Why Is First Language Acquisition?

The approaches to Second Language Acquisition (SLA for short) have been changing and developing throughout the years. Since the beginning of the study of Second Language Acquisition, the approaches and theories of SLA have ranged from the Behaviourist approach to SLA by an American psychologist Burrhus Frederic Skinner in 1940s-1950s to Universal Grammar approach by an American linguist Noam Chomsky in 1960-1970s to the Information Processing Model introduced by Barry McLaughlin in 1983 (Malone 2012: 1). The field of SLA research nowadays includes relatively new approaches such as cognitive linguistics, as well as skill acquisition and various sociocultural theories, connectionism and many more. However,

First, children¡¯s acquisition of language is an innate mechanism that enables a child to analyze language and extract the basic rules of grammar, granted by Chomsky. It basically states that humans are born with a language acquisition device that, the ability to learn a language rapidly as children. However, there is one important controversy in language acquisition concerns how we acquire language; since Chomsky fails to adequately explain individual differences. From the behaviorists¡¯ perspectives, the language is learned like other learned behaviors. It is learned through operant

To establish clarity, I am dividing my paper up to two parts. As stated before there are two basic theories on language acquisition that were developed by two different men. In the first half of my paper I will be discussing Noam Chomsky’s theory on language, I will then turn to Skinner’s theory on language acquisition, to examine its strengths as well as weaknesses.

The article For the Love of Language by Geoffrey Cowley was published by Your Child's First Steps on October 2000. The author focuses on the importance of language and how children develop their language skills. Cowley states that the journey towards language starts in the womb and that babbling is the first step towards fluent speaking. Children also start associating names with objects around age one and children around two years old start to connect noun phrases with verb phrases. And lastly, children around seven months do not just seek out associations between words, but also extract principles governing word order. Cowley also uses terms like cochlear implant, mimicry, simple conditioning, operant conditioning, and specific language impairment (SLI).

Unlike a parrot that imitates the familiar and continues to repeat the same things again and again, children’s imitation is selective and based on what they are currently learning. But imitation and practice do not account for how children learn all aspects of their native language. The behaviourist explanations for language acquisition offer a reasonable way of understanding how children learn some of the regular and routine aspects of language. However, their acquisition of the more complex grammatical structures of the language requires a different sort of explanation and we shall consider some of the

Therefore, from the behaviourist approach, language acquisition can be seen as a stimulus-response process. Children learn language by immitation and analogy. The roles of imitation, repetition, reinforcement, and motivation are essential in learning the language. The First Language Acquisition is thus the result of nature which based on practicing.

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 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 cognitive development theory, of immersion is the best environment for learning (Fellowes & Oakley, 2014. p.50., Woolfolk & Margetts, 2013. pp.81-94) to Chomsky’s Nativist theory stating environment is not as important since we are biologically adapted to learn language as an inherent life skill (Fellowes & Oakley, 2014. p.49). Researchers continue to debate that no single theory is solely responsible for language

Human behavior is so enigmatic and multifaceted that it 's difficult to connect it to past influences, but how did we become the linguistic, cultured, and hugely successful animals that we are? Our closest relatives — the mentally complex and socially skilled primates--offer insightful clues. The language competence of non-human primates is one of the most controversial issues in present-day linguistics, with disbelief ranging from bored indifference to caustic accusations of fraud. By definition, language is any system of formalized symbols, signs, sounds, gestures, or the like used or conceived as a means of communicating thought, emotion, etc. An evaluation of primate behavior demonstrates true emotions, feelings, planning and communication, that not only other primates understand, but humans can understand as well. This is far beyond primates mimicking their counterparts, and evidence strongly suggests that there is much more thoughts and feelings linked to their human like communicative abilities. (King 1999.) Human beings behave in ways that are deeply unique; such as creating art, music, solving mathematical equations, planning for the future and developing religions. These behavior patterns have led many to believe that modern humans stand apart from the rest of nature. Regardless of those differences, human beings “are one

Language is seen as the way in which humans communicate, and the acquisition of language for most humans starts at a young age. Although the debate of Nature vs. Nurture in regards to behaviorist reinforcement principles or universal grammar is used to stratify how child language acquisition comes about, an old and strong theory proposed by Noam Chomsky suggests that the ability to acquire a language is a natural and inborn phenomenon. He changed the world’s perspective by questioning behaviorist Burrhus Frederic Skinner’s theory which at the time held the simplest explanation believed to be most credible.

Language is much more than arranging particular sounds, songs, calls, or movement. It is used to express thoughts and feelings and can even be used to deceive others or tell jokes. No other animal communication system can put messages together like this. Humans require a certain anatomy in order to create speech. The larynx is further down the throat which allows us to enunciate clearly and produce different sounds. Other animals do not have this anatomy meaning that they physically cannot speak. Chimpanzees for example have thinner tongues and a higher vocal box. Human brains are born with the circuitry for speech and language and chimp brains are not. This has not restricted them to develop language, just simply not at the level of humans. Humans learn tens of thousands of words within a few years. Language is a uniqueness of humans and makes us different from other

Jean Piaget was the most influential theorist on this topic. He proposed that toddlers go through four stages of cognitive development. It begins around age 2 with sensorimotor thought. During this period toddlers lack object permanence, the idea that when something disappears it still exists its just not there right now, and they have no representational thought. However by the end of this period toddlers should develop object permanence and can engage in representational thought. Piaget also suggested that toddlers think in schemes and need to accommodate new schemes into their already exiting schemes. Furthermore language development is very important. Noam Chomsky argues that language is innate within us and that when we hear a certain amount of language, we activate this Language Acquisition Device. He argued that Skinner’s learning theory was incorrect and that language is this innate knowledge that anyone can develop with no cognitive skill. However we know that there is a sensitive period for toddlers to learn language. The nativist theory focuses on just the biological portion but does not touch on the socialization of children and how that can effect their language

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.

The claim, humans are the only animal that can acquire language has been the subject of much debate as scientists have investigated language use by non-human species. Researchers have taught apes, monkeys, parrots and wild children with various systems of human-like communication. Thus, one might ask, what is human language? According to Ulla Hedeager, A universally accepted definition of language or the criteria for its use does not exist. This is one of the reasons for the disagreement among scientists about whether non-human species can use a language. In nature, researchers find numerous types of communication systems, several of which appear to be unique to their possessors, and one of them is the language of the human species. Basically, the purpose of communication is the preservation, growth, and development of the species (Smith and Miller 1968:265). The ability to exchange information is shared by all communication systems, and a number of non-human systems share some features of human language. The fundamental difference between human and non-human communication is that animals are believed to react instinctively, in a stereotyped and predictable way. Generally, human behavior is under the voluntary control,

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