In this chapter we focus on second language learners’ developing knowledge and use of their new language. We begin by looking at the different contexts for first and second language learning as well as the different characteristics of learners in these contexts. We examine some of the errors that learners make and discuss what errors can tell us about their knowledge of the language and their ability to use that knowledge. We look at stages and sequences in the acquisition of some syntactic and morphological features in the second language. We also review some aspects of learners’ development of vocabulary, pragmatics, and phonology.
在本章中，我们关注第二语言学习者在其新语言中的知识发展与运用。我们首先考察第一语言与第二语言学习的不同情境，以及这些情境中学习者的不同特征。我们分析学习者出现的一些错误，并讨论这些错误能揭示他们对语言知识的掌握及其运用能力。我们考察第二语言中若干句法与形态特征的习得阶段与序列。同时，我们也回顾学习者在词汇、语用与语音方面的发展。
A second language learner is different in many ways from a young child acquiring a first language or an older child learning a second language. This is true in terms of both the learners’ characteristics and the environments in which the language acquisition typically occurs. Think about how the characteristics and learning conditions of the following learners may differ: • a young child learning a first language • a child learning a second language in day care or on the playground • an adolescent studying a foreign language in their own country • an adult immigrant with limited or disrupted education working in a second language environment and having no opportunity to go to language classes.
第二语言学习者在诸多方面不同于正在习得第一语言的幼儿，或正在学习第二语言的年长儿童。这种差异体现在学习者特征以及语言习得通常发生的环境。请思考下列学习者在特征与学习条件上的可能差异： • 学习第一语言的幼儿 • 在日托或操场环境中学习第二语言的儿童 • 在本国学习外语的青少年 • 受教育程度有限或曾中断教育、在第二语言环境中工作的成年移民，且无机会参加语言课程。
Now ask yourself the following questions about these different learners. 1 Do they already know at least one language? 2 Are they cognitively mature? Are they able to engage in problem solving, deduction, and complex memory tasks? 3 How well developed is their metalinguistic awareness? Can they define a word, say what sounds make up that word, or state a rule such as ‘add an -s to form the plural’? 4 How extensive is their general knowledge of the world? Does this knowledge enable them to make good guesses about what a second language interlocutor is probably saying? 5 Are they likely to be anxious about making mistakes and concerned about sounding ‘silly’ when speaking the language? 6 Does the learning environment allow them to be silent in the early stages of learning, or are they expected to speak from the beginning? 7 Do they have plenty of time available for language learning and plenty of contact with proficient speakers of the language? 8 Do they frequently receive corrective feedback when they make errors in grammar or pronunciation, or do listeners usually overlook these errors and pay attention to the meaning? 9 Do they receive corrective feedback when their meaning is not clear, when they use the wrong word, or when they say something that seems inappropriate or impolite? 10 Is modified input available? That is, do interlocutors adapt their speech so that learners can understand (for example, in terms of speed of delivery, complexity of grammatical structure, or vocabulary)?
请就这些不同学习者自问下列问题： 1 他们是否已掌握至少一种语言？ 2 他们在认知上是否成熟？能否进行问题解决、推理及复杂记忆任务？ 3 他们的元语言意识发展到何种程度？能否给出词语定义、指出构成该词的音素，或陈述诸如“加 -s 构成复数”之类的规则？ 4 他们的世界知识有多广博？这种知识能否帮助他们对第二语言交流对象的言语做出合理推测？ 5 他们是否容易因犯错而焦虑，并担心用该语言交流时显得“可笑”？ 6 学习环境是否允许其在早期保持沉默，还是从一开始就被期待开口说话？ 7 他们是否有充足的时间用于语言学习，并能频繁接触到该语言的熟练使用者？ 8 当他们在语法或发音上出错时，是否经常得到纠正性反馈？抑或听者通常忽略此类错误而关注表达的意义？ 9 当其表达不清、用词错误、或言语显得不恰当/不礼貌时，是否会得到纠正性反馈？ 10 是否能获得经调整的输入？即交流者是否会调整其言语（如语速、句法复杂度或词汇）以便学习者理解？
Then compare your views with the discussion of learner characteristics and learning conditions below.
随后将你的答案与下文关于学习者特征与学习条件的讨论进行对照。
By definition, all second language learners, regardless of age, have already acquired at least one language. This prior knowledge may be an advantage in the sense that they have an idea of how languages work. On the other hand, knowledge of other languages can lead learners to make incorrect guesses about how the second language works, and this may result in errors that first language learners would not make.
按定义，所有第二语言学习者——无论年龄——都已掌握至少一种语言。这种既有知识是优势，因为它使学习者对语言运作有基本概念。然而，先前语言的知识也可能导致对第二语言规律的错误类推，从而产生第一语言学习者不会犯的错误。
Very young language learners begin the task of first language acquisition without the cognitive maturity or metalinguistic awareness that older second language learners have. Although young second language learners have begun to develop these characteristics, they will still have far to go in these areas, as well as in the area of world knowledge, before they reach the levels already attained by adults and adolescents.
年幼的语言学习者在开始第一语言习得时，并不具备年长的第二语言学习者所拥有的认知成熟度或元语言意识。虽然年幼的第二语言学习者已经开始发展这些特征，但无论在这些方面还是在世界知识方面，他们距离成人和青少年的水平仍有较大差距。
Using the chart in Table 2.1, give your opinion about the presence or absence of learner characteristics and learning conditions for the four different learners mentioned above. Use the following notation:
请参考表2.1，对上述四类学习者在学习者特征与学习条件方面的存在与否给出你的判断。使用下列符号：