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