1. MEANING, THOUGHT and
REALITY in children’s
speech.
Alline Rodrigues
Cristiane Gomes
Vanessa Carmo

2. • Language?
• Sign’s System – Social part of
communication (Saussure, 1969)
• Competence and Performance
(Chomsky, 1957)

3. Language Acquisition
• EMPIRICISM
1. Behaviorism: S – A – R
2. Connectionism ; Imput and
Output

4. Language Acquisition
• RATIONALISM
1. Innatism
2. Constructivism

5. Importance?
• Comprehend the learning
proccess.
• Students’ difficulties.
• Planning classes.
• Language studies.

6. Categorical concepts

7. Semantic feature hypothesis
(Clark, 1974)
• Perceptual features.
• From general to specific.
» E.g.: dog – four legs, head,
furry...has a tail, barks.

8. Functional core hypothesis
(Nelson, 1974)
• Objects seen as a whole.
• Focus on instances, function.
»E. g.: doll – play with, cuddle
it, feed it.

9. Prototype theory (Rosch,
1973)
• Typical features.
• Common characteristics.
»E.g.: A robin is a more typical
bird than a penguin.

10. Overextension and
Underextension
• Overextension: broad use.
»E.g.: Calling all four-legged
animal a “dog”.
• Underxtension: restrict use.
»E.g.: Calling only the family
dog a “dog”.

12. “What are values?”
• “It‟s the money you have to pay to
buy something“
• Love.
• Responsability.
• Friendship.
• Respect.

13. “Give examples of opposites”:
• “Thin and skinny”
• “Fat and skinny”
• “Tall and short”
• “Wake up and sleep”
• “Stand up and sit down”
• “Full and empty”
• “A tree with apples and
a tree with no apples”

14. “How can I answer the question:
“how are you?” ?”:
• “I‟m fine.”
• “I‟m happy.”
• “I‟m so so.”
• “I‟m ok.”
• “I’m sorry.”

15. “What are means of
transportation?”
• “Car.”
• “Bus.”
• “Submarine.”
• “Electric things.”

16. “Give me examples of bugs.”
• “Ladybug.”
• “Butterfly.”
• “Cricket”
• “Bee”
• “Sticker”
• “Bunny bunny”

17. “Why is the „bad wolf‟ bad?”
• “Porque ele queria pegar a grandma.”
• “Porque ele assustou a Chapeuzinho.”
• “Porque ele queria comer a
Chapeuzinho.”
• “Porque ele queria comer a grandma e
a Chapeuzinho.”
• “Porque a Chapeuzinho correu.”
• “Porque a Chapeuzinho ficou
triste.”

18. “If the Wolf were good, he
would...
• “Tomar banho, fazer o jantar...”
• “Ia brincar com a Chapeuzinho.”
• “Ia dormir.”

19. “What is „bad‟?”
• “Quem faz coisa errada.”
• “Quando alguém bagunça.”
• “Amarrar a grandma.”
• “Fazer coisa feia.”

20. “What is „ugly‟?”

21. “Why do I call Lorena an „old
lady‟?”