First language acquisition
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Transcript of First language acquisition
FIRST LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
DEFINITIONS
1) “First language” (L1):
2) “Second language” (L2):
3) “Foreign language” (FL)
4) “Target language” (TL)
CHARACTERISTICS OF CHILDREN´S LANGUAGE
Their language development shows a high degree of similarity among children all
over the world. • PREDICTABILITY
• LEARNING THROUGH IMITATION• CREATIVITY
Before First Words -
• The earliest vocalizations–Involuntary crying–Cooing and gurgling – showing
satisfaction or happiness
Before First Words -
“Babbling” –Babies use sounds to reflect the
characteristics of the different language they are learning.
First Words
Around 12 months (“one-word” stage): –one or two recognizable words
(esp. content word); –Single-word sentences.
By the age of 2 (“two-word” stage):
1) at least 50 different words2) “telegraphic” sentences (no function
words and grammatical morphemes) e.g., “Mommy juice”, “baby fall down”
3) reflecting the order of the language. e.g., “kiss baby”, “baby kiss”
4) creatively combining words. e.g., “more outside”, “all gone cookie”
By the age of 4
– Most children are able to: ask questions, give commands, report real events, create stories about imaginary ones with
correct word order and grammatical markers most of the time.
–basic structures of the language–less frequent and more complex
linguistic structures.–use of the language in a widening
social environment.
By the age of 4
• Development of Metalinguistic Awareness
• Development of Vocabulary
THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO L1 ACQUISITION
1) Behaviorism: Say what I say
2) Innatism: It’s all in your mind
3) Interactionist/Developmental perspectives:
Learning from inside and outBibliography: Lightbown, Patsy. Spada, Nina. “How languages are learned” 1993
1) BEHAVIORISM: SAY WHAT I SAY
Skinner: language behaviour is the production of correct responses to stimuli through reinforcement.
Language learning is the result of:
imitation (word-for-word repetition), practice (repetitive manipulation of form), feedback on success (positive
reinforcement) habit formation.
The quality and quantity of the language that the child hears
as well as the consistency of the
reinforcement offered by others in the environment
would shape the child’s language
behaviour.
Children’s imitations are not random
Their imitation is selective and based on what they are currently
learning.
Children’s practice of new language forms
– substitution drills. – It is selective and reflects what they would like
to learn. – They pick out patterns/rules and then
generalize or overgeneralize them to new contexts.
2) INNATISM: IT’S ALL IN YOUR MIND
Chomsky (1959) argues that behaviorism cannot provide sufficient explanations for
children’s language acquisition for the following reasons:
–Children come to know more about the structure of their language than they could be
expected to learn on the basis of the samples of language they hear.
–The language children are exposed to includes false starts, incomplete
sentences and slips of the tongue, and yet they learn to distinguish between
grammatical and ungrammatical sentences.
–Children are by no means systematically corrected or instructed
on language by parents.
Children are biologically
programmed for language
Language develops in the child
In the same way of other biological
functions
language
acquisition
learning to walk.
LAD: LANGUAGE ACQUISITION DEVICE ( or BLACK BOX)
– It contains all and only the principles which are universal to all human languages
(i.e.. Universal Grammar – UG).
If children are pre-equipped with UG.
What they have to learn is
The ways in which their own language make use of those principles
children need access only to
samples of a natural language
CONCLUSION
• Children’s acquisition of grammatical rules is guided by principles of an innate UG
which could apply to all languages.
• Children “know” certain things of the language just by being exposed to a
limited number of samples.
Evidence used to support Chomsky’s innatist position:
Virtually all children successfully learn their native language
at a time in life when they would not be expected
to learn anything else so complicated (i.e. biologically programmed).
–Language is separate from other aspects of cognitive
developments (e.g., creativity and social grace) and may be located in a different
“module" of the brain.
The language children are exposed to does not contain
examples of all the linguistic rules and
patterns.
Animals cannot learn to manipulate a symbol system
as complicated as the natural language
of a 3- or 4-year-old child.
Children acquire grammatical
rules without getting explicit
instruction.
The biological basis for the innatist position:
The Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH) –Lenneberg: • There is a specific and limited time period (i.e.,
“critical period”) for the LAD to work successfully.
