I N T RO D U C T IO N T O

LANG U A G E A C Q U IS I T IO N :
ND L ANGU AGE AC QUISIT ION
LTI LINGUA LI SM A ND SECO
M U
CHILD ACQUISITION, BI/
WHAT IS LANGUAGE ACQUISITION?

• LANGUAGE IS EXTREMELY COMPLEX

• LANGUAGE ACQUISITION IS THE PROCESS BY WHICH INDIVIDUALS, TYPICALLY CHILDREN, LEARN AND
DEVELOP THE ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND AND USE LANGUAGE. IT INVOLVES ACQUIRING THE VOCABULARY,
GRAMMAR, SYNTAX, AND SOCIAL ASPECTS OF A SPECIFIC LANGUAGE.
WHY LANGUAGE ACQUISITION IMPORTANT?

• LANGUAGE ACQUISITION IS CRUCIAL BECAUSE IT IS THE FOUNDATION FOR COMMUNICATION, COGNITIVE

GROWTH, EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT, SOCIAL INTEGRATION, AND PERSONAL AND CULTURAL
EXPRESSION. IT IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND PLAYS A PIVOTAL ROLE IN SHAPING
OUR LIVES AND SOCIETIES.
CHILD LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
WHAT IS CHILD LANGUAGE ACQUISITION ?

• THE NATURAL AND SEQUENTIAL PROCESS OF LEARNING AND DEVELOPING LANGUAGE SKILLS IN EARLY
CHILDHOOD

• WHEREIN THEY LEARN TO COMPREHEND, SPEAK, AND USE LANGUAGE AS THEY INTERACT WITH THEIR
SURROUNDINGS AND CAREGIVERS.
WHEN DOES CHILD LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
OCCUR?

• TYPICALLY BEGINS IN INFANCY AND CONTINUES THROUGH EARLY ADOLESCENCE.

• IT IS MOST RAPID DURING THE EARLY YEARS, WITH SIGNIFICANT MILESTONES ACHIEVED BY THE AGE OF
THREE.
WHERE DOES CHILD LANGUAGE ACQUISITION OCCUR?

• IN VARIOUS ENVIRONMENTS, SUCH AS HOMES, COMMUNITIES, AND EDUCATIONAL SETTINGS, WHERE

CHILDREN INTERACT WITH CAREGIVERS, PEERS, AND OTHERS.
HOW DOES CHILD LANGUAGE ACQUISITION HAPPEN?

• THROUGH EXPOSURE TO SPOKEN LANGUAGE, SOCIAL INTERACTION, AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT,

CHILDREN GRADUALLY LEARN VOCABULARY, GRAMMAR, AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS.
MECHANISM OF LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
Imitation

Behaviorism

Reinforcement Analogy
STAGES OF CHILD LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
 PRELINGUISTIC STAGE
• BIRTH-10 MONTHS
• INFANTS ENGAGE IN PRELINGUISTIC COMMUNICATION THROUGH:

Cries Coos Gesture

 1.BABBLING STAGE
• 6 MONTHS
• BABIES START TO PRODUCE REPETITIVE CONSONANT-VOWEL COMBINATIONS, KNOWN AS BABBLING
• THIS STAGE IS IMPORTANT FOR MOTOR SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND EXPLORING THE PHONETIC
POSSIBILITIES OF LANGUAGE
2. ONE-WORD OR HOLOPHRASTIC STAGE

• BETWEEN 10 TO 14 MONTHS
• CHILDREN BEGIN USING SINGLE WORDS TO CONVEY WHOLE PHRASES OR CONCEPTS, SUCH AS “MILK”
FOR “I WANT MILK.”
3. TWO-WORD STAGE
• AROUND 18 TO 24 MONTHS,
• CHILDREN PROGRESS TO COMBINING TWO WORDS TO FORM SIMPLE PHRASES LIKE “MORE JUICE” OR
“BIG DOG.”

• THESE COMBINATIONS SHOWCASE THEIR GROWING UNDERSTANDING OF GRAMMAR AND SYNTAX.

 7. TELEGRAPHIC STAGE
• BY AGE TWO,
• CHILDREN OFTEN USE TELEGRAPHIC SPEECH, WHICH INVOLVES OMITTING LESS ESSENTIAL WORDS
WHILE RETAINING THE CORE MEANING OF THE SENTENCE

• FOR EXAMPLE, “MOMMY GIVE COOKIE.”

