Language Acquisition and Learning

on Children

BY :
ANNISA 20018005
 Introduction

Humans communicate using language but they also learn

while acquiring the language they use and hear. Humans

have different processes in acquiring language for children

or adults. Therefore, this research will be conducted to find

out how children and adults acquire and learn their first

and second languages.

 Literature Review
Human Brain in Acquiring Languages
The human brain is unique because we don't know what's
going on and what processes are going on in someone's
brain. There is a limit to the capacity and ability of the
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human brain. The brain has several parts, there are called
Cerebellum 25%
and Basal Ganglia which is very functional in
managing the language.
First and Second Language Acquisition
Language acquisition usually refers to the first language, namely the human way to acquire
the first language unconsciously to produce speech. The language that is received and
learned for the first time is the first language of the human and so the acquisition of the
second language and so on will slowly develop. The process of language acquisition is
always the same and has a natural order when a person acquires his first language from
fetus to adult. Second language acquisition is the same as first language acquisition. It is
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only time and age that is the difference between first and second and or third language
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acquisition. Some theorists say that in acquiring any language, children more likely to
acquire language than adults. In other words, adults learn more languages than they
acquire. But adults can also acquire language as their second language.
First and Second Language Learning
Sequentially, after acquiring a first language, a person can learn to acquire a
second language based on its structure and grammar. What is known as First
Language Learning. It can be a curriculum requirement in schools that someone
must learn in order to pass the exam. For example, when an Indonesian takes
English, for example, as a subject at school, he learns the grammar and
structure of English and gets it right and errors then this is referred to as
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Second Language Learning.
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 Language Acquisition
Humans are unique. They exist not only because God has created them but also that they are
supported by all that exists. Humans acquire language not because they learn that language but
solely because they acquire it naturally. Rather, they learn language because they have acquired it.
Brown (2000) states that children are like clean notebooks when they are born into the world,
then they are shaped by their environment. With regard to language acquisition, Skinner stated
that every speech uttered by humans actually follows a form that is verbal and language and this
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kind of nonverbal behavior can only be learned from the human environment or external factors
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that surround it. Chomsky found that the acquisition of language is based on nature because he
said when a child is born it must be equipped with special tools which enables him to learn
languages. These tools are called Language Acquisition Devices (language acquisition devices /
LAD) which are universal as evidenced by the similarities in the language acquisition process
between children there.
 Methodology
Research Design
This study uses longitudinal research. It can be said that Longitudinal Research is an
observational method in which data is collected over a period of time on the same subject
many times in this study conducted over 5 years.

Participant
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The participants in this study were mothers, children and adults. The researchers used a
purposive sampling technique in taking research participants. the participants of this study
consisted of one mother and her fetus; the first fetus is 4 months 3 weeks, the second fetus
is 3 months 6 weeks. The fetus was from one mother and it was a 1 year time period
between the first and second fetus. The investigation was carried out on both fetuses until
they were 5 and 4 years old. The next participants are four adults aged 13 to 25 years and
they live in a bilingual family. Adult participants are used as supporting data.
Technique of Data Collection
The technique applied recording, observation, in-depth interview, and
questionnaires. The recording was turned on to each conversation between the
researcher and participants. The questionnaires were applied to gain the perception
and the variable of how children and adults acquire and learn their second language.

Instruments
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The instruments of this research consists of the researcher himself, video recorder,
Interview manual, observation check list, field notes, and non-structure questionnaires.
Technique of Data Analysis
• The data actually were taken 150 times.
• The researchers firstly took the data in the field by recording the conversation and all
activities and wrote down all important events happened during taking the data.
Especially the fetuses and children, the researcher recorded the video and took some
notes. For the adult participants, the researcher gave questionnaire, interview, and
recorded the conversation during interview.
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• Second, all collected video and recorded data were transcript the conversation and
after that, the data were reduced by making gist summary and categorized into some
patterns in the same pattern.
• Next, the researcher displied the categories and finally was to verify and conclude.
 Findings and Discussion
• In three months in mother’s womb, baby at the rest of her life had developed to mold her own auditory
system to catch sounds from inside and outside of the womb. The reaction usually was in a reflex movement
to indicate her response to the sounds the baby heard.

• At the age of 5 to 9 months, the fetus often moves when the baby heard a sound. But, if the sounds stopped,
the baby Will stopped moving.

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• At the age of 0 to 6 months after birth, the baby was just usually keep silent or stared at anywhere when the
mother or someone spoke to them. The baby occasionally opened her mouth at the age of up to 4 months
as if the baby wanted to follow their mother’s mouth.

• At the age of 7 months to 1 year and 11 months, when someone tried saying ‘come on’ or saying 'no.. no..
no’ when someone did not want her to do something as that someone wanted. It appeared that the baby
only stared at him for a meantime and then the baby tried to do again what the baby wanted to do.
• At the age of 2 years, the baby had started to say some words that their mom never asked her to say
before. The baby got it in their father’s and mother’s daily conversation. At the same age, when
their mom or someone said ‘no’ or ‘don’t’ while actuating their index finger to the left and right and
the baby tent to stop doing activity.

• At the age of 3 years, the baby had understood to do what someone wanted them to do. The child
also could do counting in English from 1 to 5 though they cannot spell it perfectly.

• At the age of 4 years, someone started to ask the child's name. It gives reinforcement by teaching
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them how to answer such question.

• The adult of 13 to 25 years were dominant in using their first language. They acquire their first
language step by step.
 Conclusion
Brain is the most role of human being in dealing with language ability and it is the key factor in
determining one’s language proficiency. Language proficiency is really determined by three factors of Phased
Process Approach namely Subconscious Acquisition, Conscious Acquisition and Learning. in adult acquisition,
when one of adult participants uses their dominant language; they had never been taught the grammar or the
structure but they can fluently speak it.

The difference between acquisition and learning is laid on the process. Acquisition process
happened in two ways namely Subconscious and Conscious Acquisition while Learning is
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happened consciously. Acquisition is happened accidently, naturally, and multiple times while
Learning is planned, unnatural, multiple times. Acquisition is happened in the way of setting up
but the process should be in natural while Learning is happened in the way of setting up and the
process is also set up, instructed, and switched.

In acquiring language, children tend to just listen to and then imitate, try to utter, repeat over and again,
and need a positive reinforcement which is without any instruction or switching into the dominant language.
 References
Arung, F. (2016). Language acquisition and learning on children. Journal of English Education,
1(1), 1-9.
THE END