Language Learning and Acquistion by chomsky ppt bed sem 1t
- 3. Language Acquisition 3 Language acquisition refers to a subconscious, effortless assimilation of linguistic knowledge and it is more often applied to the child’s mastery of a first or native language. Language acquisition is an innate process that applies to gaining an understanding of species-specific linguistic knowledge.
- 4. Language Acquisition: Main Features 4 • It does not involve conscious thought or study and children get an understanding of a language mainly by immersion. • They get a feel for what is and what isn’t correct without any awareness of grammatical rules. • In order to acquire language, the learner needs a source of natural communication.
- 5. 5 For e.g., Children pick up their native language just by being around other people, mainly their families. Such is the impact of this interaction that by the time they are five years old, they are able to express their thoughts and ideas more or less accurately from the perspective of the text and grammar of the language without any formal learning.
- 6. Language Learning 6 Language learning refers to a conscious, standard process, based on direct instruction, in order to comprehend that language and to express oneself in that language, both in spoken and written forms . Language learning is the process that most people adopt to deliberately learn a language.
- 7. Language Learning 7 Language learning is a gradual process, developing use of complex grammatical structures and vocabulary, communicative competence, comprehension of spoken and written language; and ways to express oneself.
- 8. Language Learning: Main Features 8 • It involves conscious thought or study and children get an understanding of a language by direct instruction. • They are deliberately made familiar with the rules and grammar of the language so that they can use it effectively in speaking and writing.
- 9. 9 • It focuses more on the theoretical knowledge of the language, so the learners may be aware of its grammatical rules and sentence structuring but still may not be able to use them practically to converse with the native speaker. • The learner has to make immense effort in order to use the language learned correctly for speaking and writing. Some never get mastery in it.
- 10. Difference between LA and LL •Meaning •Focus • Method LA • Picking up a language • Practical knowledge • Subconscious, implicit LL • Studying a language • Theoretical knowledge • Conscious, explicit 10
- 11. Difference between LA and LL •Situation •Grammar LA • Informal • Spontaneous, does not use grammar rules LL • Formal • Uses grammar rules 11
- 12. Difference between LA and LL •Dependency •Order of learning LA • Depends on attitude • Stable order of learning LL • Depends on aptitude • Simple to complex order of learning 12
- 14. Home Language 14 ✗ Home language is the language that a child grows up learning at home. It is the first language of the child. ✗It refers to a language or the variety of a language that is most commonly spoken by the family members for everyday interaction at home. It is also called the family language or the language of the home.
- 15. 15 ✗ This language is informally acquired by the child due to his membership in the family and not as a result of formal learning. ✗ Sometimes, the term mother tongue or mother language is used for the language that a child picks up at home. ✗ Children growing up in bilingual homes can, according to this definition, have more than one home language.
- 16. 16 ✗ It is the first language through which the child begins to explore his/her immediate world. ✗ Home language is acquired as a part of the cultural heritage and it is a powerful tool to develop preliminary understanding of the child’s socio-cultural environment. It also brings about the reflection and learning of the social patterns of behaving and speaking (socialization). Significance of Home Language
- 17. 17 ✗ The first stories, the first folklores that the child hears are in his/her home language which create a backdrop for him/her to understand his/her existence and develop his/her personal, social and cultural identity. ✗ Language acquisition in child begins in form of home language which gives him/her the power to interact with the outer world and thus becomes a means of learning further languages.
- 18. 18 ✗ Scientific research studies have established the best medium of learning for the child is his/her home language or mother tongue as it is the language that he/she is most familiar and comfortable with. Scientific evidence has shown that children starting their education through such language first and then moving on to the other languages are much more academically proficient than those who begin education through their second or third language.
- 19. 19 Characteristics of Home Language ✗ It is instinctive (swabhavik/prakritik): It is triggered by birth and proceeds naturally, though linguistic input from the environment is needed for the child to acquire a specific language. ✗ It is very rapid. The amount of time required to acquire one's home language is very short compared to that needed to learn a second language successfully later on in life.
- 20. 20 ✗ It is very complete. The quality of the home language acquisition is far better than that of a second language. One does not forget one's home language. ✗ It does not require instruction. Instructions by parents or care-takers are unnecessary in the acquisition of home language, the child naturally picks up the grammatical structure, vocabulary and rules of sentence framing.
- 21. 21 ✗ There can be a variety of a language spoken at home. There can be variation of a language spoken at home. Child can have more than one home language.
