1. The Language Acquisition Process Important Concepts Competence and performance –Competence: underlying knowledge of the system of a language; –Performance: actual production of language

2. Important Concepts In Language Development Innateness –Humans are born with the innate capacity to acquire language; –LAD –language acquisition device is innate; –UG—universal grammar are properties common to all languages of the world; UG allows humans to learn any language they are exposed to.

3. Important Concepts In Language Development Systematicy and variability –Human beings are “bio-programmed” to acquire language in a step-by-step -- systematic way, i.e. certain properties of language are released at certain developmental ages; –There is a remarkable amount of variability amidst this systematicity.

4. Important Concepts In Language Development Imitation –Imitation is important in the acquisition of language, especially phonology; –At early stages children manifest ‘surface imitation’ --no meaning is attached to it; –At early states children are considered ‘poor imitators’ --they are more concerned with meaning. Practice –It seems that practice is an important key to acquisition --to the formation of linguistic habits.

5. Important Concepts In Language Development Input –Input and environment are important in language acquisition; –Overall, children ignore language correctness; however, they have an innate capacity to infer correct forms and they eventually transfer correct forms to their speech repertoire offered in meaningful contexts.

6. Important Concepts In Language Development Interaction with the environment –Children have an innate capacity to acquire the language they are exposed to. –However, mere exposure is not sufficient; interaction with adults and older peers is the key to acquisition.

7. Important Concepts In Language Development Language and Cognition/Thought Relationship –Language enhances and refines intellectual development; –Language is necessary for higher abstract reasoning; –Language enables the child to think faster and more efficiently.

8. Stages in Language Acquisition Infancy: Pre-speech –Crying –Cooing –Babbling –Holophrastic stage

9. Stages in Language Acquisition Infancy: Pre-speech –Crying: begins at birth --attention, need, comfort –Cooing: end of 1 month; uses organs of articulation --liprounding, sounds produced at back of mouth All babies no matter the language they are exposed to go through these stages

10. Stages in Language Acquisition Infancy: Pre-speech –Babbling: begins at 5 th -6 th month; use of consonant-vowel combinations [ba]/[ga]; language serves to fulfill needs; language development is accompanied by gestures, pointing, reaching, touching—process of acquaintance with the world. The distinctive pitch features of the native language shows at this stage (intonation patterns are language specific)

11. Stages in Language Acquisition Holophrastic stage: –Babbling: begins at 1 year old; use of one-word utterances [milk] displaying a range of communicative functions; language is context-bound—entirely link to action. Children in bilingual homes advanced through the same stages of language as children in monolingual homes

12. Stages in Language Acquisition Toddler to Preschool –Telegraphic speech –Print awareness –Sociolinguistic awareness –Linguistic awareness –This is a stage of incredible linguistic acquisition and cognitive development and knowledge about the social functions of language.

13. Stages in Language Acquisition Toddler to Preschool –Telegraphic speech stage: 18 mo- 2 years old; production of telegraphic speech-- abbreviated utterances -two- word sentences; echoing, imitation, practice, lots of input and a great deal of language acquisition quickly. Children begin to experiment reading; writing is a symbolic representation of objects; beginning of the scribble stage

14. Stages in Language Acquisition Toddler to Preschool –Print awareness: children develop an understanding that print communicates. Bilingual children adhere to the grammar of both languages, particularly in homes where both languages are used spontaneously

15. Stages in Language Acquisition Pre-school to school age: 3-6 years of age Development of writing –Reading and writing have common developmental origins and occur simultaneously; writing seems to develop first; –Writing development is ruled-governed and systematic; –Oral and written aspects of language develop in a parallel way;

16. Stages in Development of Writing Development of writing cont.. –Initially children interpret letters as being a direct representation of object; letters have the form of objects; –Letters become recognized as being arbitrary symbols, organized in a linear fashion; –3-5 years old children develop awareness that writing communicates language;

17. Stages in Development of Writing Development of writing –Content of writing develops from speech; –Reading and writing are related—one enhances the other; –Extensive reading makes writing more sophisticated; –Children invent speech in much the same way as they invent speech.

18. Stages in Development of Writing Scribbling stages: –Pre-communicative: scribbling conveys no message; –Sense of story: able to tell story. –Integrate scribbling with letters