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Every subject，or area of study，has its terminology.The terminology of a subject refers to the set of special words and expressions used in connection with it.The main purpose of this chapter is to set the scene for the rest of the book.We have discussed what is meant by the term Second Language Acquisition，and declared the main objectives of the study of SLA.Here we think it necessary to examine a few key terms relating to the research ofSLA.Understanding these terms will pave the way for a better understanding of what SLA is about.
Native language refers to the mother tongue，or the first language（L1） spoken by native speakers.For example，English is the native language for American and British people；Chinese is the native language for Chinese people and Japanese for Japanese people.Native language is“picked up” in naturalistic environment and in an informal manner.People generally learn to speak and use the language in real communicative contexts，and the primary focus is on meaning instead of linguistic forms.Native language is also tightly bound to native culture，and because of this，it is often difficult to decode a person from another culture.However，target language refers to any language that is the aim of learning.A second or foreign language which is being learnt can be called a target language.A target language，unlike native language，is often learned in classrooms in a formal way.People learn to speak it in an inauthentic context.While people are learning it，their primary focus is on linguistic forms first，and then move on gradually toward interactive communication.
A second language，in a broad sense，refers to any language learned after one has acquired one's native language.However，when compared with a foreign language，it refers more narrowly to a language which plays a dominant role in a particular country or region though it may not be the first language of many people who use it.A second language is often acquired by minority group members or immigrants who speak another language natively.However，a foreign language is not the native language of large numbers of people in a particular country or region.It is not used as a medium of instruction in schools，nor is it widely used as a medium of communication.A foreign language is typically taught as a school subject for the purpose of communicating with foreigners or for reading printed materials in the language.English，for instance，is a second language for Chinese immigrants in the U.S.A.，but it becomes a foreign language for Chinese people in China.
Similar distinction should also be made between the second language context and foreign language context.In a second language context，the language is spoken in the country or area where it is being learnt.In a foreign language context，the language is not normally spoken outside the classroom，as is the case of learning English in China.In this book and in the field of SLA in general，a second language refers to any language other than a person's first language.Therefore，for a learner of English in China，the field of SLA research would say that English is a second language being learned in a foreign language context.
A library language is one which functions primarily as a tool for further learning through reading，especially when books or journals in a desired field of study are not commonly published in the learners’native language.An auxiliary language is one which learners need to know for some official functions in their immediate political setting，or will need for purposes of wider communication，although their first language serves most other needs in their lives.Both library language and auxiliary language belong to a second language，the only difference being in the function of each type.
Other restricted or highly specialized functions for second languages are designated language for specific purposes，such as French for Hotel Management，English for Aviation Technology，Spanish for Agriculture，and so on.The learning of each of these languages typically focuses only on a narrow set of occupation-specific uses and functions.One such prominent area is English for Academic Purposes（EAP）.
Bilingualism refers to the use of two（or at least two） languages either by an individual，or by a group of speakers，such as the inhabitants of a particular region or a country.Bilingualism is the normal linguistic phenomenon in most of the countries of the world.In everyday use，a bilingual person is one who can speak，read，or understand two languages equally well.But the ability to read and write a second language or foreign language does not necessarily imply a degree of bilingualism.That is，bilingual is an end point，usually referring to someone who can use two languages with some degree of proficiency.However，SLA researchers are interested in individuals who are in the process of learning.
Multilingualism refers to the use of three or more languages by an individual，or by a group of inhabitants of a particular region or country.Usually，a multilingual person does not know all the languages equally well.For example，he or she may speak and understand one language best，or may be able to write in only one of them.Or he or she may use each language for different communicative purposes：one language at home，one at work，and one for shopping.Multilingualism and multilingual acquisition are complex phenomena.They implicate all the factors and processes associated with SLA and bilingualism as well as unique and potentially more complex factors and effects associated with the interactions that are possible among the multiple languages being learned and the processes of learning them（Gass and Selinker，2008：21）.It must be pointed out that both bilingualism and multilingualism overlap to some extent with second language acquisition.
In order to investigate how learners acquire an L2，we need a clear，operational definition of what is meant by the term“acquisition”.Unfortunately，researchers have been unable to agree on such a definition.A distinction is made between“acquisition”and“learning” .According to Krashen（1982），“acquisition” refers to the subconscious process of“picking up”a language through exposure and“learning”refers to the conscious process of studying it.According to this view，it is possible for learners to acquire or learn L2 features independently and at separate times.Although this distinction is favored particularly by teachers，it is problematic mainly because of the difficulty of demonstrating whether the processes involved are conscious or not.In this coursebook，the two terms“acquisition”and“learning”will be used interchangeably.
