LLT #2
Language Acquisition in early childhood
- Learning through lexical chunks
e.g. I like “x” (I like chicken; I like food; I like coffee; etc)
- Learning through word family
e.g. I am a responsible person = I take responsibility for myself = I claim responsibility
for my life = I am responsible for my personal decisions (Paraphrasing)
=> What is the goal of teaching English?
- It’s not about teaching them to speak on a near-“native” level or teaching them to
have a near perfect command of the English language
- It’s about how to handle digital literacies (abilities to read & write)
+> How to access information (the current gen are digital natives)
+> How to filter information
+> How to remix the information into your own personal work
How does one (even an infant) learn a language:
- Through signs / signals
- Through influence
*However, it remains a mystery because of a lack of evidence
*The Western society embraces individualism
*The Eastern society embraces harmony (collectivism)
*The society is going towards post-humanism
How a message is sent depends largely on the receiver (how they receive a message;
how they interpret the tone; base knowledge; etc)
Full communication (verbal or non-verbal) is a compromise, a negotiation of meaning
between both sides
Learning is not a memorization of facts because facts are changing. It’s about how to
ask the good questions.
I. Language acquisition:
- Is an inter-disciplinary field that seeks to understand how humans acquire and
process language.
- It draws insights from various fields such as linguistics; psychology; neuroscience;
computer science and education
- The main objective: identify the cognitive and linguistic processes involved in
learning and using language, including how children acquire their first language; how
adults adopt a second language; how the brain processes and represents the language.
- Language acquisition researchers use various methods to study language (observing
language use in natural / controlled habitats; analyzing info via AI & NLP (natural
language process))
=> The lesson focuses on:
- An overview of theories of FLA (first language acquisition)
- Key issues in FLA that are relevant to the inquiry into SLA (second language
acquisition)
II. First language: is a vital resource for second language acquisition
+> First language = native language; primary language and / or mother tongue
- Children, no matter which language, learn language in the same way. Not only is the
rate the rate and extent of young children’s words faster, they pick up the language
naturally.
- Children’s learning process can be both imitative and creative
=> You need to provide a lot of opportunities to immerse the learners with English.
- Many have different theories on how children pick up the language, but none
provides all the answers.
- It might be the interaction between languages, culture and cognition.
- The debate: Nature vs Nurture
+> Some believe that our genetics determine our behavior
+> Others believe that our environment, upbringing, and life experiences determine
our behavior.
=> This explains why some learners acquire / study the language faster
Research challenges:
- The end result of “language acquisitions” is considered to be a grammar – mental
system that allows people to speak and understand a language
- Methodological validity: The collection and analysis of reliable and valid first
language rate
Research designs:
- Naturalistic: Longitudinal; examining language development over an extended period
of time
- Experimental: Cross-sectional (researched AT THE TIME, not in the long run);
making use of specialty designed tasks to elicit linguistic activity relevant to the
phenomenon under investigation; investigating and comparing the linguistic
knowledge of different children at a particular point in development.
Quality of Data:
- Data may be longitudinal (lâu dài); cross-sectional or both; & maybe collected across
a range of genre; interactional contexts & tasks
- To be valid, data should be collected at regular and frequent intervals, in particular in
longitudinal studies, but also in cross-sectional studies where there is follow-up.
III. Behaviorism: A “blank slate” theory
- “We begin our lives with a slate that is virtually blank.” – John Locke (British
Philosopher)
- Aspects that influence [Stimulus => Response]
+> Reinforcement: Learning is a process of habitual information (Repetition +
Encouragement) – Skinner’s theory
+> Operant conditioning: when a child utters a word that produces the desired effect,
the child is more likely to reproduce that word
e.g. conditioning: crying; operant: have mother’s attention
=> The child may not repeat what is taught and may rely own self-established rules /
systems. Error correction does not always work.
+> Nativism - Chomsky’s theory:
Language Acquisition Device (unconscious process inside child’s mind, used only for
learning language): A [Grammar Template] wired into the child’s brain (now called
[Universal Grammar])
=> Info from environment => Brain (Universal Grammar) => Language Acquisition
Language Learning is something that is biologically reprogrammed (Innatism).
=> Language Learning is based on key [PATTERNS] to develop new words /
sentences
- Shared developmental pattern:
Learning sounds => Learning words => Learning sentences
- What are the limitations of Chomsky’s theory of Universal Grammar?
+> The narrow thinking of “Language is modular” (different languages in different
parts of the brain) => It was proven to be otherwise, in a specific part of the brain
+> Solely focuses on SYNTAX, not MORPHOLOGY (it doesn’t care about meaning)
+> It focuses on the innate capacity (innatism). False belief that language learning is
IMPOSSIBLE without a built-in grammar template. => False belief that there’s an
optimal age for language acquisition among children. (the younger / the better)
Critical hypothesis: A “critical period” or a time when it is optimal to learn a language,
exists in children. Part of this hypothesis is that if a child is not exposed to a language
in the early years of life, they will never have full intuitive command of a first
language.
Opinion: Behaviourism vs. Innatism
1. Empirical or Behavioral Perspective
2. Rationalist or Innatist Perspective
*should compare perspectives in a similar context.
- Interactionist perspectives:
1. Piaget’s
+> Children’s cognitive development occurs through their play and interaction with
objects and people
+> Children’s cognitive development leads to their language development
2. Vygotsky’s
+> Language develops primarily from social interaction
+> Cognitive development is resulted from language development
OVERALL:
- Skinner emphasizes imitation
- Chomsky emphasizes innate language facuity
- Piaget emphasizes the child’s mental structures within the mind for language
development
- Vygotsky emphasizes the role of social interaction
=> Learning language is improved when people have more time to interact.
=> Impersonal sources of language such as television or radio alone is not sufficient.
One-to-one interaction gives the child access to language that is adjusted to the
children’s level of comprehension.
- A new challenge: AI Language Models
=> Linguistic experience – not grammar – is key to becoming a competent language
user.
