Chapter 13 (First Language Acquisition) and Chapter 14 (Second Language Acquisition) from "The Study of Language" by George Yule.

1. Chapter 13 & 14
 Ellysa Debby Lunginus
 Mohd. Syahirul B. Johar

2. Chapter 13
First Language Acquisition

3. First Language Acquisition
 studies infants' acquisition of their
native language.
 Each infant has special capacity for
language.

4. Acquisition
 A child requires interaction with other language
users.
 Case of Genie
 Does not hear or allowed to use language will
learn no language.

5. Caregiver speech
 Speech often used by adults with young children.
 Simple sentence structure, a lot of repetition and
paraphrasing.
 Example:
Is muvver's 'ittle cutey takin' its 'ittle beauty
nap after its din-din? Did it like its din-din?
Good din-din with chicken in it for
'ittle cutey baby!

6. The acquisition schedule
Children develop language at roughly same time,
hence the same schedule.
Cooing
 Earliest use of speech like sounds.
 Two to five months old.
 Capable of producing vowels similar to (i) and (u),
velar consonants (k) and (g)
 Differentiate between (i) and (a) , (ba) and (ga)

7. Babbling
 6-8 months : A number of different vowels and
consonants such as ba-ba-ba and ga-ga-ga.
 9-10 months : Variation in combinations such as ba-ba-
da-da. Nasal sound become more common and and
certain syllable such as ma-ma-ma and da-da-da
interpreted by parents as “mama” and “Dada”.
 10-11 months : expressing emotions
and emphasis. More complex syllable combinations
(ma-da-ga-ba)

8. One Word Stage
 12 to 18 months, produce variety of single unit
utterances. Such as “Cookie”,”cup”.
 Usually everyday objects used.
 Holophrastic speech. A single form functioning as a
phrase or sentence.
Example : “peach”,”Daddy”,”spoon” – to
describe a situation where Daddy had cut a
piece of peach that was in a spoon rather
than say it in a full sentence like the adult
does.

9. Two Word Stage
 Two distinct word used together.
 Begin around 18-20 months.
 Child’s vocabulary moves beyond fifty words.
 Generally two nouns or a noun and a verb.
 Examples: big boat, doggie bark, mama dress.

10. Telegraphic Speech
 Two and Three years old.
 Child begins to produce large number of
utterances.
 This stage contains many three and four word sentences.
 Child begins to see the links between words and objects and therefore
overgeneralization comes in.
 Child starts to incorporate plurals, joining words and attempts to get a grip
on tenses.
 Examples :-Mummy eat carrot…
-What her name?
-He is playing ball.

11. The Acquisition process
Process of learning the language.
Imitation
 Child may repeat single word or phrases but not the
sentence structure.
 Example : The cat is cute. ~ Cat cute.
 Children understands what adult say but express it in
their own way.

12. Correction
 Adults attempt to correct child speech.
 An unlikely determiner of how child speaks.
 Child will still not follow the words corrected by adults.
 Example:
Child : My teacher holded the baby rabbits.
Mother: Did you say your teacher held the baby rabbits?
Child : Yes
Mother: What did you say she did?
Child : She holded the baby rabbits.
Mother: Did you say she held them tightly?
Child : No, she holded them loosely.

13. Developing morphology
 Process after telegraphic speech.
 Usually inflectional morphemes.
 First to appear is the –ing form such as cat sitting.
 Next is the regular plurals with –s form, as in boys.
 Possessive inflection –’s such as Mummy’s book.
 Different forms of verb “to be” such as are and was.
 At about the same time, irregular past tense such as went and came should be
noted.

14. CONT…..
 Once the regular past tense form starts appearing such as – ed
(walked,jumped) the irregular past tense form may disappear
for a while.
 The – ed inflection may be added to everything such as goed
and comed.
 Finally the regular –s on third person singular present tense
verbs such as comes and looks and then auxiliaries (does,has).

