PLL Modules Reviewer

Course Syllabus
Department of English and Applied Linguistics

De La Salle University-Manila
COURSE CODE/COURSE TITLE: ENG631M
(Psychology of Language Leaning)
Faculty: Dr. Rochelle Irene G. Lucas
Course Description
This course discusses the basic concepts and principles related to language learning, development
and acquisition. It covers issues on both first and second language acquisition theories and their
implications to the teaching of English as a second language to both young and adult language
learners. The course touches on the various cognitive processes necessary in the learning,
development and acquisition of both first and second languages in a bilingual linguistic setting.
Objectives/Values
At the end of the term, the students are expected to:
1. 1. be familiar with the various concepts and principles governing

language learning, development and acquisition
2. 2. understand the different processes of language learning such as

phonological, lexical, syntactical and morphological development
3. 3. evaluate and analyze the various concepts and principles of language

learning and its implication in teaching both the first and second languages
in a bilingual environment
4. 4. develop a proposed study and module on both first and second

language learning, development and acquisition in both young and adult
language learners in a bilingual linguistic environment
Topics/Course Outline
Schedule Topics Readings
Week 1 Hoff (2001) pp. 6,

1. Module 1: 23, 25-26
Introduction
https://cdn.fbsbx.com/v/t59.2708-21/11787528_10200837336…oh=3fb0bca1805e06f2b7541ac3a4d5ecc5&oe=5C3E8A88&dl=1 14/01/2019, 9H37 PM

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to the Course Berko- Gleason
(1993) pp. 3-9, 26-
1. A. Chronological 28, 31
Overview of
Language
Development
2. B. Approaches
and Methods to
the Study of
Language
Learning and
Development
Week 2 Hoff (2001) pp. 45-

1. Module 2: 59; 62-64
Biological
bases of
language
learning de Boysson-Bardies
A. A. Language as a Human (1999) pp. 29-35
Universal
B. B. Human Vocal Tract and Berko-Gleason
Language (1993)
C. C. Human Brain and
Language
Johmann (1993)
Supplemental Reading: pp. 159-169
Johmann, C. (1983). Sex and the
split brain. In C. Dunbar, G. Dunbar Steinberg et. al
and L. Rorabacher (1994).(Eds.). (2001)
Assignments in Exposition. New
pp. 319-323; 124-
York: Harper Collins College
137
Publishers.
Steinberg, D.; Nagata, H., & Aline, D.
(2001). (Eds.). Wild and Isolated
Children and the Critical Age Issue
for Language Learning./ Lateralized
Hemispheric Functioning.
Psycholinguistics: Language, mind
and the world. Harlow, England:
Pearson Education.
A. D. Brain development and

Language Development
B. E. The Critical Period
Hypotheses
Week 3 Garcia (2004) pp.2-4

A. Module 3: First Language

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Acquisition Hoff (2001) pp.13-17
B. A. Behaviorist
C. B. Nativist
D. C. Social-interactionist
E. D. Connectivist
F. E. Constructivist
G. F. Developmentalist
H. G. Cognitivist
Film Showing: Nell
Week 4 Gitaski (2000) pp.1-

A. Module 4: Second 10
Language Acquisition
B. A. Monitor Model
Steinberg et. al
C. B. Interlanguage Theories (2001)
D. C. Universal Grammar pp. 190-216
Theories
E. D. Cognitive Theories
F. E. Multi-dimensional Model
G. F. Acculturation/Pidginization
Theory
Supplemental Reading:
Steinberg, D.; Nagata, H., & Aline, D.
(2001). (Eds.). Second Language
Teaching Methods. Psycholinguistics:
Language, mind and the world. Harlow,
England: Pearson Education
Week 5 Hoff (2001) pp.368-
A. Module 5: Bilingualism in 381
Children
a. A. Overview of the Topic

b. B. The Bilingual Brain
c. C. Bilingual First Language
Acquisition
d. D. Second Language
Acquisition in Childhood
e. E. Bilingual Language Use:
Code Switching

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Week 6 A. Module 6: Phonological Hoff (2001) pp. 101-
Development - The 135
Emergence of Speech
de Boysson-Bardies
a. A. Pre-linguistic Speech
(1999) pp. 37-55;
Sound and Development of
Speech Perception 84-85;
b. B. Phonological Development 191-194
During Early Language
Acquisition
Werker & Desjardins
c. C. Later Phonological
Development
(2001) pp. 26-33
d. D. Phonological Knowledge in
Adults
Supplemental reading:
Werker, J. & Desjardins, R. (2001).
Listening to speech in 1st year of

life:
Experiential influences on phoneme
Perception In Tomasello, M. &

Bates, E.
(2001). Language development: The
essential readings. Oxford, England:
Blackwell.
Week 7 Hoff (2001) pp. 151-

A. Module 7: Lexical
Development – The Explosion
of Words 194
a. A. Early Lexical Development de Boysson-Bardies

b. B. Individual Differences in (1999) pp. 136-137;
Language Development 146-148;
c. C. How Words are Learned
d. D. Relation of Words to 190
Concepts Caselli et. al (2001)
e. E. Later lexical development pp. 76-110
in children
Supplemental reading:
Caselli, M.C., Casadio, P. & Bates,
E.
(2001). Lexical development in

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English and
Italian. In Tomasello, M. & Bates, E.
(2001).
Language development: The
essential
readings. Oxford, England:
Blackwell
Week 8 Hoff (2001) pp. 209-
A. Module 8: Development of
217; 219-
Syntax & Morphology -
Learning the Syntax of 220;
Language 232-234
a. A. Theoretical Positions on
Tomasello (2001)
the Acquisition of Grammar
pp. 169-185
b. B. Early Multi-word
Utterances
c. C. Development of
Grammatical Morphemes
d. D. Development of Different
Sentence Forms
e. E. Development of Complex
Sentences
f. F. Development of
Comprehension of Structured
Speech
Tomasello, M. (2001).The item-based
nature
of children’s early syntactic
development. In
Tomasello, M. & Bates, E. (2001).
Language development: The
essential
readings. Oxford, England: Blackwell
Week 9 Hoff (2001) pp. 260-

A. Module 9: The
Development of 304
Communicative Competence
Goodwin (1998)
a. A. Brief Overview of the Topic
pp. 121-146
b. B. Pragmatic Development
c. C. Discourse Development
d. D. Sociolingusitic

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Development
Goodwin, M. (1998). Cooperation
and competition across girls’ play
activities. In J. Coates. (1999).
Language and Gender: A Reader.
Malden, Massachusetts.
Week 10
A. Module 10: Language in
Hoff (2001) pp. 330-
Special Population
362
a. A. Overview of the Discussion
b. B. Language Development Grela (2004).
and Blindness
pp. 467-479
c. C. Language Development
and Deafness
d. D. Language Development
and Mental Retardation
e. E. Language Development
and Autism
f. F. Special Language
Impairment (SIL)
g. G. Atypical Speech
Development
Grela, B., Rashiti, L. & Soares, M.
(2004). Dative Prepositions in
children with specific language
impairment. Applied
Psycholinguistics, 25, pp.467-480.
Week 11 Independent Study
Week 12 Presentation of Study and Demo

and 13 Teaching
Teaching Method/ Strategies

Each class meeting involves an in depth discussion of the assigned reading. Students are
expected to have read the assignment for the meaningful facilitation of the lesson.

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References
Berko-Gleason, J. (1993). The development of language. New York: Macmillan Publishing
Company.
De Boysson- Bardies, B. (1999). How language comes to children: From birth to two years.
Massachusetts: MIT Press.
Garcia, R.I. (2004). Exploring noun bias in preschool children with English and Filipino and
codeswitched caregiver input. Unpublished dissertation. De La Salle University Manila.
Gitsaki, C. (2000). Second language acquisition theories: Overview and evaluation. Available:
www.joho.nucba.ac.jp/JCLSarticles/gitsaki4298.pdf
Goodwin, M. (1998). Cooperation and competition across girls’ play activities. In J. Coates. (1999).
Language and Gender: A Reader. Malden, Massachusetts.
Grela, B., Rashiti, L. & Soares, M. (2004).Dative Prepositions in children with specific language
impairment. Applied Psycholinguistics, 25, pp.467-480.
Hoff, E. (2001). Language development. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth-Thomson Learning.
Johmann, C. (1983). Sex and the split brain. In C. Dunbar, G. Dunbar and L. Rorabacher (1994).
(Eds.). Assignments in exposition. New York: HarperCollins College Publishers.
Steinberg, D.; Nagata, H., & Aline, D. (2001). (Eds.). Psycholinguistics: Language, mind and the
world. Harlow, England: Pearson Education.
Tomasello, M. & Bates, E. (2001). Language development: The essential

readings. Oxford, England: Blackwell
Course Requirements
a. 1. Attendance (Additional points will be given to students who have perfect
attendance)
b. 2. Exercise/Seatwork/Quiz 30%
c. 3. Research paper 25%
d. 4. Sharing/Reporting of assigned reading 10%
5. Module writing and demo teaching (35%)

a. Demo teaching 15%
b. Module 20%

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100%
Guidelines
A. Attendance
• Attendance in the course is required. A student exceeding the allowed number of
absences as reiterated in the DLSU Student Handbook will automatically get a failing
mark.
B. Quizzes
• Quizzes are given before or after the discussion of the readings assigned for the
whole week.
• NO MAKE UP QUIZ IS GIVEN TO LATE AND ABSENT STUDENTS.
C. Individual Sharing
• For article discussion (40 minutes)
• As discussion leader, the student will facilitate the class discussion on the chosen
article. The discussion leader is expected to prepare visual aids and provide hand-outs
for the class. Likewise, the same procedure will be followed for the presentation of the
individual research, which is part of the final paper requirement.
D. Research paper and Module

• 15-20 pages
• The research paper should follow the format prescribed: Brief background of the
study, research problem, conceptual framework, brief review of related literature,
methodology, results and discussion and conclusions.
• Module (Students should be able to come up with one teaching module designed
for the grade/year level they are teaching).
They are also expected to do a 30-minute demo on the module they have
prepared. (see format on module 4)
E. Typing specifications

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• Font Size: 12
• Font Type: Arial, Garamond or Times New Roman
• Spacing: Double
• Margins: Left- 1.5
Right, Top & Bottom- 1.0
1. • Ink Color: Black
2. • Paper Size: 8 ½” x 11” (short white paper)
3. • Paper Substance: 70-80 gsm
Important reminders
1. 1. All papers submitted (research paper and module) should not be inserted or
enclosed in an envelope, plain folder or sliding folder. Please staple or clip all the
required papers due for submission.
2. 2. Submission of late requirements is highly discouraged. Late papers WILL

