Chapter 13 & 14 Ellysa Debby Lunginus Mohd. Syahirul B. Johar

Chapter 13First Language Acquisition

First Language Acquisition studies infants' acquisition of their

native language.

Each infant has special capacity for language.

Acquisition A child requires interaction with other

language users.

Case of Genie

Does not hear or allowed to use language will learn no language.

Caregiver speech Speech often used by adults with young

children.

Simple sentence structure, a lot of repetition and paraphrasing.

Example: Is muvver's 'ittle cutey takin' its 'ittle

beauty nap after its din-din? Did it like its din-din? Good din-din with chicken in it for 'ittle cutey baby!

The acquisition scheduleChildren develop language at roughly same time, hence the same schedule.

Cooing Earliest use of speech like sounds.

Two to five months old.

Capable of producing vowels similar to (i) and (u), velar consonants (k) and (g)

Differentiate between (i) and (a) , (ba) and (ga)

Babbling 6-8 months : A number of different vowels and

consonants such as ba-ba-ba and ga-ga-ga.

9-10 months : Variation in combinations such as ba-ba-da-da. Nasal sound become more common and and certain syllable such as ma-ma-ma and da-da-da interpreted by parents as “mama” and “Dada”.

10-11 months : expressing emotions and emphasis. More complex syllable combinations (ma-da-ga-ba)

One Word Stage 12 to 18 months, produce variety of single

unit utterances. Such as “Cookie”,”cup”.

Usually everyday objects used.

Holophrastic speech. A single form functioning as a phrase or sentence.

Example : “peach”,”Daddy”,”spoon” – to describe a situation where Daddy had cut a piece of peach that was in a spoon rather than say it in a full sentence like the adult does. 

Two Word Stage Two distinct word used together.

Begin around 18-20 months.

Child’s vocabulary moves beyond fifty words.

Generally two nouns or a noun and a verb.

Examples: big boat, doggie bark, mama dress.

Telegraphic Speech Two and Three years old.

Child begins to produce large number of utterances.

This stage contains many three and four word sentences.

Child begins to see the links between words and objects and therefore overgeneralization comes in.

Child starts to incorporate plurals, joining words and attempts to get a grip on tenses.

Examples :-Mummy eat carrot… -What her name? -He is playing ball.

The Acquisition processProcess of learning the language.

Imitation Child may repeat single word or phrases but

not the sentence structure.

Example : The cat is cute. ~ Cat cute.

Children understands what adult say but express it in their own way.

Correction Adults attempt to correct child speech.

An unlikely determiner of how child speaks.

Child will still not follow the words corrected by adults.

Example:Child : My teacher holded the baby rabbits.Mother: Did you say your teacher held the baby rabbits?Child : YesMother: What did you say she did?Child : She holded the baby rabbits.Mother: Did you say she held them tightly?Child : No, she holded them loosely.

Developing morphology Process after telegraphic speech.

Usually inflectional morphemes.

First to appear is the –ing form such as cat sitting.

Next is the regular plurals with –s form, as in boys.

Possessive inflection –’s such as Mummy’s book.

Different forms of verb “to be” such as are and was.

At about the same time, irregular past tense such as went and came should be noted.

CONT….. Once the regular past tense form starts appearing

such as – ed (walked,jumped) the irregular past tense form may disappear for a while.

The – ed inflection may be added to everything such as goed and comed.

Finally the regular –s on third person singular present tense verbs such as comes and looks and then auxiliaries (does,has).

Developing syntaxForming Questions. First stage. (18-26 months) Add wh- form (where,who) to the beginning or utter

the expression with rise in intonation at the end. Example : “Where Kitty?” or “Doggie?”

Second Stage. (22-30 months) More complex expression, rising intonation

continues, more wh- forms such as what and why come into use.

Example : What book name? You want eat?

Cont… Third stage.(24-40 months) The presence of auxiliary verb, the wh- questions

don’t really have same structure as adult speech and the continuous problems with morphology of verbs.

Example: Can I have a piece?, Did I caught it? Why kitty can’t stand up? , How that opened?

Forming negatives First stage. (18-26 months) Putting no or not at the beginning. Examples : No mitten, Not a teddy bear, no

fall.

Second stage (22-30 months) Don’t and Can’t appear,no and not increasingly

used in front of the verb. Examples : He no bite you, I don’t want it.

Third stage (24-40 months) Auxiliary forms appear, typical stage one

disappear,some stage two forms used for quite a long time.

Example: I didn’t caught it, She won’t let go.

Developing semantics Process called overextension which

means child overextend meaning of a word by the basic similarities.

Example: Basketball * reference to any round object, but

then change its meaning to a round, orange, and grooved ball that bounces.

SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION (SLA)

Click For Funny Video on SLA

Definition

simply defined as a process by which people learn another language other than their mother tongue

sometimes can be a 3rd or 4th languagein a bilingual or a multilingual societywhere the children had already learntas well as exposed to 2 or sometimesmore language since they were little

Acquisition and Learning

Acquisition Learning

• used to refer the gradual development of ability in a language by using it naturally in communicative situations with the others who know the language.

• usually takes place without a teacher.

applies to a more conscious process of accumulating knowledge of the features of a language, such as pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar.

typically in an institutional setting, with teachers.

Example : Mathematics is learned not acquired.

Acquisition barriers

Experience with L2 is different from experience with L1.

Students usually encounter L2 since in their school until university or colleges for a few hours each week and at the same time there are a lot of things going on in their student's life.

They also had developed an unconscious commitment to the sounds and structures of an already known language that has been in use for most of their daily communicative requirements for many years.

However, eventhough students don't have enough time to learn L2 in school which obviously not enough in order to master the language, there are some students or individuals that have overcome the difficulties and develop an ability to use the L2 quite effectively, though not usually sounding like a native speaker.

Even in ideal acquisition situations, very few adults seem to reach native-like proficiency in using L2.

Some can achieve great expertise in written language, but not the spoken language.

Example : Joseph Conrad- wrote novels in English that became the classic of English literature.- his speech in English retained a strong Polish accent (his L1).

• This suggests that some features of L2, such as vocabulary and grammar are easier to learn than others, such as pronunciation.

• Thus, without early experience of using the sounds and intonation of L2, even highly fluent and proficient adult learner are likely to be perceived as having an "accent" of some kind.

The Age Factor

It is believed that after the critical period for language acquisition has passed, around the time of puberty, it becomes very difficult to acquire another language fully.

We might think of this process in terms of our inherent capacity for language being strongly taken over by features of the L1.

However, it has been shown that students in their early teens are quicker and more effective L2 learners in the classroom than, for example, seven-year-olds.

The optimum age for learning may be from 10 to 16 years old where the flexibility of our inherent capacity for language has not been completely lost and the maturation of cognitive skills allows a more effective analysis of the regular features of the L2 being learned.

Affective Factors Even in the optimum age, there are still acquisition barrier

of quite a different kind.

Teenagers are much more self-conscious than younger children.

Self-conscious + unwillingness/ embarrasment = may override whatever physical and cognitive abilities.

Self-conscious + lack of empathy with the other culture = subtle effects of not really wanting to sound like a Russian or a German or an American may inhibit the learning process.

Dull textbooks, unpleasant classroom surroundings or an exhausting schedule of study and/or work can also cause this type of reaction, or "affect".

All these negative feelings or experiences are called affective factors.

They can create a barrier to acquisition.

Negative emotions like stressed, uncomfortable, self-conscious or unmotivated will only prevent us from learn anything.

However, learners that have positive traits like self-confidence, low anxiety and a positive self-image, seem better able to overcome difficulties encountered in the learning space.

Children are generally less constrained by affective factors because they can quickly overcome their inhibitions as they tried using new words and phrases.

Adults can also can do the same thing but only sometimes if they do not think of their self-consciousness.

Teaching Method

The CommunicativeApproaches

The Grammar-TranslationMethod

The AudiolingualMethod

The Grammar-Translation Method This is the most traditional approach.

This method has its roots in the traditional teaching of Latin.

Vocabulary lists and sets of grammar rules are used to define the target of learning.

Memorization is encouraged.

Written language is emphasized more than the spoken language.

Although this method clearly produced many successful L2 users over the centuries, it has been noted that students can leave school, get high grades in French but still at loss when confronted by French in France on how they actually use their language.

The Audiolingual Method

Emphasizing on spoken language and the method became popular in the middle of 20th century.

Involved a systematic presentation of the structures of L2, moving from simple to complex, in the form of drills that the students had to repeat.

Strongly influenced by a belief that the fluent use of language was essentially a set of "habits" that could developed with practised.

The practice involved hours of language laboratory repeating oral drills.

Versions of this approach are still used in teaching language, but its critics have pointed out that isolated practice in drilling language patterns bears no resemblance to the interactional nature of actual spoken language use.

It can be incredibly boring.

The Communicative Approaches

More recent revisions of the L2 learning experience.

Partially a reaction against the artificiality of "pattern practice" and also against the belief that consciously learning the grammar rules of a language will result in an ability to use the language.

There are many versions of how to create communicative experiences for L2 learners, they are all based on a belief that the functions of the language should be emphasized more rather than the forms of the language.

Focusing on The Learner

Input and Output

Transfer Interlanguage

Motivation

Error

One radical feature of most communication approaches is the toleration of "errors" produced by students.

Traditionally, "errors" were regarded negatively and they had to be avoided or eradicated.

The more recent acceptance of such errors in learners' use of the L2 is based on a fundamental shift in perspective from the more traditional view of how L2 learning takes place.

An "error" is not something that hinders a student's progress but is probably a clue to the active learning progress being made by the student as they tries out way of communicating in the new language.