Second language acquisition，generally，refers to the learning of a new language after the native language has been learned.Sometimes the term refers to the learning of a third or fourth language.It also means both the acquisition of an L2 in a classroom setting and in the natural environment.Foreign language learning， however， is different.It refers to the learning of a nonnative language in the environment of the learner's native language.For example，French speakers learn English in France or Chinese speakers learn Spanish in China.Second language acquisition，in contrast，refers to the learning of a nonnative language in the environment in which the language is spoken.For example，if German speakers learn Japanese in Japan，Japanese is their second language.Such a process of learning may or may not take place in a classroom situation.An important distinction is that learning in a second language environment has considerable access to speakers of the language being learned，whereas learning in a foreign language environment usually does not have such an advantage.
In the area of SLA，input refers to the language which a learner hears or receives and from which they can learn.In contrast，the language a learner produces is called output.Both input and output are important for L2 learning.In second language acquisition，one learner's output can be another learner's input.
As for“input”in SLA，it must be pointed out that the language a learner hears or reads must have some kind of communicative intent.That is，there must be a message in the language.A learner's job is to understand the message，to comprehend the meaning of the utterance or sentence.Therefore，input is related to comprehension in that whenever a learner of a language is engaged in actively trying to comprehend something in the L2，he or she is getting input and that input serves as the basis for acquisition.The definition of input here is different from the common，everyday use of the term.
Input for acquisition is not information about the language.Learning a rule is not input.Input for acquisition is not drilling or filling out an exercise to practice verb forms.When learners produce language，they are not getting input.Language used for display purposes or for correction is not input.Thus，when a teacher corrects a student who pronounces the-ed ending of the past tense as a full syllable by saying“Not‘talkED’．Talk［t］.Talk［t］”，this speech is not input for acquisition.Only instances of the L2 that are used to communicate information or to seek information can be considered as input for acquisition（VanPatten，2007：36）.Another feature of input that is important for acquisition purposes is that it must somehow be comprehensible.Language that is completely incomprehensible to the learner will not be of much use.
Input can be conversational and non-conversational.Conversational input refers to the language learners hear in communicative contexts.It is language directed to the learners to which some kind of response is expected.The learner is part of the interaction.Everyday conversations，classroom conversations in the L2，and playing games are all examples of such contexts in which learners can receive conversational input.Non-conversational input is language that a learner hears when he or she is not part of the interaction.It is not directed to an individual learner.When a learner listens to the radio，watches TV，or attends a lecture，he gets non-conversational input，in which the learner does not participate in communicative conversations.Input can also be visual as well as aural.Reading，for example，is an important means of input，especially for adult language learners.But for child language learners，oral input is the most important type.
As for“output”in SLA，it is not language production without meaning.Meaningless utterances and imitations are not output.Output in SLA means language that has a communicative purpose.It is the language that learners produce to convey certain kind of meaning.It can be the output of an immigrant in a grocery store or bakery，an ESL student trying to register for classes in Kansas，a learner of German on a study-abroad experience who is trying to buy a certain medication，a foreign language student in a classroom who is answering a question，and so on.So，when we discuss issues related to output，we are speaking of the same kind of language that we speak of when we talk about input-language that has some kind of communicative intent（VanPatten，2007：80）.
Philosophers and scientists have dealt with the difference between competence and performance for centuries.Competence refers to a person's underlying knowledge of a system，event，or fact.It is the non-observable ability to do something.Performance is the observable and concrete realization of competence.It refers to the actual doing of something，such as walking，singing， dancing， and speaking.In western society， competence-performance distinction is used in all walks of life.For example，children in schools are assumed to possess certain competence in given areas and that this competence can be measured and assessed by means of observation of elicited samples of performance.
As for language，competence refers to one's knowledge of the system of a language，that is，the rules of grammar，its vocabulary，all the pieces of a language and how these pieces fit together.Performance， however， is the actual comprehension （listening，reading）or production（speaking，writing） of linguistic events.According to Chomsky，competence is the mental representations of linguistic rules that constitute the speaker's internal grammar.The internal grammar is implicit rather than explicit.The speaker has the intuitions about the grammaticality of sentences.That is，they know whether an utterance is grammatically correct or not.The competence-performance distinction has been extended to cover communicative aspects of language.
