Psycholinguistics The Psychology of Language Second Language Acquisition

Psycholinguistics: The Psychology of Language Second Language Acquisition

Learning a Second Language • Sequential Language Acquisition (L 2 Acquisition) • Simultaneous Language Acquisition • Early research • Later research

Simultaneous Bilingualism • Questions researchers try to answer: – How can a child learn two languages at the same time? – Does the child confuse the two languages? – Does bilingual development take longer than monolingual development? – Are bilingual children brighter? – Does simultaneous language acquisition impair cognitive development? – How much exposure to each language is necessary for a child to become bilingual?

Simultaneous Bilingualism • Two hypotheses – The Unitary Language System Hypothesis – *The Dual Language System Hypothesis* • Codeswitching • Stages of bilingual acquisition • What don’t we know?

Simultaneous Bilingualism • Bilingualism and cognition – Problem-solving – Metalinguistic awareness – Social appropriateness – Effects on education

Sequential Bilingualism • Sequential bilingualism is – Usually learned as a teenager or adult – Consciously attempted – Much more difficult to learn – Usually impossible to perfect the accent – Unlike acquiring a first language (for the most part) – Learned in stages (not the same as L 1 learning)

Sequential Bilingualism • Critical period vs. “sensitive periods” • “Overhearers”