UNIVERSIDAD CENTRAL DE VENEZUELA

FACULTAD DE HUMANIDADES Y EDUCACIÓN

Comisión de Estudios de Postgrado
Área de Lingüística
Maestría en Inglés como Lengua Extranjera

Age and acquisition

Applied Linguistics
 Dispelling Myths
1. Children repeat things over and over again. This is what
we must also do.

2. Language learning is imitation. You must be a mimic.

3. First, we practice the separate sounds, then words, then

sentences. Natural order = good for language learning.

4. First listening then speaking = right order in language

learning.

5. First listening and speaking reading and writing.

6. When small, we do not translate.

7. Children do not use grammar so it is not necessary.

 Types of comparison and contrast
Child Adult
L C1 A1
1 C2 A2
L
2

(C1 – C2) (C2 – A2) (C1 – C2)

First and Second language First
second acquisition in language
language children and acquisition in
acquisition in adults, holding children and
children, second second
holding age language language
constant constant acquisition in
adults.
 The critical period hypothesis
Critical Period
Hypothesis

Neurobiological The
Cognitive Affective Linguistics
significance of
considerations considerations considerations considerations
accent

Hemispheric Bilingualism
considerations

Interference
Biological
between L1 and
timetables
L2

Right Order of
hemispheric
participation acquisition

Anthropological
evidence
Neurobiological considerations
 Hemispheric lateralization
begins at
Lenneberg around 2 and
Lateralization
(1967) is completed
around puberty

Geschwind Is completed
Lateralization
(1970) much earlier

Krashen Is completed at
Lateralization
(1973) 5 years old

emerges at birth
Scovel is evident at 5
Lateralization
(1984) is completed at
around puberty
Neurobiological considerations
 Biological Timetables
Scovel (1988) birds
Sociobiological critical period mammals
human beings?

Socially bonding accent

(1) To form an identity with (2) To attract mates of

their own community as “their own kind” in an
they anticipate roles of instinctive drive to maintain
parenting and leadership their own specie.

Not communicative fluency

Not other “higher-order” processes

Neurobiological considerations
 Right-Hemispheric Participation

Obler (1981) There is a significant right

hemispheric participation
particularly in early stages of
language learning

L2 learners,
particularly adults,
might benefit from
more encouragement
of right-brain activity
in classroom context.
Neurobiological considerations
 Anthropological evidence

Sorenson (1967) Tukano culture (South America)

12 languages
1 person 1 person

1 community => 1 language

L1 L1

“The Language
acquisition seen in adult
language learners in the is exposed to 2 is exposed to 2
largely monolingual or 3 languages or 3 languages
American middle class
speech communities may
have been inappropiately
taken to be universal…”
(Hill, 1970)
The significance of accent
gradually develop
Speech muscles
control complex sounds

Complete phonemic are sometimes not

control before achieved until 5
puberty

“Most of the evidence

“foreign accent”
indicates that persons
beyond the age of puberty
•Neuromuscular plasticity
do not acquire what has
•Cerebral development
come to be called
•Sociobiological programs
authentic pronunciation”.
•Environment of
(Brown, 2007)
sociocultural influences

Of course… there are exceptions

The significance of accent
We all know people who have less than
perfect pronunciation but who also have
excellent and fluent control of a second
language, control that can even exceed
that of many native speakers

Arnold Schwarzenegger effect

Cognitive considerations
Intellectual development of a child:
Piaget (1972)
•Sensorimotor stage (birth to 2)
•Preoperational stage (ages 2 to 7)
•Operational stage (ages 7 to 16)
Pro CPH •Concrete operational stage (ages 7 to 11)
•Formal operational stage (ages 11 to 16)

Singleton and Ryan (2004) Vague

lack of empirical data
Ausubel Grammar in adults is easier because of the
(1964) relevance of connection in cognition

Children do learn L2 without formal operation thought

 Affective considerations
Affective domains:
 Emphaty Children egocentricity
 Self-esteem
Adults inhibitions
 Extroversion
 Inhibition
 Imitation
 Anxiety
 Attitudes…

Oneself-identity is inextricably bound up with one’s language

Self identity second identity

Younger children are less afraid because they are less aware of forms
Adults tend to tolerate linguistics
Peer presure differences more than children so errors
are easily excused
Linguistics considerations
 Biligualism
Code-switching

 Interference between L1 and L2

Solid foundation of L1

 Order of acquisition
Creative construction process
Issues in first language
acquisition revisited
 Competence and performance
 Comprenhension and production
 Nature or nurture?
 Universals
 Sistematicity and variability
 Language and Thought
 Imitation
 Practice and frequency
 Input
 Discourse
Some “age-and-acquisition-inspired”
language teaching methods

 Total Physical Response

 The Natural Approach

Source:

Douglas Brown, H. (2007) Principles of language learning and teaching. White Plains, NY:
Longman.

Chapter 3: Age & acquisition

Thanks