun games, because the most crucial thing is getting exposure to the new language. According to a study about second language exposure, “The quality of the language environment is of paramount importance to success in learning a new language.”(Dulay, 1982). So basically, the environment that the student is surrounded by will be crucial for his/her assimilation of the new language. On the other hand, the same study points out that, “If one is exposed only to classroom drills and dialogues, one may acquire substantial mastery of classroom communication skills but still remain at a loss in other areas of social discourse.” . Therefore, the exposure to the new language should not be the only focus when learning that language, or they risk failing to know the correct usage of language or when to use it. As a EFL student myself at one point, I experienced this first hand. Grammar and vocabulary are without a doubt an essential part of speaking and writing in any language. However, it wasn't until I started getting the exposure from the outside world and comprehending the news, TV shows that I really started to get a grasp of the language. I remember looking around my classroom, and realizing that the students that were surrounded by people who spoke the same language were in a level far behind when compared to people that were more exposed to the new language on a daily basis. It is important to note that living in a country where the spoken language is English made a lot easier to get the exposure outside of the classroom. However, many people tend to make friends with people that speak the same language, and/or work at establishment owned by people from the same country, so they are never really challenged to improve their new language. Obviously different languages have different levels of difficulty, but one thing that everyone that speaks more than one language can agree is that it is difficult and it is stressful. At least in the beggining that is. It is imperative that a student learning a new language be aware of the importance of this exposure, so when they are not in class they are still getting exposed to the language. It is also important for the student to understand that making a mistake on pronunciation or structure is part of the learning process and those very mistakes are what essentially will make them stronger at mastering a new language.
