PRINCIPLES AND THEORIES OF

LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND

LEARNING

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Hello, Learners!

Welcome to your first module in our subject in this subject. This module will give you a broader
understanding about the Language with the different scientific studies through times. The study of language
has become a long last motivation to a lot of researcher who wish to dig deeper the complexity of
languages. Learning alone can also give us a clearer view that everything has its purpose that includes
learning the language. We are a learners everytime we undiscover new things.

Let us have a quick trip memory lane with our previous lessons to recall important ideas that will lead
us in understanding our main topic for today.
copy of the modules without permission from your instructor.
Prepare to cooperate and collaborate with your instructor,
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INSTRUCTIONS
expected to talk and communicate to your instructor for
Before starting with your module it is better if you have in mind clarifications and questions. Since we have the privileges of the
the following “P’s” : new normal changes, which demands mostly for a blended
learning like online chatting and conversation,
Prepare yourself holistically. Find your focus for learning. SCREENCAPTURING of personal, and confidential
Prepare the needed things. Prepare your own ballpen/s and conversations is HIGHLY NOT ADVISABLE. Do not use the social
(if necessary) scratch paper/s. Prepare your place for a media to clarify your queries especially about the subjects. IF
conducive learning. this happens, this automatically calls for disciplinary actions.
Prepare to learn new lessons.
Prepare to read and answer. If you already have all these, you may now start. Good luck! ☺
Prepare for the short copy of your modules. Never leak a

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

At the end of the discussion the students are expected to:

a.define language development;

b. explain the stages of learning development;

and c. create activities for the learner.

LESSON 2
PRINCIPLES AND THEORIES OF
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND
LEARNING

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Instructions. Prepare a short video clip for a kid ages 2-5 years old (the video clip can be a nursery rhyme, a short kid
story etc). Make sure that the video clip is an interesting one. Video-record the kid/child while he/she is watching for
only 2-3 minutes especially shows his/her expression, baby talks and etc.

Instructions. This activity is connected to your first activity, supply the needed information in the table below.
While the kid is watching, what are his/her facial While the kid is watching, what are the
expression, gestures, actions? List at least 10. words/letters/syllables etc that he/she uttered? List at
least 10.

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

Language development is the process by which children come to understand and communicate
language during early childhood.
Language development in an individual child must be compared with norms rather than with other
individual children. In general girls develop language at a faster rate than boys. More than any other
aspect of development, language development reflects the growth and maturation of the brain. After
the age of five it becomes much more difficult for most children to learn language.
Receptive language development (the ability to comprehend language) usually develops faster than
expressive language (the ability to communicate).

Two different styles of language development are recognized.(1) In referential language

development, children first speak single words and then join words together, first into two-word sentences
and then into three word sentences. (2) In expressive language development, children first speak in long
unintelligible babbles that mimic the cadence and rhythm of adult speech. Most children use a combination
these styles.

LESSON 2
PRINCIPLES AND THEORIES OF
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND
LEARNING
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Infancy

∙ Language development begins before birth.

∙ Towards the end of pregnancy, a fetus begins to hear sounds and speech coming from outside the
mother's body. Infants are acutely attuned to the human voice and prefer it to other sounds. In
particular they prefer the higher pitch characteristic of female voices.

THERE ARE FOUR MAIN STAGES IN LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

Babbling Stage.

∙ It occurs between birth and approximately 11 months of age.

∙ This is when children start to recognize and produce sounds.
∙ The sounds children produce in the babbling stage are universal.
∙ Children quickly learn which sounds attract the attention of their parents and which sounds are
positively reinforced and encouraged, which supports the behaviorism approach towards
language, as children here are simply learning and imitating what their parents want them to learn
and reward them for this.
∙ Children in the babbling stage lack all features of language except for phonology, where they can form
and recognize sounds/speech but could not use any of this information to form sentences or to
define words/understand what words mean.

One-word (Holophrastic) Stage.

∙ It occurs between approximately 11 months of age and 1.5 years of age.

∙ By this point in time, children can produce a small number of isolated, single words and many
sounds. ∙ This is now more language specific rather than universal babbling.
∙ children know which sounds and words get the attention of their parents (e.g. mama, dada, etc) and
are again, positively reinforced.
∙ Children will over-generalize to maximize the effectiveness of their communication, and might call all
four legged animals a dog for example.
∙ it becomes more interactionism as the child starts using one word with the most information/meaning to
replace whole phrases or even sentences.
∙ They learn to associate one word with multiple meanings, which generally isn't taught to them and it's
just something they pick up from interacting with adults around them.
∙ One example of holophrastic use is ‘milk’.