NEVER BE ACCEPTED!
3. 3. No make up quiz, report or individual presentation will be given for those who will
be absent on the assigned day of the abovementioned class activities.
1. 1. Module 1
Introduction
to the Course
Topics
Chronological Overview of Language Development
Approaches and Methods to the Study of Language Learning & Development

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OBJECTIVES
At the end of the module, the students will be able to:
1. 1. be informed of the chronological overview of the study of language development;

2. 2. be aware of the different approaches and methods to the study of language
learning and development;
3. 3. discuss among themselves the importance of studying the early beginnings of the
study of language learning and the different approaches and methods of its
development;
Estimated Number of Meetings

• 1 meeting (3 hours)
MATERIALS/EQUIPMENT
a. 1. transparencies on the dateline of language development over the years and the
list of the different approaches and methods in studying language learning and
development
b. 2. power point presentation on the significant people who contributed immensely on
the study of language
Key Concepts for Understanding

Ancient accounts on language studies Behaviorist theory
Herodotus Syntax
Psammetichus Morphology
Late 19th and early 20th century Semantics
Feral or isolated children Pragmatics
Evolution theories on origins of human kind Phonology
Contemporary research Cross- sectional studies

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Descriptive linguistics Longitudinal studies
Transformational grammar Observational studies
Noam Chomsky Naturalistic studies
Innatist Theory Controlled studies
Bruce Skinner Experimental studies
Pre-linguistic studies
PROCEDURE
1. Power point presentation on significant people
and their contribution to the study of language 20 minutes
2. Open discussion on the chronological overview of

language development and the different approaches
and methods in the study of language acquisition 1 hour and 30 mins.
3. Individual processing on the focus questions provided 30 minutes
4. Open discussion on the focus questions given 40 minutes
POINTS FOR DISCUSSION

A. A. Chronological Overview of language
Development
1. 1. Historical Trends in Child Language Study
• First recorded account in the study of language acquisition is
found in the work of Greek historian Herodotus who has lived about
484 to 425 BC.
• In Book II of his work History, Herodotus relates the story of the

ancient Egyptian king Psammetichus, who wanted to prove that the
Egyptians were the original human race.
• In order to do this, Psammetichus ordered a shepherd to raise

two children, caring for their needs but not speaking to them. The
king’s objective was to know what the first words would be

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produced by these children after the babbling stage of infancy was
over. The king believed that the children would develop the language
of the oldest group of humans by themselves. This is perhaps the
strongest version of an innatist theory of language development.
(The innatist theory posits that babies come in this world with a
specific language wired in their brains and that baby are pre-
disposed to learn this language). When the two children were about
two years old, the shepherd went to their quarters one day. The
children ran up to him with their hands outstretched, saying “Becos.”
Unfortunately for the Egyptians, becos was not a word that anyone
recognized. Psammetichus according to the story of Herodotus,
asked around the kingdom and eventually was told that becos meant
“bread” in the Phyrgian language.
• In the ancient times, the structural nature of language was not

well understood. Studies then tended to concentrate on the kinds of
things that children said (language production) rather than in their
acquisition of productive linguistic subsystems.
1. 2. Studies in the late 19th and early 20th Century
• A lot of studies in children’s language development had been

written and published in Germany, France, England and the United
States during the latter half of the 19th century and the early years of
the 20th century.
• The kinds of questions that child language researchers asked

during this period were related to philosophical inquiries about the
human race. These questions were related to several philosophies
about the evolution of humankind and the development of language.
• The early studies were in the form of diary and journal entries
and were typically observations of the author’s own children.
• Notable exceptions were the studies of feral or isolated children

who had failed to acquire a language. Such studies have sustained
interest of a lot of child language researchers until today.
• In the educational world, children’s language was studied in

order to arrive at norms, delineate gender and social class
differences, and pinpoint the causes and cures of developmental
difficulties.
• Errors in grammar and pronunciation in children were also

examined and analyzed.

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1. 3. Contemporary Research
• The mid-1950s saw a revolution in the study of child language.
• Work on descriptive linguistics and early transformational

grammar of Noam Chomsky provided new models of language for
researchers to explore.
• A new Behaviorist theory initiated by Bruce Skinner inspired

other groups of investigators to design studies aimed at testing this
learning theory.
• Psycholinguistics came into being as a field where linguists and

psychologists combine the techniques of their disciplines to
investigate whether the systems described by the linguists had
psychological reality in the minds of the speakers.
• In the 1960s, after the powerful transformational model of

Chomsky, there was an explosion of research into children’s
acquisition of syntax. (Syntax refer to the rules by which sentences
are made, such as forms of passives, declaratives, interrogatives,
imperatives).
• The 1960s were characterized by studies of grammars of

children developing language. (Studies were recorded, transcribed
and analyzed).
• In the early 70’s, studies were conducted to shed light on the

innateness of language controversy as espoused by Chomsky.
• Researchers wanted to know whether children had to discover

the rules of language all by themselves, or whether adults provided
them with help.
• Studies in the 1980s and 1990s include all of the traditional

topics: phonology (study of the sound system of language),
morphology (the rules that govern the morphemes in a language),
syntax (the rules by which the sentences are made), semantics (the
study of the meaning of the language) and pragmatics (rules for the
use of language in social context).
• Studies also include cross-cultural research in language

development and in understanding how language development
interfaces with other aspects of children’s social and psychological
development in acquiring language.

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A. B. Approaches and Methods to the Study of
Language Learning and Development
Language studies can be classified as either cross sectional or longitudinal in their design.
1. 1. Cross sectional studies
• use two or more groups of subjects
• have the advantage of obtaining data over a short period of

time
1. 2. Longitudinal studies
• follow individual subjects over time
• expensive and time consuming and depends on the willingness

of the subjects to be available for the experiments
Both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies can either be observational or experimental.
1. 1. Observational Studies
a. a. Naturalistic studies
• takes place in settings which are part of the child’s normal

environment: the home, park, car, etc.
• typically longitudinal, in which a single child (or group of

siblings/playmates) are observed over a long period
• frequently involve the children of the linguist-observer, or

of friends of the linguist-observer
a. b. Controlled studies
• normally takes place in a psychology laboratory playroom

or other controlled environment
• are typically cross-sectional, in which a relatively large

sample of children are studied over a short period of time
1. 2. Experimental Studies
• Most child language experiments involve semi-elicitation.

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• The child is not asked metalinguistic questions, but might be
asked to repeat or imitate, to respond to questions of the sort, or to
play ‘language-pretend’ games involving toys and pictures.
• As with all elicitation, data collection is controlled.
• Types of Experimental Studies:
a. a. Imitation
b. b. Elicitation
c. c. Interview
1. 3. Pre-language studies
a. a. Head Turning
• the infant is expose to a number of repetitions of each set

of different speech sounds and syllables
• A new picture is projected on a wall when the sound is

changes
• The infant must turn his/her head to see the picture
a. b. Heart Rate
• An infant’s heart rate is monitored while he/she is exposed

to repetitions of a set of speech sounds to see whether the
heart changes when the sound changes.
a. c. High Amplitude Sucking
• The infant has a dummy pacifier that monitors sucking

rate.
• The infant is again exposed to repetitions of a set of

sounds and any change in sucking rate is observed.
• In this kind of set-up, the infant’s sucking rate increase

when a new sound is introduced and gradually slows down as
the sound is repeated.
FOCUS QUESTIONS FOR PROCESSING

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1. 1. What can be learned from studying the different stages of language learning
development over the years?
2. 2. What is the importance of knowing the different approaches and methods in

studying language acquisition and development?
References
1. Berko-Gleason, J. (1993). The development of language. New York: Macmillan
Publishing. Module 2
Biological Bases
of Language Learning
Topics
a. 1. Language as a human universal
a. 2. Human vocal tract and language

b. 3. Human brain and language
c. 4. Brain development and language development
d. 5. Critical Period Hypothesis
OBJECTIVES
At the end of the discussion, the students will be able to:
a. 1. Identify the different parts of the brain responsible for language functioning;
b. 2. Understand that language is genetically specific to humankind alone;

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c. 3. Become aware that language learning involves highly cognitive processing;
ESTIMATED NUMBER OF MEETINGS

• One meeting: 3 hours
MATERIALS/EQUIPMENT
• T.V.
• VHS player
• VHS tape- “Sex and the split brain”
• LCD
• Laptop
• Model of the human brain
KEY CONCEPTS FOR UNDERSTANDING

• Aphasia
• Broca’s aphasia
• Wernicke’s aphasia
• Conduction aphasia
• Cerebral cortex
• Corpus callosum
• Broca’s area
• Wernicke’s area
• Arcuate Fascilus
• Critical period hypothesis
• Pidgin
• Creole
• Language Bioprogram Hypothesis

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• Lateralization
• Lennenberg’s theory on language as species specific
PROCEDURE
a. 1. Film showing on “Sex and the split brain” 40 minutes
b. 2. Discussion about the movie 20 minutes
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
a. a. Discuss how the human brain functions differently between men and women.
b. b. Are the differences in the brain function of the males and females help explain
why they have gender differences?
c. c. Who is the better sex? Who is the weaker sex? Justify your answer.
a. 3. Slide presentation about why animals cannot talk 20 minutes
b. 4. Presentation of the human brain and discussion

on their functions for human communication 30 minutes
c. 5. Discussion on different theories about communication

as a human specific ability 30 minutes
d. 6. Processing of the discussion 40 minutes

A. A. Language as a human universal
• Language is a universal characteristic pf the human species. Not only
do all human societies have language, but in situations where there is no
target language to learn, humans in interaction will spontaneously create
language.
• Human language has special properties that have led many

researchers to conclude that such language is both species specific and
species uniform, i.e., it is unique to and essentially similar in all humans.
(Language Bioprogram Hypothesis-Derek Bickerton)

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• Language is said to be species unique because he possesses a brain
to contribute to that uniqueness. Moreover he also has unique cognitive
abilities and unique social settings to acquire language.
• Language creation- each generation learns to speak a language and

to some extent, create a language system
o Pidgin – Circumstances force people to invent a language that typically uses

the lexical items from one or more of the contact languages.
e.g. Hawaiian Pigdin English
o Creole – A language that once was a pidgin but which subsequently

became a native language. Creolization is a process that creates a new language.
e.g. Chavacano (Zamboanga)
A. B. Human vocal tract and language

