Researchers observe children acquiring their first language easily and well; however, the learning of second language, especially in an educational setting, often meets with great difficulty and failure. We should be able to learn something form a systematic study of that first language learning experience. We could get our won interpretations and draw conclusions about the implication of theories and research in first language acquisition if we think about ourselves childhood period. The first step might be to eliminate some myths about the relationship between first language and second language acquisition. H.H. Stern (1970:57-58) summarized some common arguments. According to his arguments, we can be roughly listed and revised some points as shown following.

1.      In language teaching, we must practice and practice, again and again. We watch a child learning his mother tongue. He repeats things over and over again. This is the way when we are learning a foreign language.

2.      We must be a mimic when we are learning a foreign language. It just likes a small child. He imitates everything.

3.      We practice syllables, then words, then sentences. From the simple sentences to the complex sentences. This is the natural order for learning a foreign language.

4.      Watch a small child’s speech development. First he listens, and then he speaks. Understanding always precedes speaking. This is the right order of learning in a foreign language.

5.      A small child listens and speaks. Reading and writing are advanced stages of language development. The natural order for first and second language learning is listening speaking, reading, writing.

6.      We do not have to translate when we were very small. We should have to learn a foreign language in the same way.

7.      A small child simply uses language. He does not learn formal grammar; however, he learns the language perfectly. It is unnecessary to use grammatical in teaching a foreign language.

The comparison of  first and second language acquisition has been carelessly treated. We have to consider difference between children and adults. The mostly comparison is that the first language acquisition of a child with the second language acquisition of an adult; however, this comparison is illogical. This comparison involves not only first and second language learning situations but also between children and adults. It is more logical to compare first and second language learning in children or to compare second language learning in children and adults. The two comparisons have only one diversity parameter which is either the language or the age.

Four types of comparison and contrast are provided, which is shown in Figure one. In Taiwan , we have a special culture. Most of Taiwanese is bilingual. The table can be revised for matching diversities of Taiwan society. Cell L11 can be the languages of Taiwanese, Hakka, or others. L12 is the language of Mandarin. Child in Taiwan learns two languages at the same period of childhood. Somehow it will not easy to say which one is child’s first language. The leaves of possible comparisons are C11&C12-C2, C2-A2, and C11&C12-A2. A mount of adult in Taiwan can use L11&L12 very well. However, only a fewer of adult can use L2 very fluently.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Researchers discuss on first and second language acquisition differences questions of where there is a “critical period” for language acquisition. The critical period hypothesis claims that there is such biological time table. What is the definition of successful learning second language learning? One’s “Accent” is one of key parameters of success. In order to explain these topics, we discuss with neurological and psychomotor in the beginning. Following is considered the elements of cognitive, affective, and linguistic.

Neurological research evidence shows that human brain matures certain functions are assigned or lateralized. Some specific functions are lateralized to the left hemisphere of the brain and the other functions are lateralized to the right hemisphere of the brain. Intellectual, logical, and analytic functions seem largely located in the left hemisphere. Emotional and social needs are controlled by the right hemisphere. Language functions appear to be controlled in the left hemisphere. Walsh and Diller (1981:18) concluded that different aspects of a second language are learned optimally at different ages:

Lower-order processes such as pronunciation are dependent on early maturing and less adaptive macro-neural circuits, which makes foreign accents difficult to overcome after childhood. Higher-order language functions, such as semantic relations, are more dependent on late maturing neural circuits, which may explain why college students can learn many times the amount of grammar and vocabulary that elementary school students can learn in a given period of time.

We have roughly looked the consideration of 4 type comparisons. We are going to focus on some of the linguistic findings, particularly in the child’s acquisition of a second language (Cell L11 & L12, Child learns two languages simultaneously.) Although most of Taiwanese uses Mandarin in Taiwan , a plenty of Taiwanese also uses Taiwanese, Hakka, or others languages fluently. This is very interesting society that children have the chance to learn two languages in the some period. It is clear that children use of similar strategies in learning two languages. The key to successful of learning two languages is in distinguishing separate contexts for the two languages. In this kind of case we call “Coordinate Bilinguals”. Children generally do not have problems with “mixing up languages”. They have two meaning system, is as opposed to “Compound Bilinguals”. The bilingual is used to inset a world, a phrase, or a sentence into the other language which he or she can use. Especially, bilingual speaks to the other bilingual. Furthermore, in some cases the acquisition of both languages in bilingual children is slightly slower than the normal schedule for first language acquisition.