first language acquisition 大学英语语言学课件.ppt

Language Acquisition Some questions Do children have to be “taught” how to speak? Do children generate creative utterances? How long does it take a child to become “fluent” in her native language? What does it mean when a child says “I seed the dog” or “Daddy eated his supper” ? What is language acquisition? Language acquisition refers to the child’s acquisition of his mother language, i.e. how the child comes to understand and speak the language of his community. First language acquisition: First language (L1): The language that an individual learns first Theoretical Approaches toL1 Learning Behaviorism 行为主义 : Say what I say Innatism 天生主义 (or the Nativist Approach): It’s all in your mind The Interactionist Position 互动主义 : A little help from my friends Behaviorism: Say what I say Skinner: language behavior is the production of correct responses to stimuli through reinforcement. Language learning is the result of 1) imitation (word-for-word repetition), 2) practice (repetitive manipulation of form), 3) feedback on success (positive reinforcement), and 4) habit formation. Behaviorism: Say what I say Children’s imitations are not random: Their imitation is selective and based on what they are currently learning Their practice of language forms is also selective and reflects what they would like to learn. They are often in charge of the conversation with adults Behaviorism: Say what I say Children do pick out patterns/rules and then generalize or overgeneralize them to new contexts. e.g. A. Father: I’d like to propose a toast. Child: I’d like to propose a piece of bread. B. Mother: I love you to pieces. Child: I love you three pieces. C. Are dogs can wiggle their tails? Innatism天生主义语言习得观: It’s all in your mind Chomsky argues that behaviorism cannot provide sufficient explanations for children’s language acquisition for the following reasons: The language the child is exposed to in the environment is full of confusing information and does not