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1 Learning A First Language New
1 Learning A First Language New
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Definitions of L1 & L2
Definition of “first language” (L1):
The language(s) that an individual learns first.
Other terms for “first language”-
• Native language or mother tongue
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Patterns in L1 Development
Characteristics of the language of children:
Their language development shows a high degree of
similarity among children all over the world. There are
predicable patterns in the L1 development and their L1
developmental patterns are related to their cognitive
development (predictability).
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Patterns in L1 Development
“Babbling”
Babies use sounds to reflect the characteristics of the
different language they are learning.
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Patterns in L1 Development
First Words –
Around 12 months (“one-word” stage):
Babies begin to produce one or two recognizable words
(esp. content word); producing single-word sentences.
Acquisition of Grammatical
morphemes
Acquisition of Questions
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Acquisition of
Grammatical morphemes
Roger Brown’s study (1973):
- approximate order of acquiring grammatical
morphemes
Present progressive –ing (running)
Plural –s (books)
Irregular past forms (went)
Possessive -’s (daddy’s hat)
Copula (am/is/are)
Articles (a/an/the)
Regular past –ed (walked)
Third person singular simple present –s (he runs)
Auxiliary ‘be’ (He is coming)
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Acquisition of
Grammatical morphemes
e.g., “wug test” –
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Acquisition of Questions
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Acquisition of Questions
Lois Bloom’s study (1991):
Six stages of children’s question-making
Stage 1: using single words or single two- or three-word
sentences with rising intonation
(“Mommy book?” “Where’s Daddy?”)
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Acquisition of Questions
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Patterns in L1 Development
By the age of 4:
Most children are able to ask questions, give commands,
report real events, and create stories about imaginary
ones with correct word order and grammatical markers
most of the time.
They have mastered the basic structures of the
language or languages spoken to them in these early
years.
They begin to acquire less frequent and more complex
linguistic structures such as passives and relative
clauses.
They begin to develop ability to use language in a
widening social environment.
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Development of
Metalinguistic Awareness
Metalinguistic awareness refers to the ability to treat
language as an object, separate from the meaning it
conveys.
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Development of Vocabulary
One of the most impressive language developments in the early
school years is the astonishing growth of vocabulary.
Vocabulary grows at a rate between several hundred and more
than a thousand words a year, depending mainly on how much
and how widely children read.
Vocabulary growth required for school success is likely to come
from both reading for assignments and reading for pleasure.
Reading a variety of text types is an essential part of vocabulary
growth.
Reading reinforces the understanding that language has form as
well as meaning and a “word” is separate from the thing it
represents.
Another important development in the school years is the
acquisition of different language registers.
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Theoretical Approaches to
L1 Acquisition
Interactionist/Developmental
perspectives: Learning from inside and
out
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Behaviorism: Say what I say
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Behaviorism: Say what I say
Children’s imitations are not random:
Their imitation is selective and based on what they are
currently learning. They choose to imitate something they
have already begun to understand, rather than simply
imitating what is available in the environment.
(see example on p. 11, Peter’s & Cindy’s case)
Order of events
• You took all the towels away because I can’t dry my
hands.
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Innatism: It’s all in your mind
LAD (an imaginary “black box” existing
somewhere in the brain):
LAD contains the principles which are universal to all
human languages (i.e.. Universal Grammar – UG).
For the LAD to work, children need access only to
samples of a natural language, which serve as a trigger
to activate the device.
Once the LAD is activated, children are able to discover
the structure of the language to be learned by matching
the innate knowledge of basic grammatical principles
(UG) to the structures of the particular language in the
environment.
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Innatism: It’s all in your mind
Evidence used to support Chomsky’s innatist position:
1. Virtually all children successfully learn their native language at
a time in life when they would not be expected to learn
anything else so complicated (i.e. biologically programmed).
2. Language is separate from other aspects of cognitive
developments (e.g., creativity and social grace) and may be
located in a different “module" of the brain.
3. The language children are exposed to does not contain
examples of all the linguistic rules and patterns.
4. Animals cannot learn to manipulate a symbol system as
complicated as the natural language of a 3- or 4-year-old child.
5. Children acquire grammatical rules without getting explicit
instruction. Therefore, children’s acquisition of grammatical
rules is probably guided by principle of an innate UG which
could apply to all languages.
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Innatism: It’s all in your mind
The biological basis for the innatist
position:
The Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH) –
Lenneberg: There is a specific and limited
time period (i.e., “critical period”) for the
LAD to work successfully.
The best evidence for the CPH is that
virtually every child learns language on a
similar schedule in spite of different
environments.
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Innatism: It’s all in your mind
Three case studies of abnormal language
development - evidence of the CPH
(Read the case studies on pp. 19-21).
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Interactionist/developmental Perspectives:
Learning from inside and out
Problems of Innatism:
The innatists placed too much emphasis on the
“final state” (i.e. the linguistic competence of adult
native speakers), but not enough on the
developmental aspects of language acquisition.
