The Language Acquisition And Learning Concepts That I Have Learned

Many popular theories of second language acquisition have been analyzed throughout history. The socialization of L2 learners, their present emotional state that is present at time of acquisition, as well as the comprehensible input and output with the use of scaffolding play a major role in second language acquisition. Let us also not forget the importance of written expression as well as reading comprehension with these L2 learners. Each play a role in language development. However, I believe that in acquiring a language, one must use a variety of techniques that work together to create a balance within the learning environment. Furthermore, all L2 learners learn differently and so a variety of resources will need to be used based on the ability of each student. There are many theories that have been developed by highly qualified experts in the field on linguistics. However, I will address those areas that I agree with as I present my personal theories on second language acquisition.

This exam is open book / open notes; use any course readings that will assist you. You are welcome to talk with other students about the questions, if you like—in this way the course content is more deeply explored as you learn from your peers (and they learn from you). However, each student must submit his/her own exam with answers that are written by each student in her/his own words. The exam covers all that we have studied in our course. There is no word minimum or maximum; be aware that the quality of the response is of utmost importance, not the quantity of words you use in your answer. Keeping this in mind, answer each question completely yet concisely. Typical answers have generally ranged between 250 and 500 words. Also, you can choose to try for up to 3 extra credit points by answering the extra credit question listed below. Your response to this question must be thorough and well thought out to receive extra credit. Be sure to label each answer within your document (e.g. Question 1, Extra Credit, etc.). Be clear about where one answer stops and the next answer begin. Exams are due on Friday, April 25th by 5:00pm. Submit your exam through the link labeled “Exam” on the Module 5 page. Do not submit your exam to the instructor via e-mail.

Chapter twelve in Brain Based Learning covered the importance and influence of emotion on learning. Initially, it was thought that the mind, body, and feeling were separate, but recent studies show that there isn’t a division. However, there is a difference in emotions and feelings. While emotions are biological and universal, feelings are influenced and created based on the surrounding culture. Studies have show that individuals with an impaired prefrontal lobe and/or amygdala show limited ability to have emotion, thus impairing learning capabilities. On the flip side, experiencing an over abundance of emotion can have a negative impact on productivity. The chapter continues to describe scenarios that further describe the importance of the

In the video titled The Four Stages of Acquiring Language, in which I observed. The first stage is “Babbling” one syllable sounds. I observed an infant at 4 months of age babbling. According to the CDC, at 4 months of age infants begin babbling, they can babble with expression and copy sounds he/she hears. Infants at this age can cry in different ways to express hunger, pain or being tired.

Gadsden County has a very committed ESOL program. Gadsden County has created an ELL program that is comparable to non-ELL students, with the focus on acquiring English and mastering academic success. A Home Langue Survey is sent home to all students to identify all possible needs for language assistance. Once a child has been identified for needing extra language assistance, an English Language Proficiency assessment is give to get a proper level of language acquisition. Gadsden County ensures that all teachers and administrators are properly trained to teach the ELL students and competent of understanding cultural differences. The Gadsden county ELL program takes every opportunity to ensure that language translations are available for parents and students and give necessary resources to ensure success.

Many popular theories of second language acquisition have been analyzed throughout history. The socialization of L2 learners, their present emotional state that is present at the time of acquisition, as well as the comprehensible input and output with the use of scaffolding play a major role in second language acquisition. Kirsten Hummel states, “The one most effective way to increase L2 competence was by exposure to ‘comprehensible input’.” (Hummel, 2014, p. 73) Let us also not forget the importance of written expression as well as reading comprehension with these L2 learners. Each plays a role in language development. However, I believe that to acquire language one must use a variety of techniques that work together to create a balance within the learning environment. Furthermore, all L2 learners acquire language differently and so using a variety of resources that are based on the ability of each student is neccesary. There are many theories that have been developed by highly qualified experts in the field of linguistics. However, I will address those areas that I agree with as I present my personal theories on second language acquisition.

Numerous theories try to explain the process of language acquisition. These theories fall into one of two camps. The environmentalist (or connectionist) theory of language acquisition asserts that language is acquired through environmental factors (Halvaei et al. 811). Theorists in this camp believe that a child learns language by gaining information from the outside world and then forming associations between words and objects. The nativist (or rationalist) approach, on the other hand, asserts that it is innate factors that determine language acquisition. Noam Chomsky, often described as “the father of modern linguistics”, falls into this camp as he believes that speech is the result of hidden rules of language that are hidden somewhere in the brain (Rahmani and Abdolmanafi 2111). Steven Pinker, a colleague of Chomsky, is a renowned psychologist, cognitive scientist and linguist who discusses his own theories on language acquisition in his book Words and Rules.

