UNLOCKING BILINGUALISM: EXPLORING SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

Abstract

Given language's fundamental role in the human species and the highly globalized world we live in, knowledge of a second language has become an indispensable tool not only for one's inner world but also for interacting with the external world. Learning a language is not a difficult process that requires much effort when talking about our mother tongue, but what about an additional language? Despite the implementation of bilingual programs in schools and institutes in many countries, including Spain, for decades, the results of these programs are, for many, not as fruitful as expected. Bilingualism arises from the need to keep up with an evolving world. Still, sometimes its implementation is not correct, which means that the solution lies, first and foremost, in investigating what it means for the human mind to learn a language and the cognitive processes involved in learning a second one. Therefore, this thesis seeks to understand the different theories of language acquisition, the role of the mother tongue, and the factors that influence the acquisition of an additional language in order to create an organization of ideas and strategies to implement in bilingual classrooms and, thus, improve the results.