• The adaptation that permitted the production of articulate speech is
altogether peculiar to human species.
• With the exception of some birds-parrots and mynah birds- that are
capable of unharmoniously reproducing certain aspects of the sounds that
constitute speech, only human beings can articulate the range of sounds
employed in spoken languages.
• The capacity to produce speech depends on the structure and the

functioning of the human vocal tract.
• The vocal tract serves other purposes such as biting, chewing,

swallowing, taking in air.
• The feature of the vocal tract is best suited for speaking.
• Speech is produced when air from the lungs exits the larynx (glottis)
and is filtered by the vocal tract above the larynx.
• We can change the pitch of the sound we produce by tightening or

loosening the vocal folds in the larynx.
• To speak, it is necessary to control and coordinate the movement of

the larynx, glottis, palate, jaw, lips and tongue.
A. C. Human brain and language

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• Unlike our relatives the apes, humans have areas in the cerebral
cortex found in the brain that are know to be associated with language.
• The two hemispheres of the brain are not symmetrical.
• Right-handers have their language functions represented in their left

hemisphere; the left-handed population have their language areas in the
right hemisphere.
• Most people is said to have lateralized function of the language in the

brain where the language center is said to be found in the left hemisphere.
• The right hemisphere also participates in some aspects of language

processing such as the emotional tone of the speech.
Basic Neuroanatomy and its Function
1. 1. Cerebral cortex
• the outer layer of the brain that controls higher mental functions such
as reasoning and planning
• it is divided into two cerebral hemisphere
• the area of the cortex that sits over the ear (the temporal lobe) is
larger in the left cerebral hemisphere than in the right
1. 2. Corpus callosum
• a band of nerve fibers that connects the right and left hemispheres of
the brain
1. 3. Broca’s area
• found in the left frontal region of the brain that is involved in language
functioning
• it controls the tongue and the lips
• it is said to be responsible for the development of syntax
Broca’s Aphasia – a condition in which the patient has good comprehension but has
difficulty with pronunciation and the production of words such as articles and preposition
1. 4. Wernicke’s area
• it is located in the posterior left temporal lobe, near the auditory

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association areas of the brain
• it is said to be responsible for development of meaning
Wernick’s Aphasia – a condition in which patients speak rapidly and fluently but without
meaning as a result of the damage to this area
1. 5. Arcuate Fascilus
• a band of subcortical fibers that connects the Werncike’s area with the
Brocka’s area
• the incoming message is processed in the Werncike’s area and then

sent over to the Broca’s area thru arcuate fascilus
• damage to this area is called conduction aphasia in which a patient is

unable to repeat words
A. D. Brain Development and Language

Development
• Language development is related to brain development.
• Although some form of left hemisphere specialization for language is

present from birth, developmental changes occur in both the potential and
the actual organization of language functions in the brain.
• As Eric Lennenberg (1967) pointed out, language development in

humans is associated with other maturational events.
• The appearance of language is a developmental milestone, roughly

correlated with the onset of walking.
Lenneberg’s Language as
Species Specific and Uniform Special Features
1. 1. The regular onset of speech
The order of appearance of development milestones including speech, is regular in

species- it is not affected by culture or the language learned.
1. 2. Speech is not suppresible
Normal children learn to talk if they are in contact with older speakers.
1. 3. Language cannot be taught to other species

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Man has both physiological and cognitive abilities to develop his linguistic abilities.
1. 4. Languages have certain universals
Certain systematic aspects of language such as phonology, grammar, semantics,

pragmatics and syntax are structures in accordance with the principles of human
cognition and that any human can learn a language.
A. E. Critical Period Hypothesis

Critical Period is a biologically determined window of time during which the influence of
experience on a significant behavior is significant.
• The theory that posits that there is a biologically determined period

during which language acquisition must occur.
• There are critical periods for certain linguistic aptitudes but they are
not a property of physiological growth but they do reveal the loss of
plasticity that occurs when neural connections and the brain becomes
specialized.
• Lenneberg (1967) thought that the critical period extended until

puberty although current studies suggest that it ends until the age of
seven.
• Children past the age of seven who have heard no human language
during childhood will be incapable of acquiring language.
• Newport (1991) suggested that young children are better than

learning a language because their perceptual and memory abilities are
limited.
• Small chunks of linguistic information are all that children can extract
from input and store in their memories.
• In case of second language acquisition, studies suggest that other

factors beside biology play a strong role in explaining why children tend to
achieve greater mastery of a second language than adults.

1. 1. Discuss the role of the right hemisphere of the brain in normal
language functioning.

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2. 2. What is critical period hypothesis and what evidences can be drawn
for its effect in the acquisition of language.
3. 3. Discuss the different theories proposed by linguists regarding

language as specific only to human beings.
4. 4. For each of the linguistic phenomena, give an explanation (1) that is

consistent with the view that the processes underlying language are
basically cognitive processes; (2) that language depends on specifically
linguistic capabilities:
a. a. critical period in language learning
b. b. creolization
c. c. pidginization
d. d. lateralization of the brain
References
De Boysson-Bardies, B. (1999). How language comes to children: From birth to two years.
Berko-Gleason, J. (1993). The development of language. New York: Macmillan Publishing

Company.
Johmann, C. (1983). Sex and the split brain. In C. Dunbar, G. Dunbar and L. Rorabacher (1994).
(Eds.). Assignments in Exposition. New York: HarperCollins College Publishers.
1. Module 1
Module 3
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First Language Theories
Topics
a. 1. Behaviorist
b. 2. Nativist
c. 3. Social-interactionist
d. 4. Connectivist
e. 5. Constructivist
f. 6. Developmentalist
g. 7. Cognitivist
OBJECTIVES
1. identify the different first language acquisition theories;

2. recognize the best first language theory that is suited for young language learners
considering our bilingual setting;
3. understand that there are several factors affecting a child’s acquisition of his first
language;

• Two meetings: (6 hours)

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MATERIALS/EQUIPMENT
• T.V.
• VCD player
• VCD of “Nell”
• OHP
• LCD/laptop
• Slides about process discussion/pictures of first language theorists

1. • Aphasia
2. • Language disorder
3. • Feral/wild children
4. • Language impairment
5. • Behaviorist theory
6. • Nativist/Innatist theory
7. • Social-interactionist theory
8. • Connectivist theory
9. • Constructivist theory
10. • Developmentalist theory
11. • Cognitivist theory
12. • Bruce Skinner
13. • Noam Chomsky
14. • Paul Bloom
PROCEDURE
1. 1. Part 1: Movie viewing of the film “Nell” 120 minutes
2. 2. Process discussion about the film 60 minutes

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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
a. a. Discuss the linguistic development of Nell, the main character in the movie.
b. b. Describe Nell’s linguistic behavior.
c. c. What L1 theory/theories support/supports Nell’s linguistic development?
d. d. Do you think that the critical period plays an important factor in Nell’s
linguistic deficiency?
1. 3. Part 2: Review of discussion on the previous meeting 20 minutes
2. 4. Slide show on famous figures who instituted the

first language theories 25 minutes
3. 5. Discussion on the various first language theories 90 minutes
4. 6. Processing of the lesson 45 minutes

• The mystery of how children acquire natural language has intrigued scientists and
philosophers for centuries. For years, experts have developed theories to prove how
man acquire and develop language.
• Some argued that language is genetically coded and that man is born with the
facility to acquire language and not learn it from his immediate environment. Other
experts however posited that man learns language through his direct contact with his
immediate environment. Other experts however believe that language is an interplay of
both cognitive and social development of humankind.
A. A. Behaviorist
• Behaviorism was popular in the early and middle part of this century.
• Behaviorism proposed that children learn language like they learn

other complex behaviors through the principles of classical and operant
conditioning as postulated by Skinner (1957), a staunch advocate of this
theory.
• This theory believed that children are not born with the knowledge of a
specific language, but learn to speak the language that is spoken to them.
• Language learning is perceived as any kind of learning, as the

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formation of habits.
• The Behaviorists emphasized the role of parents as models and

reinforcers of language.
A. B. Nativist
• The theory can be attributed to Chomsky (1957).
• He argued that man possesses a mental organ that is solely dedicated

to language use and it is found in the brain.
• This innate device is called Language Acquisition Device (LAD)
• The theory proposed that children are biologically prepared to learn

language because of the presence of an innate learning mechanism.
• Language acquisition and development is largely driven by some form

of physical maturation, a pre-programmed growth process based on
changes in underlying and existing neural structures that are relatively
independent of environmental conditions and influences.
• In addition to the existence of a mental organ specifically designed to

perform the task of language learning, young language learners have a
sort of primitive knowledge about the structure of language.
• This is called the universal grammar that resides in the brain and
could make appropriations to make the innate theory of syntax match the
theory that people around them use.
A. C. Social-Interactionist
• This theory examined the interplay between language, cognitive and
social development in language acquisition.
• This theory proposed that the social environment plays a more

important role in the acquisition and development of language.
A. D. Connectivist
• This theory adhered to basic biological mechanisms in order to
account for language acquisition.
• According to this theory, language is a probabilistic learning.
• The child’s brain seeks out patters in the language input and infers

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permissible sequences of output.
A. E. Constructivist
• This theory as postulated by Piaget viewed the child as an active
participant in language learning.
• The novice language learner interacts with his/her environment and

builds language by communicating with other speakers.
A. F. Developmentalist
• This theory questions Chomsky’s position regarding language
acquisition as innate to all human beings.
• This theory criticized the Nativists’ view and believed that Nativism is
not developmental.
• The faculty for language learning found in the brain may not be
enough to explain how language is really learned.
• There is a missing mechanism that must be able to facilitate language

learning.
A. G. Cognitivist
• A theoretical perspective that seeks to explain behavior in terms of
processes that occur in the mind.
• In language acquisition, this theory postulated that language leaning

involves highly mental processes that can help explain how language is
learned and developed.

