Chapter 1 Vocabulary for Quiz Flashcards
order of acquisition
Also called the developmental sequence. The order in which certain features of a language are learned. Grammatical morphemes, for example, are learned in a specific order, beginning with the present progressive (-ing), followed by the plural -s, irregular past forms, etc., and ending with the auxiliary be form. Children who know the later grammatical morphemes also know the earlier ones, but won’t know a later morpheme until they’ve learned those that precede it. Is this Krashen’s theory?
phoneme
The smallest unit of sound that can distinguish words in a particular language. English is considered to have 44 phonemes (24 consonants and 20 vowels). For example, the words pin and bin differ in their initial consonant, while the words pin and pan differ in their vowels. Therefore, /p/, /b/, /I/, and /ᴂ/ are all phonemes in the English language.
morpheme
The smallest unit of language that carries meaning. Single words can be morphemes, such as “kind” or “book”, because removing any part of either word either changes the meaning or destroys the word. Words can also be composed of multiple morphemes, such as “bookends”, which contains “book”, “end”, and the grammatical morpheme, “-s”, which provides the plural form of the word “bookend”.
function words
Words with little or no lexical meaning by themselves that are used mainly as linking or supporting words for content words (words that have lexical meaning, i.e., nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs). Three types of function words are conjunctions (and, or, but, if, etc.) prepositions (to, for, by, on, after, from, above, etc.) and articles (a, the). Function words have an important effect on the meaning of the words they accompany by showing grammatical relationships in and between sentences.
formulaic chunks (units)
Expressions or phrases that often are perceived, stored, and retrieved as single units without an understanding of their actual multi-unit structure. Such learning is thought to conserve processing resources, as well as enhance fluency and idiomaticity. Examples of formulaic chunks are “How are you?” and “Thank you very much.”
metalinguistic awareness
Knowledge that a language’s forms, structures, etc., are objects separate from meaning. Words can be defined and the sounds in a word can be identified. Children develop metalinguistic awareness in their pre-school years and can tell when, but perhaps not why, something doesn’t sound right. Metalinguistic awareness is greatly accelerated when children learn to read and begin to understand that language has form as well as meaning.
longitudinal study
A long-term study, often over several years, of the same participant or group of participants. Contrasts with cross-sectional study, in which the participants are of different ages and/or stages of development. For example, Brown (1973) carried out a longitudinal study of language acquisition by three children that lent support for the theory of developmental sequences.
register
The way a language is used for a particular type of task. Speaking and writing generally use different registers, and even different types writing tasks or speaking tasks can require different registers. For example, the register used for writing ad copy differs greatly from the register used for writing an academic paper to be published in a scholarly journal, while the register used when speaking to a friend over the phone differs greatly from that used to present a business plan to a corporate board of directors.
universal grammar
A hypothesis that posits a set of principles common to all languages. The hypothesis is associated with Chomsky’s theory of language acquisition and suggests that a child is innately equipped with a universal grammar that prevents the child from making the wrong assumptions about the rules of their language.
behaviorism
Theory of language development that suggests children learn language through imitation and practice and receive positive reinforcement for success. The child’s learning environment is very important, as is the quality and quantity of language the child receives. B. F. Skinner is a leading proponent of behaviorism.
innate
Inborn, natural. In language acquisition, the innatist perspective claims that children are born with an innate ability to learn the rules of their language through exposure to the language. Noam Chomsky is a leading proponent of the innatist perspective. From this perspective developed the theory of a universal grammar that contained principals common to all languages.
zone of proximal development
Vygotsky’s theory of a metaphorical place where children learn more language through social interaction than they would on their own. The social interaction provides children with scaffolding that supports the language knowledge they’ve already learned as well as helps them acquire new language knowledge.
connectionism
The theory that knowledge is a complex system of individual parts that become interconnected in the mind as they are encountered together. The more often the parts are encountered together, the more likely that the presence of one will lead to the recall of the other.
BICS
Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills. Theory proposed by Cummins (2000) that children use two varieties of language: interpersonal (BICS) and academic (CALP). BICS is used in conversations with peers and informal conversations with adults. BICS uses a limited range of vocabulary and expresses information informally. Children can acquire BICS relatively quickly by watching and imitating peers and teachers.
CALP
Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency. Theory proposed by Cummins (2000) that children use two varieties of language: interpersonal (BICS) and academic (CALP). CALP is used in academic tasks, such as understanding a problem in math, defining a word, or writing a scientific report. CALP uses a wider range of vocabulary and can take children several years to master. L2 learners who arrive at school with limited language knowledge can quickly fall behind in CALP knowlege, which will hinder their ability to keep up with classroom work.