By this point, a child can use and understand many features of language. They understand phonology and can
distinguish between the different sounds they hear. Children here are developing a wider lexicon, and are well on their
way in understanding morphology and the different rules words have. While they may be in the holophrastic stage,
they are developing their syntax and semantic skills.

Two-word Stage.

∙ around the age of 2.5 years old.

∙ An example of a two-word utterance (noun-verb) might be 'doggie bark', meaning the dog is
barking. ∙ This stage only contains content words (no function words or morphemes yet).
∙ A child's lexicon usually develops to around 50 words and t1hen takes a dramatic leap forward and is
sometimes commonly called the 'word spurt' or the 'naming explosion'.

LESSON 2
PRINCIPLES AND THEORIES OF
 LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND LEARNING
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∙ This is definitely interactionism, and somewhat nativism in the way that they definitely aren't taught how
to structure their phrases.
∙ A child has a better understanding of syntax and semantics.
∙ Children here still highly abbreviate words and still lack many of the smaller grammatical words and
endings of English such as 'the, of, -s' etc. as well as '-s possessive'.
∙ They are beginning to develop an understanding of the different rules some words possess, how to use
these words, etc.
∙ They're developing an understanding of how to categorize words they hear from adults. ∙ Children at
this stage don't necessarily need to be taught something, but instead can develop their own sense of
meaning when it comes to words that they may have never heard before.
∙ The word ordering a child uses at this stage is the same as an adults grammar.

Telegraphic Stage.

∙ around 2.5 years of age and onward indefinitely until a child has fluent language skills. ∙ Children at
this stage progress very quickly and develop language at a much faster rate now that they have
grasped the very essentials of language.

∙ During this stage, children seem to have a much better understanding of syntax and semantics. ∙
Over the course of this stage (more specifically after the age of two), children often expand their
lexicon by as many as ten to twelve new words a day,
∙ Many children at this age ask a large amount of
∙ They tend to develop a fairly good understand of what each individual word means and how to use
it in a sentence.
∙ During this stage, children do not appear to be making word order errors, but their
sentences are shortened dramatically.
∙ They generally follow the order of the subject, verb and object, such as 'doggie bark me' might mean
'the dog barked at me'.
∙ The first inflection children learn is usually 'ing', followed by an understanding of plurals and how
plurals are formed as well as starting to develop exceptions. Simple prepositions (i.e. in, on, etc)
are generally learnt after this.
∙ 'Fis Phenomenon' -Children may have a lot of trouble in terms of phonology. They know the difference
between sounds and can distinguish between even the hardest sounds with ease, but they may not
be able to physically pronounce them yet.Children in the telegraphic stage are still lacking function
words and morphemes and do not quite know how to use these in sentences, but when heard, they
can understand them
∙ and how they give a sentence meaning.

LESSON 2
PRINCIPLES AND THEORIES OF
 LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND LEARNING
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LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

AGE ACTIVITY

Two months Cries, coos, and grunts.

Four months Begins babbling. Makes most vowel sounds and

about half of consonant sounds.

Six months Vocalizes with intonation. Responds to own

name.

Eight months Combines syllables when babbling, such "Ba-ba."

Eleven months Says one word (or fragment of a word) with

meaning.

Twelve months Says two or three words with meaning. Practices

inflection, such as raising pitch of voice at the

end of a question.

Eighteen months Has a vocabulary between five and 20 words,

mostly nouns. Repeats word or phrase over and

over. May start to join two words together.

Two years Has a vocabulary of 150–300 words. Uses I, me,

and you. Uses at least two prepositions (in, on,

under). Combines words in short sentences.

About two-thirds of what is spoken is

understandable.

Three years Has a vocabulary of 900–1000 words. Uses more

verbs, some past tenses, and some plural nouns.

Easily handles three-word sentences. Can give

own name, sex, and age. About 90% of speech is

 understandable.

Four years Can use at least four prepositions. Can usually

repeat words of four syllables. Knows some

colors and numbers. Has most vowels and

diphthongs and consonants p, b, m, w, and n

established. Talks a lot and repeats often.