1. 1. What first language acquisition theory may best explain the Filipino language
learners’ acquisition of their mother tongue given our bilingual linguistic environment?
2. 2. In your opinion, what is the most ‘realistic’ theory that help explain human beings
acquisition of their first language?
SPECIAL TASKS

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a. 1. Record a conversation between a toddler and an adult for thirty minutes. Kindly
follow the specific details in recording your data:
b. a. The young subject must be from two-five years of age.
c. b. The adult subject can either be the parents, grandparents, yayas and other
relatives who have a lot of contact hours with the child.
d. c. Both young and adult participants must be bilinguals (can speak and understand
both Filipino and English)
e. d. Recording should be done at the respective home of your subjects.
f. 2. After recording, kindly transcribe your using the modified transcription conventions
of Cameron and Coates (1999). (Follow typing specifications found in your syllabus)
g. 3. Submit tape and transcription the next meeting. Your data will be used to analyze
specific concerns regarding child language acquisition, learning and development as
part of the requirement for your final paper.
References
Garcia, R.I. (2004). Exploring noun bias in preschool children with English and Filipino and
codeswitched caregiver input. Unpublished dissertation. De La Salle University-Manila.
1. Module 1
Module 4

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Second Language
Acquisition
Topic
a. 1. Monitor Model
b. 2. Interlanguage Theories
c. 3. Universal Grammar Theories
d. 4. Cognitive Theories
e. 5. Multi-dimensional Model
f. 6. Acculturation/Pidginization Theories
OBJECTIVES
1. understand the different second language acquisition theories;

2. compare and contrast the second language theories with the first language
theories;
3. explain which second language theory will support the language acquisition of
Filipino language learners;

MATERIALS/EQUIPMENT
• Lap top
• LCD projector

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1. • Second language acquisition
2. • Language acquisition
3. • Language learning
4. • Krashen
5. • Monitor Model
6. • Selinker
7. • Interlanguage Theories
8. • Chomsky
9. • Universal Grammar Theories
10. • Cognitive Theories
11. • Multi-dimensional Model
12. • Acculturation/Pidginization Theories
PROCEDURE
1. 1. Discussion on the poem “English is a queer language” 40 minutes
English is a Queer Language

(Author Unknown)
We’ll begin with box, and the plural is boxes,

But the plural of ox is oxen not oxes.
Then one fowl is a goose and two are geese,
Yet the plural of moose would never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a whole lot of mice,
But the plural of house in houses not hice.
If the plural of man is always men,
Why shouldn’t the plural of pan be pen?
Cow in the plural may be cows or kine,
But the plural of vow is vows, not vine.
I speak of a foot and you show me your feet,
I will give you a boot; would you call a pair beet?
If the singular is tooth and the plural teeth,

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Why shouldn’t be the plural of booth be beeth?
If the singular of this, and the plural is these,
Should the plural of kiss rightly be keese?
Then, with ONE you use that and with THREE, those
Yet the plural of hat is never called hose.
We speak of a brother and also of brethren;
But though we say mother, we never say methren.
The masculine pronouns he, his and him,
But imagine the feminine as she, shis and shim.
So English I think- and you must agree-
Is a language as queer as any you’ll see.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
a. a. Do you agree with the poem that English is indeed a ‘queer’ language?
b. b. Explain why it is difficult to learn the linguistic system of the English
language?
c. c. Is it possible that we change our L2 to another language, e.g. Mandarin,
Japanese, Spanish, etc.?
1. 2. Discussion on the second language theories 90 minutes
2. 3. Processing of the discussion 50 minutes

Overview of the Discussion
• Second language acquisition theories were developed along the lines of first
language acquisition theories.
• Over the years, studies in linguistics have focused on second language acquisition
investigating how a second language is acquired, describing different stages of
development and assessing whether second language acquisition follows a similar
development route to that of first language acquisition.
• A number of theories of second language acquisition were formulated, either

deductively or inductively, and research in the second language classroom flourished.
A. A. Monitor Model
• Krashen developed this theory in the late 1970’s which is considered

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the most influential and well-known theories of second language
acquisition.
• The monitor model is an over all theory that had important implications
for language teaching.
• The Monitor Theory attempts to cover most of the factors involved in

L2 acquisition: age, personality traits, classroom instruction, innate
mechanisms of language acquisition, input and environmental influences.
Five Central Hypotheses Underlying the Monitor Model
1. 1. The Acquisition versus Language Hypothesis
• This hypothesis states that acquisition is a subconscious

process, much like first language acquisition.
• Learning is a conscious processing resulting into knowing about

language.
• Learning does not turn into acquisition and it usually takes place
in formal environments, while acquisition can take place without
learning in informal environments.
1. 2. The Monitor Hypothesis

• Learning has the function of monitoring and editing the
utterances produced through the acquisition process.
• The use of the Monitor is affected by the amount of time that the
second language learner has at his/her disposal to think about the
utterance he/she is about to produce, the focus on form, and his/her
knowledge of second language rules.
1. 3. The Natural Order Hypothesis
• The natural order of second language rules are early-acquired

and some are late-acquired. This order does not necessarily depend
on simplicity of form while it could be influenced by classroom
instruction.
1. 4. The Input Hypothesis
• This hypothesis suggests that receiving comprehensible input is

the only way that can lead to the acquisition of a second language.

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1. 5. The Affective Filter Hypothesis
• Comprehendible input will not be fully utilized by the learners if
there is an affective filter, that acts as a barrier to the acquisition
process.
A. B. Interlanguage theories
• This term interlanguage was first coined by Selinker (1969) to
describe the linguistic stage L2 learners go through during the process of
mastering the target language.
• Interlanguage has become a major strand of L2 acquisition research

and theory.
• Selinker’s description of the interlanguage system has a cognitive

emphasis and focus on the strategies that learners employ when learning
L2.
• Selinker posits that interlanguage is temporary grammar which is

systematic and composed of rules. These rules are the product of five
main cognitive processes:
1. 1. Overgeneralization
• Some rules of the interlanguage system may be the result of the
overgeneralization of specific rules and features of the target
language.
1. 2. Transfer of Training
• Some of the components of the interlanguage system may result
from transfer of specific elements via which the learner is taught the
L2.
1. 3. Strategies of Second Language Learning
• Some of the rules in the learner’s interlanguage may result from

the application of language learning strategies as a tendency on the
part of the learners to reduce the target language to a simpler
system.
1. 4. Strategies of Second Language Communication
• Interlanguage system rules may also be a result of strategies

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employed by the learners in their attempt to communicate with native
speakers of the target language.
1. 5. Language Transfer
• Some of the rules in the interlanguage system may be the result

of transfer from the learner’s first language.
A. C. Universal Grammar Theories

• These theories are based on Chomsky’s claim that there are certain
principles that form the basis on which knowledge of language develops.
• These principles are biologically determined and specialized for

language learning.
• Originally, UG theory did not concern itself with L2 learning, it referred

to the first language learner.
• UG theories of L2 acquisition were generated in order to provide

explanations for empirical evidence and they were primarily concerned with
the internal mechanisms that lead to the acquisition of the formal aspects
of the target language and the similarities and the differences between
acquiring a particular language as L1 and L2.
UG Models
1. 1. Completion Model (Felix, 1985)
Two Sub-systems
a. a. Language–Specific Cognitive System (LSC–

System)
• Language learning process that is employed by children.
a. b. Problem–Solving System (PSC–System)
• Language learning process that is employed by adults.
1. 2. Creative Construction Theory (Dulay & Burt, 1974)
• This theory suggests that children engaged in L2 learning

progressively by reconstructing rules for the target language speech
they hear guided by a universal innate mechanism which lead to

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construct certain types of hypotheses about the target language.
A. D. Cognitive Theories
• Psychologists and psycholinguists viewed second language learning
as the acquisition of a complex cognitive skill.
• Some of the sub-skills involved in the language learning process are:
1. 1. Applying grammatical rules
2. 2. Choosing the appropriate vocabulary
3. 3. Following the pragmatic conventions governing the use of a specific

language
• From the cognitivist’s point of view, language acquisition is dependent in both the
content and developmental sequencing on prior cognitive abilities and language is
viewed as a function of more general nonlinguistic abilities.
• The language acquisition theories based on a cognitive view of language

development regard language acquisition as the gradual automatization of skills
through stages of restructuring and linking new information to old knowledge.
A. E. Multi-dimensional Model
Acculturation/Pidginization Theories
• The learner’s stage of acquisition of the target language is determined
by two dimensions: the learner’s development stage and the learner’s
social-psychological orientation.
• This model has both explanatory and predictive power in that it not
only identifies stages of linguistic development but it also explains why
learners go through these developmental stages and it predicts when other
grammatical structures will be acquired.
A. F. Acculturation/Pidginization Theories
• These theories are greatly affected by the degree of social and
psychological distance between the learner and the target-language
culture.
• L2 acquisition is just one aspect of acculturation and the degree to

which a learner acculturates to the target-language group will control the
degree to which he acquires the L2.

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• Pidginization is characterized by simplifications and reductions
occurring in the learner’s interlanguage which lead to fossilization when the
learner’s interlanguage system does not progress in the direction of the
target language.

1. 1. What SLA theory will help explain the Filipino language learners acquisition of
English as a second language?
2. 2. In this session, we saw how children overgeneralize rules such as the plural rule,
producing form such as womans or leafs. What might an ESL child learning English
use instead of the adult word given. Explain why they might have those plural forms or
conjugation:
a. a. children
b. b. went
c. c. sang
d. d. knives
e. e. worst
f. f. best
g. g. flew
h. h. geese
3. 3. As an ESL teacher, what do you think is the best language teaching strategy that
you can use to make the language learners acquire the second language more
efficiently and effectively?
Assignment for next meeting

a. 1. Make a module for young language learners on the following topic: (Choose only
one)
b. a. Tenses of the irregular verbs
c. b. Plural forms of the nouns
d. c. Spelling of similar sounding words
e. d. Simple sentence patterns

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f. 2. The module must contain the following categories:
a. a. Title of the learning module
b. b. Objectives
c. c. Materials to be used
d. d. Points for discussion
e. e. Suggested activities for the lesson
f. f. Processing questions and activities at the end of the session
a. 3. Be ready for a demonstration teaching on the module you have prepared when
your work has been corrected.
Reference
Gitsaki, C. (2000). Second language acquisition theories: Overview and evaluation. Available:
www.joho.nucba.ac.jp/JCLSarticles/gitsaki4298.pdf.
1. Module 1
Module 5
Bilingualism in Children
topic

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a. 1. The Bilingual Brain
b. 2. Bilingual First Language Acquisition
c. 3. Bilingual Language Use: Code Switching
OBJECTIVES
a. 1. distinguish how the brain functions in bilingual speakers;

b. 2. understand how bilingual language learners acquire different languages
simultaneously;
c. 3. explain why bilinguals code switch;

MATERIALS/EQUIPMENT
• Laptop
• LCD
• Power point slides

1. • Bilingualism
2. • Sequential bilingualism
3. • Simultaneous bilingualism
4. • Code switching
5. • Intrasentential switches

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6. • Intersentential switches
7. • Tag switches
PROCEDURE
1. 1. Discussion on the current state of the English
language in Asia (refer to “Not the Queen’s English” article) (50 minutes)
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
a. a. Discuss the growing demands to learn English in the Asian region.

b. b. What are the linguistic varieties of English in Asia? How are they different
linguistically?
c. c. What can you say about the state of deterioration of the English language in
the Philippines?
d. d. Do you agree that English should be the sole medium of instruction in the
country?
1. 2. Discussion on the topic (70 minutes)
2. 3. Processing of the discussion (60 minutes)