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 pump blood and take in oxygen constantly seemingly without thought, and a new mother's ability to unconsciously raise her body temperature when her infant is placed on her chest. But a child's first language acquisition is different from these

Language is a topic that will never cease to adapt, from slang being developed in suburbs of urban cities, to new additions to the Oxford dictionary. We, students of English, use different concepts of language almost everyday and most of the time we don’t even realize it. To get a better understanding of the English language and concepts developed within it, one would turn to look at the arguments of scholars including George Orwell, Nancy Mairs, S.I. Hayakawa, Nicholas Carr, and the dispute of the Sunlight Foundation and Senator Mike Quigley. All of these authors have an argument for how language is being developed and molded into this day and age, and for the modern English student, our questions and curiosities will be looked into furthermore as the topics presented by these scholars are formulated.

As can be seen in Appendix 3, the teacher began the guided talk with context-embedded activities and gradually moved, with dialogue and action, towards less embedded activities, meaning that the children were never left without support, and at the time were being encouraged to move to the new knowledge which was the ability to report instructions for making a fruit salad. This is underpinned by Smyth (2003) who suggests that good planning for concept learning and language development will ensure that all pupils always move from activities with a high degree of contextual support, such as real objects and pictures, to those which are less contextually supported in these ways. At this higher level, activities will be much more dependent on the linguistic cues and the pupils’ own knowledge of language, as well as what they have already learnt.

The development and acquisition of language skills in a child’s early years is critical to his/her development (Otto & Otto, 2013). During a child’s first five years of life the brain goes through a sensitive period in regards to language development, making many synapses and connections that leads to communication (Otto & Otto, 2013). There are many factors that contribute to the development of language such as innate neurobiological factors and cognitive capabilities (Sylvestre, Bussieres, & Bouchard, 2015). However, in order to put these capabilities into motion, they must be combined with social interactions (Sylvestre, Bussieres, & Bouchard, 2015). Children become a part of a social environment from the moment they are born. Each social interaction a child experiences plays a crucial role in developing and shaping his/her language skills (Sylvestre, Bussieres, & Bouchard, 2015). The deprivation of these social interactions at a young age, which can be seen in children who have been abused and/or neglected can lead to severe language delays across multiple areas of development.

Although, there is no agreed definition of language among linguists, but we can say that language is the most sophisticated way of communication between any two human beings and far more complex than any other system of communication. The ability of acquiring and using languages is one of the properties that differs us as human beings from other species.

Behaviourism, one of the earliest scientific explanations of language acquisition was greatly influenced by theorist B.F Skinner (1957). The techniques of this learning theory have long been absorbed in the education setting to promote behaviours that are desirable and to dishearten those who are not (Stanbridge, 2014). As one of the developers of behaviorism B.F. Skinner (1957) accounted for language development by means of environmental influence, particularly a child’s reaction to reward and punishment. Skinner justified that behaviours that are rewarded, would be repeated, but behaviours that are disciplined or ignored will lessen.

* In the educational field, the teaching learning cycle is a model used in contemporary teaching in both school and adult educational settings. Rothery (1996 in Derewianka & Jones 2012, pg 43) who originally developed the model used this to aim at disadvantaged children for teaching literacy and writing in the KLA (Key learning areas) who were from socially disadvantaged areas. Over time the model has been phased across other areas of the English language such as listening, speaking, reading as well as writing. The key involvement of the teacher also known as ‘expert other’ in the teaching learning cycle is guiding the learner to understand key concepts in academic literacy through use of scaffolding strategies to transform students

A second or foreign language learner needs to gain knowledge in and about the target language. In order to do that , one needs to know how to build morphemes into words and words into sentences (linguistic or grammatical competence). Yet, this knowledge is not the end of learning a language. While grammatical competence may be the essence of learning a new language; on its own, it is not enough. A learner also needs to know how to use that knowledge appropriately in a social context. One needs to know about speech act,(e.g., requesting, suggesting, arguing, etc.) and politeness (sociolinguistic or pragmatic competence). In addition to these competencies, other components are also required. A learner needs to know how to produce a largely cohesive and coherent text, either in writing or in speaking (discourse competence). As a learner might not understand the total underlying system of a language, s/he needs to know how to repair the breakdown of a conversation (strategic competence).