Sequential bilingualism occurs when a person becomes bilingual by first learning one language and then another. The process is contrasted with simultaneous bilingualism, in which both languages are learned at the same time.
There is variation in the period in which learning must take place for bilingualism to be considered simultaneous. Generally, the term sequential bilingualism applies only if the child is approximately three years old before being introduced to the second language (L2).
Sequential bilingual acquisition In contrast to simultaneous bilingualism which occurs within the first year of life, the sequential acquisition of a second language can occur at any age. As the dominant language of bilingual speakers is often the native language or the language used with a higher frequency, the language which is acquired later in life is often weaker. Although this is frequently the case, there are some situations where the language acquired later in life through sequential bilingual acquisition can actually become the speaker's dominant language, whether that be because of language attrition or other external causes. Second language competence depends on a wide variety of factors, including the mode in which sequential language acquisition takes place and the age at which the second language is acquired.
Modes of acquisition
Circumstantial bilingualism vs elective bilingualism Elective bilingualism means that L2 is acquired through voluntary language learning, such as choosing to take foreign language classes. Although these people continue to live in an environment where their first language is the dominant language, they are choosing to add another language to their linguistic abilities.
Circumstantial bilinguals, on the other hand, are those who are forced to learn a second language due to their social, geographical, or political situations. For example, immigrants who relocate to a new country may learn the new language in order to communicate with their new community. For circumstantial bilinguals, child learners will enter a "functional" stage of learning the language after about two years of being in a new country. This means that they will be fluent or almost fluent, and have the necessary written and oral language skills to function in all aspects of life. Adult learners will most likely not enter the functional stage until they have been in the new country for 10 years.
Formal vs informal learning Sequential language acquisition for L2 learners can occur in formal or informal settings. Formal language learning typically takes place in a classroom environment, where teaching of a second language is highly structured with a clear purpose. For example, when a Russian student takes a course of Arabic in school, the student is undergoing formal lessons to acquire the second language. Informal language learning on the other hand can take place in a variety of settings outside of a classroom, including in the home, through media, or at work or school. The main characteristic that defines informal language learning is that it involves unstructured acquisition and it mostly occurs through daily social interactions. An example of this type of language learning in more naturalistic contexts could be that when a native Japanese speaking child is living in the United States, the child will informally learn English through interaction and attending class with English-speaking citizens. Sequential language acquisition can also occur with a combination of informal and formal learning. This would occur if, for example, a native Japanese-speaking child moved to the United States and started to learn English; the child could experience informal English language learning through social interactions with their peers and formal language learning if they were enrolled in an ESL class with formal, school-based instruction.
Achieving linguistic competence with sequential bilingualism Achieving the competence of a native speaker Linguistic competence for sequential bilingual speakers can be influenced by factors such as age of acquisition, age of arrival and length of residence, and a number of other cognitive and environmental variables. Most linguists agree that linguistic competence comparable to a native speaker can be achieved when the second language is learned before the critical period of acquiring a language ends. It is more difficult to achieve a native-like competence when the language is learned at a later time in life. In terms of phonological competence, some studies have used measures of accentedness where subjects are rated on a scale from "native speaker" to "strong foreign accent."
Dominant versus balanced bilinguals There are two types of bilinguals: the dominant and balanced bilinguals. Dominant bilinguals are bilinguals who are more proficient in one language than the other.Myers-Scotton, C. (2008). Multiple Voices: An Introduction to Bilingualism. Australia: Blackwell Publishing. Balanced bilinguals are people who have equal proficiency in both their first language (L1) and L2. However, balanced bilinguals are not common, as people rarely use two languages in the same situation.
Grammatical versus communicative competence Grammatical competence refers to the ability to correctly combine grammatical elements of a language. Communicative competence, on the other hand, considers both grammatical competence and the social-psychological determinants of language used by native speakers.
Communicative competence refers to knowing when saying something is appropriate or not in a culture. It also includes knowing how to interpret an intended message in an utterance with more than one possible meaning difference. For example, knowing that when you are asked "Can you open the door?" it means that someone is requesting you to open the door and not enquiring whether you are able to open the door.
