Language Acquisition

and Learning
ELLT 602
Prepared by:
ABEJUELA, JESON A.
BALANSAG, KRYSTEL
The Course of Language Development
 Fundamentals of Language:
From Sounds To Symbols
• LANGUAGE is the systematic, meaningful arrangement of
symbols, and provides the basis for communication.
• Phonology - refers to the basic sounds of language, called
phonemes, that can be combined to produce words and sentences
• Morphemes - the smallest language unit that has meaning
• Semantics - the rules that govern the meaning of words and
sentences
• Linguistic Comprehension - the understanding of speech
• Linguistic Production - the use of language to communicate
PRELINGUISTIC COMMUNICATION
• through sounds, facial expressions,
gestures, imitations, and other
nonlinguistic means
• Babbling – infants make speech-like but
meaningless sounds at about 2 to 3 months
of age, and continuing to about 1 year
• Infants who cannot hear and are exposed
to sign language babble with their hands
instead of their voices.
First words are generally spoken between 10
and 14 months of age.
• First words are typically Increase at rapid rate
HOLOPHRASES, one-
 10 to 14 months = first word
word utterances that  15 months = 10 words
depend on the particular  18 months = one-word stage ends
context in which they are  16 to 24 months = language
used to determine explosion equally 50 to 400 words
meaning.
 First Sentences are formed when, around 18
months, infants link words together.
• Occur 8 to 12 months after
they say their first word.
• Allows children to label and
indicate relations between
things in the world
 Language Advances During the
Preschool Years
• Between the ages of 2 and 3, sentence length
increases
• SYNTAX, the ways words and phrases are
combined to form sentences, doubles each
month
• Enormous leaps in the number of words children
use - by age 6, a typical child’s vocabulary is
around 14,000 words, and is acquired at a rate of
nearly 1 new word every 2 hours, 24 hours per
day
 Preschool Years
• FAST MAPPING, instances in which new words are associated with their
meaning after only a brief encounter.
• By age 3, children use plurals and possessive forms of nouns, employ the
past tense, use articles and can ask and answer complex questions.
• Preschoolers begin to acquire the principles of GRAMMAR.
• They also grow in PRAGMATIC ability, the aspect of language with
others
 Private Speech and Social Speech During
Preschool Years
• Preschoolers engage mostly in
PRIVATE SPEECH, speech by
children that is spoken and directed
to themselves.
• SOCIAL SPEECH, speech directed
toward another person and meant to
be understood by that person,
increases.
 Language Development During Middle Childhood:
Mastering Language

• Vocabulary continues to increase

during the school years.
• One of the most significant
developments in middle childhood
is the increase in
METALINGUISTIC
AWARENESS, an understanding of
one’s own use of language.
Language Development During Middle Childhood:
Mastering Language
• follow three consecutive commands
• talk constantly
• ask innumerable questions
• use descriptive words and compound and complex sentences
• know all the vowels and consonants
• use generally correct grammar
 REFERENCES:
• G.O. DeákA. Holt, in Learning and Memory: A Comprehensive Reference, 2008
• Frederic Dick, ... Suzanne Curtin, in Neurobiology of Language, 2016
• Morton Ann Gernsbacher, ... Elizabeth J. Grace, in Neurobiology of Language, 2016
• T.H. Mintz, in Encyclopedia of Neuroscience, 2009
• A. Theakston, in Encyclopedia of Language & Linguistics (Second Edition), 2006
• S. Goldin-Meadow, in Encyclopedia of Infant and Early Childhood Development, 2008
• Zhenghan Qi, Jennifer Legault, in Psychology of Learning and Motivation, 2020
• file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/languagedevelopment.pdf