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Age and acquisition

UNIVERSIDAD CENTRAL DE VENEZUELA FACULTAD DE HUMANIDADES Y EDUCACI Ó N Comisi ó n de Estudios de Postgrado Á rea de Ling üí stica Maestr í a en Ingl é s como Lengua Extranjera. Age and acquisition. Applied Linguistics Sara Pacheco. Dispelling Myths.

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Age and acquisition

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  1. UNIVERSIDAD CENTRAL DE VENEZUELA FACULTAD DE HUMANIDADES Y EDUCACIÓN Comisión de Estudios de Postgrado Área de Lingüística Maestría en Inglés como Lengua Extranjera Age and acquisition Applied Linguistics Sara Pacheco

  2. DispellingMyths • Childrenrepeatthingsover and overagain. Thisiswhatwemustalso do. • Languagelearningisimitation. Youmustbe a mimic. • First, wepracticetheseparatesounds, thenwords, thensentences. Natural order = goodforlanguagelearning. • Firstlisteningthenspeaking = rightorder in languagelearning. • Firstlistening and speakingreading and writing. • Whensmall, we do nottranslate. • Children do not use grammar so itisnotnecessary.

  3. Types of comparisonand contrast Child Adult L1 L2 (C1 – C2) First and second language acquisition in children, holding age constant (C2 – A2) Second language acquisition in children and adults, holding second language constant (C1 – C2) First language acquisition in children and second language acquisition in adults.

  4. Thecriticalperiodhypothesis

  5. Neurobiologicalconsiderations • Hemispheric lateralization

  6. Neurobiologicalconsiderations • Biological Timetables Scovel (1988) birds Sociobiological critical period mammals human beings? Socially bonding accent (1) To form an identity with their own community as they anticipate roles of parenting and leadership (2) To attract mates of “their own kind” in an instinctive drive to maintain their own specie. The acquisition of an authentic (nativelike) accent Not communicative fluency Not other “higher-order” processes

  7. Neurobiologicalconsiderations • Right-Hemispheric Participation There is a significant right hemispheric participation particularly in early stages of language learning Obler (1981) supported did not support did not support L2 learners, particularly adults, might benefit from more encouragement of right-brain activity in classroom context. Genesee (1982) Scovel (1982) Singleton and Ryan (2004)

  8. Neurobiologicalconsiderations • Anthropological evidence Sorenson (1967) Tukano culture (South America) 12 languages 1 person 1 person 1 community => 1 language L1 L1 “The Language acquisition seen in adult language learners in the largely monolingual American middle class speech communities may have been inappropiately taken to be universal…” (Hill, 1970) is exposed to 2 or 3 languages is exposed to 2 or 3 languages

  9. Thesignificance of accent gradually develop Speech muscles “foreign accent” control complex sounds Complete phonemic control before puberty are sometimes not achieved until 5 “Most of the evidence indicates that persons beyond the age of puberty do not acquire what has come to be called authentic pronunciation”. (Brown, 2007) • Neuromuscular plasticity • Cerebral development • Sociobiological programs • Environment of sociocultural influences Of course… there are exceptions

  10. Thesignificance of accent We all know people who have less than perfect pronunciation but who also have excellent and fluent control of a second language, control that can even exceed that of many native speakers Arnold Schwarzenegger effect

  11. Cognitiveconsiderations • Intellectual development of a child: • Sensorimotor stage (birth to 2) • Preoperational stage (ages 2 to 7) • Operational stage (ages 7 to 16) • Concrete operational stage (ages 7 to 11) • Formal operational stage (ages 11 to 16) Piaget (1972) Pro CPH Vague lack of empirical data Singleton and Ryan (2004) Ausubel (1964) Grammar in adults is easier because of the relevance of connection in cognition Children do learn L2 without formal operation thought

  12. Affectiveconsiderations Affective domains: • Emphaty • Self-esteem • Extroversion • Inhibition • Imitation • Anxiety • Attitudes… Children egocentricity Adults inhibitions Oneself-identity is inextricably bound up with one’s language Self identity second identity Younger children are less afraid because they are less aware of forms Peer presure Adults tend to tolerate linguistics differences more than children so errors are easily excused

  13. Linguisticsconsiderations • Biligualism Code-switching • Interference between L1 and L2 Solid foundation of L1 • Order of acquisition Creative construction process

  14. Issues in firstlanguageacquisitionrevisited • Competence and performance • Comprenhension and production • Nature or nurture? • Universals • Sistematicity and variability • Language and Thought • Imitation • Practice and frequency • Input • Discourse

  15. Some “age-and-acquisition-inspired”languageteachingmethods • Total Physical Response • The Natural Approach

  16. Thanks Source: • Douglas Brown, H. (2007) Principles of language learning and teaching. White Plains, NY: Longman. • Chapter 3: Age & acquisition

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