Teach English in Macun Zhen - Jincheng Shi

In acquiring a first language, the learning will most likely be in an environment in which they have no conflicting previous knowledge of a language to confuse them. This ‘blank slate’ status allows learners to absorb much faster because they don’t have to equate words between languages as well a need to learn. When most people are acquiring the first language they are very young and are just learning how to express their thoughts, naturally learning new vocabulary daily to fulfill their need. Another advantage is young learners are less inhibited by making mistakes, they find it easier to move along and are not necessarily scared of making mistakes. As they grow new vocabulary is organically introduced to their daily conversations through daily interactions with other native speakers. Acquiring a second language is a little bit harder than acquiring a first language, it also does have its benefits and advantages over acquiring a first. The difficulty in acquiring a second language comes from having previously learned the first language. Often times 2cd language learners have a tendency to learn a new language by using their knowledge of the first to translate back-and-forth. However, this really doesn’t work out well especially if the learner is attempting to acquire language that is fundamentally different from the one they initially around. For example, I have learned Chinese as a second language, and I had previously learned English as a first language. Quite frequently, my Chinese teacher would tell us, ‘don’t use English to learn Chinese’. This is because the way sentence structures are formed and the way verb tenses are created are not the same as English fundamentally. So, when you attempt to use an English sentence and replace every English word with the Chinese word, you will not have the meaning translated into Chinese even though you translated the same sentence. However, since Learning first language is typically acquired Buy daily interactions and natural, organic conversation detailed understanding of grammar forms and technicalities of the language I sometimes overlooked. They are overlooked simply because if you speak the language naturally you don’t need to know how it works, or you don’t need to explain it to others because you don't have to think about it. This is an advantage for it. Learning a 2cd language you truly immerse yourself in how a language works. Since typically when somebody is learning a second language it’s a personal desire to learn the language, or they move to a foreign country and are required to learn it, they usually have more of a personal initiative to learn the ins and outs of a language. However, another downfall of this is if somebody isn’t necessarily interested in learning a second language they might falter in their growth, they might struggle to acquire a vast vocabulary or understanding of language. Something that is very important in learning language is having a driving desire or need to be mutually intelligible in that language, especially if the person is learning later on in their life and might not be as easy to learn. One reason this might true is because of the sheer amount of how many words a person will have to learn to be able to strongly command a language. Maintaining new knowledge in a 2cd language also proves to be key in fully acquiring a language. One of the most critical ways to acquire a language and maintain it is to be constantly consuming and engaging in stimulating content. Overall, there are advantages and difficulties in acquiring a first or second language and they vary between the two. Whatever the difficulties may be, I am personally an advocate on learning more than one language in your life. I believe that any difficulties in learning new grammar or vocab are strongly outweighed by the benefits. Learning a new language opens up a whole new world of communication and is immensely valuable.