FIRST LANGUAGE

ACQUISITION
Prof. Jos Morales Sousa, Ed.D.
School of Education
Universidad del Este

DEFINITIONS
1) First language (L1):

2) Second language (L2):

3) Foreign language (FL)
4) Target language (TL)

CHARACTERISTICS OF
CHILDRENS LANGUAGE

Language development is similar among

children all over the world.
PREDICTABILITY
LEARNING THROUGH IMITATION
CREATIVITY

Before First Words The earliest vocalizations

Involuntary crying
Cooing and gurgling showing
satisfaction or happiness

Before First Words Babbling

Babies use sounds to reflect the
characteristics of the different
language they are learning.

First Words
Around 12 months (one-word
stage):
one or two recognizable words
(esp. content word);
Single-word sentences.

By the age of 2 (two-word stage):

1) at least 50 different words
2) telegraphic sentences (no function
words and grammatical morphemes)
e.g., Mommy juice, baby fall down
3) reflecting the order of the language.
e.g., kiss baby, baby kiss
4) creatively combining words. e.g.,
more outside, all gone cookie

By the age of 4
Most children are able to:
ask questions,
give commands,
report real events,
create stories about imaginary ones with
correct word order and grammatical
markers most of the time.

By the age of 4
basic structures of the language
less frequent and more complex
linguistic structures.
use of the language in a widening
social environment.

 Development of Metalinguistic Awareness

Ability to consciously reflect on the nature and
use of language.
Words are separate from their referents.
Language has a potential greater than simple
symbols.

Development of Vocabulary

THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO L1
ACQUISITION
1) Behaviorism: Say what I say

2) Innatism: Its all in your mind

3) Interactionist/Developmental perspectives:
Learning from inside and out
Bibliography: Lightbown, Patsy. Spada, Nina. How languages are learned 1993

1) BEHAVIORISM: SAY WHAT I SAY

Skinner: language behaviour is the
production of correct responses to
stimuli through reinforcement.
http://www.simplypsychology.org/ope
rant-conditioning.html

Language learning is the result of:

imitation (word-for-word repetition),
practice (repetitive manipulation of form),
feedback on success (positive
reinforcement)
habit formation.

The quality and

quantity of the
language that the
child hears
as well as the
consistency of the
reinforcement offered
by others in the
environment

would shape the

childs language
behaviour.

Childrens imitations are not

random
Their imitation is selective and
based on what they are currently
learning.

Childrens practice of new

language forms
substitution drills.
It is selective and reflects what they would like
to learn.
They pick out patterns/rules and then
generalize or overgeneralize them to new
contexts.

2) INNATISM: ITS ALL IN YOUR

MIND

Chomsky (1959) argues that

behaviorism cannot provide
sufficient explanations for
childrens language acquisition
for the following reasons:

Children come to know more

about the structure of their
language than they could be
expected to learn on the basis of
the samples of language they hear.

 The language children are exposed to

includes false starts, incomplete
sentences and slips of the tongue, and
yet they learn to distinguish between
grammatical and ungrammatical
sentences.
Children are by no means
systematically corrected or instructed
on language by parents.

Children are
biologically
programmed
for language

Language
develops in
the child

In the same
way of other
biological
functions

language
acquisition

learning to
walk.

LAD: LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

DEVICE ( or BLACK BOX)
It contains all and only the principles which are
universal to all human languages
(i.e.. Universal Grammar UG).

If children are preequipped with UG.

What they have to learn is

The ways in which their

own language make use
of those principles

children need
access only
to samples of
a natural
language

They
discover the
structure of
the
language to
be learned

By matching
the innate
knowledge of
basic
grammatical
principles (UG)

which serve
as a trigger
to activate
the device.

Once the
LAD is
activated

to the
structures of
the particular
language in the
environment.

CONCLUSION
Childrens acquisition of grammatical rules
is guided by principles of an innate UG
which could apply to all languages.
Children know certain things of the
language just by being exposed to a
limited number of samples.

Evidence used to support Chomskys

innatist position:
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).

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.

The language children are

exposed to does not contain
examples
of all the linguistic rules and
patterns.

Animals cannot learn

to manipulate a symbol system
as complicated as
the natural language
of a 3- or 4-year-old child.

Children acquire grammatical

rules without getting explicit

instruction.

