Introduction The language acquisition process is disparate between first language and foreign language. In this essay, we are going to investigate how they are different from each other on several aspects: phonology, semantics, syntax and pragmatics. 1. Phonology: Educators and pronunciation model Firstly, there is a difference in educators in first language learning and foreign language learning. First language learners acquire a pronunciation by imitating simple vowels and surrounding sounds and words from their parents when they were infants. According to Jean B.G. (1989), infants have inherent universal characteristics(Brown,1973 cited by Jean, 1989: 3-4). They produce one-word long sound that is easy to pronounce with concrete …show more content…
Infants aged at 9.5 month-old are capable to learn brand new vocal forms such as canonical syllables from the responds from their mother to the babbling(Goldstein MH, Schwade JA, 2008 cited by David J.L. and Amy M. H., 2011 :1431). Compare with the foreign language learners, majority of them learn the pronunciation from their school teachers in a classroom environment, which is organised by formal educational institutions. They started with learning the basic vowels, consonants and the position of its pronunciation. Anton (1990) and several writers stated that there is a new teaching method advocated by young educators recently of learning a foreign language in songs, musical and rhythmical mnemonic devices in a classroom may facilitate foreign language learning(Anton, 1990; Felix, 1989; Murphey, 1992; Spicher & Sweeney, 2007 cited by Ludke, K., Ferreira, F. and Overy, K. 2013:41). Another argument is made by Parker(2000) saying the 'quasi-musical ' is which nonnative speakers based on to understand speech(Parker,2000 cited by Ludke, K., Ferreira, F. and Overy, K. 2013:41) . A study took place in a classroom with children indicated the correlation of practice a foreign language with melody has a positive impact on learning vocabularies in foreign language(Medina, 1993; Murphey,1990 cited by Ludke, K., Ferreira, F. and Overy, K. 2013:41). Secondly, first language speakers learn their language from parents and the surrounding environment, which means
While in the womb a hearing baby will develop language from hearing the mother’s and other people’s voices. Once born the baby will prefer the mother’s voice the most, so it natural that the baby will pick up primarily on the language that his/her mother speaks the most. Also babies are good at observing facial expressions. Often the baby will watch facial expressions, trying to connect the words that they hear to the expression they are observing. Shortly after this, around the time the baby is six months old they can distinguish their native language being spoken by observing the mouth movement of one speaking. Learning language for hearing children is the most simple because they will learn what they are hearing. I they are hearing one specific language being fluently spoken all of the time they will pick up on it and begin to mock what they hear. For example, if a one or two year old constantly hears his parents argue and curse back and forth to each other he may go to daycare and repeat a curse word that he heard from his parents. This happens simply because he is in the deferred imitation phase and this is what he has picked up on. Learning language for a baby who is not hearing impaired or hears multiple languages will learn to speak very
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.
Nature and nurture both play a significant role in language development. Language development refers to how children understand, organise, speak and use words in order to communicate at an effective, age-appropriate level (Karen Kearns, 2013, P.105). For centuries, theorists have been debating the roles of nature versus nurture. Although, each child’s language will develop at their own pace and there will be many individual differences based on culture, ethnicity, health and ability. As well as physical, social, emotional and cognitive development in which will contribute to a child’s language development.
Second language acquisition has long been the focus of linguists and researchers in the teaching field. It highlights the process and theories of acquiring second languages among learners. Second language acquisition seeks to understand the development of second language acquisition among second language learners. Mastering the knowledge of second language acquisition helps teachers to successfully provide effective teaching for students. Undeniably, knowledge on second language acquisition is very much related to effective teaching of second languages. Many linguists and teacher educators believe that all language teachers should be equipped with knowledge of second language acquisition to help them teach effectively. Additionally, most teacher training programmers have incorporated second language acquisition as a compulsory course to make sure that all future language teachers are well-equipped with enough knowledge to teach in classroom.
The second practice that supports the language development of all children is that of “Putting pointing and talking together” (Lally, 2006, p. 32) in which a caregiver will point to an object and say the name of the object that they are pointing at. Children can learn multiple words for multiple languages by a caregiver pointing at a chair, in which in English it is known as a “chair” but in Spanish it is known as a “silla” in which it is pronounced “Sill ya” yet the child would understand it once a caregiver points to it and will learn a new word for something in another language or their own.
