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First Language Acquisition

Lec . 3. First Language Acquisition . First language acquisition . It refers to the natural process whereby a child acquires its mother tongue. Language learning involves two distinct but related psychological processes (language comprehension + language production).

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First Language Acquisition

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  1. Lec. 3 First Language Acquisition

  2. First language acquisition • It refers to the natural process whereby a child acquires its mother tongue. • Language learning involves two distinct but related psychological processes (language comprehension + language production)

  3. 1. The behavioristic approach • Skinner’s ‘Verbal Behavior’(1957) • In principle, language behavior can be accounted for in a way that is not different from the behavior of rats in laboratory conditions. • Stimuli & response (conditioning) = habit • reinforcement : positive vs. negative • Language learning = imitation & habit formation • Correction

  4. Child’s ungrammatical structures?? • Child’s errors are due to imperfect acquisition CHILD: “Nobody don’t like me” MOTHER: No, say ‘Nobody likes me” (8 times repeated) CHILD: Oh! Nobody don’t like me. McNeil (1933) • These errors are never produced by adults: • Irregular past-tense uncountable nouns * goed & taked *mouses & sheeps

  5. Criticism • Imitation & reinforcement work well for the acquisition of sounds & vocabulary, but not grammar. • Language acquisition is not a passive issue; it is rather an active process as children actively construct their language

  6. 2. The Innatists/ Nativist Approach • Chomsky (1960s) • Chomsky see the study of language as a means to explore the human mind • First language acquisition is not simply a matter of imitation or reinforcement; it is rather a complex system of rules which enables the child to understand & produce an infinite number of sentences. • Creativity

  7. The nativists & UG • Language faculty = innate ability • LAD • After trails & errors , the child will learn the a set of generalizations (grammatical rules) underlying the formation of sentences. • Remarkable speed, striking similarities, & regularities across all children all over the / • a system/ pattern

  8. Universal Grammar • Eric Lenneberg (1960s) • Learning to talk = learning to walk • The Critical Period hypothesis (12/13 years old) • LAD  UG

  9. 3. The cognitivists An approach to the study of language which is based upon human perception & conceptualization of the world

  10. 3. The Cognitivists • Cognitive psychologists share with behaviourists the belief that the study of learning should be objective and that learning theories should be developed from the results of empirical research. • However, cognitivists disagree with the behaviourists in one critical aspect. By observing the responses that individuals make to different stimulus conditions, cognitivists believe that they can draw inferences about the nature of the internal cognitive processes that produce those responses

  11. Piaget & Child Cognition • Piaget ( 1896-1980) did many experiments on children’s way of thinking and concluded that human beings go through several distinct stages of cognitive development. Each stage involves the acquisition of new skills and rests upon the successful completion of the preceding one: • Sensory-motor stage (0-2) exploring the environment • Preoperational stage (2-7) egocentric / causality, speed, weight, number • Concrete Operational period (7-11) / less ego-centric/ abstract & logical notions/ mathematical operations • Formal operational (11+) / highly abstract & hypothetical concepts, problem solving

  12. 3. The cognitivists • First language acquisition must be viewed within the context of the child's overall intellectual growth. • Language grows as the child’s mental abilities grow For example: • Children’s use of present perfect (4+ years) • Present simple & continues  2. perfect tenses

  13. The 3 operating principles Slobin (1973), & Clark & Clark (1977)

  14. 1. Avoid exceptions Regular rules are acquired before irregular ones (overgeneralization of category marking/ e.g., goed, mouses, mans, etc.)

  15. 2. Clear meaning-relationships of words • The underlying meaning-relationships of words should be very clearly marked in the minds of children . • 1. Active  2. passive

  16. 3. Semantic sense of grammatical markers • Children tend to use grammatical markers (am, is, are, an, a, etc.) to make sense of the patterns they hear • E.g. structures with contracted forms (I’ll) , or deleted ones (which) appear later in the speech of children

  17. 4. The Interactionists • Language develops as a result of the complex interplay between uniquely human characteristics of the child & the environment in which he grows • Motherese , caretaker speech, child-directed-speech (CDS) • Characteristics of CDS

  18. 4. The Interactionists

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