the nature of first language acquisition

1. Present by:
Umair jameel
Fa19-bpy-001

2. First language acquisition refers to the way children
learn their native language
It’s a subconscious process
It dose not require any education.

3. Their language development shows a high
degree of similarity among children all over
the world.
• PREDICTABILITY
• LEARNING THROUGH IMITATION
• CREATIVITY

4.  The earliest vocalizations
 –Involuntary crying
 –Cooing and gurgling
 – showing satisfaction or happiness

5.  “Babbling” –Babies use sounds to reflect the
characteristics of the different language they
are learning.

6.  First Words Around 12 months
 one or two recognizable words .
 Single-word sentences.

7.  By the age of 2
 at least 50 different words
 “telegraphic” sentences (no function words and
grammatical morphemes) e.g., “Mommy juice”,
“baby fall down”
 reflecting the order of the language. e.g., “kiss
baby”, “baby kiss”
 creatively combining words. e.g., “more
outside”, “all gone cookie”

8.  By the age of 4
– Most children are able to:
 ask questions
 give commands
 report real events
 create stories about imaginary ones with
correct word order and grammatical markers
most of the time.

9. BEHAVIORISM: SAY WHAT I SAY
 Skinner: language behavior is the
production of correct responses to stimuli
through reinforcement.

10.  imitation
(word-for-word repetition)
 practice
(repetitive manipulation of form)
 feedback on success
(positive reinforcement) habit
formation.

11.  Their imitation is selective and
based on
what they are currently learning.

12.  Chomsky (1959) argues that behaviorism cannot
provide sufficient explanations for children’s
language acquisition for the following reasons:

13.  Children come to know their language .
 False start
 –Children are by no means systematically
corrected or instructed on language by
parents.

14.  INTERACTIONISM: Bruner
 Language acquisition is an example of
children’s ability to learn from experience;
What
children need to know is essentially available
in the language they are exposed to.

16.  Competence:
ability to do something
 Performance:
manifestation of competence

17.  The innate ability to construct a mental grammar
diminishes after puberty, thus, children's ability
to learn languages diminishes after that period.
The critical period evidence, therefore, supports
Chomsky's view that all humans are born with an
innate ability to acquire a communication
system.