Learning: Learning is the process of acquiring new skills or knowledge and improving the existing skills. An individual undergoes a change in their knowledge and behavior on account of learning. Everyone is different from one another in acquiring skills, which implies that everyone has a different rate or speed of learning. Certain factors such as environment, learner’s ability and motivation, teacher’s capabilities and ways of imparting knowledge impacts a person’s learning experience. Learning affects child’s development too much. A child learns new habits only through the process of learning and imitating customs and tradition etc. the process of learning continues through life and human development takes place through learning.

Acquisition: Acquisition involves the subconscious acceptance of knowledge where information is stored in the brain through the use of communication. Acquisition learning refers to the process used for developing native languages and often learned through absorption in one’s early years home environment. When language is learnt naturally without any systematic practice, that is called acquisition. The term learning and acquisition are complementary. Learners acquire language where it is used in natural environment.

Difference between Learning and Acquisition:

• Acquisition is subconscious while learning is conscious and deliberate.
• In acquisition, learner focuses more on text and less on form while he focuses on form alone in the learning process of a language.
• Mother tongue is mostly acquired while second language is mostly learnt
• Learning proceeds slowly while acquisition proceeds rapidly
• Learning is intentional and effortful, while acquisition is unconscious and effortless
• In learning, the developmental stages of children are not same while in acquisition, similar stages of development can be seen.
• In learning, the teacher controls the pace while in acquisition the child controls the pace.
• In learning there can be negative evidence while in acquisition there is no negative evidence.