While I
have seen several different terms used for people who are learning a new language, these two
seem quite different and each contains its own meaning in its words.
An
English as a Second Language (ESL) student has a first "mother" tongue that is not
English and is now acquiring the English language. Interestingly, this term is sometimes used
quite imprecisely. Many students who are designated as ESL students know two or more languages
before they learn English, and might be more properly characterized as English as Third or
Fourth Language learners. This is particularly true of students who have been raised in a
country like India, on the African continent, or in Europe. Also, while we use this term in the
United States, technically, an ESL student could be in Bolivia, in an English class.
Second Language Acquisition (SLA) is a term that refers to someone who has a mother
tongue and is now learning a second language. The first language could be English and the second
French. There are not languages in particular designated in this term. English is my native
language, and as I took French in high school and college, this term could certainly have
applied to me.
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