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