Stages of First Language Acquisition_Meeting 2

Stages of First Language Acquisition

1. Stages of First Language Acquisition Meeting 2

2. Objective Explain the theories of first language acquisition.

3. 1 . First Language Acquisition

4. Language Acquisition Th e process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language, as well as to produce and use words and sentences to communicate 1 Refers to first language (L1) and second language (L2) Not to be confused with language learning Acquisition is an subconscious process that does not presuppose teaching

5. First Language Acquisition Requirements: A language-using environment Interaction with other language-users Ability to send and receive sound signals in a language

6. 2 . Stages of First Language Acquisition

7. Possible Meanings of “stage ”: Single behaviors

8. a point on a continuum . Continuity requirement It either increase or decreases One-word 100% at 1 yo but 70% at 1:6 yo Severely retarded, permanently halted at 1-word utterance Someone’s growth at a certain height is halted Adult languages Increased, plateau, increased Prolonged stage of, let’s say, three-word utterances for several weeks. A sudden increase ending in a plateu Example: - growth spurt - a rapid spurt of child’s vocabulary growth

9. Possible Meanings of “stage ”: Multiple behaviors: one behavior has succeeded another (succession requirement)

10. “Black” for black and other colors “Dog” for dogs and other 4-legged animals One-word and two-word utterances co-occur (co-occurence stage) The rapid acquisition of vocabulary and the desire to seek names are both the result of this underlying principle. (Principle of Linguistic Sign) Implication: E:g: m-sound and n-sound Principle: E.g: ‘symbolic stage’ of development One-word and two-word utterances co-occur (co-occurence stage)

11. Some proposals on stages of acquisition: Stern (1924) Nice (1925) Brown (1973)

12. Descriptive vs Explanatory Stage