Language acquisition

pseudonym Genie, had suffered from extreme abuse, neglect and social isolation from her family. She had been kept in a closed bedroom without being spoken to, listening to radios, or watching TV for almost 11 years. She had “ acquired virtually no language” (Piper p66) when she was first found. Following her rescue, Genie had undergone extensive training, linguistic education, and testing for years. Although she progressed rapidly on nonlinguistic areas and even achieved age-appropriate level…

‘reflection-in-action’ using the knowledge gained by the practitioner to influence changes needed in provision. Therefore following the analysis of observation one and further discussions with parent/ teacher with regards to Thomas’s first and second language acquisition, allowing for a more holistic overview (Hayes, 2014); interventions were put into place for Thomas to promote confidence and speech through specific small group…

Multilingualism will be enhanced in the future since there will not be a language that dominates the world (1). This is why second language learning, or acquisition, is becoming a more and more intriguing topic today. One thing, among others, that stands in the way of successful second language acquisition is that there are negative transfers of learner’s first language (L1) on the second language’s (L2) syntax, while the bigger the syntactic differences between L1 and L2 are, the more negative…

make basic sounds, then words, phrases and sentences. Both go through a silent period while they are listening to and learning language. According to Ipek (2009), L1 learners go through a silent stage when they are trying to make sense of language and L2 learners, who do not comprehend the new language, are listening to, absorbing and trying to make sense of the new language, as well. They also go through a formulaic stage using expressions and utterances memorized in chunks, which Krashen…

In Finegan et al.’s (seventh edition) he explains how in the acquisition of a second language, the student is faced with the task not simply of learning new information, which is part of his own culture but rather of acquiring symbolic elements of a different ethnolinguistic community. The new words are not simply new words for old concepts, the new grammar is not simply a new way of ordering words, the new renunciation are not merely different ways of saying things. They are characteristics of…

important part in acquiring the English language, which would be referred as Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS) by Jims Cummins. As I entered school I learned what is known as academic English, Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALPS). As a teacher, I have understood that language is a complex subject. There are many factors such as your culture, background, and the environment you’re surrounded by play an important part in language acquisition. It is known that is not an…

Latifi; ketabi & mohamadi, 2013, p. 224). The second i+1 is challenged from another perspective that “input is necessary but not sufficient for acquisition to take place” (Ellis, 2003, 47 as cited in Latifi et al., 2013, p.224). Although the role of unconscious learning cannot be denied, conscious learning is supposed to have more…

members of the graduate admissions committee: My background as a language learner and my own knowledge as a language instructor is what motivates me to pursue a doctorate in Second Language Studies at Michigan State University. In this program, I will be able to expand my knowledge and experience to conduct useful research and encourage others to learn foreign languages. My interest in foreign languages and language acquisition began when I moved to Indiana to spend a year as a high school…

has seen a great change in the way schools service their cultural and linguistic learners. Once pushed aside as bystanders by teachers waiting for the English language to arrive so instruction could begin, the professional educator today realizes a student’s primary language is a great resource to be utilized when acquiring the second language. School systems have accepted the fact cultural diversity is now the norm in education therefore, many educators like me have embraced such diversity in…

between the subjects taught in the different languages; however, the students introduced to the language later did show a difference in understanding of the subject matter (Swain and Lapkin 33). Furthermore, the late emersion students and those with limited exposure to the language showed a much weaker proficiency in the French as a second language. These results suggest that an early introduction to a language the better understanding of the language and the subjects being taught; however, the…