...INTRODUCTION Children’s acquisition of language has been considered one of the uniquely defining characteristics of human behavior. Still today, it is the commonly held belief that children acquire their mother tongue through imitation of the parents, caregivers or the people in their environment. Linguists too had the same conviction until 1957, when a then relatively unknown man, A. Noam Chomsky, propounded his theory that the capacity to acquire language is in fact innate. This revolutionized the study of language acquisition, and after a brief period of controversy upon the publication of his book, Aspects of the Theory of Syntax, in 1964, his theories are now generally accepted as largely true. As a consequence, he was responsible for the emergence of a new field during the 1960s, Developmental Psycholinguistics, which deals with children’s first language acquisition. He was not the first to question our so far mute acceptance of a debatable concept – long before, Plato wondered how children could possibly acquire so complex a skill as language with so little experience of life. Experiments have clearly identified an ability to discern syntactical nuances in very young infants, although they are still at the pre-linguistic stage. Children of three, however, are able to manipulate very complicated syntactical sentences, although they are unable to tie their own shoelaces, for example. Indeed, language is not a skill such as many others, like learning to drive...
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...questioned if how is it sure that learning can be determined by the environment the child is in. Then here’s Derek Bickerton (1981) who proposes what human beings are bio-programmed. Like flowering plants, people are innately, or inborn to release certain language from stage to stage. Chomsky states here that knowledge or our ability in language is innate in us when were born. Universal Closely related to the innateness controversy is the claim that language is universally acquired in the same manner, and moreover, that the deep structured of language at its deepest level may be common to all languages. The child’s initial state is supposed to consist of a set of universal principles which specify some limited possibilities of variation, expressible in terms of parameters which need to be fixed in one of a few possible ways (Saleemi 1992:58) In simpler terms, this means that the child task of language learning is manageable because of certain naturally occurring constraints Imitations It is a common, informal observation that children are “good imitators”. We think of children typically as imitators and mimics, and then conclude that imitation is one of the important strategies a child uses in the acquisition of language. Here are some problems with the imitation perspective: Children produce many things not in the adult grammar. (like ‘nana’ for banana), i.e. they produce things not produced by adults. Some people might say that this is simply a consequence of the difficulty...
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...Language Acquisition Principles An article from the online journal of Education.com had a great article about language acquisition principles for English Language Learners (ELL). The title of the article is “Delicate Balance: Managing the Needs of ELL students” and was written by Jon Nordmeyer. The article begins with a quote from a middle school English Language Learner (ELL) that states “it is hard to be an ESL student sometimes. Between ESL students, I could make many friends, but when I have any classes like math or science I feel an invisible space between ESL students and regular students. I envy the regular students because I was good at science in my own country, and now the only reason for my C on science was pictures in the textbook” (Nordmeyer, 2006, p. 1). ELL students represent the fastest-growing student population in United States public schools and this quote is cause for immediate reactions for modifications in classroom curriculum and lesson plans. Increasing diversity, greater accountability, and stretched school budgets are some of the greatest challenges for today’s public schools. The article states that finding a balance between language learning and content learning so schools can operate on an all-inclusive classroom program is the ideal outcome. Learning academic content in English is one of the biggest problems ELL students have. This is added to other tribulations of social adaptation and acceptance, cultural changes, and personal challenges. Research...
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...Biological foundation of language acquisition: Summary How humans have evolved differently from other primates to allow for the use of complex human language? According to a number of modern linguists such as Chomsky who is frequently regarded as the father of modern linguistics, the same elementary linguistic structure is shared between all human beings, and they acquire language naturally. This means biological foundations lay out the foundation for language acquisition of all human beings. This presentation will be talking about the biological foundations of language acquisition, evolutionary biology of language, and provide an example of a case in which an individual cannot acquire language, respectively. When a person knows a language, he/she utilizes it either by producing sounds or remaining silent and receives auditory signals. Therefore the knowledge of a language doesn’t necessarily mean the ability to speak and structure sentences but the ability to comprehend the essential structure of language. However, the ability to speak still holds an important role in language acquisition. The voice production is made up of three main parts: Respiration (lungs), phonation (larynx), and articulation (mouth,lips,teeth, nose etc). So how can a child acquire language before the latter stage of communication? It is the brain that allows the child to do it. The brain consists of two hemispheres: left and right. And the corpus callosum plays a role of connecting the two hemispheres...
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...ESL-223N SEI English Language Teaching: Foundations & Methodologies Grand Canyon University May 13, 2012 Second Language "Standards for Success": Out of Touch with Language Acquisition Research is an article written by Stephen Krashen. (2005; International Journal of Foreign Language Teaching 1(2): 12-16) This article discus the foreign language learning standards and how they may apply to a school curriculum. The article talks about comprehension and its role when it comes to language. There was some research that determined a lot of others relay to us or what we may read and understand helps with the theory of comprehension hypothesis. This hypothesis can help a student develop their language. If the student is read to and talk to in the language they are attempting to comprehend this will help the student better understand that language. The more the student is exposed to different words and their meanings the better the student chances of learning that new language. A teacher could use the comprehension hypothesis in their personal situations by conducting their classes in the language they would like each student to learn. For example if the students at Ell students the class should be conducted in as much English as possible so that the students can get a better understanding of the language. The teacher should use correct grammar when talking and reading to the students. The article talks about how students can make some improvements to their writing skills...
