Republic of the Philippines

Philippine Normal University

The National Center for Teacher Education Mindanao
The Multicultural Education Hub
Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur

NAME: Albert Ernest Quille A. Castro SECTION: BEE - II

PROFESSOR: Dr. Sophia B. Aloy COURSE CODE: 2S-ENG01

ACTIVITY 2

Select one key concept in this chapter. Elaborate on this concept is applied in
second language acquisition. The answer is limited to 8 sentences only.

Answer:
Humans are perpetually evolving organisms, whether intentionally or
unintentionally, we always go through phases of development, most especially in the
field of language acquisition. Whenever we go through the various stages in this
domain, specifically the first time, we step into the sensitive period which enables us
to take in the phonological and morphological elements of the language in our
environment so that we could build a strong framework for our linguistic edifices. The
sensitive period, which is said to range from seven months to three years of age, is
the period in our lives where our first and second language acquisition skills are in
their most pliant condition to create the perfect linguistic scaffoldings.
For instance, in my case, growing up in a family with grandparents who speak
fluent Bisaya and parents who speak Kamayo was tenacious; I had to learn and take
in both languages during my sensitive period simultaneously. However, since my
Kamayo-speaking parents were the ones I was frequently exposed to throughout my
sensitive period, I was able to make Kamayo my arterial language and Bisaya, my
second language. My exposure to two languages in my sensitive period has allowed
me to forge a strong understructure not just in my native but also in my second
language acquisition. Ergo, I believe that parents should focus on and be with their
children especially during their sensitive periods in language acquisition because
every language-related information they transmit to their children will serve as a
groundwork for the child’s linguistic development.