CHILDREN’S LANGUAGE ACQUISITION STAGES : AN OBSERVATION OF

CHILDREN AT JALAN SELAM NO. 52

HELKIN
(0304172065)

English Education Department

State Islamic University of North Sumatera

Abstract

Language in children is sometimes difficult to translate, because children generally

still use a language structure that is still chaotic and is still experiencing a transitional stage
in speaking, making it difficult for their speech partners to understand. To become a speech
partner for children and to be able to understand the meaning of the child's speech, the
speech partner must master the conditions or the surrounding environment, meaning that
when young children talk they use the media around them to explain the meaning they want
to express to their partners in speaking. In addition to using a disorganized language
structure, children also tend to master limitations in vocabulary and in the correct
pronunciation of phonemes. Environment greatly affects children's language development.

Acquisition of language is defined as the process carried out by children to achieve

fluent and fluent mastery of their mother tongue or what is often known as the language
formed from the surrounding environment. In this case the acquisition of language in
children will bring the child to the fluency and fluency of the child in speaking.

Keywords: Children, language acquisition, psycholinguistics

1. DISCUSSION

A. Research Methodology

The first language acquisition research conducted on 3 year olds used qualitative
methods. Qualitative method is a method that emphasizes in-depth understanding of a
problem rather than looking at the problem for generalization research.

The method used is the observation method. The data obtained were then collected
using the listening method which aims to listen to the children's speech results properly.
B. Research Technique

The technique used in the first language research in this 4 year old child is the listening
skillful technique. The listening speaking technique is a technique used in language research
that also involves the researcher in conversation with the child being observed. Researchers
are not directly involved in the dialogue either actively or receptively. This means that the
researcher only listens to the informants' conversation.

C. Data source

The following are some of the dialogues by the research object:

Bunda : Arsya, sini lah nak

Arsya : na’apa sih buundd

Bunda : sini sebentar aja

Arsya : iya bund, napa bund?

Bunda : ambilkan lah sapu itu nak

Arsya : mana sapu na bund?

Bunda : itu dibelakang pintu

Arsya : ini?

Bunda : iyaa

Arsya : di kukas ada uee bund?

Bunda : gaada nak

Arsya : na’apa ndak ada?

Bunda : karena blom dibeli

Arsya : yaudaalaa

D. Data Descriptions

Arsya, who was 4 years old at the time, was able to speak. So from the Children’s
language acquisition stage abidzar includes the multi-word stage, where this phase takes
place when the child is 3-5 years old or even until starting school. At the age of 3-4 years,
children's speech begins to grow length and more regular grammar. He is no longer using
only two words, but three or more words. At the age of 5-6 years, language the child has
resembled the language of an adult.
 However, from a phonological perspective, there were indeed some letters which he
was still unable to pronounce properly. For example in the letter k, s and others. For example
in the word "sapu" he could not pronounce the letter "s" because maybe for him the letter "s"
was still difficult to pronounce so he preferred to pronounce it with the letter "h", so in the
word "sapu" he was only able to pronounce the word "hapu".

Besides that, in the word "kue" he was only able to pronounce the word "ue", he tried to
turn off one of the letters so that he didn't have difficulty pronouncing it. In this case he
turned off the phoneme "k" which he thought was more difficult to pronounce.

In terms of syntax, Arsya who is 4 years old, is generally able to compose sentences
well. This is consistent with the theory that children aged 4 years have longer speech and the
grammar is more regular. And then, he no longer uses only two words, but three or more
words. For example in the dialogue above, Arsya has been able to compose sentences
according to the pattern, it's just that at that age he started to ask a lot of questions to his
mother.

2. CONCLUSION

From the discussion above, that a child who is 4 years old is classified as being able to
speak and converse. It's just that in terms of phonology, it is still quite insufficient to
pronounce certain sounds. This age standard is very relative, meaning that at the stage of
neurobiological development where a child is able to pronounce certain sounds. But in terms
of syntax, a child is able to speak in accordance with the syntactic structure and the meaning
can be understood and he is also able to understand the meaning uttered by the interlocutor so
that he is able to communicate fluently. Verbal abilities develop from an early age and by the
age of 4 the child is a skilled babbler. By the end of early childhood, they can use and
understand a large number of sentences, can engage in ongoing conversation and know about
written language.

 Identity Data
The data obtained by the researcher is data in the form of speech of children aged 4
years, with the following identities:

Name M. Arsya
 Place, Date of birth Mahato, 14 februari 2017
Age 4 years old
Address Jalan Selam No. 52

 Lampiran

DAFTAR PUSTAKA

Suci Rani Fatmaati. 2015. Pemerolehan bahasa pertama anak menurut tinjauan
psikolongistik. Lentera. 17(1)