A- Language Acquisition

Question 1

What is language?

What does it include, involve?

Answer 1

listening, speaking, reading, writing, signing

• phonology
• grammar
• discourse
• pragmatic conventions
• social skills, cultural conventions
• specific lg activities: narration, letter writign, etc….
• etc.

Question 2

First Lg Acquisition
- milestones in the development - sounds

ages 0 to 8 y

Answer 2

age 0-8w biological noises
age 8-20w cooing and laughing
age 20-30w vocal play
age 25-50w babbling

first: articulation of sounds and syllables
(modulation of volume and duration)
later: syllables with intonation (modulation of volume, duration, pitch), adaptation to sounds of the
language(s) of the surrounding environment

age 1y unanalysed chunks
age 1-4y simplified pronunciation
age 4-8y refined target phonology

Question 3

First Lg Acquisition
- milestones in the development - words

ages 18m - age 6y

Answer 3

— age 9-18m melodic utterances, protowords

• age 18m first words
• age 2y about 50 words
• age 2y; 6m about 300 words
• age 3 about 400 words
• age 6 about 2000-2500 words

Question 4

First Lg Acquisition
- milestones in the development - sentences

ages 12m - age 15y

Answer 4

• one word utterances (12-18m)
• two word utterances (18-24m)
• incipient syntax without grammatical morphemes (telegraphic) (2y)
• progression from simple to complex (2-15y)

Question 5

What other processes are there besides acquisition?

Answer 5

instinct - e.g. breathing
imprinting - e.g. ducks
acquisition - e.g. sitting walking, riding a bike (through trial and error)
learning - e.g. knitting, instrument, reading/writing
–> normally involves instruction, cultural transmission, more conscious effort,
analysis

Borderline: singing, many sports, posture

Question 6

Order of L1 Acquisition of English Morphemes in R. Brown (1973)

Answer 6

1 Present progressive (-ing)
2/3 in, on
4 Plural (-s)
5 Past irregular
6 Possessive (-’s)
7 Uncontractible copula (is, am, are)
8 Articles (a, the)
9 Past regular (-ed)
10 Third person singular (-s)
11 Third person irregular
12 Uncontractible auxiliary (is, am, are)
13 Contractible copula
14 Contractible auxiliary

Question 7

Individual differences in L1 acquisition?

8points

Answer 7

— onset of stages
— speed of acquisition
— size of vocabulary
— analysts versus expressionists
— small units versus large chunks
— perfectionists versus experimenters
— introverts versus extroverts
— quiet children versus chatterboxes

Question 8

What are the factors for individual differences in L1 Acquisition?

Answer 8

outside factors such as
— variable input
— variable interaction patterns
— class-specific communication patterns
— culture-specific communication patterns

individual factors such as
— psyche and character
— talent
— IQ, verbal IQ, language aptitude, memory
— impediments
— physical impediments (deafness, cleft palate…)
— genetically based problems (autism, Down syndrome…)
— injury-induced problems (brain damage)

Question 9

What factors for success of learning L2

Answer 9

age

L1

input factors

amount and type of input

psychology:
personality –motivation -attitudes -learner strategies

talent
IQ -verbal IQ -language aptitude

social factors