A. A. Overview of the Topic
• Children in some parts of the world acquire two languages
simultaneously due to the linguistic environment they are in. Astonishingly,
they are learning two languages at the same time with much ease and
efficacy. These are consequences of a linguistic condition called
bilingualism.
Two Types of Bilingualism
a. a. Simultaneous bilingualism
• A type of bilingualism when children acquire two languages from birth
b. b. Sequential bilingualism

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a. • A type of bilingualism when children acquire a second language after the
development of the first is underway
A. B. The Bilingual Brain

• Organization of language in the brain differs for bilingual and
monolinguals.
• Bilingualism may be neurologically different from monolingualism

because the two languages a bilingual knows are often acquired at
different times of life.
• Thus, the different ages at which bilinguals typically acquire two

languages might cause the languages to be represented differently in the
brain.
• When a bilingual individual suffers brain damage, the two languages

are not always affected equally, and they may follow different recovery
paths.
Special Cases
a. a. Man who was a native speaker of Swiss-German who also spoke Italian, French
and Standard German had a stroke. All the languages suffered initially, but all were
recovered to some extent except Swiss-German. He never spoke his native language
again (Minkowski, 1927).
b. b. Woman who had brain tumor, suffered aphasias of different types in her third- and
fourth-learned languages, but experiences little damage to her fluency in her first- and
second-learned languages.
• Obler & Albert (1978) suggest that what matters is how much language is
used and that the language most recently used is the most likely to recover first.
• Studies suggest that if a second language is acquired early in life, it is

represented in the same location and used the same way as a first language.
A. C. Bilingual First Language Acquisition

• Early bilingualism, bilingual first language acquisition and
simultaneous bilingualism are all terms used to refer to the situation in
which a child is exposed to, and acquires two languages from the very
beginning of language development.
1. 1. Phonological differentiation

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• Volterra & Taeschner (1978) proposed that bilingual children
distinguish 2 lexicons but apply the same syntactic rules to both
languages and only about the age of 3 years do children have 2
distinct systems.
• The earliest evidence for 2 separate systems could come from

studies of the phonological development of children exposed to 2
languages.
• Hoffman (1991) describes reports of bilingual development

without apparent confusion between the phonologies of the two
languages.
1. 2. Lexical differentiation
• The lexical evidence that is relevant to the issue of language
differentiation in bilingual children is the degree of overlap in the
vocabularies in each language.
1. 3. Morphosyntactic differentiation
• De Houwer (1995) concluded that there was no evidence of a
single, fused system. Although language mixing occurs, children mix
lexical items but keep the rules of grammar separate (Meisel, 1989).
A. D. Second Language Acquisition in Childhood

1. • The learner’s native language influences the acquisition of a second
language. e.g. Children acquiring and learning English make different
errors depending on what their first language is.
2. • One account of language transfer argues that children and adults

approach learning a second language as a problem-solving task, and their
first language influences what kinds of solutions they think there might be
(Bialystok & Hakuta, 1994; Kellerman, 1986).
3. • Other arguments about how L2 acquisition might differ from L1

acquisition arise from the UG approach. If L1 acquisition involves
parameter setting, then does L2 acquisition involve resetting those
parameters.
4. • Although virtually all children successfully master a first language,

there are enormous individual differences in the success of L2 acquisition.
The view that the human genome guarantees L1 acquisition but that we
are left to rely on our differing memories and analytic abilities for L2

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acquisition.
5. • L2 acquisition in childhood might also proceed differently and have a

more variable outcome than L1 acquisition because the input conditions
are different and highly variable.
6. • In L2 acquisition, children are thrown into situations in which they must

sink or swim and in which many of their language models are peers
(Wong-Filmore, 1991).
7. • Wong-Filmore (1991) has described the process of L2 acquisition by

children as constituting memorizing large chunks of speech to use for
communicative purposes and then only gradually analyzing these chunks
into their component parts.
Characteristics of children that influence L2 learning
a. a. Aptitude (phonological memory)
b. b. Social personality
c. c. Age
d. d. Children’s proficiency of the L1 (Interdependent Theory – Jim Cummins, 1978)
A. E. Bilingual Language Use: Code Switching

• Codeswitching is the term used to refer to bilingual speakers’ use of two
languages in the same conversation – often in the same utterance.
Types of Code switching
1. 1. Intrasentential switches
• Occur within the sentence (e.g. I was really desperado.)
2. 2. Intersentential switches
• Occur between sentences
3. 3. Tag switches
• Involve putting a word or phrase in one language at the
beginning or end of a sentence that is entirely in the other language
(e.g. Get it for me na lang.) Use of enclitics at the end of the
utterances – ba, pa, na, kaya, etc.
• Speakers code switch for a variety of social and communicative purposes.

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• Studies of bilingual children as early as 2 years old, use their 2 languages in
contextually sensitive ways.
• Children code switch because they have been learning both languages or
simply learning each language well enough to use it when pragmatically
appropriate without dipping into the other language in order to communicate.

i. 1. Can children learn two languages easily as one?
ii. 2. How is second language acquisition in childhood different from first
language acquisition, in process and in outcome?
iii. 3. What is codeswitching and why do bilingual speakers do it?
References
Bialystok, E., Majumder, S., & Martin , M. (2003). Developing phonological awareness: Is there a
bilingual advantage? Applied Psyscholinguistics, 24, pp. 27-44.
1. Module 1
Module 6
Phonological Development -
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The Emergence of Speech
topic
a. 1. Pre- linguistic speech sound and development of speech perception
b. 2. Phonological development during early language acquisition
c. 3. Later phonological development
d. 4. Phonological knowledge in adults
OBJECTIVES
a. 1. identify the different theories that help explain the phonological development of
language learners;
b. 2. explain the different stages of phonological development in children and adults
learning a language;
c. 3. distinguish the different sounds of the English phonological system;

MATERIALS/EQUIPMENT
• Cassette player
• Cassette tape on English pronunciation
• Laptop
• LCD

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• Phonological awareness/knowledge
• Phonological boundaries
• Organs of articulation
• Pre-linguistic sounds
• Infant directed speech/motherese
• Stages of pre-linguistic development
• Phonetic features
• Models of phonological development
PROCEDURE
1. 1. Drills on English vowels and consonants
(refer to IPA table) 30 minutes
2. 2. Discussion on the drills 40 minutes
a. a. What are the different places of articulation in the English phonological

system?
b. b. What are the various ways of articulation in the English phonology?
c. c. How is the pronunciation different from your native language?
• articulation
• aspiration
1. 3. Discussion on the topic 70 minutes

• The acquisition of phonology consists of learning to distinguish and produce
the sound patterns of the adult language.

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• It is also consists of learning and coming to mentally represent the structure
underlying those sound patterns.
A. A. Pre-linguistic speech sound and

development of speech perception
• It was thought that babies were blind and deaf at birth and that basic
sensory abilities matures only later.
• Infants’ hearing is not quite as sensitive as adults but it is certainly

adequate for hearing speech from the time infants are born (Kuhl, 1987).
• The auditory system is already functioning in the fetus even before

birth.
• Studies conducted by DeCasper & Fifer (1980) and DeCasper &

Spence (1986) that newborns preferred and remembered their mothers’
voices.
• Infants can discriminate essentially all the sound contrasts languages

use.
• In many cultures, adults use a particular way of speaking with babies

(Fernald et al., 1989).
• This speech style is sufficiently different from the way adults talk to
another adults that it has been given its own name – motherese
(Newport, Gleitman & Gleitman, 1977) or Infant-directed speech or
child-directed speech.
• The prosodic characteristics of infant-directed speech are of particular

relevance to pre-linguistic babies.
• When talking to babies, adults use a higher- pitched voice, a wider

range of pitches, longer pauses and shorter phrases (Fernald et al.,
1989).
• Babies like infant-directed speech for the same reason they like bold
colors and black on white patterns (Vihman, 1996).
• The proposal that infants find important clues to language structure in

the prosodic characteristics of speech is known as the prosodic
bootstrapping hypothesis or phonological bootstrapping hypothesis
(Morgan & Demuth, 1996).
A. B. Phonological development during early

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language acquisition
• The appearance of a child’s first word is not a major landmark in
phonological development.
• Phonological development proceeds relatively seamlessly through the

transition from the pre-linguistic to the linguistic period.
• During the first year of life, infants produce a variety of vocalizations,

beginning with simple cries at birth and progressing through ordered
sequence of stages to complex babbling with identifiable syllables and
adult-like intonation patterns.
Two General Pre-Linguistic Production Categories
1. 1. Reflexive Vocalizations
These include cries, coughs, and involuntary grunts that seem automatic responses
reflecting the physical state of the infant.
1. 2. Nonreflexive Vocalizations
These include cooing or jargon babbling –nonautomatic productions containing many

phonetic features found in adult languages.
Models of Phonological Development
1. Behaviorist model
• Researchers attempted to account for children’s phonological development using

the behaviorist mechanisms of imitation and reinforcement (Skinner, 1957; Mowrer,
1960).
• According to this model, babies produce sounds they do because they imitate the
sounds they hear and because they receive positive reinforcement for doing so.
• Over time, the sounds babies’ produce comes to match the sounds of the target
language because these are the sounds that babies have imitated and which have
been reinforced.
• According to this proposal, a responsive environment does seem to support vocal

development and also language development.
2. Biologically based model
• This model argues that biological factors shape man’s phonological development.

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• Sound production is shaped by motor capacity and the development of sound
production is shaped by the development of motor capacity (Locke, 1983).
3. Cognitive problem-solving model
• Phonological development is viewed to be a problem-solving activity for children

(Ferguson et al., 1975; 1983).
• According to this model, children actively try to sound like adults and they work on
figuring out how to do so.
4. Connectionist model
• According to this model, children make appropriations in learning sounds through

mapping rules or phonological processes.
• Children interconnect the sound of the word that they want to produce but more
often than not, commit an error. (e.g. [waebit] for [raebit]).
Stages of Pre-Linguistic Development

Stage 1 (Reflexive vocalizations- birth to two months)
• This stage is characterized by a majority of reflexive vocalizations such as crying

and fussing and vegetative sounds, like coughing, burping and sneezing.
• The vocalizations of this period are determined by the infant’s anatomical

structure-in newborn babies, the vocal tract resembles that of a primate in which the
oral cavity is small and almost totally filled by the tongue and the larynx is high in the
neck with little separation of the oral and nasal cavities (Liberman, Cerlin &
Klatt,1972).
Stage 2 (Cooing and laughter- two to four months)
• During this stage, infants begin to make some comfort-state vocalizations called
cooing or going sounds.
• These vocalizations seem to be produced from the back of the mouth, with velar
consonants and back vowels.
Stage 3 (Vocal play – four to six months)
• The stage is characterized by the appearance of very loud and soft sounds (yells
and whispers), and very high and very low sounds (squeals and growls).
• Some babies produce long series of bilabial trills and sustained vowels, and
occasionally some rudimentary syllables of consonants and vowels occur.

