Hot Topics for Schools and Parents: July 2013

Ø Why did I choose this topic?

· Because I believe that language acquisition is a major aspect of childhood development so it is very relevant to our course of study.

· Also because of a personal interest that my son who is turning four years old this July still has difficulties pronouncing some of the letters correctly and sometimes expressing himself clearly using spoken language.

· The topic is relevant to our daily life because we are humans we all speak one or more languages, we either have children of our own or are related to little children or teach children who are still acquiring language and it is good to know and understand where it comes from and how can we help develop their language acquisition.

Ø What is Language acquisition?

· it is the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language as well as produce and use words and sentences to communicate.

Ø The capacity to successfully use language requires one to acquire a range of tools which are :

· Phonology: systematic organization of sounds in languages. (phonemes)

· Morphology: word structure especially in terms of morphemes. Primarily concerned with the internal structure of words.

· Syntax: the way in which words are put together in sentences.

· Semantics: the study of meaning.

· Vocabulary: set of words within a language.

Ø Nature vs. nurture:

· The nature vs. nurture debate extends to the topic of language acquisition. Today most researchers acknowledge that both nature and nurture play a role in language acquisition. However, some researchers emphasize the influences of learning on language acquisition while others emphasize the biological influences.

Ø Receptive language before Expressive language:

· Children’s ability to understand language develops faster than their ability to speak it.

Ø Classic Language Acquisition Theories:

· The nativist orientation of linguistic theory: linguistic/structuralist theories. (Noam Chomsky)

- Presumes that children are born with everything they need to learn language.

ü Linguistic theory: (Chomsky)

-children are pre-wired for language.

-they need minimal environmental input.

-Chomsky and his colleagues proposed a concept called the language acquisition device (LAD)which they identified as something in people’s brains when they are born and it contains all of the rules that one will need to eventually understand language.

-focus is on Syntax and the neurological mechanism which allows us to deduce syntactic rules.

· Empiricist/ input-based:

-The child is born with very little knowledge of language and learns everything through interaction with the environment.

ü Behaviorism (Skinner):

- In contrast to Chomsky’s theory believes that Environmental input is critical and it is what drives language acquisition.

-exposure to more words and sentences drives learning more language.

-they believe than parents teach their children language.through stimulus-response-reinforcement method.

-language is learned in parts: words~phrases~sentences.

ü Social interactionism/ sociolinguistic theory: (dore,brunner,bates)

-environmental input is critical

-it is different than behaviorism in that the child is perceived as active.

-the child is born with the motivation to communicate.

-child expresses intent :CAREGIVERS ,expand, extend and scaffold his/her use of language.

-Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development fits very well in this model where the adult guidance can increase the level of potential development.

Ø Questions for Discussion:

· When is the age after which language is permanent and unforgettable? How many years of non-practice does it take us to forget a language? (examples Heidi the Vietnamese girl taken to America at the age of 7 yet after 20 years away from any exposure to the language she didn’t remember anything from her Vietnamese language and only spoke english) (also Victor the French forest boy that was studied by Itard and Genny as well as Oxana Malaya the 8 years old girl that was found crawling and barking with a pack of wild dogs.)

· Is Language the key to human intelligence?

· Does exposing a child to many languages at the same time delay his linguistic ability to express himself clearly in words?

· Do you believe that language is only related to humans?

· How can we help develop kids’ language acquisition?

Ø References:

· http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lK2EuYiRwa0

· http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_acquisition

· http://grammar.about.com/od/mo/g/morphologyterm.htm

· http://www.radiolab.org/blogs/radiolab-blogland/2013/may/24/forbidden-experiment/

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/raised-in-the-wild-tales-of-survival-8165967.html