The term communicative competence is used in contrast to Chomsky's term linguistic competence .Hymes（1979：15） referred to communicative competence as“rules of use without which the rules of grammar would be useless”.This means besides grammatical rules，language use is governed by rules of use.Based on these rules of use，the desired or intended functions are performed and the language used is appropriate to the context.Some scholars have distinguished communicative competence and communicative performance.The former includes both linguistic and pragmatic knowledge.That is，the speaker has knowledge of what is the appropriate and correct language behavior and what is effective language behavior in relation to particular communicative goals.The latter， communicative performance，is the actual use of these two types of knowledge in understanding and producing speech.
In light of this distinction，the principal goal of SLA is to describe and explain the learners’ linguistic competence.This is usually done by studying the samples of their performance，for the mental knowledge is not open to direct inspection.As for research method，some SLA researchers analyze the actual utterances learners produce in speech and writing.Some try to tap learners’intuitions about what is correct or appropriate by means of judgment tasks.Others rely on the introspective and retrospective reports that learners provide about their own learning（Ellis，1994：13）.One thing we think necessary to point out here is that none of these research methods can provide a direct window into competence.It is not easy to extract underlying grammatical knowledge from the subjects，especially children，as for whether it's better to say“two foots”or“two feet”.Children may have no interest in the researcher's grammatical question and therefore say whatever they want to.Researchers then have to design indirect methods of inferring competence，among which are tape recording and transcription of countless hours of speech followed by studious analysis.
Comprehension refers to the identification of the intended meaning of written or spoken communication.It can be a bottom-up process，drawing on information contained in the message，or a top-down process，which draws on information contained in the background knowledge，information from the context and from the listener's and speaker's purposes or intentions.Production refers to the output oflanguage，such as speaking and writing.In child language， most evidence points to the general superiority of comprehension over production.They seem to understand“more”than they actually produce.A good example can be found in a child's phonological development.Look at the following example from a dialogue between a 3-year-old child and Miller（Brown，2021：38）：
（C＝Child；M＝Miller）
C： My name is Litha .
M： Litha ？
C： No ， Litha .
M： Oh ， Lisa .
C： Yes ， Litha .
Obviously，the child can perceive the contrast between two English sounds：/θ/as in Litha and/z/as in Liza，though she could not produce the contrast herself.Similarly a beginning English learner may understand a sentence with an embedded relative clause，but they may not able to produce one in speaking or in writing.Look at the following example：
（T＝Teacher；L＝Learner）
T： Which girl is your sister ， the girl who is standing under the tree or the girl who is talking with the tall man ？
L： The girl is standing under the tree . She is my sister .
How do we explain this difference？It is known that even adults understand more words than they can use in speech；they also perceive more sentences than they can speak out.Can we say that comprehension ability is somewhat separate from production ability？Can we say comprehension indicates more of our overall competence， and production， a smaller portion？ Definitely not.It is necessary to distinguish production competence from comprehension competence.A theory of language must include some explanation of the separation of two kinds of competence.
These two terms are widely used in cognitive psychology and have become increasingly common in current accounts of second language acquisition.Explicit learning is a conscious process and is likely to be intentional.It can be investigated by giving learners an explicit rule and asking them to apply it to data or by inviting them to try to discover an explicit rule from an array of data provided.Implicit learning，however，is typically defined as learning that takes place without intentionality or awareness.It can be investigated by exposing learners to input data，which they are asked to process for meaning，and then investigating whether they have acquired any L2 linguistic properties as a result of the exposure.For example，learners could be asked to read a book and then tested to see if they had acquired any new vocabulary in the process.
This distinction is made in accordance with where second language acquisition takes place.Naturalistic second language acquisition takes place in naturally occurring social situations while instructed second language acquisition often takes place in classrooms，with the help of or“guidance”from reference books and language teachers.The learning occurs differently in the two situations.In the former case，the learner focuses on communication and thus learns incidentally，whereas in the latter case，the learner typically focuses on some aspect of the language system.Not all SLA researchers favor the terms“naturalistic”and“instructed” .Some prefer to use“untutored” /“tutored” or“uninstructed” /“instructed”.The point has been made that there is really nothing“unnatural”about classrooms.It should be noted that learners often do not belong exclusively to the“naturalistic”or“instructed”categories but rather to a third category，often called“mixed”．In this coursebook，we will discuss，in chapter six，instructed second language acquisition in more detail by examining how it affects L2 acquisition.