First Language

Aquisition and
Literacy
Development
EDMTB 1 (5701)
2nd Term 2nd Semester S.Y 2018-2019
3:30-4:30PM, Room TEC107

Reporters:
Agton, Rochelle Gian C.
Balmori, Maffles
Caitom, Jessa Mae
Diaz, Renz
Inoc, Jane
Manguwat, Betty
Pitogo, Reyza
Language is a system that consists of the development, acquisition, maintenance and use of complex
systems of communication, particularly the human ability to do so; and a language is any specific
example of such a system. It is not biological to which a learner learns language when exposed in an
environment from their primary caregivers. Moreover, primary caregivers are often to be the mother of
the child.The term “ motherese” implies the language adaptation of adult do to provide the child to
interact and learn.

First Language

 The mother tongue or native tongue or the preffered language in a multilingual context.
Second Language

 A non-native language that has a significant role within the context. Here in the
Philippines people use English as their second language. In all due process, it is under
the 1987 Philippine Constitution wherein the official language of the country is Filipino
and English.
Foreign Language
 A non-native language that has no official status in the country.
Heritage Language
 Language used for identity rather than dominant language.
Dialect
 A variety of languag in which the use of grammar and vocabulary identifies the regional
or social background of the user.

BEHAVIORIST PERSPECTIVE
 The perspective that gave attention towards learning language aquisition.
 Believe that language like any other skills, and values can be taught to children in terms
of repitition, imitation, and habituation.
 They view language as a consistent formal pattern and through imitation and constant
practice language is developed just like in a habit with this it is called habituation.

Edward Thorndike
 Gave us the original S-R framework of behavioral psychology
 Explained that learning is the result of S-R Relationship.
 Learning is present when there in strong bond between Stimuli and Response.
 Thorndike’s Three Primary Laws

Law of Law of Law of

Effect Exercise Readiness

Connection between stimulus
and response will be
strengtened.
Was revised and strong
response does not mean it
can strengten the stimulus
and vice versa.
The bond is practiced the The more readiness the
stronger it will become. learner has to respond to
the stimulus, the stronger
Was revised due to further
will be the bond between
findings. Practice with no
them.
feedback does not
necessarily enhance
performance.

Burrhus Fredrick Skinner

 Father of Operant Conditioning.
 Operant looking for the cause of an action and its consequences.
 Operant conditioning is based upon the notion that learning is a result of change in
overt behavior.
 Children learn languages based on reinforcement.
 Reinforcement is his key element. (Anything that strengthens the desired behavior.)

Reinforcement Example Punishment Example

POSITIVE The child can POSITIVE The child can’t

REINFORCEMNT accurately name PUNISHMENT accurately name
(Give somethings some common fruits. (Give something some common fruits.
pleasant.) Gets rewarded by Unpleasant) Gets punished by
buying him/her new making the child do
toys. chores.

The child can NEGATIVE The child can’t

NEGATIVE accurately name PUNISHMENT accurately name
REINFORCEMNT some common fruits. (Take something some common fruits.
No longer grounded. pleasant) Can’t play outside.
Audio-Ligual Method
 Advised that students should be taught a language directly, without using the students'
native language to explain new words or grammar in the target language.

1. PRESENTATION 2. PRACTICE 3. APPLICATION

Through oral and dialogue
form. Errors are
immediately corrected.
Accurate repitition is the
goal of this stage.
Through pattern drills to Through the use of the
helps learners to master the memorized structures in
structure of the language diffrent context.
and fluency.

Imitation Theory
 Imitating the language but not accurately.
 Behaviorist fail to explain the idea : the child fails to imitate language accurately despite
that the language was accurately driven by the adult.
CONSTRUCTIVIST PERSPECTIVE
 Sheds valuable explanation of the relationship between thought (cognition) and
language acquisition.
 As children become sophisticated in their mental process, the more susceptible they are
acquiring and manipulating language to represent ideas.

Jean Piaget
 Argues that children are active learners who construct meaning from their environment.
 Explains the interconnectedness of knowledge acquisition through qualitative changes
of their mental process as they develope.

