Language Acquisition in an EFL Classroom: Possibilities and Limitations

 

 

P. W. J. Nababan

 

 

Krashen (1981) proposes a distinction between language acquisition (LA) and language learning (LL) as processes of acquiring or achieving language competence (cf. also Halliday, 1973). LA is similar to the process children use in acquiring ability in first and second languages through meaningful interaction or natural communication. In this type of communication, the speakers of language users are concerned not with the form of their utterance but with the concepts and messages they are conveying or understanding. In other words, the process of acquiring ability in the language is done by the conscious awareness of the linguistic rules they possess and use. LL, on the other hand, is considered to be done by the conscious learning of explicit linguistic rules, which are used in making and understanding utterances.

 

 

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Nababan, P. W. J. (1991). Language acquisition in an EFL classroom: Possibilities and limitations. TEFLIN Journal, 4(2), 45-62.

 

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