Development in a second language starts immediately upon students’ exposure to
the target language. At the beginning, the students may not understand what they heard
because of their unfamiliarity with native accents, vocabulary items, and native speakers’
normal speed of utterance. Nevertheless, the students gradually develop their language
comprehension as they have opportunities to experience language used by native speakers
of the target language. Research shows that students may take six months to two years
after their arrival in a new environment to demonstrate basic competence in the second
language