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...second language acquisition (SLA). The following theories represent serious thinking over the past century about the way a person acquires or learns a second language. The first theory will be Behaviourism. In mid-century, Burrhus Frederic Skinner developed behaviourist theory which predicted that any human behaviour could be learned through a process of stimulus, response, and positive or negative reinforcement (S-R-R). This S-R-R process is to make the desired behaviour become a habit that can be performed spontaneously. According to behaviourists, this process also can be applied into language learning. A concrete example of behaviourism applied directly to higher-level training, as a result of Bandura’ (1977) work, is behaviour. The terms are used interchangeably. This uses techniques such as "goal setting" and "self-reinforcement" to help people acquire the characteristics of a competent role model. Next, the second theory will be Language Acquisition Device (LAD) which developed by Noam Chomsky. Chomsky found out that there is an innate ability in every people which enable them to acquire and use language and this ability is known as LAD. Chomsky was not as concerned with the actual language being spoken as with the unspoken but understood rules that made the utterances appropriate, correct to native speakers. He argued that the stages of development that are required for children to develop their cognitive abilities in other areas do not apply to learning language. Then...
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...Comparisons of Language Acquisition Broward College January 30, 2014 Author’s Note: This research paper was developed for EEX3601 taught by Dr. Lisa Grossman Comparisons of Language Acquisition The gift of language and speech has given humanity the ability to communicate wants, needs, and messages, while also allowing beings to understand others. According to Kuder (2008), “language is a rule governed symbol system for communicating meaning through a shared code of arbitraty symbols” (p.6). Languages are learned through a phenomenon called acquisition. As a Pre- Professional, it is necessary to understand normal language acquisition in comparison to those with diverse learning styles, including developmentally delayed and second language learners. First languages are acquired through language acquisition, or the process where language is acquired naturally. Exposure to language, interaction with parents and the enviornment, and constant practice are all manners in which languages continue to be developed. Typically, all normal developing children begin to experience language acquisition and reach milestones within a common time frame. Language first begins with infant crying, cooing, babbling, and continues through stages of telegraphic speech. If a child has not reached particular language milestones within a time frame, he or she may be catagorized as having a developmental delay. A child may be classified as having a deficit in either receptive or expressive speech...
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...Language Acquisition ESL 523: English Language Teaching Andrea Byars May 14, 2015 Language Acquisition Scenario: Anale was born in Los Angeles. Spanish was the primary language spoken in her home and neighborhood. Although she has been in school her whole life, she does not have a literary foundation in her first language (L1), but is motivated to learn English. Her grandparents say that English is of a higher status, and encourage her to learn it. Learning to speak in one’s native tongue is a practice that basically begins in the womb when the newborn becomes familiar with how voices resonate. Being that this is an intrinsic talent, it is understandable that learning a second language would be an insurmountable amount of work. The scenario states that Anale has been enrolled in school for most of her life, but she does not have the literary skills to function academically. There are a number of reasons that this problem could exist; first, she may believe that as a result of her scholastic experiences that her literacy skills appeared to be more developed in English as opposed to Spanish. Next, there is a chance that Anale has become so absorbed in learning the core curriculum in her secondary language, that she failed to receive the necessary literary training in her own native dialect. Therefore, her literary skills are more influential in English because it is imperative that English Language Learners learn academics in their native language in order to be instructionally...
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...Although scientists have not discovered all the secrets of first language acquisition, the fact that children are born with the gift for acquiring language is practically undisputed now. However, what happens if the child is deprived of a normal audio environment from the beginning? In order to acquire listening comprehension ability, children need to hear sounds in order to imitate them correctly and then to link the sounds to the object they represent. However, deaf children can still develop a fantastic sense of language through sign language. To store and process language, people rely on the neurological system responsible for processing by the brain. It is a highly sophisticated mechanism that is only possessed by humans. Although...
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...Language Acquisition Anale is motivated to learn English. Although, Los Angeles is her place of birth, Spanish is the main language spoken in her household and community. Anale has always attended school, however; she does not have a literary foundation in her first language. Her grandparents are very supportive and encouraging. They believe that the English language is of a higher status and encourage her to learn it. Nonetheless, there are some factors that will play into Anale acquiring these new language skills. First, let us look at the support that Anale receives at home. Home support is a significant element when it comes to learning a second language. Although, it is the idea of some educationalists that parents of students learning the English Language, should only speak English in the home, we also find that it is even more crucial for the parents place great merit on both the native language and English. Other vital factors for success, can be that the parents use the language most comfortable for them to communicate with their children, and show encouragement and attention to the improvement of their child’s successes. This factor can prove to have a very positive impact in how rapidly she can obtain her goal of learning another language. The next factor that may influence Anale’s ability to achieve learning a second language is the proficiency of her native language. The case states that she does not have a literary foundation of her native language. So many things...
