08 Language Acquisition Free Online FlashCards

What is language acquisition?

Language acquisition is the development of the ability to understand and use a language, including its sounds, words, grammar, meanings, and conventions for context.

How do L1 and L2 differ?

L1 refers to language or languages learned from early childhood; L2 refers to an additional language learned later or alongside an L1. The distinction concerns learning circumstances, not the number of languages a person can acquire.

How does early language understanding compare with speaking?

Children commonly understand more words and expressions than they can say. Understanding often develops ahead of fluent production.

What does a child's “goed” reveal?

Overregularization is applying a regular grammatical pattern to an exception, such as saying “goed.” It is a normal sign of rule learning, and children later learn exceptions.

Does combining two languages mean a child is confused?

Children exposed to two languages from early life can acquire both. Combining words from the languages is not, by itself, evidence of confusion or delay.

What is interlanguage in second-language acquisition?

Interlanguage is a learner's evolving L2 system. It is often systematic, though it is not yet identical to the target language.

What is language transfer in L2 learning?

Transfer occurs when learners apply patterns from an earlier language. It can help when languages share a pattern and cause difficulty when their patterns differ.

What do behaviorist accounts emphasize, and what can imitation alone not explain?

Behaviorist accounts emphasize imitation, practice, and reinforcement. These can help explain routines and pronunciation, but imitation alone cannot explain novel sentences or complex patterns learned from incomplete examples.

How do statistical and usage-based accounts explain pattern learning?

Statistical and usage-based accounts propose that learners detect regularities by tracking which sounds, words, and forms occur together. For example, repeated “-ed” endings can reveal a regular past-tense pattern.

What do nativist approaches propose about language learning?

Nativist approaches propose that humans have language-specific or language-supporting biological capacities that constrain learners' expectations and make language learning possible. Researchers disagree about the nature and extent of innate language-specific knowledge.

Which general processes do cognitive approaches connect with language learning?

Cognitive approaches examine general processes such as attention, memory, categorization, prediction, and pattern recognition. These processes support learning in language and other domains.

How do interactionist approaches explain the role of communication?

Interactionist approaches emphasize communication: meaningful conversation, shared attention, clarification, and feedback can help learners connect words with meaning and notice mismatches between intended and produced language.