UNIVERSIDAD CENTRAL DE VENEZUELA FACULTAD DE HUMANIDADES Y

UNIVERSIDAD CENTRAL DE VENEZUELA FACULTAD DE HUMANIDADES Y EDUCACIÓN Comisión de Estudios de Postgrado Área de Lingüística Maestría en Inglés como Lengua Extranjera Age and acquisition Applied Linguistics Sara Pacheco

Dispelling Myths 1. Children repeat things over and over again. This is what we must also do. 2. Language learning is imitation. You must be a mimic. 3. First, we practice the separate sounds, then words, then sentences. Natural order = good for language learning. 4. First listening then speaking = right order in language learning. 5. First listening and speaking 6. When small, we do not translate. 7. Children do not use grammar so it is not necessary. reading and writing.

Types of comparison and contrast (C 1 – C 2) First and second language acquisition in children, holding age constant Child Adult L 1 C 1 A 1 L 2 C 2 A 2 (C 2 – A 2) Second language acquisition in children and adults, holding second language constant (C 1 – C 2) First language acquisition in children and second language acquisition in adults.

The critical period hypothesis Critical Period Hypothesis Neurobiological considerations The significance of accent Cognitive considerations Affective considerations Linguistics considerations Hemispheric considerations Bilingualism Biological timetables Interference between L 1 and L 2 Right hemispheric participation Order of acquisition Anthropological evidence

Neurobiological considerations q Hemispheric lateralization Lenneberg (1967) Geschwind (1970) Krashen (1973) Scovel (1984) Lateralization begins at around 2 and is completed around puberty Is completed much earlier Is completed at 5 years old emerges at birth is evident at 5 is completed at around puberty

Neurobiological considerations q Biological Timetables Scovel (1988) birds Sociobiological critical period mammals human beings? Socially bonding accent (1) To form an identity with their own community as they anticipate roles of parenting and leadership n of an o i t i s i u q c ccent a The a ) e k i l e v i (nat authentic (2) To attract mates of “their own kind” in an instinctive drive to maintain their own specie. Not communicative fluency Not other “higher-order” processes

Neurobiological considerations q Right-Hemispheric Participation Obler (1981) There is a significant right hemispheric participation particularly in early stages of language learning p su po d e t r d se G e en 1 e( el v o Sc g Sin ) 82 9 (1 an d n o let t o n di ) 2 98 p an Ry p su ( 4) 0 20 t or d di rt o p p u ts no L 2 learners, particularly adults, might benefit from more encouragement of right-brain activity in classroom context.

Neurobiological considerations q Anthropological evidence Sorenson (1967) Tukano culture (South America) 12 languages 1 person 1 community => 1 language “The Language acquisition seen in adult language learners in the largely monolingual American middle class speech communities may have been inappropiately taken to be universal…” (Hill, 1970) L 1 is exposed to 2 or 3 languages 1 person L 1 is exposed to 2 or 3 languages

The significance of accent Speech muscles gradually develop control complex sounds Complete phonemic control before puberty “Most of the evidence indicates that persons beyond the age of puberty do not acquire what has come to be called authentic pronunciation”. (Brown, 2007) are sometimes not achieved until 5 “foreign accent” • Neuromuscular plasticity • Cerebral development • Sociobiological programs • Environment of sociocultural influences Of course… there are exceptions

The significance of accent We all know people who have less than perfect pronunciation but who also have excellent and fluent control of a second language, control that can even exceed that of many native speakers Arnold Schwarzenegger effect

Cognitive considerations Piaget (1972) Pro CPH Intellectual development of a child: • Sensorimotor stage (birth to 2) • Preoperational stage (ages 2 to 7) • Operational stage (ages 7 to 16) • Concrete operational stage (ages 7 to 11) • Formal operational stage (ages 11 to 16) Singleton and Ryan (2004) Ausubel (1964) Vague lack of empirical data Grammar in adults is easier because of the relevance of connection in cognition Children do learn L 2 without formal operation thought

Affective considerations Affective domains: � Emphaty � Self-esteem � Extroversion � Inhibition � Imitation � Anxiety � Attitudes… Children Adults egocentricity inhibitions Oneself-identity is inextricably bound up with one’s language Self identity second identity Younger children are less afraid because they are less aware of forms Peer presure Adults tend to tolerate linguistics differences more than children so errors are easily excused

Linguistics considerations �Biligualism Code-switching �Interference between L 1 and L 2 Solid foundation of L 1 �Order of acquisition Creative construction process

Issues in first language acquisition revisited q. Competence and performance q. Comprenhension and production q. Nature or nurture? q. Universals q. Sistematicity and variability q. Language and Thought q. Imitation q. Practice and frequency q. Input q. Discourse

Some “age-and-acquisitioninspired” language teaching methods Ø Total Ø The Physical Response Natural Approach

Source: Douglas Brown, H. (2007) Principles of language learning and teaching. White Plains, NY: Longman. Chapter 3: Age & acquisition Thanks