CHAPTER 1. LANGUAGE LEARNING IN EARLY CHILDHOOD Flashcards
What does the following description refer to?
Commonly means the acquisition of a single language in childhood, regardless of the number of languages in a child’s natural environment.
First language acquisition
What does the following description refer to?
The process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive, produce and use words to understand and communicate
Characteristics of First Language Acquisition
What does the following description refer to?
This capacity involves the picking up of diverse capacities including syntax, phonetics, and an extensive vocabulary.
Characteristic of First Language Acquisition
What does the following description refer to?
It is a key aspect that distinguishes humans from other organisms
Characteristic of First Language Acquisition
What does the following description refer to?
Language acquisition usually refers to first language acquisition, which studies infant ́s acquisition on their native language.
Characteristic of First Language Acquisition
Relate language and communication skills with age.
Cries when basic needs require attention, for example hunger, tiredness, distress,
Birth to 4 weeks
Relate language and communication skills with age.
Ø‘Freezes’ when a bell is rung gently close to the ear, moves head towards the sound
ØStops crying at the sound of the human voice (unless very upset)
ØCoos and gurgles in response to career’s talk
1 month
Relate language and communication skills with age.
ØBecomes quiet and turns head towards sound of rattle near head.
ØVocalizes when spoken to and when alone
3 months
Relate language and communication skills with age.
ØMakes singsong vowel sounds, for example ‘aah-aah’, ‘goo’
ØLaughs and chuckles and squeals aloud in play
ØResponds differently to different tones of voice
ØStarts to respond to noises out of sight with correct visual response
6 months
Relate language and communication skills with age.
ØVocalizes for communication, shouts for attention
ØBabbles loudly and tunefully using dual syllables in long strings, for example ‘daddad’, ‘baba’, ‘mam-mam’
ØImitates adult vocal sounds, for example coughs, smacking lips
ØUnderstands ‘no’ and ‘bye-bye’
ØHas instant response to a hearing test conducted 1 metre behind child, out of sight
9 months
Relate language and communication skills with age.
ØKnows own name
ØJargons loudly in ‘conversations’, includes most vowels sounds
Ø Understands about 20 words in context, for example cup, dog, and dinner.
Ø Understands simple messages, for example ‘clap hands’, ‘where are your shoes?
1 year (12 months)
Relate language and communication skills with age.
ØFirst words appear – uses 6–20 recognizable words, understands many more
ØEchoes prominent or last word in sentences
ØTries to join in with nursery rhymes
ØResponds to simple instructions , for example ‘fetch your shoes’, ‘shut the door’
12–18 months
Relate language and communication skills with age.
ØUses two words linked together
ØUses more than 200 words by two years
ØMakes simple two-word sentencesØRefers to own name, talks to self during play
ØHas telegraphic speech, that is, is using key essential words and missing out on connecting words
18–24 months
Relate language and communication skills with age.
ØRapidly expanding vocabulary, including plurals.
ØHolds simple conversations.
ØEnjoys repetition of favorite stories
ØCounts to tenØUses two or three words together, e.g. “go potty now”
Ø ‘Explosion’ of vocabulary and use of correct grammatical forms of language.
ØRefers to self by name and often says ‘mine’
ØAsks lots of questionsØUses pronouns and prepositions, simple sentences and phrases
2–3 years
What does the following description refer to?
are the smallest chapters of language that carry meaning.
Morphemes
What does the following description refer to?
are tiny markers that can be added to these words to add to or change their meaning. They are “bound” morphemes because they do not work on their own; they must be connected to a “free” morpheme.
Grammatical morphemes
What does the following description refer to?
The rate of vocabulary learning is for three to four years old children at several words a day.
Lexis
What does the following description refer to?
–At age of four, most children can ask questions, give commands, report real events and create imaginary stories.
–They apply grammatical rules correctly and master basic structures of the language.
–Acquisition of more complex linguistic structures, including passives and relative clauses
Grammatical awareness:
What does the following description refer to?
–Usage of language in a wider social environment
–More interaction with unfamiliar adults
–Communication with relatives on the phone
–Awareness of several different “voices”
More various usage of language
What does the following description refer to?
Metalinguistic awareness describes the ability to treat language as an object separate from the meaning.
Metalinguistic awareness
What does the following description refer to?
A style or way of using language that is appropriate for a particular setting
Register
What does the following description refer to?
It is an innate linguistic knowledge that consists of a set of principles common to all languages.
Universal Grammar (UG)
What does the following description refer to?
If children are pre-equipped with UG, then what they have to learn is the ways in which the language they are acquiring makes use of these principles.
Characteristics of Universal Grammar (UG)
What does the following description refer to?
Innatists argue that complex grammar could never be learned purely on the basis of imitating and practicing sentences available in the input.
Characteristics of Universal Grammar (UG)
What does the following description refer to?
Is the subject of a long-standing debate in linguistics and language acquisition over the extent to which the ability to acquire language is biologically linked to age.
Characteristics of Critical Period Hypothesis
What does the following description refer to?
The hypothesis claims that there is an ideal ‘window’ of time in a person’s life to acquire language in a linguistically rich environment, after which further language acquisition becomes much more difficult and effortful
Characteristics of Critical Period Hypothesis
What does the following description refer to?
Dan Slobin (1973) has long emphasized the close relationship between children’s cognitive development and their acquisition of language
Charactersitcs of The interactionist / developmental perspective
What does the following description refer to?
Children are biologically programmed for language
Characteristics of Universal grammar and the critical period hypothesis
What does the following description refer to?
Language develops in the child in just the same way that other biological functions develop.
Characteristics of Universal grammar and the critical period hypothesis
What does the following description refer to?
The environment makes only a basic contribution (the availability of people who speak to the child).
Characteristics of Universal grammar and the critical period hypothesis
What does the following description refer to?
Children’s minds are not blank slates to be filled by imitating language they hear in the environment.
Characteristics of Universal grammar and the critical period hypothesis
What does the following description refer to?
Children are born with a specific innate ability to discover for themselves the underlying rules of a language system on the basis of the samples they are exposed to.
Characteristics of Universal grammar and the critical period hypothesis