THEORIES OF FIRST LANGUAGE (L1) ACQUISITION

● The Behavioristic Approaches

● The Nativist Approach
● The Cognitive Theory
● The Functional Approaches
● Stages in Child Language Acquisition

The Functional Approaches

Michael Halliday was a language theorist who studied

child language acquisition. Halliday suggested that
communication and language acquisition begins before
children can speak.

Learning How to Mean (1975), Halliday suggested

that as a child learns its first language it
simultaneously learns about the world around them.
Halliday views language as a cultural code that teaches
us how to be part of society, rather than simply a
method of communication.

Functionalism is an approach to language development that focuses on the

relationship between language form and social meaning. (Emmit et al. 2015) That is,
language is not so much a system of rules as posed by Chomsky, but a means of
performing particular socially communicative functions.

7 functions of language - describes the way children use language (refers as

developmental functions)

The first four relate to how children's social, emotional, and physical needs are
met through language.
Instrumental
When language is used to fulfill a need such as requiring food, drink, or comfort. For
example, phrases such as 'I want', 'Can I have', and 'I need' are all examples of
instrumental language.

Regulatory
When a speaker commands, persuades or requests something from someone else, this
is known as a regulatory language function. Regulatory language controls the
listener's behavior (the speaker adopts a commanding tone). Examples include: 'Let's
go home now.'

Interactive
This function is how we form relationships with others as it encompasses the
communicative use of language. It is how we relay our thoughts and emotions,
strengthening bonds with those around us. Interactional language examples include
phrases like 'I love you mum' or 'Thank you so much', revealing the emotions and
opinions of the speaker.

Personal functions
This function defines how we refer to ourselves and express our personal opinions ,
our identity, and our feelings. A child may communicate their opinions and emotions
in a simplistic way, using phrases like 'me good' or 'me happy'.
As well as expressing personal opinions and emotions, the personal function of
language also encompasses how we use language to learn more about our
surroundings , by requesting information about it. This is known as the 'personal
function of language', as we gain information which benefits ourselves and our
understanding of society. Questions like 'what's that?' or 'what does that mean?' are
examples of personal language function.

The next three language functions describe how children adapt to their
environment through learning language.

Heuristic

This term refers to language associated with discovery and explanation , usually in the
form of questions or a running commentary (when the child talks about what they are
doing as they are doing it). For example, a lot of children talk to themselves when they
are younger (some people still do this as adults!) to explain what they are doing to
themselves. This helps them understand their actions in relation to the world around
them.

Children tend to do this when they are playing. They say things like 'The horsey goes
over to the dinosaur and says hello, but he doesn't say hello back because he isn't being
friendly. The wizard felt bad for the horsey and came and said hello to her. Now they
are best friends'.
Another example of children narrating is persistent questioning . It is not uncommon
for children to continuously ask 'What's that?', 'What does that do?', or 'Why?' in
response to an adult giving them an instruction. It also occurs when adults are talking
about a topic children don't understand.

Representational / Informative
Similar to heuristic and personal functions, representational language occurs when we
request information . However, it differs from 'heuristic' and 'personal' functions as it
also refers to when we relay information. In other words, it describes the exchange of
information between two or more people.

For example, questions like 'what's that?' and 'what does that do?' are
representational; if this question is answered it leads to an exchange of information.

Another example of representational language is when people relay information.

Imagine someone telling a story, such as, 'I was walking down the street and a cat
jumped out in front of me. It really made me jump! ' This is an example of
representational language because it relates information about events.

Imaginative
When children tell stories and create imaginary friends or concepts in their heads, it is
an imaginative way of using language. Imaginative language usually occurs in leisure
or play scenarios. Remember when you were a child playing in the playground? Did
you and your friends imagine you were somewhere else, such as in a house or a
spaceship? Children do this to make games more interesting. They adopt suitable
characters to act out with their friends. For example, if you pretend you are in space
you remove yourself from the playground environment and into a fantasy world -
much more exciting!

A functional approach looks at how language enables us to do things: to share

information, to enquire, to express attitudes, to entertain, to argue, to get our needs
met, to reflect, to construct ideas, to order our experiences and make sense of the
world. It is concerned with how people use real language for real purposes. At the
heart of a functional model of language is an emphasis on meaning and on how
language is involved in the construction of meaning. It sees language as a resource for
making meaning.

A functional approach to language is not concerned with a set of rules which prescribe
correct and incorrect usage taught through decontextualised exercises. Rather,
understandings about language are developed in the context of authentic tasks across
all areas of the curriculum.
So what does this mean for teachers?
According to Robin Hatfield, "the functional model of language teaching is applied
when language is used for meaningful purposes and to carry out authentic functions"
(2011). In other words, when adopting the functionalist perspective we are required to
plan situations where language is incorporated as a medium of interaction and
communication within the classroom. In doing so, we can foster the functional
processes of communication in our students rather than mastery of language forms.

For example:
Each of the activities and ideas listed below can be used within classroom lessons to
encourage functional language development.

● Conversation and discussion sessions

● Dialogues and role play
● Debates
● Sharing of personal experiences or describing of events
● Playing and working in groups to complete tasks
● Students explain rules of games

Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVUSMFggew