The Steps Of First Language Development

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.

Judie Haynes’ article, “Stages of Second Language Acquisition”, clearly states five stages that a new learner of English may go through. In Haynes’ theory, there are five stages in total, and they are pre-production, early production, speech emergence, intermediate fluency, and advanced fluency. According to Haynes, new learners of English acquire language by going through the same stages. However, how much time each student spends at a particular stage may be different. Despite the different time length, the stages of people acquiring new language are worth discussing.

Due to money being tight he couldn't afford to attend any more classes which would not only cost money, but time. My father found work in masonry and quickly took up the new trade. While working with the American workers, my father's English improved drastically. My father told me he didn't even realize how much he improved until he had a conversation about surfing with a coworker.

If I had to give advice to close friends of mine who just recently became first time parents on how to nourish their infant’s physical development my biggest suggestion would have to be the proper nutrition. When it comes to newborns the best type of nutrition is breastfeeding. When I use to work in the hospital as a newborn photographer I would always hear all the positive things the lactation consultants would have to say to first time moms on the importance of breastfeeding. It is not just about the bond that it creates with the baby while breastfeeding, but also all the antibodies and nutrients being high in fact and low in protein. Breast-feeding not only transfers antibodies but also other infection-fighting agents from mother to child and enhances functioning of other immune systems (Berk 131). Although for a working mom after returning from maternity leave breastfeeding a baby for every meal might pose its difficulties. I would encourage my friend to try things like pumping while at work and substituting those meals with formula. Nutrition is especially crucial for developing in the first two years because the baby’s brain and body are growing so rapidly (Berk 130). Being able to breast feed for this long would provide a baby with the best nutrition but even being able to breastfeed for a period

When I was around 3 years old, my parents noticed something peculiar about me. At first sight, I seemed normal; mahogany locks littered all over my head, clear blue eyes and a short build. Other kids my age, however, would be forming sentences and learning new words, while I would always stay silent. For the next two years, I had difficulty forming sentences, making me intellectually inferior to the other kids in my grade. A trip to the doctor's office explained this, as I was diagnosed with Neurogenic Stuttering, a disease that prevented me from speaking normally. In fact, I vividly remember the first day of kindergarten, when I first met other children my

'First Language Acquisition' or also known as the 'Child Language Acquisition' is a process whereby children from infancy through early school years acquire their first languages (Lightbown & Spada, 2006). The term 'First Language Acquisition' or 'FLA' can be referred to the field that investigates the process by which children develop to use words and sentences in

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.

Everyday we are developing no matter our age, but it is how we develop children that will tell a tremendous amount an individual. How a child developments is fundamentally important at a young age as it affects all aspect of their lives once the child matures. Throughout the class, we looked at many theorists during the course of the semester as well as looked at many articles pertaining to the concepts of the development of children. The theorists and articles opened up our minds to a world that we have never seen before and concepts about child development we have never been taught but have seen in the practical work we do every week. What makes humans unique is the ability that we have to interpret the language being used, as Lois Bloom

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

Ever walk past a child who is engaged in an activity while talking to themselves out loud? If so, do not worry, after reading this research paper you will understand it is perfectly normal. Language has many dynamics including: words, private speech, inner speech, syntagmatics, paradigmatics and much more. According to Craig and Dunn (2010) by age three, most children can use 900 to 1,000 words; by age 6, most children have a productive vocabulary of 2,600 words and can understand more than 20,000 (pg. 161). Some children I work with who are in the toddler room are able to talk, but leave out the pronouns a sentence. For example a child would say, “Us go on walk?” Language and cognitive development go hand in hand, as children learn about

Most young children develop language rapidly, moving from crying and cooing in infancy to using hundreds of words and understanding their meanings by the time they are ready to enter kindergarten. Language development is a major accomplishment and is one of the most rewarding experiences for anyone to share with a child. Children learn to speak and understand words by being around adults and peers who communicate with them and encourage their efforts to talk.

Children encompass the ability to learn whichever language system they are introduced to, therefore a newborn would learn the fictional Klingon language (Hoff, 2006). Klingon is not a natural language such as English or Spanish, and does not adhere to all the rules of a natural language. Due to this issue, the child would encounter problems in saying everyday terms in Klingon. Also, since Klingon is a fictional language and not spoken in society the child would not be able to communicate with others, which may cause the child to reject this fictional language. This rejection may be related to the lack of acceptance of this fictional language in society. This could constrain the child’s ability to learn a new language in which he/she

According to Zukowski (2013), language development refers to the process of learning in early life where infants acquire various forms, meaning and word usage. In addition, language refers to the different utterances in regards to linguistic input. Language development in childhood focuses on major arguments in

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.