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There is a significant difference between the acquisition of a mother tongue and the fact of learning a language as an additional language. Linguists tend to differentiate between learning (learning) and acquiring (acquisition) a second language. The first language is a language acquired by babies and during childhood, naturally from their parents when first learning how to speak. The second language is a language that is learned at a later stage in life, after a mother tongue. Learning is a conscious process, because the person knows that he is studying a language and the acquisition is more unconscious because the child does not know that he is studying a language but learns it through the natural interaction that occurs with his adult caregivers. A first language is not particularly complicated because it is acquired naturally and without much effort, as mentioned, generally from birth by listening to parents. However, acquiring a second language is a far more complex procedure because it is a foreign language, for which you have to start from scratch to learn basic concepts. The acquisition is the natural process by which the mastery of one language or two languages (in the case of bilingual upbringing) becomes automatic because it is an experiential process. At this stage, it is worth mentioning that the learning context, is not the one that concerns children who receive a bilingual upbringing. In an increasing international world, people may now have double first languages, as a result of parents coming from different linguistic backgrounds. Although there is always more which can be learned in the classroom for mastery purposes and teaching, a first language is generally less complex. Children acquire language through an unconscious process during which they do not know the grammar rules. This is a process similar to the way they acquire their first language. They naturally have an idea of what is and what is not correct. To acquire the language, the student is surrounded by communication in a natural context. On the other hand, learning is the fundamental step in the potential acquisition of a language in adults. Learning a language is the formal study of a language, that is explicitly taught in an institutional context. There are many ways to acquire a second language, often being learnt in classrooms or with online tutorials, by listening to others speak in a different linguistic environments or in a foreign country. Young students who are in the process of acquiring English carry out very practical learning, and easily acquire the language to communicate with their classmates. Learning is the result of direct instructions in language norms where students have conscious knowledge of the new language learning process and can talk about that knowledge such as grammatical structures and rules for example. Researchers have shown, however, that knowing grammar rules does not necessarily make you a good speaker or writer of the language. A student who has memorized the rules of language may be able to succeed on an official English test, but will not be able to speak or write correctly. In conclusion, it is always important to maintain oneself up to date and constantly study the intricacies of one’s own native language, especially when one has the hope or expectation to teach a language. As, in order to achieve a mastery level of one’s mother tongue and become an excellent teacher, one must remember that there is always somethings new to be learned, as language is infinite and constantly changing!
