First Language Acquisition

Week 2: Learning your First

Language (L1)

SLA – Learning Your First Language (L1)

First language acquisition is a magical,

mysterious and sometimes mind-

boggling phenomenon.

Before we dive straight into this

mystifying occurance: - let’s take a look

at these questions.

Spend 2 minutes thinking about the following questions: - [if

you can’t remember – try to use your tiny (in age) relatives as

example]

Did you have to repeat the correct

words or sentences over and over

again?

Did you feel that language

improvement accelerated

by the way adults speak to

you?

Did you learn

language at the

same rate as your

siblings, relatives

or friends?

This week we take a

look at the following:

Holistic view from three angles on first language acquisition in regards to child development and its environment.

Theoretical perspectives on first language acquisition

(a) behaviourist

(b) innatist

(c) social interactionist

Limitations of those theoretical perspectives.

Issues in FLA.

SLA – Learning your First Language (L1)

• Rice (1986) identifies three crucial sections:

-

• (i) The nature of language.

• (ii) What the child brings to language

acquisition.

• (iii) What the environment contributes to

language development.

First Issue: Nature of Language

Understanding “what is

language” and “what is its role”

will lead us to explore and

discuss the way language is

acquired.


In the first week we have looked at

“what is language” and its role.

Language is a complex collection of random symbols

created from the basic unit (phonemes), each

containing conventionalized meaning that is governed

by certain structure, which might not be exclusive for

human use, that is intended for communication and

can be acquired through learning.


We can divide the notion of language into three

sections.

Language is a complex collection of random symbols

created from the basic unit (phonemes), each

containing conventionalized meaning that is governed

by certain structure, which might not be exclusive for

human use, that is intended for communication and

can be acquired through learning.

random symbols created from the basic unit (phonemes)

governed by certain structure containing conventionalized meaning

intended for communication


If we look at form – we can analyze and discuss how grammar

or syntactic rules are internalized by the child.

If we look at use – we can analyze and discuss how the child is

able to use the correct expressions in certain instances.

If we look at meaning – we can analyze and discuss how the

child becomes skillful in interpreting the functional meaning of

the utterances they hear.

(Goh & Silver, 2004)

Second Issue: The child’s role

Is it display in the degree of participation of the child ->

from passive receiver to active learners?

Are languages learnt in a similar manner when

learning other cognitive skills?

The development of cognition is vital in a child’s

language development.


Cognitive Theory – Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky

Vygotsky (1962) role of cognition are:

(a) The importance of cultural and social environment

connection and language learning.

(b) Cognition is closely related however children’s

cognition is developed through interaction with parents

and immediate community.

Cognitive Theory

–Lev Vygotsky

(Goh & Silver,

2004)


Interaction with world and others

Language Cognitive

development (thought)

Third Issue: The environment’s role

L1 Social

Linguistics

L1 Acquisition – Theoretical Models

After viewing the three issues, we

will try to look at how we can

account for the way language, the

child and the environment “mix

and shake” thus leading to the

emergence of language.

L1 Acquisition – Theoretical Models

There are three major movements: -

(a) The behaviourist

(b) The innatist / nativist

(c) The interactionist

Theoretical Model 1 – Behaviourist

Behaviourism – popular model of animal and human

learning in the early 50’s.

Behaviourism = Stimulus + Response + Reinforcement

However, Skinner’s behaviourism towards language

learning focuses on what occurs after the response

that shapes “operant” acquisition.

Behaviourism – possible to condition after repeated

exposures to conditioning stimulus.


Thus language learning can be equated in

Behaviourism as: -

“ Want juice” (operant - utterance) = Response [Gives

juice: “here”/gesture – “hand over baby bottle”] +

Reinforcement [Gets to drink juice] * without

necessarily observable stimuli

+ Reinforcement = Conditioned operant

This kind of “shaping” operates on the baby’s future

behaviour and encourage the child to “acquire” the

proper language.


However, there are limitations: -

(a) ignore the child’s own role in their own language

acquisition process – passive learner / tabula rasa

(b) inability to provide concrete explanation of complex

grammatical learning in the child.

Theoretical Model 2 – Innatist/Nativist

The innatist concerns with the role of mental or

psycholinguistic processes – placing great importance

to the unobservable processes in the mind .

