This document provides an overview of a language learning course, including its content and language objectives, opening discussion cases, and a course syllabus. The content will explore properties of language, first language acquisition concepts, and the brain and language processing. Students will accomplish these through discussion, writing responses, group discussions, and exercises using context clues to understand meanings. The document outlines the course structure and assignments to help students meet the learning objectives.

2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
KyJDeF2RHMw

3. Content Objectives
• Our mission for this week will be:
– To explore the properties of language.
– To understand the key concepts regarding
first language acquisition.
– To learn about the brain and language
processing.
– To learn how to use context clues to
understand meanings.

4. Language Objectives
• We will accomplish our mission by:
– Discussing the properties of language using “What is
language in Pictures & Words”.
– Individually writing responses to opening discussion
cases associated with key concepts.
– Discussing in a group our understanding of brain areas
used for language processing
– After reading a passage, complete exercises on using
definitions, details, and examples to understand
meanings.

5. Opening Discussion Case 1
• How do you pronounce this made-up word:
“wug”? - /wʌg/
• How about “nghalmax”? Why do you have a
problem pronouncing this non-word
compared to the first one?

6. Opening Discussion Case 2
• When making a singular verb into a plural
form, how do you know whether to add
an /s/ sound as in “pits” and “sinks”,
a /z/ sound as in “lids” and “pens”, or
an /əz/ sound as in “watches” and “lodges”?

7. Opening Discussion Case 3
• Why do we say „happier” and
“prettiest”, but “more upset” and
“most excited?”

8. Opening Discussion Case 4
• Why would a child say each of the
following “errors?” What does this tell
you about first language acquisition?
(1) Child: “Daddy bringed me my shoes for
my foots.”*
(2) Adult: Who broke the window?”
Child: Well, perhaps it was John, but
perhapser it was Mary.”*

9. COURSE SYLLABUS
• Overview
• Assignments
• Due Dates
• Questions???

10. What are the properties of
language?
• Communicative: Language = primary form of
communication
• Arbitrary relationship to referents (e.g., dog - perro)
• Systematic (patterns based on rules)
• Generative/productive – We can generate an infinite
# of sentences out of a finite set of rules (Chomsky)
• Evolutionary – language changes over time; new
words are coined every year (e.g., blog)
• Cultural/conventional - symbols and their meanings
represent shared values among a group of people

11. What are the properties of
language?
• All of the Above!
• Linguists are interested in the
communicative, arbitrary, systematic,
generative, evolutionary, and culturally
specific nature of human language and
communication.

12. From a Behaviorist View to a
nativist/innatist view of Language
Acquisition
1. First Language Acquisition & Behaviorism
(F & F, pp. 1-4): B.F. Skinner (1957) –
Language is learned through imitation
(Stimlus  Response  Reinforcement).
2. Insights from Linguistics (F & F, pp. 10-
11): N. Chomsky (1959) – Critique of
Skinner; Language is too complex to be
learned by imitation and reinforcement.

13. Behavioral psychologists‟
theory of language learning
(+)Reinforcement
(praising):
increases desired
Response: behavior (habit)
Stimulus: what’s learners’ response
taught/presented to the stimulus
(-) Reinforcement:
Takes away
something Ss don’t
like (correcting) to
increase desired
behavior

14. Norm Chomsky
Chomsky’s Major Contribution to
Language Studies:
– Generative Grammar (the human brain can
generate an infinite no. of sentences from a
finite set of rules/words).
– Universal Grammar (innate linguistic
knowledge that is common to all human
languages) i.e., Language Acquisition Device
(LAD) p. 13

15. This is your brain…
• There are about 100 -200 billion
nerve cells, or neurons in the
human brain.
• The brain also contains up to 5 trillion support cells.
• Many brain neurons last for a lifetime, but between the
ages of 20 and 60, adults lose about 12,000 neurons each
day that can never be replaced.
• The brain is about 90% water.
• The brain uses about 20% of our energy.
• The brain weighs about 3 pounds.

16. Brain Development
• Growth of the brain
occurs from the inside out
and the bottom up
• You are born with
100 billion brain cells.
• There are ~ 15,000 synaptic connections for each
cell.