8. LANGUAGE EXPLOSION STAGE

• BETWEEN TWO AND THREE YEARS,

• CHILDREN EXPERIENCE A LANGUAGE EXPLOSION. THEY RAPIDLY ACQUIRE NEW WORDS AND BEGIN
CONSTRUCTING MORE COMPLEX SENTENCES, EXPRESSING A WIDER RANGE OF THOUGHTS AND
EMOTIONS.
THEORIES OF CHILD LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
BEHAVIORIST THEORY

• THIS THEORY, PROPOSED BY B.F. SKINNER, SUGGESTS THAT CHILDREN LEARN LANGUAGE THROUGH
IMITATION, REINFORCEMENT, AND CONDITIONING. HOWEVER, IT FAILS TO ACCOUNT FOR THE
GENERATIVE NATURE OF LANGUAGE.
NATIVIST THEORY (UNIVERSAL GRAMMAR)

• NOAM CHOMSKY’S THEORY POSITS THAT HUMANS ARE BORN WITH AN INNATE LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
DEVICE THAT ENABLES THEM TO GENERATE AND UNDERSTAND GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURES.

• THIS THEORY EXPLAINS HOW CHILDREN CAN PRODUCE NOVEL AND COMPLEX SENTENCES THEY HAVE
NEVER HEARD BEFORE
INTERACTIONIST THEORY

• THIS THEORY EMPHASIZES THE ROLE OF BOTH NATURE AND NURTURE.

• IT SUGGESTS THAT CHILDREN’S BIOLOGICAL READINESS TO LEARN LANGUAGE INTERACTS WITH THE
LINGUISTIC INPUT THEY RECEIVE FROM THEIR ENVIRONMENT.
WHEN DOES BILINGUALISM OCCUR?

• BILINGUALISM CAN BEGIN IN EARLY CHILDHOOD WHEN CHILDREN ARE EXPOSED TO MULTIPLE
LANGUAGES, OR IT CAN BE ACQUIRED LATER IN LIFE THROUGH LANGUAGE LEARNING AND IMMERSION
PROGRAMS
WHAT IS BILINGUALISM?

• BILINGUALISM IS THE ABILITY TO FLUENTLY SPEAK AND UNDERSTAND TWO LANGUAGES.

WHERE DOES BILINGUALISM OCCUR?

• BILINGUALISM CAN OCCUR IN VARIOUS CONTEXTS, INCLUDING COUNTRIES WITH MULTIPLE OFFICIAL
LANGUAGES, MULTICULTURAL COMMUNITIES, AND AMONG INDIVIDUALS WHO ACTIVELY STUDY AND USE
TWO LANGUAGES.
WHY IS BILINGUALISM IMPORTANT?

• BILINGUALISM OFFERS SEVERAL BENEFITS, INCLUDING IMPROVED COGNITIVE ABILITIES, ENHANCED

CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING, EXPANDED CAREER OPPORTUNITIES, AND THE ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE
WITH A BROADER RANGE OF PEOPLE.
HOW IS BILINGUALISM ACHIEVED?

• BILINGUALISM CAN BE ACHIEVED THROUGH VARIOUS METHODS, SUCH AS GROWING UP IN A BILINGUAL

ENVIRONMENT, FORMAL LANGUAGE EDUCATION, IMMERSION PROGRAMS, SELF-STUDY, OR THROUGH
CULTURAL EXPOSURE AND TRAVEL TO DIFFERENT LANGUAGE-SPEAKING REGIONS.
THE PROCESS OF INFORMATION PROCESSING
1. SENSORY REGISTERS

• RECEIVE THE BIG AMOUNT OF INFORMATION FROM THE SENSES AND HOLDS IT FOR A VERY SHORT TIME
FOR INITIAL PROCESSING FOR TRANSFER TO THE SHORT-TERM MEMORY. IF NOTHING HAPPENS, IT IS
LOST AND FORGOTTEN.
2. SHORT-TERM OR WORKING MEMORY

• HOLDS THE LIMITED AMOUNT OF INFORMATION PAID ATTENTION TO, ORGANIZES IT FOR STORAGE OR FOR
DISCARDING AND CONNECTING TO OTHER INFORMATION.

• REHEARSAL OR REPETITION FACILITATES HOLDING THE IN- FORMATION IN THE SHORT-TERM MEMORY
FOR TRANSFER TO THE LONG-TERM MEMORY.
3.LONG-TERM MEMORY

• KEEPS INFORMATION FOR LONG PERIOD OF TIME AND INTEGRATES IT THROUGH REHEARSAL,
ELABORATION AND ORGANIZATION WITH INFORMATION THAT IS ALREADY KNOWN. EXECUTIVE CONTROL
MONITORS AND GUIDES THE WHOLE PROCESS.
THEORIES OF BILINGUAL DEVELOPMENT
THE SEPARATE SYSTEM HYPOTHESIS

CHILDREN INITIALLY CONSTRUCT ONE LEXICON ONE GRAMMAR

THE BILINGUAL CHILD BUILDS A DISTINCT LEXICON AND GRAMMAR FOR EACH LANGUAGE.

• BILINGUAL CHILDREN DEVELOPS THEIR GRAMMAR ALONG THE SAME LINE AS MONOLINGUAL CHILDREN.
THE RULE OF THE THUMB IS THAT CHILDREN RECEIVE EQUAL INPUT IN THE TWO LANGUAGES TO ACHIEVE
NATIVE PROFICIENCY IN BOTH.