English is an international language that is used in most of the countries in the world. Not only used by over 300 million people in English native countries, but also used in other countries. People in English native countries will acquire it as their first language, while people in other countries will learn it as a Foreign Language. Both of the countries learn the same language, learn the same language skills, and learn the same language culture. But as they learn it differently, as first language and as foreign language, there must be some differences in learning the language.

The first difference that can be seen from both of the learning types is about their prior knowledge in the language. Prior knowledge here means as “….what one already knows about a subject….” As stated by Steven (1980:151). In learning English as first language, people don’t have any prior knowledge about English. While in learning English as foreign language, people have already known something about their native language and also about their target language (English). For the example, a native English kid doesn’t know which words belong to noun, verb, adverb, and adjective that (s) he found. While a non- native English kid has already known which words belong to noun, verb, adverb, and adjective in both of his/ her native language and also in English.

Another difference that distinguishes learning English as first and foreign language is their consciousness in learning the language. A linguist from University of Southern California, Stephen Krashen has identified two main modes of learning a language; they are Conscious Learning and Subconscious Acquisition. Generally, native speaker of English who acquire the language as their first language will acquire it subconsciously. They aren’t realized that they are learning language. They also are not consciously aware of the rules of language they have acquired. But they can feel which one is correct. Grammatical sentences ‘sound’ right, or ‘feel’ right, and errors feel wrong, even though they don’t know which rule was violated. (Krashen 1982:10).  As it’s started since they are born, language comprehension is more important than language production. On the other hand, people who learn English as foreign language will learn the language consciously. They know and they are aware that they are learning language. In this conscious learning, learner will be presented some grammar and pronunciation rules and then will be given some examples of the rules in sentences or utterances used in real life. Then the learner will know the rules, be aware of them, and be able to talk about them. In this learning, language production is very important.

One other thing that makes first language learning and foreign language learning different is the condition for successful learning.  English native speakers learn English by hearing their parents’ conversation while the meaning is made clear by the context. They will learn to understand and comprehend the language uttered. They will be able to understand more language than they can produce. Not only by hearing, they will also associate what they hear and the meaning of the message they mean. And at the last condition, they will associate what they hear and the grammar they know. It’s very different to condition for successful foreign language learning. First of all they will be given some grammar and pronunciation rules. After that they will be given some examples of the rules in sentences or utterances in their real life. Further, they have to be able to produce the language they learn by using the correct grammar and pronunciation. In this learning, language producing is very important.

                The last difference in learning English as First and Foreign Language is the outcomes, such as errors, and order of skills being reached. In learning English as first language, children usually produce some errors in pronouncing some words, such as ‘nana’ for banana. This error made caused by the speaking ability of the children itself, dealing with developing speaking organ. While in learning English as foreign language, learners always make mistakes in pronounce the word because of their acknowledgement and the differences of pronouncing some letters in their first and their target language. The respond from other people regard to these errors also different. Parents whose children mispronounce banana with nana rarely correct it with the right pronunciation, while teacher whose students make mistakes in their pronunciation will correct it as soon as they utter the words. In terms of the skills being reached by the learners, they are also different. In acquiring first language, the earliest stage is listening skill. Through this process, students also develop their comprehension skill on the language they heard. After that, the next stage is speaking skill. Children will try to pronounce and utter some words and sentences gradually. And the last, but not least is reading and writing skills. It is very different with order of skills in foreign language learning. It is started by reading skill, listening skills, and the last speaking and writing skill.

                In short, even though most of the countries in this world use English for their communication, use the same English, learn the same English culture, and master the same language skills, there is also some differences regard to the origin they learn the language; as first language and as foreign language. The differences may be in terms of the starting point of the knowledge had by the learners, in terms of the process, and also in terms of the outcomes as results of learning the language.