FIRST LANGUAGE

ACQUISITION
Prof. Jos Morales Sousa, Ed.D.
School of Education
Universidad del Este

DEFINITIONS
1) First language (L1):
2) Second language (L2):
3) Foreign language (FL)
4) Target language (TL)

CHARACTERISTICS OF
CHILDRENS LANGUAGE
Language development is similar
among children all over the
world.
PREDICTABILITY
LEARNING THROUGH IMITATION
CREATIVITY

Before First Words The earliest vocalizations

Involuntary crying
Cooing and gurgling
showing satisfaction or
happiness

Before First Words Babbling

Babies use sounds to reflect
the characteristics of the
different language they are
learning.

First Words
Around 12 months (one-word
stage):
one or two recognizable
words (esp. content word);
Single-word sentences.

By the age of 2 (two-word

stage):
1) at least 50 different words
2) telegraphic sentences (no
function words and
grammatical morphemes) e.g.,
Mommy juice, baby fall
down
3) reflecting the order of the
language. e.g., kiss baby,
baby kiss
4) creatively combining words.

By the age of 4
Most children are able to:
ask questions,
give commands,
report real events,
create stories about imaginary
ones with correct word order and
grammatical markers most of the
time.

By the age of 4
basic structures of the
language
less frequent and more
complex linguistic
structures.
use of the language in a
widening social

 Development of Metalinguistic
Awareness
Ability to consciously reflect on the
nature and use of language.
Words are separate from their
referents.
Language has a potential greater
than simple symbols.

Development of Vocabulary

THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO
L1 ACQUISITION
1) Behaviorism: Say what I say
2) Innatism: Its all in your mind
3) Interactionist/Developmental
perspectives: Learning from inside
and out
Bibliography: Lightbown, Patsy. Spada, Nina. How languages are learned 1993

1) BEHAVIORISM: SAY WHAT I

SAY
Skinner: language behaviour is the
production of correct responses to
stimuli through reinforcement.
http://www.simplypsychology.org/oper
antconditioning.html

Language learning is the

result of:
imitation (word-for-word
repetition),
practice (repetitive manipulation
of form),
feedback on success (positive
reinforcement)
habit formation.

Childrens imitations are not

random
Their imitation is selective and
based on what they are currently
learning.

Childrens practice of new

language forms
substitution drills.
It is selective and reflects what they would like
to learn.
They pick out patterns/rules and then
generalize or overgeneralize them to new
contexts.

2) INNATISM: ITS ALL IN

YOUR MIND

Chomsky (1959) argues

that behaviorism cannot
provide sufficient
explanations for childrens
language acquisition for
the following reasons:

Children come to know

more about the structure of
their language than they
could be expected to learn
on the basis of the samples
of language they hear.

 The language children are

exposed to includes false
starts, incomplete sentences
and slips of the tongue, and yet
they learn to distinguish
between grammatical and
ungrammatical sentences.
Children are by no means
systematically corrected or
instructed on language by
parents.

LAD: LANGUAGE
ACQUISITION DEVICE ( or
BLACK
BOX)
It contains all and only the principles
which are universal to all human
languages
(i.e.. Universal Grammar UG).

CONCLUSION
Childrens acquisition of grammatical rules
is guided by principles of an innate UG
which could apply to all languages.
Children know certain things of the
language just by being exposed to a
limited number of samples.

Evidence used to support

Chomskys innatist position:
Virtually all children
successfully learn their native language
at a time in life
when they would not be expected
to learn anything else so complicated
(i.e. biologically programmed).

Language is separate from

other aspects of cognitive
developments
(e.g., creativity and social grace)
and may be located in a different
module" of the brain.

The language children are

exposed to does not contain
examples
of all the linguistic rules and
patterns.

Animals cannot learn

to manipulate a symbol system
as complicated as
the natural language
of a 3- or 4-year-old child.

Children acquire grammatical

rules without getting explicit
instruction.