17. Neural Development
• The neurons in a child’s brain make more connections than
those in adults.
• The more connections made between axons (output of
the cells) and dendrites (input to the cells from the axons),
the more memories occur.
• The richer the environment, the more interconnections are
made and learning can occur faster and with greater
meaning.

18. Language
Learning language is an early
“test” of our brain’s learning
system
• It requires core learning/thinking skills
we will use throughout our lives.
• It develops the main learning tool
students need – oral language.

19. The Brain & Language
 The 2 hemispheres differ in terms of
language
 http://da.biostr.washington.edu/DA-
ATLASES/Neuroanatomy/DAmovies/brainlobesX.mov
• Left lobe/hemisphere
– Most language functions (speech, listening, reading, writing)
– Logical thought (writing, logic)
• “The explainer”
• Right lobe/hemisphere
– Spatial-relation functions
– Perception of rhythm & music, abstract or intuitive thought
– Some language functions:
• Pragmatics, sarcasm, inferences, figurative language (e.g., metaphors)

20. The Brain & Language
 2 key left hemisphere brain
areas involved in language:
 Broca’s Area
 an area of the left frontal lobe involved
in speech production, grammar, and
using grammar for comprehension
 Wernicke’s Area
 an area of the left temporal lobe
involved in language comprehension

21. The Brain & Language
 Broca’s Area and Wernicke’s Area:
 2 of the first brain areas discovered to have
specific functions (Broca, 1861; Wernicke,
1874)
 Discovered through working with patients
having severe language difficulties.
 After death, these patients were found to have
brain damage in consistent areas.

22. The Brain & Language
 Aphasia
 Language impairment, usually caused by left
hemisphere damage either to Broca’s area
(impairing speech & grammar) or to Wernicke’s
area (impairing speech planning & language
comprehension)

25. The Brain & Language
 Aphasia
 Language impairment, usually caused by left
hemisphere damage either to Broca’s area (impairing
speech & grammar) or to Wernicke’s area (impairing
speech planning & language comprehension)
 Broca’s aphasia
 Wernicke’s aphasia
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVhYN7NTIKU&feature=related

26. Recapping the Brain and
Language
• Speech
comprehension
– Area of the left
temporal lobe
– Wernicke‟s Area
(receptive region in
left hemisphere)
allows us to
comprehend speech
and put words into
correct order when
speaking.

28. The Brain and Language
• Seeing Words
– Occipital Lobe
– Primary center for
processing visual
stimuli.
– Visual stimuli are not
meaningful until
sensory perceptions
are matched with
previously stored
cognitive
associations.

29. Brain Areas Involved in
Reading Words Aloud

30. The Bilingual Brain
 Bilinguals’ brain activations for L1 & L2:
 Are L1 and L2 represented together (same
areas) or separately in the brain?
 Does this differ for comprehension vs. speech
production & grammar?
 Does this differ between early or late L2
learners?

31. The Bilingual Brain
• Let’s watch “The Bilingual Brain” to
learn how language helps us to
understand more about our brains.

32. The Bilingual Brain
All Bilinguals’ activity in Wernicke’s Area:
Typical subject
(n = 12)
 Both Early & Late bilinguals
Kim et al. (1997)  similar activation of Wernicke’s area for L1 & L2

33. The Bilingual Brain
Early Bilinguals’ activity in Broca’s Area:
Typical early
bilingual (n = 6)
 Early bilinguals:
Kim et al. (1997)
 similar activation of Broca’s area for L1 & L2

34. The Bilingual Brain
Late Bilinguals’ activity in Broca’s Area:
Typical late bilingual (n = 6) All 6 late bilinguals
 Late bilinguals:
Kim et al. (1997)
 different parts of Broca’s area activated for L1 vs. L2

35. The Bilingual Brain
 Fluent bilinguals’ brain activations for L1 & L2:
Comprehension area may be the same for both L1 &
L2, but speech production area (e.g., pronunciation)
may differ if L2 is acquired late (Kim et al., 1997).
 Similar findings of shared vs. separate areas for early
vs. late L2 learners in many studies (Fabbro, 2001).
• What does the brain imaging tell you about bilingual
processing?
• How would you incorporate this information into bilingual
education?