The innatist believes human beings are pre-

programmed to launch the “language software” after

coming into contact with language.

Famous linguists in this area: -

(a) Eric Lenneberg – CPH

(b) Noam Chomsky – LAD and UG

Eric Lenneberg – Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH)


Lenneberg claims language acquisition happens

anytime before puberty and if language learning takes

place after this point -> language can be learnt but will

not be native-like.

Traditional researches: - feral children

Modern researches: - brain plasticity, delayed

development in prefrontal cortex.


Noam Chomsky – Language Acquisition Device (LAD)

Chomsky’s coined it – “the black box”

McNeill (1966) list the following linguistic properties of the

LAD: - allows the child

(a) to have the ability to discern speech sounds from

different sounds in the environment

(b) to have the ability to organize linguistic data into

various classes that can later be refined

(c) to have knowledge that only certain kind of linguistics

system is possible and that other kinds are not.

(d) to have the ability to engage in constant evaluation of

the developing linguistic system as to construct the

simplest possible system out of the available linguistic

input.



Noam Chomsky – Universal Grammar (UG)

Chomsky claims eventhough thousands of human

languages differ in their surface structure, they share a

common deep structure that is “Universal Grammar”

UG rules – general and abstract

Language rules operates on specific linguistic

structure and not on how many words, phrases

or sentence.



Example:

Form a “rule” about how English question is formed

from active sentences.

(a) Is she going?

(b) Has mummy gone?

(c) Has your mummy left?



Chomsky’s Innatist approach looks at what the

individual brings to the environment that is important.

Innatist believes there is strong evidence for innate,

preprogrammed linguistic competence in the form of

UG.

Innatist believes there is strong evidence for innate,

preprogrammed linguistic competence in the form of

UG.

However, there are limitations: -


(a) Chomsky’s work reflects the ideal internal

knowledge of interlocutors focusing primarily on

idealised competence rather on performance.

(b) Innatist tend to overlook influences of the social

environment – communicative intent is not discussed.

Theoretical Model 3 – Interactionist Model

The interactionist is also referred as sociolinguistic or

funtional.

Largely influenced by Vygotsky’s work – ZPD.

The interactionist concerns with how language and

cognitive development take place within key contexts

of interaction (Goh & Silver, 2004).


What is ZPD?

Child’s

current

cognitive

state

Level of

potential

development ZPD


Language acquisition are viewed from the interactionist

perspective as: -

(a) interaction between adult-child provides rich source of

language input in developing communicative

competence.

(b) providing opportunities for young children to use and

experiment with language.

(c) helping young children to develop scripts about how an

event happens.


Child Directed Speech (CDS)/ Motherese / Baby talk / Carer

talk

The most important functions in CDS are: -

(a) Deixis – drawing attention to the presence or absence of

objects and people.

(b) Repetition – repeating the same word or the same idea

(c) Expansion – paraphasing or adding to what the child

said.

(d) Recast – rephrase or to make it more accurate.

(Field, 2005)


Limitations: -

(a) Lack of informed explanation about the cognitive

processes that a child undergoes when noticing and

using language during interaction.

Issues in First Language Acquisition

(a) Competence & Performance

(b) Comprehension & Production

(c) Nature vs Nurture

(d) Systematicity vs Variability

(e) Language & Thought

(f) Practice & Frequency

References

Brown, H. D. (2007). Principles of Language Learning and Teaching

Fifth Edition. New York: Pearson Education.

Field, J. (2005). Language and the Mind Oxon: Routledge.

Goh, C. C. M. & Silver, R. E. (2004). Language Acquisition and

Development Singapore: Longman.

McNeill, D. (1966). Developmental psycholinguistics. in Smith, F. &

Miller, G. (eds) The genesis of language: A psycholinguistic approach

Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press.

Piaget, J. (1959/2000). The Language and Thought of the Child

London: Routledge.

Rice, M. L. (1986). Children’s Language Acquisition American

Psychologist Vol 44/3.

Vygotsky, L. (1962/1986). Thought and Language Cambridge: MA:

The MIT Press.

Scovel, T. (2001). Learning New Languages: A guide to second

language acquisition. MA :Heinle-Heinle.