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Stage 4 ( Canonical babbling – six months and older)
• The prime feature of this period is the appearnce of sequences of consonant-

vowel syllabus with adult-like timing.
• Multisyllabic utterances in this period are often categorized as reduplicated

babbles (i.e., strings of identical syllables like [bababa] or [mamama]) or variegated
babbles (syllable strings with varying consonants and vowels, like ([bagidabu]).
• The infant’s hearing of his own vocalizations and the vocalizations around him
takes on increased importance during this period.
Stage 5 ( Jargon stage – 10 months and older)
• The last stage of babbling overlaps with the early period of meaningful speech,
and is characterized by strings of sounds and syllables uttered with a rich variety of
stress and intonational patterns. This kind of output is known by such names as
conversational babble, modulated babble, or jargon.
• Many vocalizations are delivered with eye contact, gesture and intonation that an
adult speaking with the child typically feels compelled to respond.
• Sound play becomes an ordinary activity for the child, which may contain
recurring favorite sound sequences or even early words.
An Overview of Phonological Development in Young Children

Period 1: Pre-linguistic (0-I year)
• Speech sounds gradually emerge, followed by babbling, long sequences of

babbling with the intonation contour of the adult language and some transitional forms.
• This stage ends with the formation and production of the first true words.
Period 2: Prerepresentational phonology (1 year to 1 1/2)
• Articulation of first words is highly variable.
• Children appear to represent the sounds of words on a word-by-word basis.
Period 3: Representational phonology (1 ½ to 3 years)
• Children achieve a system for producing individual speech sounds and their
productions become more consistent.
• They adopt phonological processes that alter the target sounds in systematic ways
to conform to the children’s limited articulatory abilities.

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Period 4: Phonetic inventory completion ( 4 to 7 years)
• Children master the remainder of the speech sounds in their language, including
production of multi-syllable words.
• Children acquire some of the morphological rules such as the formation of the past
tense and the plural form of the word.
Period 5 Advanced phonology (7 to 12 years)
• Children’s cognitive development and acquisition of literacy promotes conscious

understanding of the relation between sounds and meaning.
A. C. Later phonological development

• By the age of 5, children have essentially mastered the phonology of their
language.
• During middle childhood, children get better at coordinating speech production.
• They become more fluent in producing complex sequences of sounds and multi-
syllabic words (Vihman, 1988b).
• In addition to these incremental changes, two new kinds of changes in children’s

phonology can occur during the school-age years.
a. a. Dialect and accent changes due to exposure to peers.
b. b. Learning to read an alphabetic writing system that affects the child’s

phonological awareness.
Phonological awareness - the conscious awareness of the phonological properties of

language, such as the ability to count the number of syllables in a word and to identify
rhymes.
A. D. Phonological Knowledge in Adults

• Languages differ both in the particular sounds they use and in the
sequences of sounds that are allowable.
• The knowledge of the sound system of one’s language is termed as

phonological knowledge.
• Of all possible noises humans can produce, some 200 are used in
language, and no single language makes use of all 200.

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• English uses 45 different sounds.
Classification of the Consonant Phonemes of American English

Manner of PLACE OF
Articulation ARTICULATION
Bilabial Labiodental Interdental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Stop (oral)
Voiceless
P t k ?
Unaspirated b d g
Voiced
Nasal (stop) m n n
Fricative
Voiceless f s s
Voiced v z z
Affricate
Voiceless c
Voiced j
Glide
Voiceless h
Voiced y w
Liquid lr
Place of Articulation
LABIODENTAL
• This term is used to describe sounds articulated with the lower lip
resting lightly against the upper teeth. E.g. [f] and [v]
INTERDENTAL
• This term describes sounds made with the tongue lightly touching the
upper teeth, perhaps projecting out slightly beyond them. [ ] as in thigh
and [ ] as in then.
ALVEOLAR
• This term refers to sounds made with the tongue in contact with the
alveolar ridge. This is the point behind the upper teeth where the front of
the tongue makes contact in producing [t], [d] and [n].
• The [s] and the [z] sounds are also alveolar.
• The [l] sound at the beginning of the syllables is also made with the

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tongue touching the alveolar ridge.
PALATAL
• This term is used to refer to the sounds articulated with the tongue
contacting the hard palate and/or the slope leading up to it from the
alveolar ridge.
• The [ ] and the [ ] sounds in the beginning of the word is palatal.
VELAR
• This term is used to refer to sounds made when the back of the
tongue touches the velum, as in the production of [k], [g], and [n].
PHONEMIC SYMBOLS FOR SOUNDS OF AMERICAN ENGLISH
CONSONANTS
/p/ pill /t/ toe /g/ gill
/b/ bill /d/ doe /n/ ring
/m/ mill /n/ no /h/ hot
/f/ fine /s/ sink /?/ uh-oh
/v/ vine /z/ zinc /l/ low
/o/ thigh /c/ choke /r/ row
/o/ thy /j/ joke /y/ you
/s/ shoe /k/ kill /w/ win
/z/ treasure
VOWELS
/i/ beet /i/ bit
/e/ bait / / bet
/u/ boot /U/ foot
/o/ boat / / caught
/ae/ bat /a/ pot
/ / but / / sofa
/ai/ bite /au/ out
/ / boy

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1. 1. Describe and discuss the different pre-linguistic stages of
phonological development.
2. 2. Discuss the different stages of phonological development in children.
3. 3. Explain how phonological development becomes a result of several

biological processes.
4. 4. What phonological model will best explain man’s ability to learn a

language?
5. 5. Explain why humans are the only species capable to produce

language.
References
Hoff, E. (2001). Language development. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth=Thomson Learning.
Fisher, C. & Tokura, H. (1996). Acoustic cues to grammatical structure in infant directed speech:
Cross linguistic evidencve. Child Development, pp. 3192 - 3218.
1. Module 1
Module 7

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Lexical Development -
The Explosion of Words
topic
a. 1. Early Lexical Development
b. 2. Individual Differences in Language Development
c. 3. How Words are Learned
d. 4. Relation of Words to Concepts
e. 5. Later Lexical Development in Children
OBJECTIVES
a. 1. identify the stages in the lexical development of young language learners;

b. 2. understand the different factors influencing language acquisition and production;
c. 3. explain how children understand the concept and meaning of words;

• 2 meetings (6 hours)
MATERIALS/EQUIPMENT
• Laptop
• LCD
• TV
• VCD player

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• VCD disc—“Elmo’s World”/ “Dora the Explorer”/ “Blue’s Clues”

• Words
• Nominals
• Word spurt
• Word biases
• Constraints in word learning
• Pragmatic principles in word learning
• Whorfian hypothesis or linguistic relativity hypothesis
PROCEDURE
a. 1. Part I: Viewing of some segments of the video
“Elmo’s World” and the other videos 100 minutes
b. 2. Discussion about the video 80 minutes
a. a. What do you observe could be the focus of the lessons presented in the show?
b. b. Do you think these lessons can help in the language learning of children?
c. c. Are these lessons appropriate even for Filipino language learners?
d. 3. Part II: Review on the discussion last meeting 20 minutes
e. 4. Discussion on the topic 80 minutes
f. 5. Processing of the discussion 80 minutes

• Words are symbols that can be used to refer to things, actions, properties of things

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and more.
A. A. Early Lexical Development

• The process of children’s lexical development is the process of
learning the words in the target language and organizing them in the
mental lexicon.
• Children may begin to recognize some words as early as 5 months of

age and to truly understand word meanings around ten months of age.
• Children usually produce their words sometime between 10 and 15

months of age (Benedict, 1979; Fenson et al., 1996; Huttenlocher &
Smiley, 1987).
• Children typically produce their first word around their first birthday.
• On the average, children take approximately 6 months to acquire a

productive vocabulary of 50 words.
• At the point of achieving a 50-word vocabulary, typically around age

18 months, many children show a word spurt, in which the rate of
vocabulary development increases dramatically. Cognitive changes in the
child probably contribute to this word spurt.
• The first words children use are often tied to particular contexts
(context-bound word use- Bloom, 1973)
• Behrend (1990) suggests that context-bound words are not words at

all but merely responses elicited by particular environmental conditions
similar to the reaching and pointing gestures of pre-linguistic children.
• Nelson (1973) outlined the course of lexical development of 18-month-

old children:
Lexical Category Word samples

Specific nominal Mommy, Daddy, Elmo
General nominal Car, dog, ball, baby
Action words Carry, sleep, eat, drink
Modifiers Big, smell bad, yummy
Personal social words No, yup, hi, bye
Grammatical function What, why
words

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• Nelson found that nominal (general and specific) were the largest
single category of children’s words.
• Many investigators have noted the predominance of nouns in the early

vocabularies of young language learners (Bates et al., 1994; Benedict,
1979, Tardiff et al., 1996-1999)
• The nouns children produce come from their early linguistic

experience. Names of people, food, toys and body parts that are familiar to
the child seem to dominate the their early vocabularies.
• This linguistic condition is called the noun bias.
• It is believed that the noun bias is a universal linguistic phenomenon

present in all young children across cultures and languages (Brown, 1973).
• It is believed that children are born with pre-existing concepts of

objects (Bloom, 1991).
• However, a lot of studies have debunked this linguistic condition.

Gopnik and Choi (1995) believe that not all children develop this bias.
Koreans, Japanese, Chinese and Italians produce more verbs than nouns
in their early vocabularies. This is supported by the fact that the linguistic
structure of these languages have more verbs found in the beginnings of
the utterances unlike the S-V-O pattern of the English language. The verbs
found at the beginnings of the utterances take the salient position of the
linguistic structure whereby making the verbs easily remembered and
recalled by the child.
• On the contrary, English speaking children produce more nouns than

verbs because of the following reasons:
1. 1. Adults ask questions that focuses on noun production of the child
2. 2. The linguistic structure of the English language (S-V-O)
3. 3. Exposure to a linguistic environment and experience that focuses more on nouns
4. 4. The meanings of nouns are easier for children to encode because of its referent
nature. Verbs express relationships among things, which is hard for a child to
understand.
A. B. Individual Difference in Language

Development
• Characterizing first words as context-bound seem to be more true for
some children than for others.

