Chapter 15: Lang. Acquisition

1. Chapter 15: Lang. Acquisition As coffee is an acquired taste…

2. Learning vs. Acquisition Yes, there is a difference…

3. KidSpeak… Other examples of “KidSpeak”?

4. FLA: More than Imitation • To acquire one’s first language: • Learn words • Derivational & Inflectional morphemes • Recognize relationships • Sentence order • Word collocations • Semantics • Pragmatics • Make generalizations

5. The Enablers • Innate Grammar • No genetic predisposition… • Motherese • Cognitive Development • Feedback • You catch more flies with honey… • Recasting • Critical period

6. Syntax • One-Word Stage • Two-Word Stage • Telegraphic Stage • Movement Rules • Y/N Questions • WH Questions • Passive • Reflexive & Pronouns

7. Kids Acquisition (abbreviated) -ing plural -s possessive -’s the, a past tense -ed 3rd pers. sing. -s auxillary BE Parents Usage the, a -ing plural -s auxillary BE possessive -’s 3rd pers. sing. –s past tense -ed Morphology So what…?

8. Kids Acquisition -ing plural -s possessive -’s the, a past tense -ed 3rd pers. sing. -s auxillary BE Question: Would you expect exactly the same order in Spanish, German & Chinese kids? (Ex. 9) Morphology

9. Lexicon: Common 1st Words • Daddy, mommy, baby… • Juice, milk, cookie, water, apple… • Dog, cat, duck, horse… Car, boat… • Shoes, hat… Ball, blocks… Bottle, key… • Hot, all-gone, dirty, cold, here, there… • Up, sit, see, eat, go, down… Hi, bye… Whaddya think: Why these words….?

10. Morphological Acquisition • Phrase final elements • Syllabicity • Intolerance of Ambiguity • Homophony • Exceptional • Allophonic • Clear Semantics

11. The Ways We Learn (& Err) • Whole Object Assumption • Type Assumption • Basic Similarities Assumption • Overextension • Underextension • Verb meanings • Dimensions

12. Any Questions… …before we move on? (next: Phonology)

13. Phonological Development • She said “da-da” • Babbling • Put one foot in front of the other… • Vowels before Consonants • Stops “ Fricatives/Affricates • Labials “ Velars • Word-initial “ Word-final • Reception “ Production

14. Early Phonetic Production • Substituted segments • Deleted syllables • Deleted final consonant • Reduced consonant clusters More Examples?

15. Get Some Exercise • What phonetic processes are evident in the pronunciation of a 2 yr old below? • pocket [bαt] • spoon [bun] • zoo [du] • bath [bæt] • grandma [gαgα] What might we hear for: • juice • under From Previous Slide: • Substituted segment • Deleted syllables • Deleted final consonant • Reduced consonant clusters

16. KidSpeak… Linguistically Realistic?

17. Foundations • Innate grammar • Methods • Naturalistic • We’re taking the video anyway… • Longitudinal • Experimental • Focused on a point • Cross-sectional

18. Wug Test • One Wug Two _____

19. Get Some Exercise (2) • One Naturalistic study found only 12 of 60 children used a passive structure. • Does this mean the other 48 had not yet acquired the passive structure? • How does this example reflect on the “pros & cons” of the Naturalistic approach? • Other Pros/Cons to Naturalistic/Behavioral Approaches?

20. Any Questions… …before we move on?

21. “Gina is by lingual… that means she can say the same thing twice, but you can only understand it once.”

22. FLA Blank slate Intensive input Adaptability Reduced cognition Less experience SLA Competition Peripheral input Less flexible Expanded cognition More Experience Comparing FLA & SLA

23. Motivation Matters • Instrumental • Goal oriented • Integrative • Community based

24. Whaddya Think? • Acquiring a second language involves both knowing something about the language and being able to do something with the language. • Do you think that knowledge and skills are related? • What trade-offs can you see between accuracy and fluency?

25. Competence & Performance L2 L1 Interlanguage

26. Interlanguage • Transference • L1 competence in L2 performance • Pre-nominal ADJs in Spanish of English native • “e” b/4 initial ‘sk’ in English of Spanish native • Fossilization • Interlanguage ‘errors’ become ‘rules’

27. Bilingualproduction L2 L1 L½ L1 Persistent Errors Fossilization

28. Will I/they Ever Get It? • Age • Critical Period Hypothesis • Idiosyncrasies • Affective issues • cf. Krashen’s Filter • Cognitive issues • Positive (Direct) Evidence • Negative (Indirect) Evidence • Learning environment

29. Fossilization: Whaddya think? • What factors can you think of that might influence fossilization? • Do you think some people are more likely to fossilize than others? • Why or Why not? • Do you think it can be reversed? • If so, what strategies might be effective?

30. Whenever we speak… Language Strategic Competence Competence Organizational Pragmatic Competence Competence Grammatical Textual Illocutionary Sociolinguistic Competence Competence Competence Competence Vocabulary Cohesion Rhetorical Dialect Cultural Organization References Syntax Register Morphology Functional Phonology Abilities Typical ESL Instruction

31. Interlanguage Phonology • Markedness Differential Hypothesis • Linguistic universals • ~ If it’s uncommon, it’ll be harder to acquire • Similarity Differential Rate Hypothesis • Similarity breeds confusion… • Syllabification • Once a syllable, always a syllable… • A stressful situation

32. Exercise • A dialect of Arabic breaks up clusters by inserting an epenthetic vowel in front of an unsyllabified consonant. How would a speaker of this dialect pronounce the following words? plant transport translate

33. Exercise (some more) • Given what you know about implicational universals, do you think it would be easier for an English speaker to acquire French nasal vowels (e.g. gant [gã] ‘glove’) or for a French speaker to acquire English oral vowels?

34. Interlanguage Syntax • L1 Merge & Move Rules • Null Subject • Verb Movement • Markedness & Subsets

35. Exercise (again) • What explanation would you give for a native speaker of French who produced the English sentence ‘I drink frequently coffee’ ? • How could you explain to this person that ‘He is frequently late’ is grammatical? • Do any other English verbs have the same properties as BE ?

36. L1 Acquisition -ing plural –s irregular past possessive -’s copula (main verb)BE articles the, a, an regular past -ed 3rd pers. sing. -s auxillary BE L2 Acquisition -ing copula (main verb)BE articles the, a auxillary BE plural -s irregular past regular past -ed 3rd pers. sing. –s possessive -’s Interlanguage Morphology

37. Morphology Exercise • Second language learners, regardless of their first language, produce forms like goed, sheeps, and could decided even though they never hear these from a native speaker. Why? • What are some other forms you might expect to hear?

38. In the Classroom • Modified Input • Teacher talk ( i +1) • Modified Interaction • Discourse differences • Focus on Form • Explicit Language Instruction • Error Correction • Self-monitoring & correction

39. Bilingual Education • Almost 10% of school kids = ESoL • Bilingual Education • English-Only ESL • Newcomer Programs • Heritage Language Programs • Over 500% increase • ESoL kids in SC from 1994 - 2004

40. Education: Whaddya think? • Roughly 75% of all non-native speakers of English in K-12 schools will drop out by or before the 10th grade. • What SLA issues share in this issue? • What can we do about it?