15. Developing syntax
Forming Questions.
 First stage. (18-26 months)
Add wh- form (where,who) to the beginning or utter the
expression with rise in intonation at the end.
Example : “Where Kitty?” or “Doggie?”
 Second Stage. (22-30 months)
More complex expression, rising intonation continues, more wh-
forms such as what and why come into use.
Example : What book name?
You want eat?

16. Cont…
 Third stage.(24-40 months)
The presence of auxiliary verb, the wh- questions don’t really
have same structure as adult speech and the continuous
problems with morphology of verbs.
Example:
Can I have a piece?, Did I caught it?
Why kitty can’t stand up? , How that opened?

17. Forming negatives
 First stage. (18-26 months)
Putting no or not at the beginning.
Examples : No mitten, Not a teddy bear, no fall.
 Second stage (22-30 months)
Don’t and Can’t appear,no and not increasingly used in
front of the verb.
Examples : He no bite you, I don’t want it.
 Third stage (24-40 months)
Auxiliary forms appear, typical stage one disappear,some
stage two forms used for quite a long time.
Example: I didn’t caught it, She won’t let go.

18. Developing semantics
 Process called overextension which means
child overextend meaning of a word by the
basic similarities.
 Example: Basketball
* reference to any round object, but then
change its meaning to a round, orange, and
grooved ball that bounces.

19. SECOND LANGUAGE
ACQUISITION (SLA)
Click For Funny Video on SLA

20. Definition
simply defined as
a process by
which people learn
another language
other than their
mother tongue
sometimes can be a 3rd or 4th language
in a bilingual or a multilingual society
where the children had already learnt
as well as exposed to 2 or sometimes
more language since they were little

21. Acquisition and Learning
Acquisition Learning
• used to refer the gradual development
of ability in a language by using it
naturally in communicative situations
with the others who know the language.
• usually takes place without a teacher.
 applies to a more conscious process of
accumulating knowledge of the features
of a language, such as pronunciation,
vocabulary and grammar.
 typically in an institutional setting, with
teachers.
Example : Mathematics is learned not acquired.

22. Acquisition barriers
 Experience with L2 is different from experience with L1.
 Students usually encounter L2 since in their school until university or colleges
for a few hours each week and at the same time there are a lot of
things going on in their student's life.
 They also had developed an unconscious commitment to the sounds and
structures of an already known language that has been in use for most of their
daily communicative requirements for many years.
 However, eventhough students don't have enough time to learn L2 in school
which obviously not enough in order to master the language, there are some
students or individuals that have overcome the difficulties and develop an
ability to use the L2 quite effectively, though not usually sounding like a native
speaker.

23.  Even in ideal acquisition situations, very few adults seem
to reach native-like proficiency in using L2.
 Some can achieve great expertise in written language, but
not the spoken language.
 Example :
Joseph Conrad
- wrote novels in English that became the classic of English
literature.
- his speech in English retained a strong Polish accent (his
L1).
• This suggests that some features of L2, such as
vocabulary and grammar are easier to learn than others,
such as pronunciation.
• Thus, without early experience of using the
sounds and intonation of L2, even highly fluent and
proficient adult learner are likely to be perceived as having
an "accent" of some kind.

24. The Age Factor
 It is believed that after the critical period for language
acquisition has passed, around the time of puberty, it becomes
very difficult to acquire another language fully.
 We might think of this process in terms of our inherent capacity for
language being strongly taken over by features of the L1.
 However, it has been shown that students in their early teens are
quicker and more effective L2 learners in the classroom than, for
example, seven-year-olds.
 The optimum age for learning may be from 10 to 16 years
old where the flexibility of our inherent capacity for language has not
been completely lost and the maturation of cognitive skills allows a
more effective analysis of the regular features of the L2 being learned.

25. Affective Factors
 Even in the optimum age, there are still acquisition barrier of quite a
different kind.
 Teenagers are much more self-conscious than younger children.
 Self-conscious + unwillingness/ embarrasment = may override
whatever physical and cognitive abilities.
 Self-conscious + lack of empathy with the other culture = subtle effects
of not really wanting to sound like a Russian or a German or an
American may inhibit the learning process.
 Dull textbooks, unpleasant classroom surroundings or an exhausting
schedule of study and/or work can also cause this type of reaction, or
"affect".

