What are the stages through which a second language is typically acquired?

The stages through which a second language is typically acquired include pre-production, early production, speech emergent, and intermediate fluency.

In the pre-production stage, learners focus on listening and comprehending basic language without being expected to produce speech. This stage is characterized by observation and understanding, as students begin to build their vocabulary while they are not yet verbally communicating in the new language.

The early production stage follows, where learners start to use simple phrases and sentences. Their speech is still limited, but they begin to express themselves more actively, relying on basic vocabulary and grammatical structures.

During the speech emergent stage, learners become more confident and capable of forming sentences with more complexity. They are able to engage in short conversations and express their thoughts more fluidly, even if they still make grammatical errors.

Finally, in the intermediate fluency stage, learners demonstrate a greater command of the language. They can discuss abstract topics, elaborate on ideas, and express opinions with increasing fluency and confidence, though they may still struggle with certain nuances of the language.

This framework effectively outlines the progression of language acquisition, emphasizing the developmental nature of learning a new language through these distinct stages. Other options present simplified or different categorizations that do not accurately reflect the comprehensive