REFLECTION-3) FIRST LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

What I learnt in this lesson was all about the first language acquisition and the
theories of first language acquisition. Children can be very creative in first
language acquisition period unless they are hindered. They are not particularly
interested in forms. So while teaching language we should use plays, songs etc.
We sould also participate in these activities as a teacher and make them involve.
Children love imitating,repetition like ba-ba,de-de. They made them up for
surviving.

There are theories of first language acquisition like behavioristic approaches,the

nativist approach and functional approaches. Behavioristic approach focused on
the immediately perceptible aspects of linguistic behaviour-the publicly
observable responses-and the relationships or associations between those
responses and events in the world surrounding them. Reinforcement issues are
important and only observable data can be acceptable.

According to the nativist approach, language is innately determined that we are

born with a genetic capacity called LAD. There is Universal Grammar that is
attempting to discover what it is that all children bring to the language
acquisition process. Mistakes are more or less the same because of the Universal
Grammar. And the functional approaches are about the functional level of
languages. I think need to study Functional Approaches in detail. Because, it
meets our expectation more than other approaches do. In my opinion, it can be
more beneficial for students while teaching a foreign language.