26.  All these negative feelings or experiences are called affective
factors.
 They can create a barrier to acquisition.
 Negative emotions like stressed, uncomfortable, self-conscious or
unmotivated will only prevent us from learn anything.
 However, learners that have positive traits like self-confidence, low
anxiety and a positive self-image, seem better able to overcome
difficulties encountered in the learning space.
 Children are generally less constrained by affective factors because
they can quickly overcome their inhibitions as they tried using new
words and phrases.
 Adults can also can do the same thing but only sometimes if they do not
think of their self-consciousness.

27. Teaching Method
The Communicative
Approaches
The Grammar-Translation
Method
The Audiolingual
Method

28. The Grammar-Translation Method
 This is the most traditional approach.
 This method has its roots in the traditional teaching of Latin.
 Vocabulary lists and sets of grammar rules are used to define the target of learning .
 Memorization is encouraged.
 Written language is emphasized more than the spoken language.
 Although this method clearly produced many successful L2 users over the centuries, it has been
noted that students can leave school, get high grades in French but still at loss when confronted by
French in France on how they actually use their language.

29. The Audiolingual Method
 Emphasizing on spoken language and the method became popular in the middle of
20th century.
 Involved a systematic presentation of the structures of L2, moving from simple
to complex, in the form of drills that the students had to repeat.
 Strongly influenced by a belief that the fluent use of language was essentially a
set of "habits" that could developed with practised.
 The practice involved hours of language laboratory repeating oral drills.
 Versions of this approach are still used in teaching language, but its critics have pointed
out that isolated practice in drilling language patterns bears no resemblance to the
interactional nature of actual spoken language use.
 It can be incredibly boring.

30. The Communicative Approaches
 More recent revisions of the L2 learning experience.
 Partially a reaction against the artificiality of "pattern
practice" and also against the belief that consciously learning
the grammar rules of a language will result in an ability to use
the language.
 There are many versions of how to create communicative experiences
for L2 learners, they are all based on a belief that the functions
of the language should be emphasized more rather than the
forms
of the language.

31. Focusing on
The Learner
Focusing on
The Learner
Input and Output
Transfer Interlanguage
Motivation

32. Error
 One radical feature of most communication approaches is the
toleration of "errors" produced by students.
 Traditionally, "errors" were regarded negatively and they had to be
avoided or eradicated.
 The more recent acceptance of such errors in learners' use of the L2 is
based on a fundamental shift in perspective from the more traditional
view of how L2 learning takes place.
 An "error" is not something that hinders a student's progress but is
probably a clue to the active learning progress being made by
the student as they tries out way of communicating in the
new language.

33. Transfer
 Some errors may be due to "transfer" or also called as "crosslinguistic influence".
 Transfer: using sounds, expressions or structures from L1 when performing in L2.
 If the L1 and L2 have similar features, then the learners may be able to benefit from
the positive transfer of L1 knowledge to the L2.
 However, transferring of L1 features that is really different from the L2 will
results in negative transfer and it may make the L2 expression difficult to
understand.
 The impact of negative transfer on communicative success tends to be greater when
the L1 and L2 are really different types of language, making the task of becoming
proficient in English more demanding for Chinese than a German speaker.
 Negative transfer ("interference") is more common in the early stages of
L2 learning and often decreases as the learner develops greater
familiarity with the L2.

34. Interlanguage
 Considered to be the basis of all L2 production.
 On close inspection, the language produced by L2 learners contain a
large number of "errors" that seem to have no connection to the forms
of either the L1 of L2.
 Example: The Spanish L1 speaker who says in English He
name is Bo is producing a form that is not used by adult
speakers of English, does not occur in English L1
acquisition by children, and is not based on a structure in
Spanish.
 This suggests that there is some in-between system used in the L2
acquisition process that certainly contains aspects of the L1 and L2,
but which is an inherently variable system with rules of its own.

