Language Acquisition Autobiography

April Tilden

Los Angeles Pacific University

English 420

Professor C. Gentry

November 14,2022
 My earliest memory of being spoken to in my earliest years is actually a song my would
sing to me as she comforted me for whatever reason. While she was alive, I never thought to ask
why she even sang it because it really does not make too much sense. She would sing it when she
held me and comforted me but really the song is like if you are looking for someone.

I don’t know if my family prioritized language or speaking to be honest. We did not have
that cookie cutter all American family where the kids got tucked in at night with a bedtime story.
When my mom got out of prison I was really into the Indian in the Cupboard series and I
remember my mom reading those books with me. I do remember having a lot of books in the
house when I was very young. Those are very fond memories I have of not only my mother but a
peaceful (sort of) time of life where my mom did “mom” things. She was a great mom but I miss
some of the things I saw my friend’s parents doing. They were few but impactful as I did carry
that into adulthood and prioritized doing for my kids what I wish I had done for me.

Based on how I grew up and those experiences, I know English Language Acquisition is
important and should be prioritized. As I grew up and started having my own children, I made
sure to read to them from birth and always talk to them, whether they could understand or not. I
had a roommate at one point and we had children within a few months of each other. She rarely
spoke to her son because she was convinced he would not understand and she thought it looked
silly. As a recount the experience she really did not interact with him at all beyond the normal
feeding and changing diapers. I remember people would always be shocked that our kids were
the same age because my son was much more vocal than hers. They are now both eighteen years
old and it is still a comparison that is made to this day.

As a mother, I prioritized language, speaking, books, and overall literacy. I read books to
my children even when I was still pregnant and continue to now. Our book collections consisted
of favorites and traditional texts. Even to this day we all have some sort of reading time together
whether its family devotions or re reading books my older kids loved like Judy Blume books or
the Indian in the Cupboard series. I can recall times where I would be talking to my children
even as babies and people who could not see us immediately would find me and say “who are
you talking to?” or “I thought you were talking to an adult”. I will admit I did (and still do) my
fair share of “baby talk” but I would really catch myself and remind myself to balance it out with
speaking properly and using correct grammar.

Early language exposure is extremely important and impactful to humans and their
development. During the first two or three years of development, a child requires interactions
with other language users in order to bring the general language capacity into contact with a
particular language (Yule, 2016, 191). The child “absorbs” language as he is spoken to, imitates
what he hears to make similar sounds (Chapman, n.d.). Under normal circumstances, infants are
naturally helped along in their language development and influenced by older siblings and adults
in the environment. They provide the language sample that the child will learn from and observe
(Yule, 2016,191). All typical children will develop language at around the same time and
basically on the same schedule. Even before children start to actually talk, they are still
processing the sounds they are hearing (Yule, 2016, 192). This goes on to impact students in the
sense that if they do not have proper exposure to language and their skills are not on target with
where they should be, they will academically and socially struggle.

Based on my own memories and experiences with language, the fact that it is so
important is ingrained in my mind and takes priority when I think of my teaching career. I want
to teach first grade, so any language acquisition deficits will potentially be evident by the time
students reach my classroom. Even still, I can still be an advocate for early literacy and promote
positive behaviors for parents and caregivers that can still make an impact.
 References

Chapman, P. (n.d.). Exposure to Language is Key to Early Literacy and Language Learning.

Whitby School. Retrieved November 15, 2022, from

https://www.whitbyschool.org/passionforlearning/exposure-to-language-is-key-to-early-li

teracy-and-language-learning

Yule, G. (2016). The Study of Language. Cambridge University Press.