How Acquisition of Language Occurs In Children
Write a two-part essay which reviews key relevant theories of
SLA.
Special Instructions: Write a two-part report on the study of the initial development of
language in a child.
In Part 1, consider four key current research questions:
i. Is language learnt, or acquired? ;
ii. Which is key to acquisition: ‘nature’, or ‘nurture’?
iii. Do young learners pick up language as ‘chunks’ or is
acquisition of the language system highly organized?
iv. Do researchers agree that there are recognized ‘stages’ in
L1and L2 acquisition?
Part 1 – Literature review:
Bainbridge, C., retrieved August, 2014 from Gifted
kids.about.com/language learning
Research Sheds Light on How Babies Learn and Develop
Language
Berk, L. E. (2009) pp. 359 -390) Boston, MA Pearson
Higher Education
Child development (8th Edition) Chapter 9 Language
Development
Bhattachargee, Y. (2015) pp. 58 – 77 National
Geographic, January 2015. Vol. 227. No. 1
The first year
Kopko, K. (retrieved August, 2014 from Human Devt &
Outreach, Cornell University www.human.cornell.edu)
How do children learn language?
Lust, B. (retrieved August, 2014 from Human
Development & Outreach, Cornell University
www.human.cornell.edu)
Discovering child language and cognitive growth
M c Glothlin, J. D. (1997) The Internet TESL Journal
A child’s first steps in language learning (retrieved on 28 th
August, 2014, from http://iteslj.org/Articles/McGlothlin-
ChildLearn.html.)
Solution
Introduction
Understanding the initial stages of child development is interesting since it is mainly
centered on a child’s language development. Children are born with the ability to learn and
learning begins at birth and develops in defined stages as the child grows. It has been observed
that all children, no matter what language they speak, learn in the same way. The paper will tend
to focus and explain certain issues revolving around a child’s development. The major ones
include, whether language is learnt or acquired, the keys to acquisition whether nature or nurture,
whether language is developed as chunks or is acquired in a defined order and whether
researchers agree whether there are recognized stages in L1 and L2 acquisition.
Part 1 Is Language Leant or Acquired
Language is learned not acquired as proven by Carol Bainbridge who is a gifted
children’s expert. She asserts that children learn language in three defined stages namely learning
sounds, learning words and lastly learning sentences. When children are born can hear and make
all the sounds they hear in their surrounding but careful assessments has shown that it is at this
stage that they differentiate which sound or phonemes are associated with the language they are
learning. After learning the words, the children then learn how to construct words from the
sounds they hear. Children at this stage learn how to coordinate the sounds they hear to make
word. It is also at this stage that they develop word boundaries meaning, a child is able to
identify where a word ends and where another begins (Bainbridge, 2015). Learning sentence
construction seems to be the last stage in language development in a child since he or she can put
two or three words in a correct order to produce meaning.
Keys to a child’s acquisition nature: nature or nurture
LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT 3
The key to a child’s acquisition is nurture and not nature. Parents and guardians play a
crucial role in how children develop their language and it is attributed to how they nurture their
children from birth to the late stages of development. Different studies have proven that a child
who is read to and spoken to has a higher probability of developing good grammar and many
vocabularies than those who are not. Laura Berk who is a renowned researcher and professor has
carefully assessed the difficulties of child development by presenting classic and emerging
theories in clear engaging styles with many research based, real world and cross cultural
examples (Berk, 2013, p.363). Her research supports fully that the explanation to a child
acquisition is how it is nurtured and does not learn from nature. She goes further to give some
simple ways to nurture a child language development. Gardephe recommends that parents should
read, talk, enjoy music together with their children, tell them stories, follow their children’s lead
and to never at any given time criticize their children pronunciation or speech patterns
(Gardephe, 2016).
How Acquisition of Language Occurs In Children
Babies acquisition of language has been realized to occur in a highly organized way not
as chunks as perceived by some individuals. Dr. Casasola of Cornell University asserts that
infants learn about their language well before they develop the ability to speak (Kopko, 2014).
Parents too have observed that their infants are able comprehend what they hear before they are
able to pronounce them. Dr. Casasola’s research is based on the difficulty that children have
while learning language and how the use of story words and events encourages learning.
