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Week 2: Learning your First Language (L1)

SLA Learning Your First Language (L1)


First language acquisition is a magical, mysterious and sometimes mindboggling phenomenon. Before we dive straight into this mystifying occurance: - lets take a look at these questions.

Spend 2 minutes thinking about the following questions: - [if you cant remember try to use your tiny (in age) relatives as example]

Did you feel that language improvement accelerated by the way adults speak to you?

Did you have to repeat the correct words or sentences over and over again?

Did you learn language at the same rate as your siblings, relatives or friends?

This week we take a look at the following:


Holistic view from three angles on first language acquisition in regards to child development and its environment. Theoretical perspectives on first language acquisition (a) behaviourist (b) innatist (c) social interactionist Limitations of those theoretical perspectives.

Issues in FLA.

SLA Learning your First Language (L1)


Rice (1986) identifies three crucial sections: (i) The nature of language. (ii) What the child brings to language acquisition.

(iii) What the environment contributes to language development.

First Issue: Nature of Language


Understanding what is language and what is its role will lead us to explore and discuss the way language is acquired.

First Issue: Nature of Language


In the first week we have looked at what is language and its role.
Language is a complex collection of random symbols created from the basic unit (phonemes), each containing conventionalized meaning that is governed by certain structure, which might not be exclusive for human use, that is intended for communication and can be acquired through learning.

First Issue: Nature of Language


We can divide the notion of language into three sections.
random Language is a complex collection of random symbols symbols created from the basic unit (phonemes) created from the basic unit (phonemes), each containing conventionalized meaning containing conventionalized meaning that is governed governed certain which structure by certain by structure, might not be exclusive for intended for and human use, that is intended for communication communication can be acquired through learning.

First Issue: Nature of Language


If we look at form we can analyze and discuss how grammar or syntactic rules are internalized by the child.

If we look at meaning we can analyze and discuss how the child becomes skillful in interpreting the functional meaning of the utterances they hear.
If we look at use we can analyze and discuss how the child is able to use the correct expressions in certain instances.
(Goh & Silver, 2004)

Second Issue: The childs role


Are languages learnt in a similar manner when learning other cognitive skills? Is it display in the degree of participation of the child -> from passive receiver to active learners? The development of cognition is vital in a childs language development.

Second Issue: The childs role


Cognitive Theory Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky

Vygotsky (1962) role of cognition are:


(a) The importance of cultural and social environment connection and language learning. (b) Cognition is closely related however childrens cognition is developed through interaction with parents and immediate community.

Second Issue: The childs role


Cognitive Theory Lev Vygotsky

Interaction with world and others

(Goh & Silver, 2004)

Cognitive development (thought)

Language

Third Issue: The environments role


Linguistics

Social

L1

L1 Acquisition Theoretical Models


After viewing the three issues, we will try to look at how we can account for the way language, the child and the environment mix and shake thus leading to the emergence of language.

L1 Acquisition Theoretical Models

There are three major movements: (a) The behaviourist (b) The innatist / nativist

(c) The interactionist

Theoretical Model 1 Behaviourist


Behaviourism = Stimulus + Response + Reinforcement

Behaviourism popular model of animal and human learning in the early 50s. Behaviourism possible to condition after repeated exposures to conditioning stimulus. However, Skinners behaviourism towards language learning focuses on what occurs after the response that shapes operant acquisition.

Theoretical Model 1 Behaviourist


Thus language learning can be equated in Behaviourism as: Want juice (operant - utterance) = Response [Gives juice: here/gesture hand over baby bottle] + Reinforcement [Gets to drink juice] * without necessarily observable stimuli + Reinforcement = Conditioned operant This kind of shaping operates on the babys future behaviour and encourage the child to acquire the proper language.

Theoretical Model 1 Behaviourist


However, there are limitations: -

(a) ignore the childs own role in their own language acquisition process passive learner / tabula rasa
(b) inability to provide concrete explanation of complex grammatical learning in the child.

Theoretical Model 2 Innatist/Nativist


The innatist concerns with the role of mental or psycholinguistic processes placing great importance to the unobservable processes in the mind . The innatist believes human beings are preprogrammed to launch the language software after coming into contact with language. Famous linguists in this area: (a) Eric Lenneberg CPH (b) Noam Chomsky LAD and UG

Theoretical Model 2 Innatist/Nativist


Eric Lenneberg Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH) Lenneberg claims language acquisition happens anytime before puberty and if language learning takes place after this point -> language can be learnt but will not be native-like. Traditional researches: - feral children Modern researches: - brain plasticity, delayed development in prefrontal cortex.

