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age of language acquisition
"age of language acquisition" Hypothesis
learning language in early life
=======================================
The hypothesis of language acquisition assumes that humans have a
critical age during which language acquisition is likely to occur.
"Most children start to speak within two years of birth," even when
there is no real necessity to talk verbally. Before the actual
formation of words, "children make noises that most people see as an
attempt to communicate." (1)
Studies in neurobiology, neurodevelopment, and early intervention
show that the years from birth to five are critically important for
brain development." During these early years, children develop the
essential language and cognitive skills required to learn, develop
their ability to manage emotions and stress, and learn to cooperate
with others. (2)
Neural circuits in the brain of a child continue to increase and
intensify from birth to approximately age five. The development of the
neural circuits "connotes that there is a critical age of language
acquisition, or at least for language acquisition without special
teaching and without the need for special learning." Further, "the
innate neurological ability of the human brain to acquire language
must be triggered by language." (3)
The neural connections established early in life are solidified
through repetitive experiences. The first ten years of life are most
critical for learning language. Greater exposure to conversation
translates to more solid language skills and increase vocabulary.
There is evidence to show that the earliest components of language
learning actually begin in utero."Babies are learning their native
language before birth. This is made possible by the development of
hearing as early as 16 weeks gestational age. A mother's voice reaches
the uterus with very little distortion as the sound waves pass
directly through her body. Acoustic spectroscopy, which makes possible
elaborately detailed portraits of sound similar to fingerprints, has
documented prenatal learning of the mother tongue. By 27 weeks of
gestation, the cry of a baby already contains some of the speech
features, rhythms, and voice characteristics of its mother. Newborn
reactions to language are based on the sounds heard in utero: French
babies prefer to look at persons speaking French while Russian babies
prefer to watch people speaking Russian." (4)
At a White House Summit on Early Childhood Cognitive Development in
2001, scientists reiterated that "babies seek out and acquire a
tremendous amount of language information in the first year of life.
Even before babies can speak, they have already figured out many of
the components of language. They know which particular sounds their
language uses, what sounds can be combined to create words, and the
tempo and rhythm of words and phrases." (5)
In most cases, children "learn language with little effort or
training." There are certain common steps exhibited in learning
language, however. Children generally "begin with single words and
advance to two, then three and more word combinations." Words may
start as a generalized reference to many different objects. For
instance, a child may learn the word "dog" and use it to refer to all
animals with four legs. As a child begins to learn pluralization, word
formations may be inappropriate. For example, an "s" may be added to
the end of every noun, such a "foots and sheeps." A child's perfection
of language skills comes through "listening, watching and learning to
comprehend the world around them. (6)
The interrelationship between parent-child interaction from a very
young age and the development of language skills cannot be denied,
"Parents should sing and talk to even the youngest infants, because
the verbal stimulation is crucial to how well a child develops
thinking and language skills later," said a panel of experts at a
White House Symposium in 1997. (7)
A young child's early recognition of language before they are able to
verbalize is cited as a reason to begin speech-language treatment as
early as possible. "Many people falsely believe that speech-language
treatment cannot and should not begin until a child begins to talk.
Yet, research has shown that children know a great deal about their
language even before the first word is said. For example, children can
distinguish between their native language and a foreign language, use
different nonverbal utterances to express different needs, and imitate
different patterns of speech through babbling." (8)
The ability to read is also impacted by early language skills.
"Learning comes through all the senses, and language develops in the
context of meaningful interactions with adults and other children. The
more senses involved, the more solid the learning. Words (like "dog")
have meaning because they evoke images in the mind (what a dog looks
like, sounds like, smells like, how it feels to the touch). Direct
experiences connected with the words to describe these experiences
create solid images and understanding, which are essential for success
in reading." (9)
Developmental science shows a strong connection between early
language development and reading. Language and reading require the
same types of sound analysis. The better babies are at distinguishing
the building blocks of speech at six months, the better they will be
at more complex language skills at two and three years old, and the
easier it will be for them at four and five years old to grasp the
idea of how sounds link to letters. (5)
Age is critical to attaining certain components of language skills.
"It goes without arguing here that there is a critical period for
language acquisition, and that it coincides roughly with puberty."
(10) After puberty, children have a much harder time acquiring correct
syntax and grammer.
A deficit in early learning of language can have consequences in
later life. In the words of G. Reid Lyon, Chief of the Child
Development and Behavior Branch at the National Institutes of Health,
"Children who do not receive a strong language and emergent literacy
foundation during the preschool years frequently have difficulties
comprehending and using language and developing strong reading and
writing abilities throughout their school tenure. No doubt, this lack
of development places these children at later risk for school failure,
and for limited occupational and economic success, not to mention
detriments to their well-being." (11)
Works Cited
1."Evidence of a Language Instinct."
http://ntc2.home.attbi.com/Ling100-3.html
2."White House Summit on Early Childhood Cognitive Development."
Address by G. Reid Lyon Chief, Child Development and Behavior Branch,
National Institutes of Health. Summary Comments. Dept. of Education
(7/27/2001)
http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/07-2001/07272001_lyon.html
3."Approach to L1 Acquisition form Epistemology." (Then to Hiramoto
Kouji's HomePage)
://www.google.com/search?q=related:member.nifty.ne.jp/NLP/Cognitive_01.pdf&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&start=10&sa=N
4. "Prenatal Memory and Learning," by David B. Chamberlain, Editor.
Life Before Birth
http://www.birthpsychology.com/lifebefore/earlymem.htmlhttp://www.birthpsychology.com/lifebefore/earlymem.html
5."The White House Summit on Early Childhood Cognitive Development."
East Wing Connections.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/firstlady/initiatives/education/earlychildhood.html
6."Can Apes Acquire Language?
http://www.fortunecity.com/greenfield/twyford/73/thoughts.html#N_4_
7."Talking, Singing to Baby is Vital to Brain Development." The Star
Tribune (4/18/1997)
http://www.luminet.net/~wenonah/new/babbrain.htm
8."Early Identification of Speech-Language Disorders." Fact Sheet.
Learning Disabilities
Association.
http://www.ldanatl.org/factsheets/EarlyID.html
9."Build That Brain," by Diane Trister Dodge and Toni S. Bickart.
Scholastic Families.
http://www.scholastic.com/earlylearner/age4/learning/pre_buildbrain.htm
10."Co-Evolution of Language-Size and the Critical Period," by James R
Hurford and Simon Kirby, Department of Linguistics, University of
Edinburgh.
http://216.239.57.100/search?q=cache:rci5P8HfBy0C:cogprints.ecs.soton.ac.uk/archive/00000164/00/birdsong.s.ps+&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
11."The Link Between Early Learning and Care and School Readiness," by
Jen Brown. Economic Opportunity Institute. (updated 11/7/2002)
http://www.econop.org/ELC/EarlyLearning/ELC-SchoolReadiness.htm |