Transfer

Some errors may be due to "transfer" or also called as "crosslinguistic influence".

Transfer: using sounds, expressions or structures from L1 when performing in L2.

If the L1 and L2 have similar features, then the learners may be able to benefit from the positive transfer of L1 knowledge to the L2.

However, transferring of L1 features that is really different from the L2 will results in negative transfer and it may make the L2 expression difficult to understand.

The impact of negative transfer on communicative success tends to be greater when the L1 and L2 are really different types of language, making the task of becoming proficient in English more demanding for Chinese than a German speaker.

Negative transfer ("interference") is more common in the early stages of L2 learning and often decreases as the learner develops greater familiarity with the L2.

Interlanguage Considered to be the basis of all L2 production.

On close inspection, the language produced by L2 learners contain a large number of "errors" that seem to have no connection to the forms of either the L1 of L2.

Example: The Spanish L1 speaker who says in English He name is Bo is producing a form that is not used by adult speakers of English, does not occur in English L1 acquisition by children, and is not based on a structure in Spanish.

This suggests that there is some in-between system used in the L2 acquisition process that certainly contains aspects of the L1 and L2, but which is an inherently variable system with rules of its own.

Language can be fossilized if some learners develop a fairly fixed repertoire of L2 expressions, containing many forms that do not match the target language, and seem not to be progressing any further.

The process of fossilization in L2 pronunciation seems to be the most likely basis of what is perceived as a foreign accent.

But, an interlanguage is not designed to fossilize.

It will naturally develop and become a more effective means of L2 communication given appropriate conditions.

Motivation Motivation is obviously important when we are

going to learn something.

Instrumental motivation : the desire to learn L2 in order to achieve some other goal, such as completing a school graduation requirement or being able to read scientific publications, but they are not really planning on engaging in much socual interaction using the L2.

Intergrative motivation : the desire to learn L2 for social purposes, in order to take part in the social life of a community using that language and to be accepted as a member in the community.

Those who experience some success in L2 communication are among the most motivated to learn. Hence, motivation may be as much a result of success as a cause.

Input and output

Input (L1 acquisition) : to describe the language that the learner is exposed to.

Input (L2 learning) : has to be comprehensible, because we can't process what we don't understand.

Comprehensible input : input can be made comprehensible by being simpler in structure and vocabulary, as in variety of speech called foreign talk.

Example : Native speakers of English may try to ask an international student How are you getting on in your studies?, but, if they don't understand, may switch to English class, you like it?

This type of foreigner talk may be beneficial, not only for immediate communication, but also for providing the learner with comprehensible examples of the basic structure of the L2 as input.

Negotiated input : L2 material that the learner can acquire in interaction through requests for clarification while active attention is being focused on what is said.

Example : (textbook, m/s 193)

The learner experiences the benefit of both receiving input (hearing the L2) and producing output (speaking the L2).

The opportunity to produce comprehensible output in meaningful interaction seems to be another important element in the learner's development of L2 ability, yet it is one of the most difficult things to provide in large L2 classes.

Task-based Learning One solution has been to create different types of tasks and activities in which

learners have to interact with each other, usually in small groups or pairs, to exchange information or solve problem.

In this task-based learning method, the students will be able to improve their ability, especially their fluency, by using L2 in the activities prepared.

Despite fears that learners will simply learneach other's "mistake", the results of thismethod provide an overwhelming evidence of more and better L2 use by more learners.

The real goal is that the learners will be able to develop their communicative competence in L2.

Communicative Competence

Communicative competence : the general ability to use language accurately, appropriately and flexibly.

Components of communicative competence :1st - Grammatical competence2nd - Sociolinguistic competence3rd - Strategic competence

Grammatical competence : - the ability to use accurate of words and structures.- however, focusing on grammatical competence only will not provide the learner with the ability to interpret or produce L2 expressions appropriately.

Sociolinguistic competence :- the ability to use appropriate language - enables the learners to know when to say Can I have some water? versus Give me some water! according to the social context.

Strategic competence :- the ability to organize a message effectively and to compensate, via strategies, for any difficulties.- in L2 use, learners inevitably experience moments when there is a gap between communicative intent and their ability to express that intent. - some learners may just stop talking (bad idea), whereas others will try to use communication strategy (good idea) to express themselves.- the flexibility in L2 use is the key element in communicative success.

Applied Linguistics

In order to investigate the complex nature of second language learning, we have to appeal to ideas not from linguistic analysis, but from other fields such as communication studies, education, psychology and sociology.

Applied linguistics: an interdisciplinary field of linguistics that identifies, investigates, and offers solutions to language-related real-life problems.

Concerned with practical issues involving language and its role in everyday life.

It represents an attempt to deal with large range of real-world issues involving language, applied linguistics has created connections with fields as diverse as anthropology, neurolinguistics, social psychology and sign language studies.

THE ENDQUESTIONS