Language Development

Language Development

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  Language Development in Middle Adulthood (Group2)
• 2.
  Definition • Language isthe ability to acquire and use complex systems of communication • Includes any system of formalized symbols, signs, sounds, gestures, or the like used or conceived as a means of communicating thought, emotion etc.
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  Language Rule Systems PhonologySound System of language i.e. how the sounds are used and combined - phenome is the smallest unit of sound Morphology Morphemes are units of meaning involved in word formation Syntax Ways words are combined to form acceptable phrases and sentences Semantics Meaning of Words and Sentences Pragmatics Appropriate use of language in context; can be very complex
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  Brains Role inLanguage • Particular regions of brain predisposed for language acquisition. • Most comprehend syntax in left hemisphere; emotion and intonation comprehended in right hemisphere. • Aphasia- Language disorder resulting from brain damage; loss of ability to use words. • Broca’s Area: Area of the brains left frontal lobe involved in speech production • Wernicke’s Area: Area of the brains left hemisphere involved in language comprehension
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  Theories of Language Development TheLearning Perspective – B. F. Skinner  adults shape the speech of their children by positively reinforcing the babbling  accounted for language development by means of environmental influence.
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  Theories of Language Development •The Nativist Perspective – Noam Chomsky  Humans are biologically programmed to gain knowledge  All humans have a Language acquisition device (LAD)  The critical period essential for first language acquisition
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  Theories of Language Development TheInteractionist Theory - Lev Vygotsky  Language development is both biological and social  language learning is influenced by the desire to communicate with others  Collaborative learning
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  Language Acquisition • Duringchildhood language acquisition is a natural consequence of prolonged exposure to a language. • ability to acquire spoken language without deliberate effort begins to diminish sharply at about the age of puberty (12-14 years of age). • Language acquisition by adults is a deliberate, painstaking, intellectual process
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  Language Acquisition • Achild who never acquires a first language will still have problems acquiring a language after puberty  presence of one language is actually not the critical factor that slows down a person's ability to acquire other languages
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  Language Acquisition • Diminutionof language acquisition ability is probably the consequence of an evolutionary adaptation. The brain is a greedy organ, using a great deal of energy. It is assumed that a larger portion of the neural capacity in a child's brain is structured to participate in the acquisition of language. Later, most of those neurons are rerouted for other uses • By puberty, the language function becomes localized in specific areas of the brain
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  Critical Age Hypothesis– Eric Lenneberg • Changes in language acquisition abilities are linked to stages in brain maturation • Lateralization, • localization of language skills into the left hemisphere of the brain, is completed (begins age two, completed by puberty ) • Hypothesis is however yet to be proven for sure
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  Adult Language Abilities •Differences in adult ability to master the grammar of a second language seem only in part connected to individual differences in general intelligence • the ability to learn languages in adulthood seems to be a talent apart from what we usually label as general intelligence. • Adult language learning aptitude seems to be a separate ability, like musical or artistic talent.
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  Adult Language Abilities •Differences in adult abilities to learn languages are even more apparent at the phonetic level: • some adults have a natural talent for imitating the voices of other people; other adults do not have this talent at all • People of very limited intellectual abilities sometimes have amazing abilities to imitate people's voices • Exceptional memory • Memory is also in part an inborn talent separate from general intelligence
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  Factors Affecting Adult LanguageLearning • Time • Opportunity • Desire • Motivation • Successful adult language learners usually learn language through conscious effort-- deliberate learning-- rather than acquire it passively without a significant amount of deliberate intellectual effort as do children
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  Language Teaching Approaches • Contrastivehypothesis; first language is viewed as a powerful linguistic helping device • Audio-lingual method • Identity hypothesis; tries to minimize the difference between first and second language acquisition • Natural Approach • A compromise philosophy of language emphasizes learner differences