Theoretical Model 2 Innatist/Nativist


Noam Chomsky Language Acquisition Device (LAD)

Chomskys coined it the black box

Theoretical Model 2 Innatist/Nativist


McNeill (1966) list the following linguistic properties of the LAD: - allows the child (a) to have the ability to discern speech sounds from different sounds in the environment (b) to have the ability to organize linguistic data into various classes that can later be refined (c) to have knowledge that only certain kind of linguistics system is possible and that other kinds are not. (d) to have the ability to engage in constant evaluation of the developing linguistic system as to construct the simplest possible system out of the available linguistic input.

Theoretical Model 2 Innatist/Nativist


Noam Chomsky Universal Grammar (UG) Chomsky claims eventhough thousands of human languages differ in their surface structure, they share a common deep structure that is Universal Grammar UG rules general and abstract

Language rules operates on specific linguistic structure and not on how many words, phrases or sentence.

Theoretical Model 2 Innatist/Nativist


Noam Chomsky Universal Grammar (UG) Example: Form a rule about how English question is formed from active sentences. (a) Is she going? (b) Has mummy gone? (c) Has your mummy left?

Theoretical Model 2 Innatist/Nativist


Noam Chomsky Universal Grammar (UG) Chomskys Innatist approach looks at what the individual brings to the environment that is important. Innatist believes there is strong evidence for innate, preprogrammed linguistic competence in the form of UG.

Innatist believes there is strong evidence for innate, preprogrammed linguistic competence in the form of UG.

Theoretical Model 2 Innatist/Nativist


However, there are limitations: (a) Chomskys work reflects the ideal internal knowledge of interlocutors focusing primarily on idealised competence rather on performance. (b) Innatist tend to overlook influences of the social environment communicative intent is not discussed.

Theoretical Model 3 Interactionist Model


The interactionist concerns with how language and cognitive development take place within key contexts of interaction (Goh & Silver, 2004). The interactionist is also referred as sociolinguistic or funtional. Largely influenced by Vygotskys work ZPD.

Theoretical Model 3 Interactionist Model


What is ZPD?

Childs current cognitive state

ZPD

Level of potential development

Theoretical Model 3 Interactionist Model


Language acquisition are viewed from the interactionist perspective as: (a) interaction between adult-child provides rich source of language input in developing communicative competence. (b) providing opportunities for young children to use and experiment with language. (c) helping young children to develop scripts about how an event happens.

Theoretical Model 3 Interactionist Model


Child Directed Speech (CDS)/ Motherese / Baby talk / Carer talk

The most important functions in CDS are: (a) Deixis drawing attention to the presence or absence of objects and people. (b) Repetition repeating the same word or the same idea (c) Expansion paraphasing or adding to what the child said. (d) Recast rephrase or to make it more accurate.
(Field, 2005)

Theoretical Model 3 Interactionist Model


Limitations: (a) Lack of informed explanation about the cognitive processes that a child undergoes when noticing and using language during interaction.

Issues in First Language Acquisition


(a) Competence & Performance
(b) Comprehension & Production (c) Nature vs Nurture (d) Systematicity vs Variability (e) Language & Thought (f) Practice & Frequency

References
Brown, H. D. (2007). Principles of Language Learning and Teaching Fifth Edition. New York: Pearson Education. Field, J. (2005). Language and the Mind Oxon: Routledge. Goh, C. C. M. & Silver, R. E. (2004). Language Acquisition and Development Singapore: Longman. McNeill, D. (1966). Developmental psycholinguistics. in Smith, F. & Miller, G. (eds) The genesis of language: A psycholinguistic approach Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press. Piaget, J. (1959/2000). The Language and Thought of the Child London: Routledge. Rice, M. L. (1986). Childrens Language Acquisition American Psychologist Vol 44/3. Vygotsky, L. (1962/1986). Thought and Language Cambridge: MA: The MIT Press. Scovel, T. (2001). Learning New Languages: A guide to second language acquisition. MA :Heinle-Heinle.

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