Language Acquisition and Comprehension Flashcards
Language Acquisition
Process by which people acquire the ability to understand and use words. Chomsky explained this process with the theory of Universal Grammar/Language Acquisition Device. Capacity is innate. Children acquire knowledge in a series of iterative stages. Age 2 basic vocab, increases, learns rapidly, by 4-6 child masters basic sentence and grammar.
Genetic Predisposition or Innate Capacity
Refers to Chomsky’s theory of a Universal Grammar that is programmed into every human brain and facilitates language development.
Social Interaction
Some experts believe that a child’s social environment is crucial to language development. Adults play an important role by giving children examples of correct usage to imitate. Exposure to more complex vocabulary. Emphasis on actually using language rather than just hearing it. Most successful second-language learners are those who want to integrate into the culture.
Sociocultural Factors
Social class has a major effect on how children use language. Sociocultural factors determine degree og language usage and skills.
Affective Factors
Personal qualities such as empathy, self-esteem, extroversion, lack of inhibition or anxiety, ability to imitate, and overall outlook tat would positively affect that acquisition of language skills
4 factors that affect language development
Genetic Predisposition or innate capacity, social interactions, sociocultural factors, and affective factors.
Bilingualism
System in which students are taught in their native language
Transitional
System that allows students to speak their own language until they have learned enough English to participate in English-only classes.
Total Immersion (Sink or Swim Approach)
Students must immediately take part in English-only classes with no transitional period.
Krashen’s Theory of Second Language Acquisition
The Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis, the Monitor Hypothesis, the Natural Order Hypothesis, the Input Hypothesis, The Affective Filter Hypothesis
The Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis
Two independent systems for learning a second language- the acquired system and the learned system. The acquired system uses a subconscious process much like the one that children go through in learning a first language. Depends on natural, meaningful communication in the target language, so that the speaker is concentrating mainly on communicating instead of on forming sentences. The learning system is the traditional process of formal instruction in a language. Acquisition is significantly more important than learning.
The Monitor Hypothesis
Acquisition and learning are related with acquisition being the initiator of an utterance and learning being its monitor or editor. The role of the monitor is minor, useful only in correcting deviations from standard speech and giving speech a more polished look. The monitor function is also used only when certain conditions are met, i.e., the learner of a second language must have time to monitor, a focus on form or correctness, and a knowledge of the rule to be monitored.
The Natural Order Hypothesis
Acquiring grammatical structures in a second language always follows a ‘natural order’ regardless of the student’s age, first language background, and conditions of exposure to the second language.
The Input Hypothesis
Concerned with acquisition and not learning, posits that a second language learner makes progress along the “natural order” of development each time he or she receives input from the second language that is one step beyond his or her current level of competence in the language.
The Affective Filter Hypothesis
A number of affective variables such as motivation, self-confidence, and anxiety, play an important ‘facilitative but non-causal’ role in language acquisition. Low motivation, lack of self-esteem, and high levels of anxiety act as filters that form a mental block, preventing the student from using comprehensible input for acquisition.
Ex. Business person who is embarrassed of misspeaking so he/she uses only known vocab and sentence structures
Syntactic Errors
Often due to the deployment of First Language rules to Second Language. Constitutes an Interlanguage, which is a crucial step in development.
Factors that affect second language development
Linguistic distance between languages, student’s level of proficiency in the first language, student’s prior knowledge of the second language, desire to integrate into language culture, peer group pressure and family influence, age of the language learner
Critical Period Hypothesis
A person’s ability to learn language peaks during early child. Children under 15 tend to achieve greater proficiency in grammar, pronunciation, and grammar, vocabulary, and comprehension
Transfer
When a speaker uses his or her second language in a way that is semantically and syntactically appropriate for the first or native language but not for the second.
Negative Transfer
When a speaker uses skills from a previously learned behavior or topic but applies them incorrectly to a new topic.
Ex. Fake-> Faked assumes that take is taked
Hypercorrection
When a person who has been corrected for a mistake in usage makes further mistakes in trying to avoid the original error.
Ex. “Me and him played soccer yesterday” tries to avoid using the objective case me altogether and incorrectly says “The teacher gave he and I the assignment yesterday.”
Borrowing
When a speaker switches into his or her first language and borrows single words or entire phrases for which he or she knows no equivalent in the second language. The result can be a hybrid language like Spanglish.
