© Oxford University Press 2008 Language Acquisition CARE-GIVER LANGUAGE: Bruner and LASS

© Oxford University Press 2008 Language Acquisition Jerome Bruner Partly as a response to Noam Chomsky’s theories of a ‘language acquisition device’ in children’s brains, Bruner proposed the existence of LASS: The Language Acquisition Support System

© Oxford University Press 2008 Language Acquisition The Language Acquisition Support System refers to the support for language learning provided by parents and care-givers.

© Oxford University Press 2008 Language Acquisition Parents often use books as a focus of attention for developing babies’ naming/labelling abilities. This promotes: language learning understanding of the rules of participation in conversation

© Oxford University Press 2008 Language Acquisition As concluded by Michael Halliday, the baby doesn’t learn names for their own sake, but learns them as part of a naming activity.

© Oxford University Press 2008 Language Acquisition The Four-Point Plan Gaining attention – drawing the baby’s attention to a picture Query – asking the baby to identify the picture Labelling – telling the baby what the picture is Feedback – responding to the baby’s utterance

© Oxford University Press 2008 Language Acquisition Aims of child-directed speech Attract and hold the baby’s attention Help the process of breaking down language into understandable chunks Make the conversation more predictable by keeping the conversation in the ‘here and now’

© Oxford University Press 2008 Language Acquisition Speak slowly to make language more accessible Use questions to improve the child’s understanding of auxiliaries Ask questions to help the child understand the rules of turn-taking Note: There is no proof that child-directed speech is essential to development!