• Only when it is stimulated at the right time
Two versions
STRONG
ONLY BY PUBERTY
WEAK
AFTER PUBERTY IT WILL BE MORE DIFFICULT AND INCOMPLETE
Virtually every child learns language on a similar schedule in spite of different
environments.
– Three case studies of abnormal language development - evidence of the CPH • Victor – a boy of about 12 years old
(1799)• Genie – a girl of 13 years old (1970)• Deaf signers (native signers, early
learners, vs. late learners)
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTFCiGI5wJA
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_OavglDkn0&feature=related
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Tchn_DXs4o&feature=related
3) INTERACTIONIST/DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVES:
LEARNING FROM INSIDE AND OUT
Problems of Innatism:
Too much emphasis on the “final state”
but not enough on the developmental aspects of
language acquisition.
• Language wasONE manifestation
of the cognitive and affective ability to deal with the world
• Innatists dealt with FORMS of the language, not with the FUNCTIONAL levels
of meaning constructed from SOCIAL INTERACTION
INTERACTIONISM: Bruner
Language acquisition is an example of children’s ability to learn
from experience.
What children need to know is essentially available
in the language they are exposed to.
the innate learning ability of children
the environment in which they develop
LANGUAGE
DEVELOPMENT
CRUCIAL ELEMENT in language acquisition process
MODIFIED SPEECH
CARETAKER TALK• It is the way adults modify their speech
when communicating with kids.
• Slower rate of speech• Higher pitch
• More varied intonation• Shorter simpler sentence patterns
• Frequent repetition• Paraphrase
Developmental psychologists
attribute more importance to the environment
But they recognize a powerful learning mechanism in the human brain.
PIAGET
“Children’s cognitive development determines their language
development.”
The interac
tion between the child
things which can
be observed, touched,
and manipulat
ed
Is built on the
developing cognitive
understanding
Language
rather than a separate module of the mind.
VYGOTSKY
Sociocultural theory of human mental processing.
He argued that language develops primarily from social interaction.
Zone of proximal development (ZPD):
• A level that a child is able to do when there is support from interaction with a more advanced
interlocutor. • A supportive interactive environment enables
children to advance to a higher level of knowledge and performance than s/he would be
able to do independently.
Vygotsky observed the importance of conversations which children have with adults and with other
children and saw in these conversations the origins of both
language and thought.
THOUGHT
ESSENTIALLY INTERANALIZE
D SPEECH
SPEECH
EMERGED IN SOCIAL
INTERACTION
The Child's Language Environment
• There is NO DIRECT PRESSURE to learn
• There is NO TIME LIMIT for learning.
• There is NO WAY OF ESCAPING into a
different language (no vacations).
• The language is NOT SEQUENCED BY
GRAMMAR OR VOCABULARY (no
textbook).
• There is LOTS OF REPETITION
• Both the LANGUAGE AND THE WORLD
ARE NEW.
• All the language is spoken IN THE
CONTEXT OF THE SURROUNDING
WORLD.
• THE LANGUAGE IS ALL AROUND.
The Child's Language Environment
• The child has MANY OPPORTUNITIES
FOR USING the language to communicate
to those around him.
• Much of THE LANGUAGE IS SIMPLIFIED
to the level of understanding of the child.
The Child's Language Environment
The Child's Learning Strategies
• The child in NOT INTERESTED IN
LANGUAGE for its own sake.
• The child is NOT DISTURBED by the
language he does not understand.
• The child ENJOYS THE REPETITIVE
events of his life, and uses this enjoyment
to help him learn.
• The child USES HIS PRIMARY INTERESTS to help him learn.
• The child directs his attention to things that are EASY TO UNDERSTAND.
• The child possesses a natural desire TO CALL AN OBJECT BY ITS NAME.
The Child's Learning Strategies
• The child adds words to his speaking
vocabulary more easily IF HE ALREADY
KNOWS HOW TO PRONOUNCE THEM.
• The child IMMEDIATELY USES the
language, and his SUCCESS IN
COMMUNICATION BUILDS
CONFIDENCE.
The Child's Learning Strategies
• The child uses his natural desire TO
PARTICIPATE IN THE LIFE AROUND HIM
to help him learn new language.
• The child brings TREMENDOUS
INGENUITY to the task of learning.
The Child's Learning Strategies