Linguistics: Language Acquisition (original) (raw)
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FIRST LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING
ABSTRACT Language is the vehicle for inter and intra communication. It is a tool to communicate across geographical boundaries. It would be the key that opens windows to the world, unlocks doors to opportunities, and expands our minds to new ideas. According to Albert C. Baugh & Thomas Cable (2002:10 ) a language communicates ones thoughts, feelings to others, the tool with which they conduct their business, or the government of millions of people, the vehicle by which has been transmitted the science, the philosophy, the poetry of the culture is surely worthy of study. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (1989:699) defines language is a system of sounds, words, patterns, etc. used by humans to communicate thoughts and feelings. Robert Lado (1971:12) says that language is intimately tied to man’s feeling and activity. It is bound up with nationality, religion, and the feelings of oneself. It is used to work, worship, and play by everyone, whether he is a beggar or banker, savage or civilized. According to Albert C. Baugh & Thomas Cable (2002: 4) a language may be important as a lingua-franca in a country or region whose diverse populations would be unable to communicate otherwise all these definitions depict various aspects and purposes of language. However, language can be designated differently based on its function, nature, quality, etc.
Language is more than just the code: it also involves social practices of interpreting and making meanings • The way we teach language reflects the way we understand language • What is learned in the language classroom, and what students can learn, results from the teacher's understandings of language • There is a fundamental relationship between language and culture • It is important to consider how language as code and language as social practice are balanced in the curriculum kEy iDEAS
Socio-cultural perspective of Language Teaching, Learning and Acquisition
Sarasavi Publishers, Sri Lanka
Interest in language has not recently developed. It goes back centuries from now. The oldest grammar we know, the one written by Panini in 300 B.C., analyses the speech sounds of Sanskrit and its grammatical structure. The phenomenon of language has puzzled and attracted people's minds in many different ways. It may not be possible to explore all of them here. Interest in the numerous languages of the world has led to the scientific study of linguistic phenomena, particularly in their morphological aspects. This has given rise to two main types of classification - a structural type, based on the relative degree of synthesis of the words and how various parts of a word are attached to it, and a genetic type of classification. The genetic classification is based on comparative studies about phonetic and structural changes. Through a careful study of phonetic changes and changes in vocabulary, a theoretical reconstruction may be made of the original language from which the present existing languages have stemmed, or (since the interest in the origin of languages has faded) of the distribution of languages and dialects. These studies may also prove a valuable aid in studying the patterns of population changes. Such studies necessitate thorough investigation of the phonetic or sound elements and the phonemes or functionally significant units that make up a language pattern. Apart from this scientific use, the study of speech sounds has its practical application in the field of language teaching. The sociological emphasis is divulged on the language as it is a part of a social system. Language may be regarded not only as a tool but as social action calling forth counter-action. The psychologists have studied language from a different angle. Their contribution lies in the psychology of communication. Generally this field ranges from the mechanical aspects (phonetics, perception of speech) to the socio-psychological patterns of communication and barriers to communication, learning habits, and distortion of testimony or of rumor. For many the study of language means the only key to the world of literature. They struggle valiantly to master speech sounds, grammatical rules, idioms, and vocabulary, but their ultimate aim is to enjoy the literary efforts of others or to express themselves in that way. The various aspects of language are all interrelated. Therefore the special approaches should not be seen as separate fields of study, but rather as a specific emphasis.
Randwick International of Education and Linguistics Science Journal
Language is viewed differently by people from different fields, and one of the reasons why linguists and philosophers encounter difficulties in clarifying what the study of language should involve has to do with the general view that language means many things to people from different disciplines. This paper provides a comprehensive and analytical discussion patterning to the nature of language, theories, methods, and approaches to language teaching and learning based on a literature review. In particular, the paper answers questions of what is the nature of language, what is involved in the study of a language and how does it behave? And how language can be taught effectively? To address these questions, the paper has reviewed various studies on the definition of language and the trend in trying to define language. Also, it has examined how much scholars have defined language economically, but adequately, and it has discussed the nature of language and its assumptions or theories, ...
Languages Department M01ENL Theories and Methods of Language Learning and Teaching (CW1
ALSAYED MAHMOUD, 2019
To teach grammar or not. To focus on form, meaning or combine them together. To immerse learners in the environment of the target language in order to acquire it, or they should learn first and then communicate to acquire other language components. And so on.According to (DeKeyser 1997, Ellis 1997, MacWinning 2004, Rutherford and Sharwood 1988), there is a non-stop research and arguments amongst scholars of(FL) on a variety of differences between language acquisition and learning, knowledge should be presented explicitly or implicitly, focus on form or meaning and the function of skills and knowledge. All these and many others are controversial issues in the field of language teaching and learning that have been under research for decades and perhaps some for centuries. These issues have undergone and still under research by large number of pedagogical experts.Those scholars have been trailing and searching these issues for such a long time in order to support methodologists and teachers with ideal theoretical background beyond different methods of teaching. They have also been trying to find models and approaches that are effective for the teaching of (FL). To find such practical effective approaches of teaching, theoreticians; in addition to the psychological and linguistic features, need to account for personal, contextual and environmental factors affecting the learning of FL. With regard to what has been mentioned previously about the factors, that need to be considered when choosing or inventing a suitable teaching approach, specifically the environmental and internal ones, this essay focuses on some of the concepts of the cognitive linguistics (Johnson, 2008:98). The essay discusses whether teaching should be form-orientated, meaning-orientated or both of them combined with reference to an article by Montgomery and Eisnestien (1985) discussed in Johnson (2008:107). The discussion is heldwith regard to the cognitive linguistics by (Skehan, 1998, Johnson, 1996, and McLaughlin, 1987). Johnson (2008:98) suggests that cognitive linguistics sees language and its learning linked to psychological or cognitive operations. The approaches of form-orientated and focus-orientated can be discussed under the concepts of declarative and procedural knowledge. They are also affected by other concepts like automaisation, and the negligence of any of these concepts could lead to fossilisation. All these concepts are discussed later in some detail with linkage to different teaching methods andthen their teaching implications will be illustrated at some point at the end of the paper.
Principles of language learning and teaching
2000
Douglas Brown divides the book into 4 sections and 10 chapters. The first section discusses he factors that influence learning and teaching language in the first part is the age factor, further psychological factors, cultural and social factors and the latter factor linguistics.