Five years Can count to ten. Speech is completely

understandable, although articulation might not

LESSON 2
PRINCIPLES AND THEORIES OF
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND
LEARNING

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be perfect. Should have all vowels and

consonants m, p, b, h, w, k, g, t, d, n, ng, y. Can

repeat sentences as long as nine words. Speech

is mostly grammatically correct.

Six years Should have all vowels and consonants listed

above, has added, f, v, sh, zh, th, l. Should be able

to tell a connected story about a picture.

Seven years Should have consonants s–z, r, voiceless th, ch,

wh, and soft g. Should be able to do simple

reading and print many words.

Eight years All speech sounds established. Carries on

conversation at a more adult level. Can tell

complicated stories of past events. Easily uses

complex and compound sentences. Reads simple

stories with ease and can write simple

compositions.
 SOURCE : Child Development Institute. 2004. http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com.

∙ encourage the child to ask questions

∙ read books about familiar things, with pictures, rhymes, repetitive lines, and few

words ∙ read favorite books repeatedly, allowing the child to join in with familiar

words

∙ encourage the child to pretend to read

∙ not interrupt children when they are speaking

Parents of four to six-year-olds should:

∙ not speak until the child is fully attentive

∙ pause after speaking to give the child a chance to respond

∙ acknowledge, encourage, and praise speech

∙ introduce new words

LESSON 2
PRINCIPLES AND THEORIES OF
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND
LEARNING

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∙ talk about spatial relationships and opposites

∙ introduce limericks, songs, and poems

∙ talk about the television programs that they watch

∙ encourage the child to give directions

∙ give their full attention when the child initiates a conversation

Parents of six to 12-year-olds should talk to the children, not at them, encourage conversation by asking
questions that require more than a yes-or-no answer, and listen attentively as the child recounts the day's
activities.

Additional recommendations for parents and care-givers, by the American Academy of Pediatrics and
others, include:

∙ talking at eye level with a child and supplementing words with body language, gestures, and facial
expressions to enhance language comprehension

∙ talking in ways that catch a child's attention

∙ using language to comfort a child

∙ using correct pronunciations

 ∙ using expressive language to discuss objects, actions, and emotions

∙ playing with sounds and words

∙ labeling objects and actions with words

∙ providing objects and experiences to talk about

∙ choosing activities that promote language

∙ listening carefully to children and responding in ways that let them know that they have been
understood, as well as encouraging further communication

∙ using complete sentences and adding detail to expand on what a child has said

∙ knowing when to remain silent

∙ reading to a child by six months of age at the latest

∙ encouraging children to ask questions and seek new information

∙ encouraging children to listen to and ask questions of each other

LESSON 2
PRINCIPLES AND THEORIES OF
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND
LEARNING

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When to call the doctor !

Parents should call the pediatrician immediately if they suspect that their child may have a language delay
or a hearing problem. Warning signs of language delay in toddlers include:

∙ avoiding eye contact

∙ neither understanding nor speaking words by 18 months of age

∙ difficulty learning nursery rhymes or simple songs

∙ not recognizing or labeling common objects

∙ inability to pay attention to a book or movie

∙ poor articulation, such that a parent cannot understand the child more than 50 percent of the

time THE FIVE STAGES OF SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

∙ Anyone who has been around children who are learning to talk knows that the process happens in
stages— first understanding, then one-word utterances, then two-word phrases, and so on.
∙ Students learning a second language move through five predictable stages: Preproduction, Early
Production, Speech Emergence, Intermediate Fluency, and Advanced Fluency (Krashen &
 Terrell, 1983).
∙ How quickly students’ progress through the stages depends on many factors, including level of formal
education, family background, and length of time spent in the country.
∙ Knowing this information about each student allows you to work within his or her zone of proximal
development—that gap between what students can do on their own and what they can do with the
help of more knowledgeable individuals (Vygotsky, 1978).
∙ Another reason for all teachers to gain insights into their students' stages of second language
acquisition is to meet the requirements of the 2001 No Child Left Behind

SAMPLE TEACHER PROMPTS FOR EACH STAGE OF SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

Stage Characteristics Approxim Teacher Prompts

Preproduction ate Time ∙ Show me …

Frame ∙ Circle the …

∙ Where is … ?
The student 0–6 months
∙ Who has … ?
∙ Has minimal comprehension.

∙ Does not verbalize.

∙ Nods "Yes" and "No."

∙ Draws and points.

