Essays on Language Acquisition

(Student’s Full Name)

Abstract

Nowadays, the role of English can be hardly overestimated. Being a truly global language, a pathway to greater opportunities and the window to broader knowledge and other cultures, English keeps widening the horizons of its possibilities and functions. At the same time, teaching English as a foreign language requires taking great responsibility and, therefore, it often appears as a truly challenging task. This research aims to consider the importance of teaching English as a second language and the implications that may arise during the learning process so as to define key tendencies and principles in ...

Second Language Acquisition Theory

Struggles My father is a known businessman, he used to travel to the various countries around the world especially Europe for business purposes. My father has difficulty communicating in English because it is not his first language. He had hired a translator who accompanied him in all his journeys. Unfortunately, the translator passed away, his death devastated my father because they were close companions. The translator had values that made my father happy like kindness, honesty and calmness. My father contemplated on how he could go on his business trips without his translator and companion. It was difficult to ...

Psychology: Nature vs. Nurture Essay

Language constitutes an essential characteristic of human beings and is regarded as a primary form of communication between individuals. The role of nature and nurture in language acquisition among young children has been a continuous debate in developmental sciences, education, and social sciences like sociology and psychology. This issue is not only conflicting but also complementary. It has laid a foundation for better understanding of how biological and environmental factors interact to influence language development in children (Yusa et al. 2011). Available research shows that there is no clear pattern of the causes and effects associated with human cognition ...

This is a Brigance screening for JJ. JJ is 30 months old, and her parents speak Mandarin, which makes her bilingual as she understands both English and Chinese. JJ attends the same school with her sister. JJ and her sister live with their parents and grandmother. I first met JJ when she was 18 months. She was not very playful at the time. She can now understand English even though she still has difficulties expressing herself in English. JJ is very sensitive and used to cry about every little thing even when I changed her diapers. JJ loves to ...

U.S. schools’ populations have been changing fast due to the arrival of foreign students, therefore classes have become more linguistically diverse (Spillett). The number of the learners, whose first language is not English, has increased significantly over the past years and continues to grow (Colombo). A large number of such students are confronted with the challenge of meeting the expectations of the country in which they are studying. According to the federal rules, children have to take state tests during their first week in school. These requirements have to be passed in order to keep up with their English-speaking ...

English 1312.04

Carrera-Carrillo, Lore. "“Some of us are learning Spanish and some of us are learning English”: A comparison of second language programs in Texas." Thesis. 2003. Carrera-Carrillo observes how dual language programs are gaining popularity throughout the United States and targeting both the minority language students as well as the majority language students. Studies have revealed that there are many advantages which are associated with the learning of the English language. The native language enables students acquire content with better insight and can relate more to these concepts later in the English language. Not all facilities which have embraced ...

My observation was based on three documents. Both of them considered a particular set of language observation that had relations with English as a second language. These observations are important for Language studying. I will provide my analysis and observation below.

1st Journal Article

Vocabulary is currently identified as a fundamental part of language development and might be among the most significant components for language learners. Yang et al. (315), makes an observation based on an e-learning system that is known as MyEVA about a vocabulary strategy which provides learners who study English as a second language in making improvements on their ...

The language of rights as identified by Mills (2002) involves the manner in which language is approached today. Policy documents, as well as various academic literature, put language rights at the heart of their analysis. Language right-based policies are displacing traditional language planning while sociolinguistics studies have become studies of language rights. Language rights are additionally discussed as human rights, inspired by the remarkable expansion of international human rights advocacy over the last couple of years. Human rights have been looked to as values of ‘godless’ or post-political age (Klug, 2000). In recent decades, radicals and reforms have turned ...

The process of becoming fluent in writing and speaking a second language is a complex process that relies on a number of influences; individual personality characteristics such as maturity, past experiences, exposure to the new language, learning environment, motivation, and natural inclinations to adapting to new skills are some factors that promote or hinder progress. Research involving experimentation, investigation, and empirical studies has been conducted to describe individual factors that influence the quality and speed of children’s learning a second language and will be examined. Some children are born into multilingual families with different cultural backgrounds and it ...

