Language Register

Language plays many roles in our lives as “language is both a social tool and an information tool” (Hayes & Gee, 2011, p.24). Language is a powerful means of communication, learning and self expression; and contributes substantially to our sense of identity, wellbeing and belonging. Children predominantly learn language from observing and interacting with adults. The manner in which adults use language and interact with children, determines how children learn to use language

What mechanisms drive language acquisition? Examines how language develops from infancy into adulthood. Focuses on the modularity debate of how language is organized in the brain. Some theorize that language is domain-specific in that the brain has processes dedicated to the task of language learning and comprehension. Others focus on a domain-general theory for language learning where the processes used to learn language are the same processes used in other situations such as problem solving.

In “Saving Languages through Korean Soap Operas” Rose Eveleth details the global efforts to save dying languages. She begins by citing globalization and the increasing pressure to understand and speak English as the primary reasons for decline of many local languages. Eveleth asserts that language is a key part to a people’s cultural identity and should be preserved. Because the benefits of learning English are so high, many of the younger generations lack the desire to learn their own local languages. But globalization and diffusion of culture may be the key to saving these languages; specifically, through cultural commodities such as movies and popular television shows.

Children learn the language from various methods either watching televisions or observing the communications around them. It is practical for Tom’s parents to teach Tom how to speak his native language. Tom can also learn language through observation, such as reading books and watching videos designed for children. From the Speaking and Hearing Science lessons, I learned that there are various factors being responsible for child’s language development such as biological preprogramming and environmental stimulation. According to BF Skinner (1957), “language is acquired through modeling and reinforcement”. [ ] While according to Noam Chomsky ( ), “the language acquisition is due to biology and thus innate to human beings”. [ ] So, Tom is supposed

Language is an area of development that is effected by both nature and nurture. Nature decides human's dispositions and nurture can change these personalities. For example, in an environment where a child is learning to speak around parents with a large vocabulary as compared to an environment where the parent’s vocabulary is not as large, one child will have larger vocabulary skills than the other due to the environment. Children could also be affected by how much attention they

1) Introduction: Language can be divided into two fundamental categories of “oral” and “non oral” however it is important to acknowledge there is more to these components than simply “speaking” and “listening”. There are many theories on the processes in which language is learnt during childhood. These theories range from Piaget’s

“Subtle measures of surprise (e.g., duration of looking toward the new sounds) are then used to assess whether the infant perceives the new sample as more of the same, or something different. In this fashion, we can ask what the infant extracted from the artificial language, which can lead to insights regarding the learning mechanisms underlying the earliest stages of language acquisition.”, according to Saffran. During this infant period, the discovered elements in sounds and gestures in language are beyond children’s understanding if only just based on intelligence. They have shown early inborn and involuntary assemblage of words and sounds, combining them into meanings without previous acknowledgements. They simultaneously crack the linguistic codes and rules surround them, integrating their capacities in learning process. Children have revealed excellent ability in solving linguistic puzzles, always surpassing other animal species in the mastery of communication in which, highly champions the theory of innateness in human language acquisition.

Consider a mime telling a story on the sidewalk. Using his hands he creates image outlines, adding body movement and facial expressions to create further understanding of the silent tale. Without spoken language the mime has provided entertainment. Language is functional; providing means to share information both personal and factual, present opinions and clarify ideas (Crystal, 1987). Used to describe thoughts, experiences and helps build and create relationships. Language researcher Michael Halliday, suggests developing language has seven purposes for children in their early years. Instrumental is the first purpose, use of language to satisfy a need. Next is regulatory, this language allows a child to tell others what to do; interactional

I have learnt that language can be cognitive, material or social (Gee & Hayes, 2011). Some view language as a set of social conventions, shared by a group of people about how to communicate such as classroom or sporting rules, often supplied in books and followed by people. Children don’t read books so social conventions need to be taught by modelling behaviour and communication.

Skinner believed that children acquire language through imitation and reinforcement. Noam Chomsky suggested that skinner’s theory does not explain language development. He believed that all children have an innate sense of language. He called this our language acquisition device. The (LAD) enables children to use language when they have acquired

Chomsky (Steinberg 2011) views language as an innate ability children carry; this views centers the idea that the process of acquiring language is rooted in organized cognitive structures, and these traits are considered fundamentally biological. Chomsky (Steinberg 2011) states that each child has the potential to learn language with a lan-guage acquisition device (LAD). The LAD contains linguistic universals, one being the ability to speak a universal amount of utterances which Chomsky labels this knowledge as linguistic crea-tivity (Steinberg 2011). It also provides for the ability to learn the complexities of a language rapidly and uniformly. Chomsky, and other research has provided a wealth of knowledge to ex-plain language development, but it has its limitations. Whether language is hard wired or a learned experience, we know language has universal components that are shared among many languages and are a part of language development. This paper will try take a point of view that encompasses both of these perceptive. The model that best suits this idea is the interactionist

Language development in children is influenced by a variety of factors however often begins with the use of a few recognisable words around their first birthday. Children’s initially focus is on their immediate environment and the development lexical words. At this stage children begin to use language to communicate with

The main theories of language acquisition perceive that children are capable of developing and maturing whether by themselves or with the support and stimulation from their environment to acquire language. The five

we use to love and discipline our children. Without a common language, our thoughts, feelings, and opinions are misinterpreted or lost. A place without words to reach the very people we want to touch is indeed very lonely (Frazier-Maiwald 101). Because language plays such an important role in life, language acquisition is equally critical for development and

Language can be analysed as an item or material object and by doing so we can identify that language is made up of words and a series of rules to help us form sentences. However, if language is only viewed as a material object and not a social process, language becomes purely vocabulary and learning grammatical rules. In this case, language would be “fixed and finite” and wouldn’t “explore the complexities involved in using language for communication” (Scarino & Liddicoat, 2009, p. 16). The main function of language is to help us communicate with one another in a clear and concise manner. Language appears on advertisements, books, online in chat rooms or social media, speeches, recordings from the past and it is always in our minds; all day, every day. Language is systematic, indicating that it is governed by a set of rules to make meaning out of words, phrases and sentences. However, language is also shaped by the social context, which is greatly influenced by the relationship of the speakers (Gardner, 2017a, s. 13). According to Chomsky (2006, pp. 99-100), we all have an innate language makeup which begins to develop language structure in utero. This is demonstrated through all of us having been exposed to various experiences and training, however, still acquiring grammar that is extremely similar. Australia is very culturally diverse and because of this, teachers may find that some students may experience difficulties with their language development due to their