The researchers utilized 186 monolingual and bilingual kindergarteners, first graders, and second graders from Taiwan. The author’s hypothesized that the bilingual children (Mandarin & Southern Min) would be likely to learn experimentally manipulated phonotactic patterns more readily than their monolingual peers. The researchers provided the parents with a home language use questionnaire. The authors created two artificial languages with the same phonemes. The two artificial phonological systems consisted of four onsets (/p/, /ph/, /l/, and /n/) and eight rimes. The test phase involved a two-option forced-choice judgment
Since, the second language is an additional language after we acquire the first language, the L2 learning process can be influenced by the L1 learning process This essay will demonstrate the similarities and differences in L1 and L2 acquisition by discussing various theories. Then, draw a conclusion based on the evidence provided and my own experience.
This can be through singing, rhyming, encouraging oral language, and creating learning experiences, which are fun and enjoyable for students (Ewing, Callow, & Rushton, 2017). School-aged children with developing phonemic awareness achieve better results when the taught using explicit, systematic instruction. Only one or two phonemic awareness skills should be taught at one time, with enough time allocated to phonemic awareness learning. Isolating the different sounds in words can be hard for children to distinguish; this is because sounds slide into each other to create a word. This is to such a degree that if the sounds do not flow together it is very difficult to understand what is being said. When teaching phonemic awareness it is important to “stretch out” the sounds in a word, this will allow the child to hear the sounds more clearly (Learning, 2004). Other activities can include counting the sounds in a word, matching the sounds in words, detecting odd sounds and identifying where a word begins and ends (Fellowes, & Oakley, 2014). Parents a big influence a child’s ability to differentiate sounds, the listening skills of a child are often linked to the quality of conversation and background noise in the home environment (Ofsted,
Infant’s sounds and vocal production hugely depends on the mother’s expressions and reaction to them. If the mother doesn’t look happy when the infant babbles, he will limit his vocal production and tend to be quiet. There are believed to be five important stages in babbling. The first stage is the phonation stage. In this stage, around two months, infants make sounds that are not from the vocal cords. These sounds do not have a speech quality. Infants make quasi-vowel sounds, which have the speech quality in it. The larynx known as the voice box gets familiar with vibration of speech sounds. The second stage is the going stage. We have already seen about this. In this stage, infants require the attention of the mother or care taker. They are in need of conversation and hence take the initiative. They respond accordingly to the care and attention given to them. In case of negative attention, they reduce the level of babbling or any sounds for that matter. The next stage is the expansion stage that occurs around four to five months. There is an onset of many new sounds. They make vowel sounds, squeal, giggle, whisper and so on. Around six to seven months, they tend to make sounds like syllables. These syllables are often understood as words. For example, ma ma for mother, da da for father. The jargoning stage is the final stage when the infants combine different syllables. This will be the onset of saying
Many second language acquisition theories have been developed over the years. These theories examine the avenues in which second language is acquired and the avenues in which they are
Babies are not born talking, they learn language, starting immediately from birth. How does this process take place? When do children master the skills needed for using language successfully? What stages do they go through as they learn to understand and talk? Do the languages they learn affect the way they think? This edition of Eve Clark's highly successful textbook focuses on children's acquisition of a first language, the stages of development they go through, and how they use language as they learn. It reports on recent findings in each area covered, includes a completely new chapter on the acquisition of two languages and shows how speech to children differs by social class. Skilfully integrating actual data with coverage of current theories and debates, it is an essential guide to studying language acquisition for those working in linguistics, developmental psychology and cognitive science.
According to Rogers (2017), an individual’s first language “is learned in the first six months of life and perfected over a lifetime”. From the moment children are born, they are listening to the speech sounds produced by all the individuals around them whether they are adults or children. Infants learn how to segment speech sounds into words and even sentences because they pay attention to prosodic regularities. There are important developmental milestones for infants and toddlers in phonology, semantics, pragmatics, morphology, and syntax. The achievements in each area provide a foundation for perfecting their first language. When children are in the toddler stage, they
Children acquire language since they were born. They communicate with their parents. Furthermore, children and parents interact with each other using a language that we often call the first language or mother tongue. At an early age, children are only learning one language that is the mother tongue. By age and speech development, children improve to acquire a second language from the school or the environment around them. In terms of speed of langgauge acquisition, children are factorized by both the child and the child’s learning environment. Therefore, it is important to understand how children acquire second language. This paper is provided
In this essay, we will discuss the different stages of language acquisition. There are five main stages that any child passes through to acquire the first language and these stages are:
Language is one of the valuable gifts which have been passed to children. The first language is significant and builds the basis for all later language progresses. Parents, family members and early childhood professionals have very important role on the development and maintenance of the first language. Studies shows that knowing one language can assist the child to comprehend how other languages work. First or home language is