36. The Brain and Language
• Among early bilinguals, L1 and L2 are in the
same brain region and processed by the
same neural devices.
• For later bilinguals, some brain areas (within
Broca’s area) are different for L1 & L2.

37. Language, Thinking and
Learning
• Language shapes cognitive (thinking)
process and vice versa.

38. The Brain Mechanism and
Language Processing
• Eliminate Irrelevant Information
– Skilled learners eliminate irrelevant information for
better comprehension– Gernsbacker (1993, 1995)
– Bilinguals’ ability to inhibit L1 to allow L2
production to proceed (Kroll, 2010).
• Enrich the Environment
– The more enriched the environment is, the more
dendritic branching occurs for better performance
(Greenough et al., 1992)

39. Implications for Teaching
• Teachers can apply brain mechanisms
to guide their students to focus on key
information by eliminating unnecessary
details while reading.
• Engage students in activities to promote
interactions and making connections.

40. In Review…
Complete one of the following prompts using one
word:
– Language is…
– Language can be…
– Language leads to…
– Language is composed of…
– Language promotes…
– Language processing is …

41. Using top-down information
to predict text content
• Rely on top-down information (e.g.,
titles, headings, and illustrations) to
predict the content of the text
• Activating their knowledge of the world.
• What is your prediction about chapter
three of the course text?

42. Using context clues to
understand meanings
• Context clues = learn new words by
paying attention to the other words in
the sentence (Yaworski, 2006, pp. 78-87).
1) Definitions
2) Details
3) Examples

43. 1) Definitions
• Authors define new terms with in the
context of a sentence by setting the
definition apart with the verbs (is/are,
is/are called, is/are known as).
Ex. A professional portfolio is a
collection of work that documents an
individual’s accomplishments in an area
of professional practice.

44. Exercise1-a: Definitions
• Identify the key term being defined with its
definition.
• A practicum is a short-term field-based
experience that allows teacher education
students to spend time observing and
assisting in classrooms.
• What is the term being defined: ________
• Underline its definition.

45. Exercise1-b: Definitions
• According to many psychologists
phobias are irrational fears represent
symbolic repressed anxiety. The most
useful treatment has been behavior-
modification therapy.
• A phobia is: (a) a psychologist, (b) fear,
(c) symbol, (d) treatment

46. 2) Details
• The term rhythmic is often used to
describe music that features simple
patterns, such as ONE two ONE two,
repeating over and over again, but that
is not really correct. Such patterns
should be described as metrical, or
strongly metrical, not rhythmic.

47. Exercise 2-a: Details
• Identify the key term being defined and create
a definition from the details.
• The basic unit for measuring time in music is
the beat. When listening to a marching band,
to take a clear example, we surely sense a
regular recurrence of short durational units.
• What is the term being defined?: ________
• What is its definition?:___________________
____________________________________

48. Exercise 2-b: Details
• Oral history or the use of the tape recorder to capture
memories of the past in private interviews, has
become increasingly popular among professional
historians. American historians interviewed people
about their experiences during important events such
as the Great Depression.
• Oral history is: (a) private interviews, (b) the
recording of people’s memories, (c) experiences
during important events, (d) the history of tape-
recording

49. 3) Examples
• Prices serve as signals to producers and
consumers. If consumers want more of any
good, the price will rise, sending a signal to
producers that more supply is needed. For
instance, when a terrible disease reduces
beef production, the supply of beef decreases
and raises the price of hamburgers. The
higher

50. Exercise 3-a: Examples
• Identify the term being defined and find
examples that support the meaning.
• Creatures such as the camel and the penguin
are so highly specialized that they can only
live in certain areas of the world.
• Term: _________________
• Examples:____________________________
____________________________________

51. Exercise 3-b: Examples
• Much can be done to stop the process of
desertification. For example, as asphalt can be
sprayed onto sand dunes, and seeds of trees and
shrubs can then be planted. The oil stabilizes the
sand and retains moisture, allowing vegetation to
become established where the desert had previously
taken over.
• Desertification is the: (a) spraying of oil onto sand
dunes, (b) planting of trees and shrubs, (c) vegetation
becoming established, (d) desert taking over a fertile
area