LESSON 2
PRINCIPLES AND THEORIES OF
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND
LEARNING

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Early The student

Production
∙ Has limited comprehension

∙ Produces one- or two-word

responses. ∙ Uses key words and

familiar phrases. ∙ Uses

present-tense verbs.
 comprehension or content learning. To
Speech The student
Emergence accomplish this, you will need to know each
∙ Has good comprehension. student's stage of language acquisition.

∙ Can produce simple sente

∙ Makes grammar and pronu

errors.

∙ Frequently misunderstands

Intermediate The student

Fluency
∙ Has excellent comprehens

∙ Makes few grammatical er

Advanced The student has a near-native l

Fluency speech.

∙ Preproduction students "Where is … ?" or

"Who has … ?" questions—that is,
questions that require a pointing, drawing,
or circling response. It is even OK to ask
Preproduction students a question every so
often that requires a one-word response,
because we always want to transition them
to the next stage.
∙ Early Production students, questions that
require a one-word response, such as
yes/no and either/or questions, are
acceptable. You also want to begin asking
students at this stage questions that
require a phrase or short sentence.
∙ Speech Emergence students should be
asked to answer questions that require a
short-sentence response. It is OK to
sometimes ask these students questions
requiring a multiple-sentence response, but
it is not OK to ask them questions
requiring a pointing or one-word response.
∙ Intermediate and Advanced Fluency
students? It is OK to ask them questions
that require a lot of verbal output, but it is
not OK to ask them questions requiring
minimal verbal output.
LESSON 2
You can use tiered questions to include all ELLs in
whole-class activities, or one on one to check
PRINCIPLES AND THEORIES OF
 LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND LEARNING
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Tiered Thinking Across Stages of Second Language Acquisition

∙ You likely use or recall Bloom's taxonomy (Bloom, Englehart, Furst, Hill, & Krathwohl, 1956), which
provides a structure for categorizing the level of abstraction of questions, starting with questions for
recalling information (low level) and concluding with questions for predicting and discriminating
among ideas (high level).
∙ Research shows that high levels of student engagement are "a robust predictor of student achievement
and behavior in school" (Klem & Connell, 2004, p. 262).
∙ At the same time, one way for mainstream teachers to engage their ELLs more is by asking tiered
questions. We recommend that teachers ask frequent questions throughout their lessons. ∙ Questions
should be tailored to each ELL's level of second language acquisition.

LEVELS OF BLOOM'S TAXONOMY

FIGURE 2.3. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BLOOM'S

TAXONOMY AND THE STAGES OF SECOND
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

LESSON 2
PRINCIPLES AND THEORIES OF
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND
LEARNING
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English language learners at all stages of acquisition should be asked questions at all levels of thinking. We
don't want them to get stuck at a knowledge level only. We want to challenge their thinking and speaking
abilities.

KEY TERMS

Apraxia —Impairment of the ability to make purposeful movements, but not paralysis or loss of sensation.

Expressive aphasia —A developmental disorder in which a child has lower-than-normal proficiency in

vocabulary, production of complex sentences, and word recall, although language comprehension is
normal.

Expressive language —Communicating with language.

Expressive language development —A style of language development in which a child's babble mimics
the cadence and rhythm of adult speech.

Receptive aphasia —A developmental disorder in which a child has difficulty comprehending spoken and
written language.

Receptive language —The comprehension of language.

Referential language development —A style of language development in which a child first speaks single
words and then joins words together into two- and three-word sentences.
Nelson 1973 (18
children)

15 months
(range 13-19)

20 months
(range 14-24)

Milestone Fenson 1993

(1,789 children)

10 words 13 months
(range 8-16)

50 words 17 months
(range 10-24)
words (range 28-436)
310 words (range 41-668)
Vocabulary at 24 months 186
 LESSON 2
PRINCIPLES AND THEORIES OF
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND
LEARNING

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ENHANCER 1
Instructions. Think of different activities which you think are best suited for the age/grade level given in the table. In
giving an activity, kindly state a short description of each activity. ONE LANGUAGE ACTIVITY EACH.
Kindergarten Grade 1 Grade 3

Grade 6 Grade 8 Grade 10

Grade 12 First year English Major To your Classmate

REFERENCES:

http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/108053/chapters/The-Stages-of-Second-Language-Acquisition

.aspx https://englanglanguageacquisition.weebly.com/major-stages-of-language-acquisition.html

https://www.ling.upenn.edu/courses/Fall_2019/ling001/acquisition.html

https://www.edubloxtutor.com/language-development/
LESSON 2