Interesting Issues

1. “Linguistic competence develops by stages. Observations of children in different language areas of the world reveal that the stages are similar — possibly universal. Some of the stages last for a short time; others remain longer.” [The source got eaten by my computer when I downloaded it but, if needed, I can try to search for it again.]

I believe this is universal, and not just of children. It is important when teaching older children and adults to realize that we all have times of accelerated improvement and of plateaus, and it is important to acknowledge these as a teacher: to be aware of where a student is in this respect, and to offer extra encouragement during the times of less marked performance.

2. The derivational morphemes in English tend to be learned in a similar order: -ing, -s, etc. My uneducated guess is that L1 learners of all languages learn morphemes in a particular order, depending on the language. As a potential teacher I imagine there is application of that knowledge to adult learners, and I’ve seen ESL books that prescribe certain orders. Yet I also wonder if the learning-order for English might be enough different than that of, say, Swahili, that this concept is of limited use in that context. This conjecture is embarrassing; I’m embarrassed because I don’t have TESOL experience — yet.]

Elsewhere I read about phonological development also having an order, which does seem more universal across languages: vowels acquired before consonants, stops acquired before other consonants, labials acquired earlier. Again, there may be application in second language acquisition, but probably not in a broad, general way. Learner English, for example, has tables that show which languages have which sounds in common with English, and thus which are harder for speakers of certain languages to learn; that tailored approach seems superior.

3. Overgeneralization (e.g. man, mans in English is common among L1 learners, and it is equally apparent in adult learners of additional languages. I strongly suspect that this is universal across all language groups because it seems to be a function of the LAD. And because it is an unconscious learning technique for children and adults, I think it is one that may provide direct insight into how to teach an adult ALL.

Questions

1. Type of input children receive in FLA:

I’m sorry, but I’m not sure I understand this question. I’ll answer it as best I can from my own brain, and hope I’m not barking up the wrong tree.

Krashen refers to “comprehensible input” being key to a child’s L1 learning, and controversially applies this premise to adult learning. Another characteristic of child L1 learning (related to Krashen’s theory) is that is it unconscious.

During a child’s first five or so years, this input generally comes from his/her family, and provides a crucial language foundation. Betty Hart at the University of Kansas wrote, “The first words the children produced tended to be ones their parents frequently addressed to the children, but evidence for a relationship with word frequency in input decreased as the children produced increasing numbers of words. The children seemed to progress rapidly from rote learning to learning words on a more principled basis.”

So the effects of the  parents’ (and probably siblings’) conversation is apparent in the speech of a child. Interaction is critical (as we’ve seen in cases where a child has been deprived of conversation).

2. Universal grammar and LAD:

Universal grammar is based on the idea that we all learn grammar in essential the same way as one another, and that there is a “deep structure” across all languages. The study of universal grammar seeks to identify these common characteristics. Further, it maintains that there is not infinite variation in languages. (Brown)

The Language Acquisition Device (LAD) was identified by Chomsky as an innate capacity in all humans to learn language. According to McNeill (cited in Brown), the LAD gives us the ability to differentiate speech from environmental sounds, organize language elements into classifications that we may later change, know which rules do or don’t work in our language, and evaluate our language system in as simple a way as possible.

3. Are kids done with FLA by age 5? Are we all equally successful as L1 learners?

I recall from past classes that, for native-like accent, learning needs to happen before puberty, and some say younger. But  are kids done with FLA by age 5?  I don’t know the real answer, but I’d guess no. Probably the fundamentals of grammar are in place, but they continue to get more sophisticated, building on learned rules, the older a person gets. And I don’t consider myself finished with FLA, if the definition includes vocabulary, and even certain unique syntax I may not have encountered yet.

And I don’t think all are uniformly successful in our learning. Innate factors (such as certain types of intelligence) and environment (e.g. how much “comprehensible input” the child receives) play a major role.