35.  Language can be fossilized if some learners develop a fairly
fixed repertoire of L2 expressions, containing many forms that
do not match the target language, and seem not to be
progressing any further.
 The process of fossilization in L2 pronunciation seems to be the most
likely basis of what is perceived as a foreign accent.
 But, an interlanguage is not designed to fossilize.
 It will naturally develop and become a more effective means of L2
communication given appropriate conditions.

36. Motivation
 Motivation is obviously important when we are
going to learn something.
 Instrumental motivation : the desire to learn L2 in order to achieve
some other goal, such as completing a school graduation requirement
or being able to read scientific publications, but they are not really
planning on engaging in much socual interaction using the L2.
 Intergrative motivation : the desire to learn L2 for social purposes,
in order to take part in the social life of a community using that
language and to be accepted as a member in the community.
 Those who experience some success in L2 communication are among
the most motivated to learn. Hence, motivation may be as much a
result of success as a cause.

37. Input and output
 Input (L1 acquisition) : to describe the language that the learner is
exposed to.
 Input (L2 learning) : has to be comprehensible, because we can't
process what we don't understand.
 Comprehensible input : input can be made comprehensible by
being simpler in structure and vocabulary, as in variety of speech called
foreign talk.
 Example :
Native speakers of English may try to ask an international student How
are you getting on in your studies?, but, if they don't understand, may
switch to English class, you like it?
 This type of foreigner talk may be beneficial, not only for immediate
communication, but also for providing the learner with comprehensible
examples of the basic structure of the L2 as input.

38.  Negotiated input : L2 material that the learner can acquire in
interaction through requests for clarification while active attention is
being focused on what is said.
 Example : (textbook, m/s 193)
 The learner experiences the benefit of both receiving input
(hearing the L2) and producing output (speaking the L2).
 The opportunity to produce comprehensible output in meaningful
interaction seems to be another important element in the learner's
development of L2 ability, yet it is one of the most difficult things to
provide in large L2 classes.

39. Task-based Learning
 One solution has been to create different types of tasks and activities in which learners have
to interact with each other, usually in small groups or pairs, to exchange information
or solve problem.
 In this task-based learning method, the
students will be able to improve their
ability, especially their fluency, by using L2
in the activities prepared.
 Despite fears that learners will simply learn
each other's "mistake", the results of this
method provide an overwhelming evidence
of more and better L2 use by more learners.
 The real goal is that the learners will be able to develop their communicative
competence in L2.

40. Communicative Competence
 Communicative competence : the general ability to use language
accurately, appropriately and flexibly.
 Components of communicative competence :
1st - Grammatical competence
2nd - Sociolinguistic competence
3rd - Strategic competence
 Grammatical competence :
- the ability to use accurate of words and structures.
- however, focusing on grammatical competence only will not provide
the learner with the ability to interpret or produce L2 expressions
appropriately.

41.  Sociolinguistic competence :
- the ability to use appropriate language
- enables the learners to know when to say Can I have some water? versus
Give me some water! according to the social context.
 Strategic competence :
- the ability to organize a message effectively and to
compensate, via strategies, for any difficulties.
- in L2 use, learners inevitably experience moments when there is a gap
between communicative intent and their ability to express that intent.
- some learners may just stop talking (bad idea), whereas others will try to
use communication strategy (good idea) to express themselves.
- the flexibility in L2 use is the key element in communicative success.

42. Applied Linguistics
 In order to investigate the complex nature of second language learning,
we have to appeal to ideas not from linguistic analysis, but from other
fields such as communication studies, education, psychology and
sociology.
 Applied linguistics: an interdisciplinary field of linguistics that
identifies, investigates, and offers solutions to language-related real-life
problems.
 Concerned with practical issues involving language and its role in
everyday life.
 It represents an attempt to deal with large range of real-world issues
involving language, applied linguistics has created connections with
fields as diverse as anthropology, neurolinguistics, social psychology
and sign language studies.

43. THE END
QUESTIONSQUESTIONS