1. STAGES OF FIRST LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
CHAPTER 13 B
STAGES OF FIRST LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

2. First Language Acquisition: General Characteristics and Requirements
1- Children are born with a special capacity for language

3. Things to remember We acquire language in stages
All normal children develop language at roughly same time, along much the same schedule.
All of us go through similar stages
We don’t merely imitate sounds around us
We are genetically predisposed to acquisition
Our brains are hardwired to handle language
A child must be able to hear language being used in order to be able to speak.
Caregiver speech uses simple sentences, a lot of repetition, and paraphrasing.
We are focusing on the English acquisition process

4. Pre-linguistic Stages
Crying
- Birth-2 months any involuntary vocal production
Cooing – 5 months primarily vowel like sounds [i], [u]
Babbling months primarily syllable like sounds (ba-ba-ba; ma-ma-ma)
Linguistic Stage

5. Linguistic Stages Telegraphic Speech
ONE-Word Stage
12th to 18th month: single- unit utterances
Speech in single terms and everyday items: ‘milk’, ‘cookie’, ‘cat’, ‘cup’, ‘mama’
Holophrastic = a single form that functions as a phrase or sentence. Example: ‘Milk!’ = “Give me milk!”
Generally used to name objects
Extension of its use to more complex circumstances
TWO-Word Stage
18th to 20th month
Child’s vocabulary: around 50 words
Baby chair, mommy eat, cat play
Communication: after production of speech child receives feedback. This is interaction
24th month: 200 to 300 words
Telegraphic Speech
Between 2 and 2 ½ years old: multiple word speech
Strings of words in phrases or sentences
Almost complete sentences
Correct word order
Inflections (wants, cats) and prepositions (in, on)
Variation in word-forms
Physical development: running and jumping
Adult’s influence in child’s speech development

6. Guess the age of the child

7. Language acquisition, imitation, and correction
First language is not taught but acquired over time
Deaf children stop making utterances after 6 months
Children’s language journey incorporates a lot of mistakes, errors, repetition, and trial
Children do not simply imitate adults, they actively construct words and phrases based on the rules they pick up intuitively.
Studies show that adult’s correction of children’s speech does not help much, they have their own way of saying things. They may repeat for a moment but they go back to their own way after a moment.
A child neither imitates an adult not accepts correction.

8. Correction Child: Want one other spoon, Daddy.
Father: You mean, you want the other spoon.
Child: Yes, I want one other spoon, please Daddy.
Father: Can you say “the other spoon”?
Child: Other…one…spoon.
Father: Say “other.”
Child: Other.
Father: “Spoon.”
Child: Spoon.
Father: “Other spoon.”
Child: Other…spoon. Now give me one other spoon.
Quoted in Braine, 1971

9. Verb “Woodstock”
Noah: This is Woodstock. (bobbing a stuffed Woodstock toy in Adam’s face) Adam: Hey Woodstock, don’t do that. (Noah persists) Adam : I’m going home so you won’t *Woodstock me.

10. Children’s speech is creative and shows comprehension, even when the child is unable to repeat exactly what has been said: Father: “The owl that eats candy runs fast.” Child: “Owl eat candy and he run fast.”

11. Development of Morphology
Children already learn a great deal of vocabulary and grammatical rules by the age of 2 ½ years. After this phase they try to incorporate different morphology in their sentences.
Begins with –ing ( brother reading, mommy watching, etc.)
That is followed by the use of regular plural -s (boy-boys, dog-dogs) they overgeneralize it to the nouns like (foot-foots vs feet vs feets; tooth-tooths vs teeth vs teeths)
Almost at the same time they start using various forms of ‘be’ verb (am, is, are, was, etc.)
They use regular past forms (walk-walked; move-moved; play-played)
The overgeneralize the past making procedure and use it with any verb they come across to denote past (go-goed vs went vs wented, walk-walked vs walkeded, come-comed vs came vs camed, do-doed vs did)
Parents do not necessarily be alarmed or vexed to hear the above expressions. They indicate that their child is trying to use different structures and try to make sense.

12. Overgeneralization example…
Child: My teacher holded the baby rabbits and we patted them.
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 and we patted them.
Mother: Did you say she held them tightly?
Child: No, she holded them loosely.
4 year old quoted in Cazden, 1972

13. Development of Syntax
Syntax is the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language. (Proper placement of nouns, verbs, etc.)

14. Forming Questions
This skills develops in phases: First Phase (18 months – 26 months): Simply adds –wh expressions before a word or phrase and/or utters with rising intonation, like Where mom? Dad? Why go? Where cat go? Second Phase (22 months-3 months): Still rely on intonation but are able to form complex form, like See my toy? What book name? You want eat? Third Phase (24 months -40 months): Able to use auxiliary verbs; know that verbs should precede nouns; may still feel comfortable to use –wh words; still have some traces of overgeneralization, like Can I see that? Why she can’t eat an apple? How that opened? Will you help me?

15. Forming Negatives Similar to Question, this skill develops in phases
First Stage: Children just put the word ‘no’ in front of the expression, like
no mitten not teddy bear no fall no sit here
Second Stage: use the words ‘no/not’ in front of verbs rather than nouns, more negative markers like ‘don’t; can’t’ are used, like
She not go. I can’t do it. He don’t give me. They not play.
Third Stage: Use huge range of auxiliary verbs; adult like competency; still make errors; the expression ‘isn’t’ does not appear until the beginning of this phase, like
I didn’t catch it. She won’t let go. This isn’t ice cream. Nobody don’t like me.

16. Developing Semantics
Meaning making capacity of child grows over time. Funny anecdotes are available of children who group similar looking things together.
Overextension: extension of meaning based on similarities of shape, sound, size, color (also movement and texture)
Examples:
Child uses the word apple to mean apple, tomato, and ball
Child says ‘daddy’ to every male of her/his father’s age and ‘mommy’ to the women
Child uses the word cat to mean cat and dog

17. Discussion Questions
What are children doing along their process of first language acquisition?
From your own experiences as learners and users of your first language, what experiences can you recall of these processes, both at home and at school?
Why is knowledge in this area necessary for future language teachers? (English Language Arts, English as a Foreign Language, English as a Second Language)?
How does this knowledge prepare you to read about and understand Second Language Acquisition Theories?

18. How Children Learn Language
Steven Pinker is a Psychologist and Linguist at Harvard.