Second Language Acquisition on Children

There has been a lot of research in Second Language Acquisition and there has many theories in this field. Since the 1970s more scholars have been very keen to explain the acquisition process. Particular attention has been given to the way we process information and this involves input and output. The major debate on this subject is what takes place in between the two stages. This essay will consider the contributions made by each of the above named scholars on the models of SLA. They each have their…

Children acquire their native language, which fall within a wide range of languages, at a very early stage of development. During development, a child begins to show signs of verbal communication, usually starting out as cooing, babbling, recognizable words, and later two or more word sentences. This occurrence is also seen in the development of second languages. Second language acquisition is the study of how second languages are typically developed. The process of acquiring our native language…

First and Second Language Acquisition In our everyday lives, the origin of our ability to communicate is usually not often taken into consideration. One doesn't think about how every person has, or rather had at one time, an innate ability to learn a language to total fluency without a conscious effort – a feat that is seen by the scientific community "as one of the many utterly unexplainable mysteries that beset us in our daily lives" (3).. Other such mysteries include our body's ability to…

ASSIGNMENT: SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION Name and surname(s): Heber Guerrero Giron Login: PEFPMTFL966476 Group: 31 Date: February 29, 2012 INTRODUCTION Second language acquisition is a process by which people learn a second language. It refers to any language learned in addition to the first language and the differences…

‘tutors’ but rather as English buddies to their young ELL partners (see p. 175). Why would the researchers insist on this subtle, but real, shift in the identity of the volunteers? Discuss at least two second language acquisition theories that could plausibly be guiding the researchers. In Latino Children Learning English-The Steps in the Journey by Guadalupe Valdes, Sarah Capitelli, and Laura Alvarez we look the colleagues looking at the range of affordances on page 174, ‘socially defined situation…

Age Factor in Second Language Acquisition Introduction There are many factors that affect second language acquisition (SLA). For example, SLA is affected by the role of the mother tongue, the role of gender differences, the role of personal differences and the role of age differences. The role of age differences is one of the most important factors that affect SLA. It is often claimed that children learn faster than adults. The younger the learner of a foreign language, the more effective…

Possessing a language is a quintessentially human trait, yet the acquisition of language in children is not perfectly understood. Most explanations involve the observation that children mimic what they hear and the assumption that human beings have a natural ability to understand grammar. Behaviorist B.F. Skinner originally proposed that language must be learned and cannot be a module. The mind consisted of sensorimotor abilities as well as laws of learning that govern gradual changes…

Second Language Acquisition Assignment: The subject assignment consists of answering this question: According to Swain, ... producing the target language may be the trigger that forces the learner to pay attention to the means of expression needed in order to successfully convey his or her own intended meaning. (Swain 1985: 249) In Swain's view, learners need not only input, but output: they need to use language in order to learn it. Krashen, however, as recently as 2009, stated that:…

dual immersion programs in schools and the widespread notion that language acquisition is something that needs to happen early on life, is there an ideal age to learn a second language (L2)? Wilder Penfield and Lamar Roberts first introduced the idea that there is a “critical period” for learning language in 1959. This critical period is a biologically determined period referring to a period of time when learning/acquiring a language is relatively easy and typically meets with a high degree of success…

Recent phonetic work on second language (L2) acquisition has focused on the influence of the native language (L1) on L2 learning by providing phonetic interpretations of non-native production and perception. Researchers have suggested that the weight of a feature used in L2, but not in L1, may create difficulties for L2 learners. A classic example of this problem is the difficulty that Japanese listeners experience in distinguishing English /r/ and /l/ phonemes, which are both mapped to the Japanese…