LIN 5700 Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition Session Notes Dr. Elia Vázquez-Montilla The Big Question “How are we to account for the fact that virtually every child,  without special training,  exposed to surface level language data in interaction,  builds for himself --- in a short period of time, and  at a pre-logical stage in his development -- a deep level, abstract and highly complex system of linguistic structure?” J. W. Lindfors, Children’s Language and Learning, 1980. Basic Ideas about Language:  First one is acquired swiftly, efficiently, and without instruction.  It has rules.  It has a sound system, a vocabulary, and a grammar system.  Languages have private codes.  Change is essential.  Languages are shaped by the needs of the speakers.  Writing is a derivative of speech. Developmental Sequence  Crying Communicative Dance  Cooing  Babbling  Echolalic babbling  1 word stage (holophrastic)   pivot words (2 word stage)  telegraphic stage  overgeneralizations Acquistion vs. Learning        Acquisition Similar to first language acqusition “Picking up” a language May not be in conscious awareness Implicit knowledge Errors accepted Formal teaching does not necessarily help        Learning Formal knowledge of a language Knowing about a language Deliberate and conscious efforts Explicit knowledge Errors corrected Formal teaching helps Theories about language acquisition  Behavioristic:  Children are born with a genetic inheritance for learning.  Learning occurs entirely through the action of the environment shaping the individual’s behavior.  Behavior is shaped through reinforcement.  Nativistic:  Structures and functions in the biological makeup cause language to be learned.  Regardless of environment, child can learn language if biologically equipped.  Environment affects the rate of learning. More theories...  Cognitivist:  cognitive development (and thus language) is a product of interaction between child and environment.  There is a fixed sequence of development determined biologically.  Children are born with innate capacity to develop logical thought. From this thinking, they develop language.  Social Interactionist:  Language and cognition develop together with verbalized thought produced around 2 years of age.  Social interaction at base of language development.  Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) is range of possibility for higher learning or language development.