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• Some children’s vocabularies consist entirely of refererentially used
words from the start (children with more object labels in their vocabularies)
• Other children acquire many context-bound words even as their

acquisition of referential words proceeds.
• Some children have more referential vocabularies than others

because of differences in language learning experiences. (Some adults
spend time teaching their children object labels) (Parental Input)
• Other children seem to regard language as a vehicle for social

interaction because they are more inherently more social or because of the
situation in which they are placed. (Social Interaction)
• Children expose to media, books and other educational aids are more
likely to have richer vocabularies than those who are not. (Linguistic
Experience)
• Several studies have shown that girls are more advanced in

vocabulary development than boys. (Sexual differences)
A. C. How Words are Learned

• Three proposed constraints on word learning have been the subject
of several research on word learning: the whole object assumption, the
taxonomic assumption and the assumption of mutual exclusivity.
1. 1. Whole object assumption
This involves the child’s assumption that words refer to whole objects. The proposal
argues that children assume that every new word they hear refers to some whole object
rather than a part or the property of the object (Markman, 1996).
a. 2. Taxonomic assumption
This proposal posits that words refer to things that are of the same kind. This assumption
helps the child figure out what else, other than the particular whole object being labeled,
is included in the meaning of the new word.
So when a child hears the word cat in the presence of a cat, then the taxonomic
assumption leads the young language learner to think that cat will also refer to other cats
but not to things that are thematically related to cats such as mouse, fish and whiskers
(Markman, 1996).
a. 3. Mutual exclusivity assumption

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This proposal suggests that different words refer to different kinds of things. To illustrate
this, members of the category labeled cat do not overlap with the category dog.
This assumption seems to indicate that children assume that the new word cannot be a
synonym for any words they already know (Markman, 1996).
1. • Apart from the constraints of word learning, two general pragmatic principles
guide both children and adults in their acquisition of words. These two principles
–conventionality and contrast hold fro both young and old language learners.
2. • The principles of conventionality and contrast are essentials for the acquisition
of the established vocabulary as well as serve as the building blocks for constructing
innovative words.
3. • Conventionality and contrast together play a critical role for both adults and
children, particularly in providing the rationale for deciding that an unfamiliar word must
mean something different from words that are already familiar.
4. • Without these principles, children will have a hard time comparing each unfamiliar
word against all uses of known words to check first that the new words were not
synonymous with one already mastered.
a. 1. Principle of conventionality
This assumes that words have conventional meanings, that is, it has to be agreed upon
and observed by all members of the language community.
Language will not work if people just invent their own words for things and children seem
to know that.
Children try to learn the meanings of the words they hear (Clark, 1993; 1995).
a. 2. Principle of contrast
This principle proposes that different words have different meanings. This principle also is
at close variant of the mutual exclusivity assumption but differs because it allows for
multiple labels with different meanings, such as cat and animal (Clark, 1993; 1995).
Children actively reject apparent synonyms, they assume that unfamiliar words refer to
unfamiliar objects or actions, and they can coin words to fill the gaps.
A. D. Relation of Words to Concepts

• The words children utter when they first begin to talk may not have the
same sort of representation in the children’s mental lexicons as adults’
words have in adults’ mental lexicons.

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• The meaning of some of children’s first words seem tied to particular
events or contexts, and even later, children may not fully understand the
meanings of all the words they use.
• The meanings of words are functions of the concepts the words

encode. Words with different meanings encode different concepts.
• To learn the meaning of the words car, doll or run, the child must have
the concepts of car, doll or run.
• Usually the relationship between concepts and words is described as

one in which the concepts develop first, independent of language.
• Words do not always map onto concepts one to one. Sometimes

children have concepts for which there is no word in their language, and so
they may invent words to fill these lexical gaps.
• Words are not the only elements in the mind that represents things in
the world.
• Children and adults also have nonlinguistic concepts.
• Cognitive organization comes first and that children learn semantic

organization as they map words onto concepts.
• The hypothesis that language influences thought was first developed

by linguist Edward Sapir and his student Benjamin Lee Whorf and is
known as the Whorfian hypothesis or the linguistic relativity
hypothesis.
• This position states that the way our language “carves up” the world
influences how we think about the world.
• To state more simply, the Whorfian hypothesis states that language

influences thought and therefore, that differences among languages might
cause differences in the cognition of speakers of those languages.
A. E. Later Lexical Development in Children

• The second and third years of life are the most active word-learning
years.
• However, lexical development continues throughout childhood,

perhaps indefinitely.
• Children’s vocabularies grow larger, and children learn how word

formation works, developing knowledge of the processes of compounding

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and derivational morphology.
• Vocabulary development is aided after the preschool years by

children’s increasing abilities to figure out the meanings of words from
context and by their exposure to new words through reading.
• Three phenomena characterize lexical development after early

childhood: growth in vocabulary size growth in knowledge of word
formation the increasing ability and importance of being able to learn new
words from context

1. 1. What kind of words make up children’s early vocabularies? Why do children learn
these words as opposed to other kinds of words ?
2. 2. What factors appear to play a role in accounting for differences in the rate of
lexical development?
3. 3. Describe the kinds of individual differences lexical development style that have
been observed. What might account for these differences?
SPECIAL TASKS
1. 1. From your recorded transcription, describe as completely as possible the
contextual situation in which the recorded conversation occurred (age, gender,
social status, language exposure, activities, etc. of both young and old
participants). Find examples of evidence from your transcription that support the
views that (a) children’s lexical development is guided by properties of speech
they hear and (b) children’s lexical development is guided by internal properties
of children’s minds.
2. 2. From your recorded transcription, attempt to identify the features of child-

directed language that differs from “standard” speech.
References
Hoff, E. (2001). Language development. Belmont: CA: Wadsworth-Thomson Learning.

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Tardif, T. (1996). Nouns are not always learned before verbs: Evidence from Mandarin speakers’
early vocabulary. Developmental Psychology, pp. 492-504.
1. Module 1
Module 8
Development of
Syntax & Morphology -
Learning the Syntax of
Language
topics
a. 1. Theoretical positions in the acquisition of grammar
b. 2. Early multi-word utterances
c. 3. Development of grammatical morphemes
d. 4. Development of different sentence forms
e. 5. Development of complex sentences
f. 6. Development of comprehension of structured speech

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OBJECTIVES
a. 1. identify the differences in the theoretical positions regarding the acquisition of

grammar;
b. 2. understand the different stages of development in the acquisition of grammar in
both first and second languages;
c. 3. compare the acquisition of grammar and development of comprehension in both
monolingual and bilingual language learners;

MATERIALS/EQUIPMENT
• Laptop
• LCD
• Power point presentation on the topics to be discussed

1. • Syntax
2. • Morphology
3. • Behaviorist position
4. • Social/cognitive position
5. • Innate grammar position
6. • Connectionist position
7. • Relational meanings
8. • Grammatical morphemes

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9. • Sentences
10. • Utterances
11. • Lexical categories
12. • overregularizations
PROCEDURE
1. 1. Present to class a grammatically flawed letter
(refer to hand out) “DEAR MARJIE” 10 minutes
2. 2. Discuss grammatical flaws found in the letter 50 minutes
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
a. a. Describe the message of the letter.

b. b. Enumerate and discuss the grammatical flaws found in the letter
c. c. Are there ways in which these flaws can be corrected?
d. d. Try to revise the letter and make major improvements on the structure and
the content.
1. 3. Discuss the topic on acquisition of grammar 70 minutes

A. A. Theoretical positions on the acquisition of
grammar
1. 1. Behaviorist Position
• According to this theory, children imitate what they hear and
they are reinforced when they get it right and are corrected or at
least not reinforced when they get it wrong.
• This is inadequate because the adult language ability is not

confined to repeating sentences that have been previously heard.

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1. 2. Social/cognitive Position
• This view suggests that the starting point of language acquisition
is provided by general cognition as the mechanisms of language
development.
• The children’s linguistic experience through social interaction

helps them learn the grammar of their respective language.
1. 3. The Innate grammar Position

• According to this view, the acquisition of language is significantly
supported by the innate syntactic knowledge and language-specific
learning procedures.
Two theories supporting the innate grammar position
a. a. Semantic bootstrapping
This theory asserts that children can identify nouns and verbs in the sentences they
hear. They can do this because they know that nouns tend to refer to persons or
objects and that verbs tend to refer to actions (Pinker, 1984; 1989)
a. b. Principles and parameters theory
According this theory, the grammar that defines human language is innate in the child
and that grammar consists of a set of principles true for all languages and a set of
parameter that define the range of possible differences among languages.
1. 4. Connectionist Position
• This view suggests that the process of acquiring grammar is the
process of the patterns in input, fixing the relative weights of
connections in a network of units.
• Or to put it simply, this position solves the problem of accounting

for children’s rule learning by saying children do not need to learn
rules because there are no rules. The process of language
development is a process of getting right the relative strengths of the
connections in the network.
A. B. Early multi-word utterances

• The first evidence of grammatical knowledge in production comes
when children combine units of the language in a single utterance.

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• At the age of 18 months to 2 years, children begin to combine words.
This milestone marks the beginning of structured language. E.g. “Like
cookie”, “Big balloon”, “Get toy”
• Children’s two-word combinations are followed by utterances that are

three and more words long, and as children’s utterances get longer, they
also become increasingly complex.
The transition from one-word speech
1. 1. Vertical constructions
• Children utter successive single-word utterances that seem to be related to

each other in meaning the same way that the words in a two-word utterance are
related. E.g. Ow.Eye
2. 2. Unanalyzed word combinations and “word + jargon” combinations
• Some children –typically those who have been producing long strings of
jargon since their babbling days- produce utterances longer than one word by
inserting one clear word into what is otherwise an incomprehensible babble
sequence. E.g. goo-goo doll
Two-word combinations
• Children who produce these utterances are able to combine the words in
their very limited vocabulary productively
i. 1. Possessives
Baby toy Daddy coffee Mommy bag
i. 2. Property-indicating patterns
Red Shoe Little dog Big cookie
i. 3. Recurrence, number, disappearance
More milk Two cars No more
i. 4. Locatives
Car keys (inside the car) There (airplane) Up Daddy
i. 5. Actor/action

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Baby sit Dog bite Mommy bye-bye
i. 6. Other combinations
Broom broom car Ride car Choco milk
Meanings in two-word utterances
• Although we say that children’s systems are productive when children can
put words together in novel combinations, children’s first word combinations are
quite limited in the range of relational meanings expressed.
• Relational meanings refer to the relation between the referents of the

words in a word combination. E.g. Ryan meme (Ryan refers to the child and
meme means sleep—meaning, the boy wanted to sleep).
Set of Prevalent Semantic Relations

Semantic Relation Examples
agent + action mommy come; daddy sit
action + object drive car; eat cookie
agent + object mommy bag; baby book
action + location go park; sit chair
entity + location cup table; toy floor
possessor + possession my teddy; crayon big
entity + attribute box shiny; crayon big
demonstrative + entity Dat money; dis telephone
Three-word and more combinations
• Starting at 36 months, children can start putting three words together. Most
utterances are one or two words long and only one was longer than three words.
E.g I don’t like.

