Differences in the Empirical Basis of Teaching and Learning a Second and First Language 
THE EMPIRICAL BASIS OF SECOND LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING
LEARNING A SECOND LANGUAGE LIKE LEARNING A FIRST?
1. PSYCHOLINGUISTIC MECHANISM
Dulay and Burt began with the premise that first and second language acquisition in children were the same process, and that the kinds of errors made by a second language leaner would be the same as those made by a first language leaner of the same language. Children learning a second language are usually older tan L1 learners; they are further along in their cognitive development, and they have experienced a language once before.
2. THE ACQUISITION OF SYNTAX
Stephen Pinker) First language is an innate endowment bequeathed to us by virtue of our membership of the human race. There is a sufficient evidence to suggest that the two skills (First and Second language) are fundamentally different, certainly insofar as Syntax and Phonology are concerned.
3. DISCOURSE ACQUISITION
(Nunan 1984) I looked in particular at the perception of semantic and discourse relationships in written texts, and found a high level of agreement between first and second language readers.
While the second language readers had greater overall difficulty with the text than the first language readers, in relative terms, those relationships that first language readers found difficult were also found to be problematic for second language readers, and those that the first language readers found easy were also found to be easy by the second language readers.
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF CHRONOLOGICAL AGE ON THE ACQUISITION OF A SECOND LANGUAGE?
1. AGE-RELATED DIFFERENCES
In terms of rate, adults appear to do better than children (6 to 10 years), while teenagers (12 to 15 years) appear to outperform both adults and children. Ellis concludes that:
1. Starting age does not affect the route of SLA.
2. Starting age affects the rate of learning.
3. Both number of years of exposure and starting age affect the level of
LEARNING A SECOND LANGUAGE LIKE LEARNING A FIRST?
1. PSYCHOLINGUISTIC MECHANISM
Dulay and Burt began with the premise that first and second language acquisition in children were the same process, and that the kinds of errors made by a second language leaner would be the same as those made by a first language leaner of the same language. Children learning a second language are usually older tan L1 learners; they are further along in their cognitive development, and they have experienced a language once before.
2. THE ACQUISITION OF SYNTAX
Stephen Pinker) First language is an innate endowment bequeathed to us by virtue of our membership of the human race. There is a sufficient evidence to suggest that the two skills (First and Second language) are fundamentally different, certainly insofar as Syntax and Phonology are concerned.
3. DISCOURSE ACQUISITION
(Nunan 1984) I looked in particular at the perception of semantic and discourse relationships in written texts, and found a high level of agreement between first and second language readers.
While the second language readers had greater overall difficulty with the text than the first language readers, in relative terms, those relationships that first language readers found difficult were also found to be problematic for second language readers, and those that the first language readers found easy were also found to be easy by the second language readers.
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF CHRONOLOGICAL AGE ON THE ACQUISITION OF A SECOND LANGUAGE?
1. AGE-RELATED DIFFERENCES
In terms of rate, adults appear to do better than children (6 to 10 years), while teenagers (12 to 15 years) appear to outperform both adults and children. Ellis concludes that:
1. Starting age does not affect the route of SLA.
2. Starting age affects the rate of learning.
3. Both number of years of exposure and starting age affect the level of
References: AND BIOGRAPHICAL VARIABLES Willing (1988) obtained data on the learning preferences of 517 students 5. STRATEGY TRAINING AND TASK PERFORMANCE In the field of foreign languages, Barnett (1988) investigated the effect of strategy training on the reading of French as a foreign language