secondarylanguage

Secondary language, often denoted L2, is any language learned in addition to one's native language (L1). It may be used alongside L1 in daily communication, education, travel, or work, and its status can vary from a casual communicative skill to a dominant mode of expression. The term is primarily a linguistic and educational concept, distinguishing a learner’s second language from the first language and from languages learned as foreign languages in contexts where the language is not commonly used.

Second language acquisition (SLA) is the field that studies how people learn L2. Success in SLA is influenced by factors such as age of onset, motivation, input quantity and quality, opportunities for meaningful interaction, learner aptitude, and the amount and quality of practice. Proficiency typically develops through stages, with gains in vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and pragmatic competence.

Learning approaches include immersion, classroom instruction, tutoring, self-study, and technology-assisted methods. Proficiency levels are commonly described with frameworks such as the CEFR (A1 to C2) or the ACTFL scales, which provide benchmarks for listening, speaking, reading, and writing abilities.

L2 learning faces challenges such as cross-linguistic influence from the L1, fossilization of errors, and variable exposure to the target language. Educational policies often promote L2 instruction to facilitate communication in multilingual settings, international collaboration, or access to information and culture.

See also: bilingualism, multilingualism, second language acquisition, language education.