With formal teaching of a second language the focus tends to be on grammatical competence that is comparable to native speakers, often leaving limited communicative competence for sequential language learners. Communicative competence could be enhanced with increased use of the second language or immersion in the second language.
Interactional competence In first language acquisition children implicitly learn how their linguistic actions relate to the reactions of others. Similarly, sequential L2 learners have knowledge of basic interactional capabilities when they're starting to learn a second language. L2 speakers must draw on their basic interactional competence (BIC) in order to interact with native speakers.
BIC, which is what nonnative speakers start with, is contrasted with applied interactional competence (AIC), which L2 learners eventually acquire after living in a host country and learning the host culture. Additionally, recent research points to the potential of social VR to support the development of AIC in L2 speakers who do not have the opportunity to live abroad.
Majority vs minority language First language as a majority language The acquisition of a foreign language that is not commonly spoken in one's own community is dependent on one's motivation and determination (provided that there are the means and opportunity for the acquisition), since it is not a useful or essential medium of communication in one's own society.
First language as a minority language A Minority language of a region is a language spoken only by a minority in a population. For example, a Chinese, bilingual child living in the United States with their first language being Chinese and American English as the major regional language.
Minority languages may be at risk of being lost, depending on the following factors:
Age of introduction of L2 Several studies show that immigrant children who arrive in the country early eventually switch their primary and dominant language from L1 to L2, while children who arrive later in childhood keep their L1 as their primary, strong and dominant language. So the retention of the minority language is dependent on the age of acquisition of the majority language. This is because, the older the child is when introduced to L2, the more exposure to and knowledge of use of L1 the child has, and hence less tendency to lose his ability to use native languages, since the minority language will still be their primary and dominant language of use.Montrul, Silvina. (2008). Incomplete acquisition in bilingualism: re-examining the age factor: John Benjamins Publishing Company
Value and importance of minority language in society Especially in societies like the United States, where multilingualism and ethnic diversity are not particularly valued, language-minority children encounter powerful forces for language shift or assimilation when they enter the majority-speaking world of the classroom. Young children are extremely vulnerable to the social pressures exerted by people in their social worlds. But the social pressure they experience is not entirely external. Internal pressure also plays a part. Once they turn on the television and hear a new language, they understand that their own language is different, and possibly they also differ in appearance and in behavior; and they come to regard these differences as undesirable. At the same time, they are motivated to stop using their L1, all too often long before they have mastered the second language, all due to the internal and external pressures from their environment.Suárez-Orozco, Marcelo. M., & Suárez-Orozco, Carola. (2005). The new immigration: an interdisciplinary reader : Routledge
Furthermore, the rank of the minority language in the family, language profile of the parents, opportunity to interact with L1 peers and the importance of the language to a person will also play a part in whether the minority language will be lost.
Consequences of first language attrition (FLA)
The term 'First Language Attrition' (FLA) refers to the gradual decline in native language proficiency among migrants. As a speaker uses their L2 frequently and becomes proficient (or even dominant) in it, some aspects of the L1 can become subject to L2 influence or deteriorate.
For children in language-minority communities, maintaining their ancestral language preserves ties to their grandparents and keeps open the option of experiences that build ethnic identification and pride, as well as cultural continuity. Parents cannot easily convey to them their values, beliefs, understandings, or wisdom, and about how to cope with their experiences. They cannot teach their children about the meaning of work, or about personal responsibility or what it means to be a moral or ethical person in a world with too many choices and too few guideposts to follow. What is lost are the bits of advice parents should be able to offer children in their everyday interactions with them. Talk is a crucial link between parents and children. It is how parents impart their culture to their children and enable them to become the kind of men and women they want them to be. When parents lose their means for socializing and influencing their children, rifts develop and families lose the intimacy that comes from shared beliefs and understandings.http://potowski.org/sites/potowski.org/files/Wong_Fillmore_losing1st.pdf