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...There are at least three language factors present that are going to affect Michael’s language acquisition: socialinguistic setting, specific social factors, and Acculturation Model. Two positive forces can be identified in his English language acquisition abilities. He excelled at his grade level while studying/learning in his primary language as he lived in South Korea; and he was forcibly indoctrinated into a culture of English language speakers as he temporarily lived with relatives in the United States. An important factor that can definitely affect Michael’s language acquisition is his socialinguistic settings. Socialinguistic settings refers to the role of the second language in society, such as whether it is spoken by a majority or a minority of the population, whether it's use is widespread or restricted to a few functional roles, or whether the society is predominately bilingual or monolingual ( Wikipedia, 2014). It can be understood that Michael was placed in a very stressful situation. He had to come to the United States and live with relatives, not his parents. He also was incapable of expressing his feelings concerning his parents being divorced. He is without the parents who provided familiarity in his prior habitat. Is Michael going to be able to cope with being in an environment with people who speak predominately English? Socially will he be able to get through this stress in his life? It is also necessary to pinpoint some of the variables...
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...Language Acquisition Methods Reflection and Discussion Use of the Native Language: When teachers use the native language within acquiring language skills, it is bringing the aspect of culture into perspective. I have never seen a teacher do this in their classroom before, though I have not been around many ESL or ELL teachers. From reading the article the benefits to integrating the use of native language into their learning of the English language is to provide the students with backgrounds of their figurative language sayings to develop a better understanding of their second language that they are learning. Having students bring their native language to a forefront will help bring relevancy and a better understanding of what the teacher is ultimately trying for the student to learn. This strategy is one that I probably would avoid because the lack of knowledge I have for other languages, and I think it may have a confusing effect on the student who is trying to learn the English language. Visualization: This is one strategy that in my future teachings I will definitely use with those students who are ESL or ELL’s. According to the article, “Children relate to more visual imagery in figurative language than adults because adults are much more aware of structures, functions, and casual relationships.” (Palmer, Shackelford, Miller, Leclere, 2006) Let’s say as a teacher you are trying to explain the saying its cold as ice to the student. The teacher would have the ability...
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...The Influences of Lexical Approach on College English Teaching in China I. Introduction 1.1 Background In recent years, college English teaching research focuses on exploring more effective teaching methods to improve the students’English proficiency and self-learning ability. China's college English teaching find itself caught in a dilemma of time-consuming but low-efficiency. The undesirable language teaching situation drives the teaching researchers to make great efforts to innovate present teaching ideas and methods. No matter how much attention has been paid to reading and writing training, teachers and students generally think that vocabulary teaching is of vital importance and it is the foundation of English learning. However, a majority of students acquire new words by rote learning and some students even try to memorize the words based on the vocabulary list. Although students' vocabulary size is increased quickly, their English language skills have not been improved. In order to resolve these problems, we can try to update the teaching idea of vocabulary and to improve the teaching method. 1.2 Purpose of the Paper The focus of traditional English teaching is mainly on grammar and vocabulary, which are regarded as two independent items. In fact, students cannot express themselves very well even though they have acquired many words and grammar rules. So, how can we change the situation? Many studies have been conducted to improve English teaching efficiency...
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...EDU230 October 10, 2015 Jamie Morris EDU-230 Teaching Strategies in Second Language Acquisition for English Language Learners Scenario 1: An elementary-aged student is an English language learner. The student is comfortable (low affective filter) trying new words and linking words together, but is not pronouncing the words correctly and/or putting words in the correct order (syntax). Development stage of second language acquisition and rationale for your choice: This scenario is an example of developmental stage 3 because it supports the student’s use of short phrases and the frequent grammatical errors that often interfere with the student’s communication. Teaching strategies that can be used to support the student with rationale: The teaching strategies that I would use to support this student would be the strategies that analyze the learner and educate them on their individual character (strategy 1), set up goals and expectations for the learner based on their characteristics (strategy 2), and finally, guide and give materials to the learner to master the language, as the ultimate decision is on them to do it or not (strategy 3). Scenario 2: A high school student is familiar with key words in her secondary language. Further, she is beginning to scaffold words to demonstrate a higher level of comprehension and retention. Development stage of second language acquisition and rationale for your choice: This is an example in the developmental stage...
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...Our advanced use of language is touted as an unparalleled and unique attribute of humans. We know that for our own species, language is a driving force behind many other aspects of our life such as survival, culture, and reproduction. Recognizing the importance that communication holds for us, we examine the way other animals communicate in order to learn more about their lifestyles. In addition, we look at the way non-human primates communicated in order to learn just how similar or different we are to species of animals that shared a common ancestor with us in the past. Interest in primate language began as a result of conflicting theories of human language acquisition. Scholar Noam Chomsky, argued for Nativism that humans have an innate...
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