Language Acquisition and Learning Processes David Keffer Student # Learning and Human Development Morning Class

Early Language Acquisition  language is important to teachers for content delivery and for social interaction  very soon after birth, children recognize speech from non-speech  9 months – understand phonetic regularities  12 months – lose ability to distinguish phonemes that are not in the native language  critical period 1 (‘pre-operational,’ Piaget) is between 2 and 7 years old, during which time children mimic adult speech, and adjust grammar until it matches  the key areas of language are phonology, syntax and semantics 1. (accessed 2/10/2004)

Early Language Acquisition  children begin by repeating what they hear their parents say, random phrases, and parents encourage/reward/ punish the child by their level of attention and response 2  mistakes can be a result of parents simplifying language, or of fundamental inconsistencies of the English language  there is some suggestion that language learning (like walking) is an innate ability some evidence that if children are not exposed to language during this period, they will not be able to learn to speak  feral children – empirical examples only, do they understand more than they are able to speak? 2. (accessed 2/10/2004)

Second Language Acquisition  linguistic expert Stephen Krashen’s 3 hypothesis defines two parts to language acquisition:  acquisition system - learning by immersion in new language environment tends to promote more rapid fluency with new language  learned system - more traditional learning of a language has more focus on grammar and syntax  the learning process requires meaningful interaction with target language, and can produce more rapid results  classroom, media, home, community, peers  words and phrases are associated with objects, body language, and pictures, with focus on ‘communication’ 3. (accessed 2/10/2004)

Classroom Techniques  use as many collaborative activities as possible  think/pair/share, groupwork, discussion, brainstorming, etc.  offer learners active and fun roles in learning experience, using theme-based activities  integrate language with content  incorporate topics related to the students’ native culture and language into content  have an EA or tutor assist the students having language difficulties  provide students with extra time/classes in English  encourage students, even when they make a mistake  increase staff/teacher awareness of language issues (accessed 2/10/2004)

Practical Example  A Canadian Family moved to France for a period of 15 months.  the father had had French training through high school and into university, and worked at a French academic research institute  the mother had no formal French training other than a course in conversational French  the 15-year old had had French training to the grade 10 level, and was placed in a French high school  the 9-year old had no French training at all, and was placed in a French public school  After four to five months of immersion …  the father learned to speak French, but not fluently, constantly thinking about the proper way to phrase his thoughts (learned system)  the mother learned to speak quite fluently, although her grammar and syntax were not always correct (acquisition system)  the teenager learned to speak French well and fluently, but was still recognizable as a foreigner until approximately 12 months (mixed system)  school board supervisors inspecting the school were unable to distinguish the child from a native speaker of French (acquisition system)