First Language Acquisition

Compiled from many resources

for class used only

Language acquisition

the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language, as well as to produce and use words and sentences to communicate.

usually refers to first-language acquisition, which studies infants' acquisition of their native language.

Linguistic Competence &

Performance

Linguistic Competence

the unconscious knowledge of grammar that allows a speaker to use and understand a language

refers to the innate linguistic knowledge that allows a person to match sounds and meanings

a speaker's tacit knowledge of the structure of a language

Linguistic Performance

the ability to produce and comprehend sentences in a language

what a speaker actually does with this knowledge

in contexts

THEORIES OF FIRST LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

• Behaviorist learning theory

• Nativist approach

• Functional approach

• Cognitive approach

THE BEHAVIOURIST THEORY

• AS A MATTER OF IMITATION AND HABIT FORMATION

Children continue to imitate and practice the words and sentences until they form habits of correct usage (Lightbown and Spada 1993)

• Individuals are born without built-in mental content and their knowledge comes from experience and perception

• Assumes a learner is essentially passive, responding to environmental stimuli

• Behavior is shaped through positive reinforcement or negative reinforcement

• Consider effective language behavior to be the production of correct responses to stimuli. If a particular response is reinforced, it then becomes habitual, or conditioned.

NATIVIST THEORY

• We have an innate predisposition to learn language, and learning is in our genetics

• According to Chomsky, this innate knowledge is embodied in a little black box of sorts, a language acquisition device (LAD)

• All human beings are genetically equipped with the ability that enables them to acquire language. (a system of universal linguistic rules or Universal Grammar)

LANGUAGE ACQUISITION DEVICE (LAD)

1. It is specific to the human species.2. It is a means of processing.3. It can contain some of the “universal” features (“Universal Grammar”).

Universal Grammar

proposed by Noam Chomsky

the ability to learn grammar is hard-wired

into the brain

suggests that linguistic ability manifests

itself without being taught

FUNCTIONAL APPROACHo Children can learn a language successfully for

the reason that they realize language could help do things

o Seven language functions (by Halliday)

a. instrumental function

b. regulatory function

c. interactional function

d. personal function

e. heuristic function

f. imaginative function

g. representative function

• Instrumental when the child uses language to express their needs (e.g.'Want juice')

• Regulatory where language is used to tell others what to do (e.g. 'Go away')

• Interactional language is used to make contact with others and form relationships (e.g. 'Love you, mummy')

• Personal the use of language to express feelings, opinions, and individual identity (e.g. 'Me good girl')

• Heuristic To explore and gain knowledge of the environment - eg: "What's that?"

• Imaginative To use language imaginatively, for example telling stories, jokes or creating an imaginary environment - eg: "lets pretend"

• Informative (representational) To convey facts and information - eg: "I've got something to tell you"

COGNITIVE APPROACH

• Children’s language development relies on their understanding of the world or cognition• Language and concepts:Language development is related to the child’s knowledge about the world•It refers to mental activity including thinking, remembering, learning and using language•It deals with mental processes like memory and problem solving

• Cognitive theory maintains that how one thinks largely determines how one feels and behaves.

• relates to and incorporates to all forms of knowing, including memory, psycholinguistics, thinking, comprehension, motivation, and perception

1. How does a child learn the system of language rules and mental representations?

2. How does a young child figure out all the rules of their 1st language all by themselves (with no help or correction)?