STAGE’S OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

STAGE AGE DESCRIPTION

SENSORIMOTOR Knowledge is acquired and

structured through senses.
(object permanence) 0-18months

PREOPERATIONAL Knowledge is acquired

through symbols and words.
(egocentrism) 2-6years old

CONCRETE Knowledge is acquired

OPERATIONAL symbolically and
logically,but schemes are
(symbolic function and
7-12years old limited to concrete and
intuitive thinking, inductive
present objects and events.
reasoning)

FORMAL
OPERATIONAL
12 years and older Knowledge is acquired
(hypothetical and deductive symbolically, and logically
reasoning) and hypothetically.
SOCIOCULTURAL CONSTRUCTIVISM
Lev Vygotsky
 Centered the role of culture and social interaction of children with other children
and adults in the environment.
 Argued childrens speech is a major tool in their development of thinking.
 Proposed the social-cultural model of human especially cognitive.
 Emphasized the importance of private speech.

Zone of Proximal Development

 What a child can do without assistance.
Zone of Actual Development
 What a child can do with assistance
Scaffolding
 Giving Assistance. (key idea)
More Knowledgable Other
 The one who gives assistance (adult/advanced peer)

Slavin’s implication to Vygotskie’s Theory in teaching-learning process to support children’s

laanguage acquisition and development.

 Setting desirable learning arrangement.

 Plan activities in different levels.
 Give emphasis to scaffolding.
 Plan instruction to advanced children.
 Provide hints to the level of difficulty of the task.

CRITICAL PERIOD HYPOTHESIS

Eric Lennin
 Argued that the development of language in children can best be understood in the
context of developmental biology that critical period in human maturation existed
on Language Acquisition.
 Concerened in the development of language in children not its origin in the species.
 Believed that development in language is the result of brain maturation.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF LANGUAGE

1. It is a form of behavior present in all cultures of the world.

2. In all cultures its onset is age correlated.
3. There is only one acquisition strategy, it is the same for all babies everywhere in the
world.
4. It is based intrisically upon the same formal-operating characteristics .
5. Throughout mans recorded history these operatingcharacteristics have been constant.
6. It is a form of behavior thata may be impaired specifically by circumscribed brain
lesions which may leave other mental and motor skills relatively unaffected.

Summary of Lenneberg’s CP Hypothesis

 First Language aqcuisition typically occurs in infancy and early childhood. First or
Second language shows a critical or sensitive period.
 Crucial experiences leads to critical period (maturation time period) on the development
or learning.
 Critical period in most behavioral domains involved gradual declines in learning, with
some ability to learn.

INNATENESS
Noam Chomsky
 Worlds famouslinguist up to date.
 Argued that children are endowed with the capacity to acquire a language as they
are continiously exposed to adult speech.
 He call it innateness- the capacity of the brain to arrive at general principles based
from adult speech.

INPUT LAD OR UNIVERSAL GRAMMAR OUTPUT

PRIMARY GENERAL GRAMMA-

LINGUISTIC LANGUAGE TICAL CHILD’S
DATA LEARNING KNOWLEDGE SPEECH

 This theory explains clearly why children acquire language in such speed but on
one hand, it cannot account for other input that children are exposed to.
INTERACTIONIST PERSPECTIVE

Albert Bandura
 He argued that human learning is is not shaped by its consequences but is more
efficiently learned directly from a model.
 No-trial modelling theory- students does not need to go through a shaping process
but can reproduce the correct response immediately.
Social learning theory
 Children learn from each other and from others through observation, imitation and
modelling.
 This theory explains that children imitate the words, and languge patterns they here
from their caregivers and environment.
 The bridge towards the gap of behaviorist and constructivist perspective to learning
and acquisition.
 INTERACTIONIST argue that children are social beings that they need more than
adults to observe, imitate and model. (Obeservational learning)

Obeservational Learning Phases

Attention Phase : Paying attention to a model.
Retention Phase : To practice and researse the desired behavior model.
Reproduction : To replicate the model.
Motivation : Increase own chance to be reinforced.

Vicarious learning theory

 The process by which children learn from the reinforced (negative/positive)
learning and/or behavior of other people.
Self-regulated learning
 The process by where children observe and evaluate their own behavior against
their own standards, and reinforce or punish themselves.

Theacher’s way to support students to become more self regulated:

1. Support students to analyze tasks and to set appropriate goals.
2. Explicit support students use of effective learning strategies.
3. Support students monitoring.