EL 101: Language, Culture and Society

Preliminary Term

LANGUAGE ACQUISITION vs. LANGUAGE LEARNING

LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
-the process by which we unconsciously learn to speak, write, or even use sign language in
meaningful ways to communicate, however, unaware of the grammatical rules
-is 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.
-is a process which can take place at any period of one's life. In the sense of first language
acquisition, however, it refers to the acquisition (unconscious learning) of one's native language
(or languages in the case of bilinguals) during the first 6 or 7 years of one's life (roughly from
birth to the time one starts school). Is when children receive linguistic input during the critical
period (up to about the age of 12 or puberty). Children must receive adequate linguistic input
including phonology (sound), syntax (grammar), semantics (meaning), pragmatics (use and
context), and prosody (intonation, rhythm, stress).
-language is not biological; therefore, regardless of race and ethnicity, children will eventually
acquire the language they are first exposed to in their families from their primary caregiver.
Since the primary caregiver is the mother, this language input came to be called “motherese” in
the 1970 (Crystal, 1987).

LANGUAGE LEARNING
-we learn when we use what we know to understand what is new. It’s what we do when we look
a word up in a dictionary and when we learn rules about how language works or purposely study
lists of vocabulary and grammar forms.
-occurs actively or consciously through explicit education and instruction in the rules of
language
-successful language learning involves viewing, listening, speaking, reading, and writing
activities and accuracy. It also involves recognizing, accepting, valuing and building on students’
existing language competence, including the use of non-standard forms of the language, and
extending the range of language available to students.

SOME PERSPECTIVE OF LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

1. Behaviorists Perspective. In which they believe that language is like any other knowledge,
skills, and values that can be taught to children via repetition, imitation and habituation. Burrhus
Frederick Skinner is the most known behaviourist with his Operant Conditioning Theory which
was highly influenced by Edward Thorndike’s Connectionism Theory also known as the Theory
of Effect (Law of Readiness, Exercise and Effect)
Skinner admits that every individual has a brain but argues that it is unproductive to study
internal systems and that the best way to understand behaviour is to look at the causes of an
action and its consequences (operant). He explains that a behaviour that is continuously
reinforced tends to be repeated and becomes deeply rooted in an individual’s behaviour and a
behaviour that is not reinforced dies-out and is eventually forgotten.

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Children learn to speak by copying the utterances heard around them and by having their
responses strengthened by the repetitions, corrections, and other reactions that adults provide
(Crystal, 1987). By reinforcing correct and accurate utterances, they are positively reinforced
which allow the child to realize the importance of accuracy in the communicative value of words
and phrases. Incorrect and inaccurate utterances are discontinued by applying negative
reinforcement.
Language in this perspective is viewed as consistent formal pattern and through imitation and
constant practice language is developed just like a habit.
2. Constructivist Perspective. This is concerned with how children acquire and construct
meaning, and that children are prewired to learn and acquire language as they go through
different developmental stages. This perspective of language acquisition is centered on brain
development. It also sheds valuable explanation of the relationship between thought (cognition)
and language acquisition. As children become sophisticated in their mental processes, the more
susceptible they are in acquiring and manipulating language to represent ideas.
Cognitive Constructivism
Jean Piaget argues that children are active learners who construct meaning from their
environment. He is the proponent of cognitive development theory that explains the
interconnectedness of knowledge acquisition and language acquisition through qualitative
changes of their mental processes as they develop (Crystal, 1987; Schickedanz, 1993; Vasta
et. al., 1999). He views children as active learners, constructing knowledge over time, as
they interact with their environment (Schickedanz, 1993) through four developmental
stages.
a. Sensorimotor stage – 0-2 years old. Children actively construct an understanding of
the world by physical interacting with the environment using their various senses.
b. Preoperational stage – 2-7 years old. Language acquisition in this stage is primarily
centered on pretend play which is form of symbolic play or the ability of children to
use objects to represent other objects and will ultimately progress to symbolic
function.
c. Concrete operational stage – 7-12 years old. Children begin to solve problems
logically and language acquisition moves to social matters. They also begin to value
justification and word choice.
d. Formal operational stage – 12-above. Knowledge development is demonstrated
through logical use of symbols related to abstract concepts. In this stage, individuals
learn to use language abstractly without relying on concrete representation.
Clearly there is some link between cognitive and language acquisition: Piaget’s theory
explain the order in which certain aspects of language are acquired, but his theory does not
explain why language emerges in the first place.
3. Innateness. This is to oppose the behaviourist theory. Noam Chomsky argued that children
are endowed with the capacity to acquire a language as they are continuously exposed to adult
speech. He called this “innateness”, the capacity of the brain to arrive at general principles based
from adult speech. These principles constitute a child’s language acquisition device (LAD)
(Crystal, 1987).
Chomsky proposed the theory of Universal Grammar, an idea of innate, biological grammatical
categories that facilitate the entire language development in children and overall language
processing in adults.
Children use their LAD to make sense of the utterances heard around them, primarily coming
from the primary linguistics data or adult speech and create hypotheses about the grammar of the
language (what the sentences are and how they are constructed). They use this grammatical

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knowledge to produce sentences after several attempts through trial and error on constructing
sentences. This also explains why children acquire language in such speed but it cannot account
for other input that children are exposed to.
FIRST LANGUAGE ACQUISITION vs. SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
FIRST LANGUAGE SECOND LANGUAGE
The language first acquired by a child, like A non-native language that has an official role
mother tongue and native tongue, or preferred in a country.
language in a multilingual situation
An instinct triggered by birth A personal choice required motivation
Proceeds rapidly Proceeds relatively slowly
Unconscious and effortless Effortful
Exposure to spontaneous speech is sufficient Training and instruction typically required in
addition to exposure to spontaneous speech
Based in listening as a first resource (passive) Based in content that involves technical
knowledge of the language (active)
Adult-like mastery of all aspects of the Fossilization of errors is common place, as
language are errors involving a transfer of features from
the L1, and the outcome of learning is not the
same across individuals.

1. First language acquisition (FLA) is the natural process in which children subconsciously
possess and develop the linguistic knowledge of the setting they live in. In contrast, second
language acquisition (SLA) takes place where the target language is the language spoken in
the language community that differs from the mother tongue.

2. SLA is very largely conscious and so it is dependent on factors such as motivation and
personality. This does not apply to FLA which is triggered by birth, it is an instinct in the
biological sense of the word. Remember that no one ever refuses to acquire one’s first
language and that no one dislikes one’s own first language.

3. FLA is not dependent on intelligence or special ability for languages. Everyone acquires their
native language fully and properly. What is true is that some people have greater stylistic
range and larger vocabulary in their native language, but that is not connected with FLA.
You learn style in school when you learn how to write the standard of your language and you
learn specialised words consciously after childhood.

4. FLA is not connected to cognitive development with the latter preceding the former
somewhat. With the second language (acquired after puberty) you have all the cognitive
structures necessary to deal with the language.

5. You cannot forget your first language, although it may become inactive if you spend many
years speaking just a second language.

6. In FLA, children build up competence. The internalised knowledge of one’s native language,
from the performance of others by accepting spoken input from those people surrounding
them. The parents are obviously important here, but siblings and playmates can play an
equally important role if they are present.

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EL 101: Language, Culture and Society