Nottingham Education Network

NEN Explain: Stages of Second Language Acquisition

What are the stages of second language acquisition?

When it comes to exploring the processes involved for an individual learning a second or additional language, it can often be divided into five stages, each focusing on a distinctive developmental aspect that an individual will normatively progress through when learning an additional language. The five stages are

  • Pre-production or silent/Receptive stage
  • Early production
  • Speech emergence 
  • Intermediate fluency and,
  • Advanced fluency

The idea of the five stages first arose in the 1983 book The Natural Approach by Stephen Krashen and Tracy Terrell. It has since been discussed and debated regarding its implementation and accuracy.

Pre-production 

The first stage of an individual’s learning process is Pre-production. This stage is also called the silent period because individuals do not actively communicate verbally in the language they are learning. However, they will observe, absorb, and listen to conversations and core high-frequency descriptive words directed at them and around them.

This stage normally occurs during the first six months after the introduction of the new language. Still, it is dependent on the individual’s level of experience, exposure, and ability regarding the language they are learning.

During this stage, the individual will be developing their receptive vocabulary or, in more simple terms, memorising but not using words. The amount of receptive vocabulary that is seen to develop within the pre-production stage is often noted as being around 500 words.

During this stage, the core words that the individual has been exposed to routinely are often the words they will be more likely to mimic.  This process of mimicry is often seen as a learning mechanism used by second language learners in order to make a connection and link words to the corresponding object, idea or person rather than as an attempt to seriously communicate wants, wishes and needs. This use of mimicry is often why physical activities that prompt attention and enable a developing link between the core words and the object, idea or person they represent are seen as beneficial during this stage. 

Alongside this, the individual may also use high-frequency words such as yes or no when interacting with others. However, despite their use, they are often used incorrectly or do not respond correctly to the question or request. This is due to the individual mimicking these words because they are often the ones they hear most frequently rather than using them because they understand what they mean. 

Early production

The next stage of second or additional language learning is Early production, in which an individual enters around six to twelve months of their language learning journey. Within this time, the individual begins to respond more actively to questions, instructions and requests through the use of one or two-word responses. This more active engagement is because, over the course of the previous stage and during this one, they have developed the ability to identify and understand the high-frequency core words. It is, however, important to recognise that even though they are able to identify and understand the core words, they still have limited overall comprehension of the language. As such, the high-frequency core words they are able to replicate will often be used incorrectly, out of context, or mispronounced. 

Another noticeable features is the persistent use of present-tense verbs such as ‘am’ instead of the past-tense verbs of ‘was’ and simple verb forms such as ‘bring’ instead of more complex forms like ‘brought’. One of the reasons associated with why this occurs is that the individual within Early production is still developing a working understanding of the grammar and syntax of the new language and is mainly focusing on the production of high-frequency words and simple present tenses as a way to communicate their ideas, wishes and wants. As a result of the individual’s focus on production rather than on grammar and syntax, this often results in grammatical errors and misuse of words, but this is a natural part of the language learning process.

Speech Emergence

The third stage in learning a second or additional language is Speech emergence, which usually occurs during the first to third year of the learning process. As the name suggests, this stage is where an individual begins to actively and more accurately use the 500 words learnt in the pre-production stage, the 1000 words developed in the early production stage and the nearly 3000 that will be gained during this stage. 

Now that the individual has what is often described as approximately 4500 words by this stage, they often begin to blend receptive and expressive language, which in turn highlights the emerging and growing comprehension of their new language. 

One of the identifiable features of Speech emergence is that of the individual’s ability to use short, but with improving accuracy, sentences often based on actions, requests and wants. These sentences can also often involve the use of questions, further demonstrating their growing grammatical and syntactical comprehension. Despite, as discussed, the individual communicating with increased accuracy, there are still grammatical and pronunciation errors, but the overall meaning and intent of what is being communicated is understandable.

Intermediate fluency 

The next stage is Intermediate fluency, which occurs approximately in the third to fifth year. During this stage, the individual improves upon their comprehension of the language and, in turn, develops a more in-depth and broader grammatical understanding and working vocabulary.

As the individual continues to practice and refine their spoken language, they are now rapidly incorporating words into their vocabulary, which within the Intermediate fluency stage sits at around 6000 words. These 6000 words enable them to communicate within a range of situations, with a range of people and based on a range of topics. 

Advanced fluency 

The final stage of second or additional language learning is that of Advanced fluency. This stage often occurs during the fourth to seventh year of an individual learning the new language and can be identified by them having an almost fully comprehensive grasp of the language. This detailed understanding of the second or additional language enables them to communicate their ideas, wishes, wants and needs fluently and effectively. However, the individual occasionally makes small errors when presented with new, unfamiliar, or odd words and in communication situations.