Language acquisition is an example of children’s
ability to learn from experience. What children
need to know is essentially available in the
language they are exposed to.
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Interactionist/developmental Perspectives:
Learning from inside and out
This position views that language develops as a result of
the interplay between the innate learning ability of
children and the environment in which they develop.
Developmental psychologists attribute more importance to
the environment than the innatists, though they also
recognize a powerful learning mechanism in the human
brain.
They see language acquisition as similar to and influenced
by the acquisition of other kinds of skill and knowledge,
rather than as something that is largely independent of
the child’s experience and cognitive development.
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The Interactionist Position
Piaget: Language is dependent upon and springs from
cognitive development. That is, children’s cognitive
development determines their language development.
(e.g., the use of words as “bigger” or “more” depends on
children’s understanding of the concepts they represent.)
He argued that the developing cognitive understanding is
built on the interaction between the child and the things
which can be observed, touched, and manipulated.
For him, language was one of a number of symbol
systems developed in childhood, rather than a separate
module of the mind. Language can be used to represent
knowledge that children have acquired through physical
interaction with the environment.
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The Interactionist Position
Vygotsky: sociocultural theory of human mental
processing. He argued that language develops primarily
from social interaction.
Zone of proximal development (ZPD): a level that a child is
able to do when there is support from interaction with a
more advanced interlocutor. That is, a supportive interactive
environment enables children to advance to a higher level of
knowledge and performance than s/he would be able to do
independently.
He observed the importance of conversations which children
have with adults and with other children and saw in these
conversations the origins of both language and thought.
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The Interactionist Position
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The Interactionist Position
Language socialization framework: observed from
childrearing patterns (parent-child interaction)
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The Interactionist Position
The interaction between a language-learning child and
an interlocutor who responds in some way to the child
is important (Jim’s case).
Exposure to impersonal sources of language such as
television or radio alone are not sufficient for children
to learn the structure of a particular language.
One-on-one interaction gives children access to
language that is adjusted to their level of
comprehension.
Once children have acquired some language, however,
television can be a source of language and cultural
information.
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Connectionism
Though both innatism and connectionism look at the
cognitive aspect of language acquisition, yet they differ
in the following:
• Connectionists hypothesize that language acquisition
dose not require a separate “module of the mind” but
can be explained in terms of learning in general.
• Connectionists argue that what children need to know
is essentially available in the language they are
exposed to. They attribute greater importance to the
role of the environment than to any innate knowledge
in the learner.
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Connectionism
Connectionism views language as a complex system of
units which become interconnected in the mind as they
are encountered together. The more often units are
heard or seen together, the more likely it is that the
presence of one will lead to the activation of the other.
Language acquisition is not just a process of
associating words with elements of external reality. It
is also a process of associating words and phrases with
the other words and phrases that occur with them, or
words with grammatical morphemes that occur with
them.
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The Interactionist Position
Watch the video clip “Baby Talk” from the Interactionist
position. Read the following questions first:
1. According to Bruner, in what ways do children learn syntax,
semantics, and pragmatics?
2. Why do many researchers think Chomsky’s innatism is not sufficient?
3. According to Berko-Gleason, how do parents or caretakers help
children with their verbal development?
4. What is the purpose for parents to play the ‘thank-you’ game with
children?
5. Interactionists stress that language use is not only referential but it
can be used for social purposes. Can you give examples for these two
types of purposes?
6. Why is it too simplistic to think children either memorize or analyze
things they hear and then they produce language? What example did
Berko-Gleason give to support her points?
7. How do children learn ‘routinized’ phrases?
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Childhood bilingualism
“Simultaneous bilinguals”
Children who learn more than one language
from birth.
“Sequential bilinguals”
Children who begin to learn a second
language after they have acquired the first
language.
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Childhood bilingualism
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Childhood bilingualism
Language attrition for bilinguals -
“Subtractive bilingualism” (Lambert, 1987)
When children are “submerged” in a second language
for long periods in early schooling, they may begin to
lose their native language (L1) before they have
developed an age-appropriate mastery of the L2.
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Childhood bilingualism
Solution for “subtractive bilingualism”:
to strive for “additive bilingualism”
Parents should continue speaking the L1 to their
children to maintain the home language, while the L2
is being learned at school.
Maintaining the family language also creates
opportunities for the children to continue both
cognitive and affective development in a language
they understand easily while they are still learning the
L2.
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Summary
Each of the three theoretical approaches explains
a different aspect of first language acquisition.
1. Behaviorists (learning through imitation, practice,
reinforcement, habit-formation) – the acquisition of
vocabulary and grammatical morphemes.
2. Innatists (LAD/UG/CPH) – the acquisition of
complex grammar (structure of the language).
3. Interactionists (social interaction) – the acquisition
of how form and meaning are related, how
communicative functions are carried out, and how
language is used appropriately.
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