Patterns of development can be referred to as the emotional, psychological and biological changes that happen in human beings from birth and until the end of adolescence stage (Shaw et al. 677). It is a perpetual process with foreseeable sequences though it is valuable for every child. Typically patterns of development do not advance at an even rate, and every stage is impacted by the previous type of development. Development in human beings occurs due to genetic factors leading to maturation. Also, learning and environmental factors play a role in the development of children. Typically, the first five years ...

Language teachers employ different techniques and theories ranging from a grammatical to a conversational approach. These practices are rooted on three basic theories on second language acquisition: Behaviorist, Innatist, and Interactionist (Peregoy and Boyle 56). There is not one standardized way of teaching language as each set of approach has its own merits. However, the overemphasis on achieving a near-native sounding competence is detrimental to the acquisition process. Behaviorists focus and emphasizes on the grammatical and more technical aspects of language learning. Often this approach is deeply rooted in the academe primarily due to most of the children who ...

The death of a language also usually occurs with the death of the language’s last fluent speaker. The motivation of the younger generation to learn their native language is often mired by the lack of opportunities their native language will provide them. In exchange for learning a more widely used and regarded languages, native languages are starting to die out. The motivation of the new generation to learn a native language is a determinant of a native language’s decline and subsequent death, in exchange for learning a more widely used language. Three basic theories have been widely ...

Learning a second language can be a challenging experience for a person of any age. The general population typically believes that second language acquisition or SLA is easier for children than adults. Some regard this as a myth while others insist it is true. Studies show that the way people learn languages at different ages can vary and that can affect the ease or difficulty in ability to learn. People learn a second language for many different reasons: a) individuals may be raised with two languages spoken in their home, b) students at school are often required to learn ...

Language is well embedded in culture and heritage. The acquisition of a First Language (L1) or Second Language (L2) is a particularly challenging experience for learners, parents, instructors and policy makers. If anything, learning L1 or L2 is accompanied by a host of value-loaded beliefs and cultural conventions. The challenge of language acquisition becomes more so for second generation immigrants. Brought up in a cultural context, usually far distanced from original one, second generation immigrants are under pressure to learn a "new" language spoken by parents and forebears for generations in home countries and only at home in new ...

How does input influence second language learning

Introduction

Input in learning refers to anything that the students are exposed to and may be expected to form some kinds or reactions which can be conscious or subconscious. Input can also be used to refer to anything that can activate the sensory system. There are two types of inputs that are discussed in this chapter. They are very important when a person wants to learn a second language. We are going to base our study on this chapter and the way inputs can aid the learning of the second language. There is need to have a distinction between linguistic and non-linguistic ...

The argument between functionalists and those who subscribe to the Universal Grammar model falls within the great scientific tradition of “nature versus nurture.” It is, perhaps, an unavoidable discursive construct, one that usefully and practically frames the debate over how second language acquisition is facilitated by the human brain. There is uniformity to language itself but the individual experience of each person who comes to understand and learn a second language may be seen as an organic and fluid phenomenon. Does the acquisition of a second language take place through the filter of personal experience, or does it fall into place ...

Sign language is a type of communication that does not use sound to convey the message. This involves the use of facial expression, body language and gesture. It is based on the idea that sight is the most important tool for a deaf person to communicate and receive information. Sign language varies from one country to another, from one gender to another, age to age and from one ethics to another. It is important that sign language to be prior before any other any kind of language and hence it is the duty of a parent to start as early as possible ...

Chomsky theory on language acquisition holds that the human brain has a limited set of rules that are used in the acquisition and organization of language. This principle is also held by the hypothesis of Generative grammar. A common assumption is held that all the languages however have a similar structural basis. This is what is referred to as universal grammar. Chomsky’s view was that all children posses an innate knowledge on grammar. This means that all what they have to learn is the basic parochial elements and features of their native language. Chomsky held generally that language development in ...

Language acquisition principles.

In an article titled: “Sensitive and advantageous periods in first language learning: What are the implications for very young Japanese learners of English?” As obtained from the International Journal of language, society and culture issue 16-2006 lays emphasis on the importance of exposing learners of English as a second language to the second language at their critical period.

Introduction

English is an international language spoken widely in the world. It is used in most countries for commerce especially international trade, education and technological developments. For these reasons many countries have seen the need of having their citizens to learn English. This ...