10/5/2011
Introduction to Language
Acquisition
University of Massachusetts Boston
ECHD 440 & 640
Lisa Van Thiel
Goals for this session:
Identify language theorists
Name five aspects of language
development
 Define each of the five aspects
p
of language
g g
knowledge and;
 Describe the similarities and differences
between receptive and expressive
language


Image by eoSos.de
Nativist Perspective
Cognitive Development Perspective
Language is an inborn human trait
 All children have capacity to learn
language
 Language is a biological adaptation
 Children learn the deep and surface
structure of their language .
 Syntax is focal point of this
perspective


Cognition and language
are interconnected
 Language maturation
for
o all
a humans
u a s follows
o ows a
predictable sequence
Image by tiarescott
Behaviorist Perspective
Interactionist Perspective
Language is a learned skills
Language develop can be nurtured
 Positive reinforcement prompt language



Language and cognitive development are
linked
 Children learn language through
interactions
te act o s w
with
t peop
peoplee
 Adults scaffold language learning by
modeling language slightly above the level
in which children independently use
language.
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10/5/2011
Brain Development
Take Away from theorists
Noam Chomsky
Lev Vygotsky
Jean Piaget
Zero to Three Baby Brain
http://www.zerotothree.org/child-development/braindevelopment/baby-brain-map.html
http://main.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_key_brain_quiz
B. F. Skinner
Processing Language involves
5 Aspects of Language Knowledge
• Auditory processing

• Comprehension
• Muscle movement
Phonetic
 Semantic
 Syntactic
 Morphemic
 Pragmatic
• Formulating thoughts
into speech production
Phonetic

Image by Guiding Steps Academy
Semantics Knowledge
Phonetic knowledge refers to knowledge
about sound-symbol relations in a
language.
Otto 2010

Semantic Knowledge refers to the word
labels that specify concepts and also to
the semantic networks, or schemata, that
represent
p
the interrelations between
concepts.
Otto 2010
http://psychology.about.com/od/sindex/g/def_schema.htm
Image by Shae Hazelton
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10/5/2011
Schematic view of ball
Syntax
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Morphemic Knowledge
Pragmatic Knowledge
The smallest unit of meaning in a language
is called a morpheme.
 Two types of morphemes


◦ Free morphemes can be used alone as words
example: house, turtle, book
◦ Bound morphemes must be attached to a free
morphemes for example: the final –s houses,
the ly – slowly, and the ing- booking
The knowledge or awareness of how to
use language appropriately in different
settings and situations represents
pragmatic
p
g
knowledge.
g
Otto 2010
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the U.S. Fair use law
Critical periods




Critical Environmental Factors
Phonetic knowledge birth to 10 years old
Syntactic and morphemic knowledge birth
to puberty
Vocabulary and pragmatic knowledge do not
appear to be limited by a critical period
Semantic knowledge occur throughout life.

Adult Child Interactions
◦
◦
◦
◦
Eye contact and shared referencing
Communication loops
p
Child directed speech
Verbal mapping
Image by Jason Dunn
Image by Jason Dunn
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Critical Environmental Factors
◦
◦
◦
◦
Reflection on learning
Questioning
Linguistic scaffolding
Expansion or recasting
Mediation
Image by Jason Dunn
This images are being used under
the U.S. Fair use law
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