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.
Only when it is stimulated
at the right time

Critical Period Principle

STRONG

ONLY BY
PUBERTY

Two versions

WEAK

AFTER PUBERTY
IT WILL BE MORE
DIFFICULT AND
INCOMPLETE

Virtually every child learns language

following the same developmental
patterns despite his/her different
environments.
Case studies of abnormal language
development - evidence of the CPH
Genie a girl of 13 years old (1970)
Deaf signers (native signers, early
learners, vs. late learners)

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTFCiG
I5wJA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_Oavg
lDkn0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Tchn_
DXs4o&feature=related

3) INTERACTIONIST/DEVELOPMENTAL
PERSPECTIVES:
LEARNING FROM INSIDE AND OUT

Problems of Innatism:
Too much emphasis on
the final state
but not enough on the
developmental aspects of
language acquisition.

 Language was
ONE manifestation
of the cognitive and affective ability
to deal with the world
Innatists
dealt with FORMS of the language,
not with the FUNCTIONAL levels
of meaning constructed from
SOCIAL INTERACTION

INTERACTIONISM: Bruner
Language acquisition
is an example of childrens ability to learn
from experience.
What children need to know
is essentially available
in the language
they are exposed to.

the innate
learning ability
of children

LANGUAGE
DEVELOPM
ENT
the environment
in which they
develop

CARETAKER TALK
It is the way adults modify their speech
when communicating with kids.
Slower rate of speech
Higher pitch
More varied intonation
Shorter simpler sentence patterns
Frequent repetition
Paraphrase

MODIFIED
SPEECH

CRUCIAL ELEMENT
in language acquisition process

Developmental psychologists

attribute more importance to the

environment
But they recognize a powerful learning
mechanism in the human brain.

PIAGET
Childrens cognitive development
determines their language
development.

The interaction
between the
child

the
developing
cognitive
understanding
things which
can be
observed,
touched, and
manipulated

Language

can be used to represent knowledge

that children have acquired

through physical interaction with the environment.

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.
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.

Vygotsky 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.

THOUGHT

ESSENTIALLY
INTERANALIZED
SPEECH

EMERGED IN
SOCIAL
INTERACTION

SPEECH

The Child's Language Environment

There is NO DIRECT PRESSURE to learn

There is NO TIME LIMIT for learning.

There is NO WAY OF ESCAPING into a

different language (no vacations).

The language is NOT SEQUENCED BY

GRAMMAR OR VOCABULARY (no

textbook).

The Child's Language Environment

There is LOTS OF REPETITION

Both the LANGUAGE AND THE WORLD

ARE NEW.
All the language is spoken IN THE

CONTEXT OF THE SURROUNDING

WORLD.
THE LANGUAGE IS ALL AROUND.

The Child's Language Environment

The child has MANY OPPORTUNITIES

FOR USING the language to communicate
to those around him.
Much of THE LANGUAGE IS SIMPLIFIED
to the level of understanding of the child.

The Child's Learning Strategies

The child in NOT INTERESTED IN

LANGUAGE for its own sake.

The child is NOT DISTURBED by the

language he does not understand.

The child ENJOYS THE REPETITIVE
events of his life, and uses this enjoyment
to help him learn.

The Child's Learning Strategies

The child USES HIS PRIMARY
INTERESTS to help him learn.
The child directs his attention to things that
are EASY TO UNDERSTAND.
The child possesses a natural desire TO
CALL AN OBJECT BY ITS NAME.

The Child's Learning Strategies

The child adds words to his speaking
vocabulary more easily IF HE ALREADY
KNOWS HOW TO PRONOUNCE THEM.
The child IMMEDIATELY USES the
language, and his SUCCESS IN
COMMUNICATION BUILDS
CONFIDENCE.

The Child's Learning Strategies

The child uses his natural desire TO
PARTICIPATE IN THE LIFE AROUND
HIM to help him learn new language.
The child brings TREMENDOUS
INGENUITY to the task of learning.

REFERENCES
Brown, H. D. (2010). Language assessment: Principles and classroom
practices. White Plains, NY: Pearson Education.
Brown, H. D. (2008). Principles of language learning and teaching. White
Plains, NY: Pearson Longman.
Brown, H. D. (2010). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to
language pedagogy. White Plains, NY: Pearson Education.