- 22. School Language 22 ✗ School language is the language that a child acquires at school. It may become the academic language of the child. ✗It refers to a language that the child is expected to learn at school. However, if we define academic language in totality, it refers to the spoken and written language proficiency that a child has to acquire in order to learn effectively in school and to participate in various academic programmes.
- 23. School Language 23 ✗Research studies have shown that when the first language of the child is also the school language, academic output is better.
- 24. School Language 24 • School language is: – the language used in the classroom – the language of the texts studied – the language of assessment – the language of academic success – the language of power
- 25. 25 • Students who master the school/academic language are more likely to: – be successful in academic and professional settings • Students who do not learn the school/ academic language may: – struggle academically – be at a higher risk of dropping out of school Significance of School Language
- 26. 26 • School language has dual purpose: It becomes the main medium of classroom instruction It is the language of the classroom lessons, books, tests, and assignments
- 27. 27 • If it is not learned, it leads to double disadvantage: In multilingual class where learners from different language backgrounds are present most of whose mother tongue or first language is different from the school language, the learners face two main challenges:
- 28. 28 They struggle to understand the language in which the teacher is teaching. It is challenging for them to understand the contents, i.e. the educational concepts and lessons, because the language is unfamiliar to them. These two challenges are known as double disadvantage.
- 29. 29 • The language used at school is highly standard or teacher-centred. • School language is the medium through which academic mastery is attained. Characteristics of School Language
- 30. 30 • Academic language includes a variety of formal-language skills such as vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, discipline-specific terminologies that allow students to acquire knowledge and academic skills. Characteristics of School Language
- 31. 31 • School language is learned at two levels: Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills(BICS) Cognitive and Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) Characteristics of School Language
- 32. 32 • It is the ability of the child to communicate in the second language (school language) provided he/she gets sufficient exposure of the language. This means that the child learns to express his/her basic feelings and needs in the language. • It is cognitively less demanding. • It takes 1-3 yrs for a language learner to develop BICS BICS
- 33. 33 • It is cognitively more demanding skill needed to attain academic proficiency. • It enables the learner to think, analyze critically and produce new knowledge which eventually helps him/her to perform better in the academic pursuit. • It takes 5-7 yrs for a learner with a strong mother tongue foundation to develop CALP in the school language and 7-10 yrs for a learner without a strong mother tongue foundation. CALP
- 34. 34 According to Haynes there are five stages of acquisition of a second language: • Preproduction • Early production • Speech emergence • Intermediate fluency, and • Advanced fluency Stages of Acquisition of School Language
- 35. 35 • Preproduction (Purva-utpadan) This is also called ‘the silent period’ in which the learner gradually takes in the school language but does not speak it. This period often lasts six weeks or longer, depending on the learner. • Early production (Prarambhik utpadan) The learner begins to speak using short words and sentences, but the emphasis is still on listening and absorbing the new language. There are many errors in the early production stage. Stages of Acquisition of School Language
- 36. 36 • Speech emergent (Vak-utpadan) Speech becomes more frequent, words and sentences are longer, but the learner is still tied to the context. Vocabulary continues to increase and errors begin to decrease, especially in common or repeated interactions. • Beginning fluency (Prarambhik pravah) Speech is fairly fluent in social situations with minimal errors. New contexts and academic language are challenging and the learner struggles to express himself due to gaps in vocabulary and appropriate phrases.
- 37. 37 • Intermediate fluency(Madhyavarti pravah) Communication is fluent, especially in social situations. The learner is able to speak almost fluently in new situations or in academic areas, but there will be gaps in vocabulary knowledge and some unknown expressions.
- 38. 38 • Advanced fluency (Uchchtar pravah) The individual communicates fluently in all contexts and can use language in new contexts and when exposed to new academic information. At this stage, the learner may still have an accent and use some expressions incorrectly at times, but he/she is essentially fluent and comfortable communicating in the school (second) language.
- 39. That’s All! 39
Editor's Notes
- #29: .As a result, these groups of students gradually stop coming to the class as they often perform poorly in the class test and other assessments they are put through.
- #31: Even though students may be highly intelligent and capable, for example, they may still struggle in a school setting if they have not yet mastered certain terms and concepts, or learned how to express themselves and their ideas in expected ways.
- #32: Even though students may be highly intelligent and capable, for example, they may still struggle in a school setting if they have not yet mastered certain terms and concepts, or learned how to express themselves and their ideas in expected ways.