Second Language Acquisition Topics

Cute & Fun words By Barbara Echard I speak English as a second language. I studied English language teaching, I have a certified C2 level in reading, listening, writing and, speaking in this language and I have been living in Canada for over three years so far fully immersed in my second language. I should feel confident in my language skills, although you never really do 😖, "there should be no surprises"- I used to think. But having learned my second language as an adult, in a foreign academic context, there are limits to the themes, topics and circumstances one is exposed to in order to acquire new more language.  Now that I live here in Toronto, I have met new people, gone through new challenges, had different jobs, taken up new hobbies, etc. all of which have offered opportunities for new input, that is to say, learning new words! So, here I will share some of my favourite new words and expressions I have learned so far, please keep in mind that Canada is a truly mul...

Originally Published by Universidad del Desarrollo https://educacion.udd.cl/noticias/2017/10/did-you-know-that-you-can-learn-english-better-if-you-think-deeply-about-yourself/   Publicado en:  ¿Sabías que?   |   17 octubre, 2017 If you have ever struggled in English class trying to learn new words or understanding some complex grammar, you might want to try a method that is different from the traditional memorizing word lists or completing sentences with the correct verb tense. You could try creating language from scratch. So, for instance, if you really need to acquire irregular past tenses in English, you can write or recite lots of sentences about what you did yesterday, last week or last summer using the verbs you find most difficult. Some added difficulty to this would be to also describe what happened to other people around you. Some studies have shown that people who manipulate meaning when trying to learn a new language improved the quality of their learning ...

Crash Landing on Korean I took an impromptu trip to Seoul, South Korea, to spend some time nursing my younger sister who had broken both arms in a E-Bike accident. Yes, she crash-landed on the floor, but so did I, though figuratively, when I had to help her around without knowing any more than Anyongaseiyo! So, here I am ready to tell you about my linguistic journey from Toronto to Seoul, that although short, was very intense for my brain... Oh, Me me me...sorry. By the way, my sister is fine, she is fully recovered. So now that the worry and guilt are out of the way... let's dive into this process of trying to tread water in a sea of a language that is completely new. First thing, the input.  Our brains look for patterns in linguistic input, that is to say, linguistic information....language. And there was A LOT of input in Seoul! Both for your eyes and ears. Oh my! An ADHD person's nightmare. Colourful ads everywhere, Tv shows with stickers and subtitles, bright lit ads on th...