Language acquisition

The flexibility of language is a highly controversial topic in the field of linguistics. How easily does language acquisition occur and in what ways may it be limited? Through his text Language and Symbolic Power, French linguist Pierre Bourdieu introduces a market metaphor in order to explain the ways that communicative exchanges relay both messages contained in words and nonlinguistic information about a person’s social status. He explains that in the process of “linguistic exchange,”…

see how they have changed to what they are now was very much ironic. For example, in 1998 Californians passed the Proposition 227 that mandated English only instruction. Recently however, Californians voted yes on Proposition 58 to establish language acquisition programs for both native and non-native English speakers. In many ways, we have gone through various cycles of public opinion regarding bilingual…

foreign language is the reflection. One has to think critically what are his/her own strengths and weaknesses in order to be able to improve and reach his/her objectives. The aim of this review is precisely this – I will expose the key factors of my English learning, then I will indicate the ways that I find most and less useful to learn a language, next I will list my strong points and my weak spots and finally I will give some ideas to ameliorate my command of English as a foreign language. I…

35 Foreign Language for Cadets One growing aspect at most major colleges in the United States is the requirement to learn a foreign language. The service academies are no different in this aspect and require all cadets to take at least one year (two semesters) of a foreign language. What makes them different is the selection process for your language. D-Lab During basic training, cadets will take a test to identify their ability for foreign languages. Cadets will be presented with a fictitious…

the English language and in their academic courses. Much of the time, students are recognized as "English-Language learners" after they finish a formal testing of their English education. This assessment process is for learners identified as second language learners. They are tested in reading, written work, talking, and listening to cognizance. If the evaluation results demonstrate that the learner will struggle in customary scholastic courses, they may be selected in either dual language…

child’s literacy and language development (Brown, 2014). Children who are given the opportunity to develop the foundational skills in language and literacy in preschool, are better prepared to learn to read and write in kindergarten, and enjoy more academic success later in life (Brown, 2014). When given the opportunity to engage in purposeful and meaningful language, children can develop a strong literacy and reading development foundation (Brown, 2014). The development of language, literacy,…

spoken language both belong to the semiotic system (Fellowes & Oakley, 2014). The inception of spoken language is through the acquisition of a vernacular; therefore initial vernacular variety has its roots in family. (Gee, Hayes & Elisabeth, 2014). The perspective of Nativist Theorist, Noam Chomsky created the term Language Acquisition Device to describe how the brain is designed to register and respond to language in a universal way, (Fellowes & Oakley, 2014) therefore allowing language…

Stroop effect in reference to language. The experimenters designed an experiment that studied the Stroop effect in reference to the English language and the French language and examined if mixing the two languages generated a different result in the Stroop effect. The experimenters created three separate experiments. One of the experiments focused on the Stroop test with the English language, the second experiment focused on the Stroop test with the French language, and the third experiment…

topic I have chosen for my final paper is on bilingual infants versus their monolingual peers. I am interested in learning how language is acquired for bilingual infants and if the preconceived notion of them being placed at a disadvantage is really true. I would like to examine the different advantages and disadvantages bilingual infants face while being exposed to 2 languages at a time. I would also like to see at what rate certain milestones are hit compared to monolingual infants.…

Context These two videos contain the interactions of Mia, the focal child, and Betty Yu, the teacher. The videos were recorded nine months apart and shows the incredible language development that occurs with Mia. Both videos show Betty and Mia making pudding. However, the dynamics of their relationship and conversation change in the second video. By this time, Mia has evolved from stage 2 to stage 4 of communicative development. In video one, Mia is two and a half years old. The setting of…