Kimberly Kopko in the article aims at establishing the relationship between cognition and
language development in a child by answering three main questions namely how do babies learn,
LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT 4
how do they develop language and the interaction between learning and development of
language (Kopko, 2014).
Experiments on acquisition conducted on a child, proved that children learn language
based on a set of highly set of rules containing five systems namely phonology, morphology,
syntax, semantics and pragmatics. Phonology denotes the sound arrangement of language;
morphology means the units of meaning in language; syntax stands for the manner in which
words are arranged and combined into phrases and sentences; semantics describe the way
language is developed by use of words and sentences; pragmatics stands for all the rules and
regulations for language use in different circumstances (Kopko, 2014). Kopko has given
sufficient proof supporting the fact that acquisition of language develops in a highly organized
way.
L1 and L2 acquisition
Multilingualism in children is the acquisition of multiple languages while bilingualism is
the acquisition of two languages a first and second language. Monolinguals are individuals who
have acquired only a first language. Experimental results from the Cornell Early Childhood
center have proven that children learning a second language which is English in this instance
have shown considerable success rate of grammatical knowledge compared to English
monolinguals (Yang & Lust, 2014). Though they begun with some difficulties, they were able to
manage and learn fast ultimately reaching the monolingual mean. Comprehensive research and
results prove that children can learn one or more languages and will happen efficiently and
naturally if they are surrounded by the languages. Though concerns have been raised about
potential confusion, language delay and cognitive deficit, it has been observed that bilinguals and
multilingual are not affected in any way (Yang & Lust, 2014).
LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT 5
Part 2 Brief Extract
The brief extract will play a significant role in explaining the descried topics in part 1
from a realistic perspective giving relevant examples where possible. An article from the internet
TESL Journal Archives titled ‘A Child’s First Step in Language Learning’ by J. Doug
McGlothlin tends to explain the whole process of language development from child birth to a
certain age. McGlothlin and his wife carried out the research on their second born son to try and
ascertain what happens for a child to develop language. The couple has no comprehensive record
of exactly what happened but they have record of the sounds and words their son produced at his
early stages of development (M c Glothlin, 1997). In first eight months of their son’s development,
no words with any understandable meaning were noted thus was hard to record.
From the eight to the tenth month, the child was noted to be making great improvement
as he was able to pronounce words with their right meaning and in the right context. As from the
tenth month onwards, the child was noted to have learnt many vocabularies especially the names
of things surrounding him and those that he probably had heard being mentioned by his parents.
He was also able to construct simple sentences that had meaning especially while requesting for
something (M c Glothlin, 1997). A brief assessment at the child’s learning environment and the
strategies involved in the process of learning the language clearly support the four main research
questions in the paper since the information given is similar in many ways.
Conclusion
Language development in a child has been observed to be a process that is surrounded by
challenges and many misconceptions which if not eliminated, can affect language growth and
development in a child. It is clear that language is learnt and not acquired. The key to acquisition
is nurture and not nature. Acquisition of language has also been found to occur in a highly
LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT 6
organized way and not as chunks. From the analysis of the source given, there are no recognized
stages in L1 and L2 acquisition since learning of more than one language does not affect a child
in any way.
LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT 7
References
Berk, L. (2013). Child development. Boston: Pearson.
Bainbridge, C. (2015). How do Children learn Language? Retrieved on 21 st February, 2016 from
Gifted kids.about.com/language learning
Gardephe, C. D. (2016). 9 Ways to Help Your Child’s Language Development, Retrieved on 21 st
February, 2016 from http://www.parents.com/baby/development/talking/9-ways- to-
help-your-childs-language- development/
Kopko, K. (2014). Research Sheds Light on How Babies Learn and Develop Language.
Retrieved on 21 st February, 2016 from http://www.human.cornell.edu/hd/outreach-
extension/upload/casasola.pdf
M c Glothlin, J. D. (1997) The Internet TESL Journal. A child’s first steps in language learning
Retrieved on 21 st February, 2016, from http://iteslj.org/Articles/McGlothlin-
ChildLearn.html.
Yang, S. & Lust, B. (2014). Discovering Child Language and Cognitive Growth. Retrieved on
21 st February, 2016 from http://www.human.cornell.edu/hd/outreach-
extension/upload/lust.pdf
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