second language
16
3.0
- noun
- /ˈsɛkənd ˈlæŋɡwɪdʒ/
:
segundo idioma
- Well, learning a second language isn't always easy.
- English as a second language
- second language acquisition
- second language learners
Well, learning a second language isn't always easy.
- Well, learning a second language isn't always easy.
- Like English was a second language for me, right?
- I was in a, like, English for, you know, ESL, like English as a second language kid.
- In middle school I was put into ESL classes, so English as a second language.
- If this is the second language for you, you probably had to study aspects of English.
- OK, I've got a five star review for you titled Best ESL Material Ever which stands for English as a Second Language.
- And that I learned most of my second language through conventional methods and it was slow.
- I'm like annoyed that this man who's for whom English is your second language is such an incredible writer.
Examples
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Is English her second language?
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She practices her second language every day to improve her speaking skills.
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This is somebody whose second language is English or third language or whatever.
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My three are so busy with their second languages, their public service work...
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You failed to mention that you speak a second language.
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Is English your second language?
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The acquisition of a second language is a difficult and complex process.
Academic text (1996) -
I'm teaching English as a second language at the community college until 6:00.
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A few of my students speak a second language and don't understand a lot of English.
Academic text (2011) -
Even if English is your second language and you are a Harvard alum, you will always have a home with us.
Synonyms
1
7.0
A language you learn after your first language
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'second' (following the first) with 'language' (a system of communication), so it denotes another language learned after the first. This compositional pattern is common across languages (e.g., Spanish 'segunda lengua') and follows a straightforward numeric + noun structure that a B1 learner who knows the constituents will understand.
Etymology
The phrase second language comes from a simple idea of order: second and language together mean the language you learn after your 'first' one. So it means a language someone learns in addition to their first, often learned after childhood.