The biological basis for the

innatist position:
The Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH)
Lenneberg:

There is a specific and limited time

period (i.e., critical period) for the
LAD to work successfully.
Only when it is stimulated
at the right time

Critical Period Principle

Virtually every child learns

language following the same
developmental patterns despite
his/her different environments.
Case studies of abnormal language
development - evidence of the CPH
Genie a girl of 13 years old
(1970)
Deaf signers (native signers,
early learners, vs. late learners)

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTFCi
GI5wJA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_Oavgl
Dkn0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Tchn_D
Xs4o&feature=related

3) INTERACTIONIST/DEVELOPMENTAL
PERSPECTIVES:
LEARNING FROM INSIDE AND OUT

Problems of Innatism:
Too much emphasis on
the final state
but not enough on the
developmental aspects of
language acquisition.

 Language was
ONE manifestation
of the cognitive and affective ability
to deal with the world
Innatists
dealt with FORMS of the language,
not with the FUNCTIONAL levels
of meaning constructed from
SOCIAL INTERACTION

INTERACTIONISM: Bruner
Language acquisition
is an example of childrens ability to learn
from experience.
What children need to know
is essentially available
in the language
they are exposed to.

CARETAKER TALK
It is the way adults modify their speech
when communicating with kids.
Slower rate of speech
Higher pitch
More varied intonation
Shorter simpler sentence patterns
Frequent repetition
Paraphrase

Developmental psychologists
attribute more importance to the
environment
But they recognize a powerful learning
mechanism in the human brain.

PIAGET
Childrens cognitive
development determines
their language
development.

VYGOTSKY
Sociocultural theory of human mental
processing.
He argued that language develops

social
interaction.

primarily from

Zone of proximal development

(ZPD):
A level that a child is able to do when there is
support from interaction with a more advanced
interlocutor.
A supportive interactive environment enables
children to advance to a higher level of
knowledge and performance than s/he would be
able to do independently.

Vygotsky observed the importance

of conversations which children
have with adults and with other
children and saw in these
conversations the origins of both
language and thought.

The Child's Language Environment

There is NO DIRECT PRESSURE to learn
There is NO TIME LIMIT for learning.
There is NO WAY OF ESCAPING into a
different language (no vacations).
The language is NOT SEQUENCED BY
GRAMMAR OR VOCABULARY (no
textbook).

The Child's Language Environment

There is LOTS OF REPETITION

Both the LANGUAGE AND THE WORLD
ARE NEW.
All the language is spoken IN THE
CONTEXT OF THE SURROUNDING
WORLD.
THE LANGUAGE IS ALL AROUND.

The Child's Language Environment

The child has MANY OPPORTUNITIES

FOR USING the language to
communicate to those around him.
Much of THE LANGUAGE IS SIMPLIFIED
to the level of understanding of the child.

The Child's Learning Strategies

The child in NOT INTERESTED IN
LANGUAGE for its own sake.
The child is NOT DISTURBED by the
language he does not understand.
The child ENJOYS THE REPETITIVE
events of his life, and uses this enjoyment
to help him learn.

The Child's Learning Strategies

The child USES HIS PRIMARY
INTERESTS to help him learn.
The child directs his attention to things
that are EASY TO UNDERSTAND.
The child possesses a natural desire TO
CALL AN OBJECT BY ITS NAME.

The Child's Learning Strategies

The child adds words to his speaking
vocabulary more easily IF HE ALREADY
KNOWS HOW TO PRONOUNCE THEM.
The child IMMEDIATELY USES the
language, and his SUCCESS IN
COMMUNICATION BUILDS
CONFIDENCE.

The Child's Learning Strategies

The child uses his natural desire TO
PARTICIPATE IN THE LIFE AROUND HIM
to help him learn new language.
The child brings TREMENDOUS
INGENUITY to the task of learning.

REFERENCES
Brown, H. D. (2010). Language assessment: Principles and classroom
practices. White Plains, NY: Pearson Education.
Brown, H. D. (2008). Principles of language learning and teaching. White
Plains, NY: Pearson Longman.
Brown, H. D. (2010). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to
language pedagogy. White Plains, NY: Pearson Education.