1. Research shows that young children can learn two languages simultaneously when exposed to both languages from a young age at home. The early childhood years provide an optimal period for language learning. 2. Young children learn language through social interaction, using gestures, sounds, and responding to tones of voice from an early age. As they explore their environment and impose structure on the language they hear, their cognitive and language abilities develop. 3. When teaching a second language to young children, teachers should aim to recreate conditions similar to learning a native language at home, using strategies like motherese, focusing on concrete objects and actions, frequent repetition, and building on the child's utterances.

1. YOUNG CHILDREN
LEARNING LANGUAGES:
“Teaching English to Children: From
Practice to Principle”.Longman (1995) by
Brumfit, Jayne Moon and Ray Tongue .
Prof. Estela N. Braun-Human Sciences College, UNLPam

2. FROM MOTHER TONGUE CONTEXT TO L2 LANGUAGE
DEVELOPMENT.
 What research has to say:
 There are studies showing children develop the
use of two languages almost simultaneously in
a home where two languages are in daily use.
 The early years of childhood provide an
optimum period for learning languages: Critical
period Hypothesis (Lenneberg, 1969).
 Children learn the L1 with speed and
competence although they are unable to
understand the system/ It should be possible
to design activities to learn the L2 in the
same way.

3. The role of INTERACTION
 Potential for social and  Children play with
cognitive development . sounds at age 3 or 4
 Cognitive development months. There is growing
depends on children control of mouth, tongue
being drawn into and throat which allows
interaction with others. for the articulation
controls needed for the
 Physical handling, plus production of speech.
aural and visual
stimulation.  Children communicate
their ways by
 In the same way as REACHING, POINTING,
parents’voice , facial SMILING, FROWNING,
expression and gestures CRYING. (I
call for responses in a
baby.  Babies distinguish
between pleasant and
disapproving tones of
voice. (Bruner) Social
interaction is established
and communication is
underway.

4. How concepts are formed:
 As the investigate SPACE through
crawling, then walking more
information becomes available
through sight, hearing and touch.
 Al this helps concept formation and
they start to impose structure on the
language they hear, which is reflected
in the language that they attempt to
use.

5. Studies on L1 Acquisition
 SLA: first words between 12-18 months; two years
start of telegraphic speech as they discover the
system of the L1.
 (*) The sequence of development of the L1: notes
from Andrew Radford “Syntactic Theory and the
acquisition of English syntax”, Blackwell, 1990.
 LONGITUDINAL STUDIES.
 STRATEGIES CHARACTERISTIC OF THE SPEECH
OF YOUNG CHILDREN.
 Brown, Fraiser, Braine (1963) in two word utterances
two types of words: open/pivotal. They apply rules of
word order related to meaning

6. The emergence of syntax:
 Researchers have studied the kind of
errors children make as they move
towards grammatical competence.
The use of negatives/questions.
Responses to questions, development
of verb and noun inflections.

7. Order of Acquisition of morphemes:
 Roger Brown (1973) Order of acquisition of
morphemes (14). “Although the rate of development
may vary among children, the route will be the same.
 Villiers &Villers (1978).
 Children use certain structures before others, Slobin
(1973). LAD: all young children will develop language
as a result of innate cognitive and linguistic abilities,
whatever the context (Chomsky, 1966).
 Research: the frequency with which children were
exposed to particular structures was not a predictor of
the order of appearance in children’s talk (Brown,
1973).
 Rod Ellis, “The Study of SLA”, OUP
(1994),pages78,94.

8. Children’s experiences of the use of
language:
 1970´s: Studies on parents and caretakers´s talk.
 MOTHERESE:Parent’s talk shows some of these
characteristics:
 They talk about objects present and distinctive action.
 Reference has concrete illustration.
 They use higher pitch of voice.
 More clearly articulated speech, grammatical
simplification, frequent repetition, repetition of what
the child has said.
 Expansion or elaboration on what the child has said.

9. Learning to communicate
through talk:
 Parents use motherese intuitively and adjust it as the
child grows. There are more attempts at negotiating
meaning than at correcting the child’s use of language.
 Slowly there is incorporation of words and phrases used
earlier in conversation with adults.
 (Bruner, 1978) Patterns of interaction in children.
 Gordon Wells (1978) Bristol University, longitudinal
study 1972-1981, children’s talk at home with parents
and responses in school and educational achievement at
age 10.(between 18 months and 10 years).
 Parents: supportive approach/ tutorial approach.
 Conclusion of the study: interaction with adults through
talk involves children in the adults’ ways of thinking and
children attempt to express similar meanings.
 However, at school teacher’s talk predominates
(Tizard, Philps and Plewis, 1976) and opportunities for
children to communicate and extend their ideas are
limited.

10. Young Children learning to use an L2:
 Research shows that:
1. There are some universal processing
strategies that are used for both L1 and
L2.
2.Children gradually reconstruct rules for L2
which is becoming familiar. (Dulay&Burt,
1978).
3. The kind of interaction and contexts from
which young children will receive the most
effective support for learning an L2 has not
been the subject of much research yet.

11. Becoming attuned to a second
language:
 At school, children between 3-7 years have got
many more tools in terms of skills than two-year
olds.
 They are still unable to conceive the language as
a system.
 They are still unable to read and write so they
wholly depend on learning language through
understanding and talking.
 Articulation is well under control.
 They need to feel at home, welcome and secure
to learn the L2.

12. Best Conditions for SLA in YLE:
 “The conditions for acquiring the L2 should
resemble as afar as possible those of living
in a family where two languages are in
daily use”. We have to use strategies that
parents use intuitively.
 Period of attunement will vary: Silent
Period (Krashen, 1985).
 Wong Filmore (1979):Importance of
formulaic speech.e.g.: I don`t know, it
doesn`t matter, That’s no good. Imitation,
repetition and FS are the first strategies
children use. Implicit knowledge.

13. The teacher’s role in promoting
L2 development:
 Teachers need therefore to use
deliberately STRATEGIES that
parents use intuitively.
 TASK for trainees: Summarize
them.(pages 225.226)