Encouragement of Child Language Acquisition Essay

For many us who took a foreign language course for a couple of years in middle school and high school, and perhaps even college, might be able to retain a few words or phrases here and there. Most likely the language you were offered was hard to comprehend and difficult to speak, therefore making the language almost impossible to obtain. For those children who grow up learning a foreign language from a young age and did not start learning a second language in secondary school benefit…

Motivation in Second Language Acquisition”, written by Sarwat Sultan and Irshad Hussain, both authors discuss the importance of motivation, and how both imperative and instrumental motivation are vital and central when it comes to fully acquiring a second language (Sultan and Hussain 2010, pg. 145). Intergrative motivation is a language learning motivation first described by R. Gardner and W. Lambert, and it is applied to language learners who are “integratively” motivated to learn the language…

book explains the history of ESL writing instruction and describes models of second language acquisition. It is important to re-examine the goals of the writing class. We need to know what are learners ’goals might be. For the most part, everyone learns to write at school. Writing is not a naturally simple interaction, so we have to understand the specific difficulties of L2 students. In learning a second language, the learners…

Theories of Language Acquisition Language acquisition is defined as way in which humans learn to decipher oral language and speak in their . Over the years, many theorist have proposed ideas about the capacity of humans to acquire language. They have sought to answer the questions about how this uniquely human ability is possible. Is language development a learned skill? Is it innate? Is it dependent on social interactions? Four main theories of language acquisition emerged to answer…

successful language learners have the ability of tolerance and adaptation to unknown factors and vague segments of a new language. Among learners there are several learning styles that we can point out the one of important one which is ambiguity tolerance (AT) and defined as “ the degree to which you are cognitively willing to tolerate ideas and propositions that run counter to your own belief system or structure of knowledge” (Brown, 2000: 119). As Ely (1989) mentioned, learning new language…

speaking skill is one of the most important aspects while acquiring a foreign language. Hedge (2000) defines speaking as “a skill by which people are judged while first impressions are being formed.” It means that speaking is a fundamental skill which requires more attention in both first and second language because through it people's thoughts and personalities can be perceived. The easiest way to realize if a foreign language learner is acquiring it correctly is through the oral…

There has been much research on the dynamic nature of working memory (Baddeley 2000; Repovs & Baddeley 2006). The concept of working memory was first introduced in a paper by Baddeley & Hitch (1974). Following on from this, Baddeley (1986, 1990, 1992) proposed that the main neural network that forms working memory includes the phonological loop, the visuospatial sketch pad and the central executive. From his research, Baddeley concluded that, under certain conditions, subjects are able to carry…

is said to be one of the ways of learning a language. According to Skinner (1957, cited in Harmer, 2007), in this method, learners are required to replicate sentences and their correctness is applauded by the teacher and the high frequency of this process increases the students’ condition to develop language effectively in the future. It is supported that “Behaviourism analysis is alive and well, and is making significant contribution in applied language settings” (Castagnero, 2006, cited in…

theoretical literature concerning the “two solitudes” assumption in regards to the mediums of instruction dominant in second language teaching and bilingual education programs. He argues that this assumption has minimal research basis. The “two solitudes” assumption is rooted in the direct method, which imitated the way children learn their first language by using the target language as the medium of instruction and avoiding translation. The works of Cook (2001) and Turnbull (2001) are…

The role of grammar in English Language Teaching (ELT) has been a crucial and debatable issue for many years, gaining both supporters and opponents along the way. The treatment of grammar differs with various teaching methodologies and approaches (Burgess & Etherington 2002: 434). It needs to be noted that grammar is an “ambiguous term” in the language teaching field (Larsen-Freeman 2009: 518). It can refer to many things at the same time. Therefore, only one comprehensive definition will be…