Language is a structured system of communication. Through Language people can express their feelings, ideas, wishes and so on. Actually it is a tool of knowledge through which one can acquire and preserve the worldly knowledge. Language is also the indicators of cultural identity of a community. Each language has its own culture and customs.
‘Language is the medium through which the child acquires the cultural, moral, religious and other values of society’ (Klein)
First Language (L1) which is also called native language or mother tongue, is the language which a person learns from his/her birth. So one can say first language is the basis for sociolinguistic identity. In West Bengal majority of the pupils take up Bengali as First Language because they belong to that specific linguistic family.
Second Language (L2) is a second language or a language other than first. The language which is not the mother tongue, but which is used by the person in relation to administration, culture, social or national interest. In this context the term second can refer to any language which is learnt subsequent to the First Language. The second language is introduced compulsorily either at the end of primary stage or in the beginning of the lower secondary stage after the attainment of sufficient proficiency in the first Language. In India, more specifically in West Bengal, English has been given the status of Second Language.