I want milk.
I dunno baby.
A. C. Development of grammatical morphemes

• When we examine children’s language as it develops, we notice two
important changes:
a. a. Their sentences get longer as they begin to combine two or more basic semantic

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relations. E.g. Adam hit ball.
b. b. The gradual appearance of a few inflections and other closed-class terms.
• The process of acquiring the major grammatical morphemes is gradual and

lengthy. Some are still not fully controlled until the child enters school as in the case of
learning certain irregular past-tense verbs.
• Robert Brown together with his colleague Courtney Cazden (1968) studied the
frequently used morphemes by children in their experiment.
Average Order of Acquisition of 14 Grammatical Morphemes

as Presented by Robert Brown (1973)
1. 1. Present progressive – verb inflections marking progressive –ing
2/3. Prepositions- in/on
1. 4. Plural – adding s
2. 5. Irregular past tense- came/ went
3. 6. Possessive- adding ‘s
4. 7. Copula, uncontractible- am, is, are, was, were
5. 8. Articles – a, the
6. 9. Regular past tense- adding d
7. 10. Third person present tense, regular- adding s e.g. He walks
8. 11. Third person present tense,irregular – does, has
9. 12. Auxiliary, uncontractible - am, is, are, has, have
10. 13. Copula, contractible – ‘m, ‘s, ‘re
11. 14. Auxiliary, contractible – ‘m, ‘s, ‘re when combined with +ing combined with a past
participle such as has been
• Brown explained that some morphemes are learned first than others
because they are the ones that children hear more frequently.
A. D. Development of Different Sentence Forms

• Another syntactic development that begins around the time the first
grammatical morphemes appear is the development of sentence forms.
Types of sentences children produce
1. 1. Expressing negation

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2. • The earliest linguistic means of expressing negation that English speaking children
use are the negative markers no or not.
Children’s negative sentences form, in order of development
a. a. Sentences with external negative marker
No more juice
No like sleep
a. b. Construction with internal negative market but no auxiliaries
I don’t like milk

I can’t go there
a. c. Constructions with auxiliaries (double negative)
No I didn’t like it
Donna won’t let go
1. 2. Asking questions
2. • English speaking children’s first production of questions is affected by the late

acquisition of auxiliaries.
3. • Children seem to rely on rising intonation in the earliest stages of the production of
questions.
Children’s question forms, in order of development
a. a. Yes/no questions
Get doll?
Eat bread?
a. b. Wh-questions
Who that?
What Elmo eating?
Where keep pillow?
Why you crying?
When go to church?
A. E. Development of Complex Sentences

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• Children produce complex sentences after the development of
grammatical morphemes and different sentence forms.
Children’s complex sentences, in order of development
1. 1. Object complementation
Get me piece of chocolate

I see balloon fly up
1. 2. Wh-embedded clauses
I teach how open it

Daddy not know where to get ball
1. 3. Coordinating conjunctions
I like it but only now

She cried and cried
1. 4. Subordinating conjunctions
I like this dog because he is cute

Here’s a set. It must be mine if it’s a little one.
1. • Children differ in both the rate and the course of grammatical development. Some
children produce multiword utterances at 18 months whereas others do not start
combining words until they are 2 years old.
2. • Some children’s early multiword utterances are rote-learned as wholes; others are
combinations of separate words from the start.
Syntactic development in grammatical acquisition
1. Holistic or tune approach (top-down)

• Children who take this approach sometimes produce impressively long utterances
with little combinatorial abilities.
e.g. I don’t wanna go nigh-night

Idontwanna and gonightnight
2. Analytical approach (bottom-up)

• This approach involves children breaking down speech into smaller units and then
combining them.

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A. F. Development of Comprehension
of Structured Speech
• Children have response strategies that enable them to respond to
speech they only partially understand.
• Very young children are likely to respond to speech by doing

something. (e.g. nodding)
• These action strategies allow children to produce appropriate

responses too much of what is typically said to them.
Evidence that children know grammatical rules
1. 1. Patterns in early word combinations

• There is order or systematicity in the way children put words together.
(e.g. my dog)
1. 2. Overregularization errors
• Children make errors in spontaneous speech that seem to be
overapplications of grammatical rules.
(e.g. I runned fast)
1. 3. Experimental test of rule knowledge

• Children have the ability to use novel forms.
e.g. In the domain of syntax, children who are taught a novel verb in one sentence
structure show that they know how to use that verb productively in other sentence
structures.
e.g. The man is ricking the ball.
What is the man doing? He is __________ the ball.

i. 1. What kind of evidence supports the claim that children acquire rules in
acquiring syntax and morphology of their first language?
ii. 2. Discuss the argument for and against innate grammar as an explanation of
the acquisition of grammar.

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iii. 3. Are there similarities and differences in the acquisition of grammar for both
L1 & L2?
References
Chang, C., Wagner, R., Muse, A., Chow, B., & Hua, S. (2005). The role of morphological
awareness in children’s vocabulary in acquisition in English. Applied Psycholinguistics, 26,
pp. 415-435.
1. Module 1
Module 9
Development of
Communicative
Competence
topic
a. 1. Pragmatic development
b. 2. Discourse development
c. 3. Sociolinguistic development

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OBJECTIVES
a. 1. Identify the different stages in the development of communicative competence

among young language learners;
b. 2. Understand the distinction between linguistic and communicative competence;
c. 3. Compare and contrast the conversational skills of adults and children;

MATERIALS/EQUIPMENT
• LCD
• Laptop
• Power point presentation on the discussion
• Comic strips

• Linguistic competence
• Communicative competence
• Pragmatic development
• Discourse development
• Sociolinguistic development
• Speech acts
• Egocentrism
• Primary intersubjectivity

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• Secondary intersubjectivity
• Private speech
• Joint attention
PROCEDURE
a. 1. Present to class pictures comic strips about toddler
attempting to communicate with an adult 15 minutes
b. 2. Discussion on the comic strips shown 35 minutes
Guide Questions for Discussion:
a. a. Describe the efforts of both child and the parent to communicate their thoughts to
each other.
b. b. Who has the greatest burden in carrying out the verbal exchanges?
c. c. How can adults encourage children to become more interactive?
d. 3. Discussion on the lesson proper 80 minutes
e. 4. Processing of the discussion 50 minutes

A. A. Brief Overview of the Topic
• In the 1st five years of life, as children are acquiring language, they are
also developing communication skills.
• At birth, infants are not communicative although adults may be able to

interpret babies’ cries and smiles, babies do not pronounce these cries and
smiles with communicative intent.
• The first evidence of intentional communication appears around the

age of 10 months when babies start to request for help from others in
obtaining objects.
• By the time children are 1 year old, they can be quite communicative
using few words in their vocabularies along with intonation and gesture to

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perform such communicative functions as referring to objects, requesting
objects, refusing something that is offered to them, etc.
• As children’s language abilities progress, language becomes the

primary vehicle of communicative acts.
• Conversational skill also begins to develop during the second year of

life as children learn the mechanics of verbal interaction as taking turns,
initiating topics, repairing miscommunication, and responding contingently.
• Initially, children’s conversations with adults are very asymmetrical,

with adults doing the work of building conversations around children’s
contributions. As children’s conversational skills develop, the relative
burdens carried by the adult and child in sustaining conversation becomes
equal.
• Children seem interested in conversation with one another from the

age of 2 years, and they show some ability to adapt their speech to their
listeners’ needs from at least the age of 4 years.
• Children’s conversations tend to be disjointed compared with adult

conversations, and children’s dialogue is often intermixed with each
participant’s private speech.
• The development of sociolinguistic skill also begins in the course of

language development. As early as two-years old, children use language
differently depending on the social situation.
• Another aspect of sociolinguistic development that is well under way

by the age of 5 years is the development of style of language use of one’s
social group.
• The development of communicative competence does not end at the

age of 5. Improving pragmatic, discourse and sociolinguistic skills may be
lifelong development tasks.
• The factors that influence the development of communicative

competence include social and cognitive development, exposure to adult
models of language use and sometimes, direct instruction.
• Linguists and child language experts refer to the distinction between

knowing a language and knowing how to use a language to serve
communicative functions as the distinction between linguistic
competence and communicative competence.
• Linguistic competence is the ability to produce and understand well-

formed, meaningful sentences.

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• Communicative competence is the ability to use those sentences
appropriately in social interaction.
• The knowledge that constitutes communicative competence consists

of several overlapping domains of knowledge including pragmatic
knowledge, discourse knowledge, and sociolinguistic knowledge.
• Pragmatic knowledge concerns understanding the communicative

functions of language and the conventions that govern the use of language
in order to communicate.
• Discourse knowledge is the ability to use language in units larger

than a sentence (such as conversation and narratives).
• Sociolinguistic knowledge concerns how language use varies as a

function of sociological variables such as status, culture, and gender.
A. B. Pragmatic Development
• In western cultures, mothers typically treat babies as conversational
partners from birth [even before birth =)].
• Infants do not do much in terms of holding up their end of the

conversation, but mothers build conversational sequences around the
smiles, burps, and other noises the infant produce.
Summary of speech act development
Perlocutionary Children have effects on their

(Effect) listeners; but the signals that have
effects are not produced with the
Birth – 10 months intention of communicating to a
listener.
e.g. A child wants an object that is

out of reach; she/he makes a fuss in
the process of reaching it. The
mother may observe the child and
infer the child’s desires and get the
object for him/her. In this case, the
child’s behavior had an effect of
obtaining the object but there was no
effort to communicate with the
mother.
Illocutionary Children become aware that their

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(Intended behavior can be used to
function) communicate with others.
10 – 12 months e.g. A child who wants something will

not just reach and fuss but will
actively try to elicit another’s aid in
obtaining that object.
Locutionary The third phase of speech act

(Form) development begins when children’s
communicative behavior includes
12 months + using language to refer.
e.g. A child might point to an object

by making noise to attract an adult’s
attention, being satisfied only when
the adult looks where the child is
pointing and acknowledges the
child’s gesture.
• A major milestone in speech act development is the change from the

perlocutionary to the illocutionary phase.
• According to experts, infants are able to relate to an object or to

another person but not both at the same time (Sugarman, 1984).
• Primary intersubjectivity refers to the point before an infant

experience maturational change which permits the emergence of
intentionality (Trevarthen & Hubley, 1978).
• Secondary intersubjectivity is the point where infants share their

experiences with others. This also marks the maturational change in the
infant that signals the emergence of intentionality.
• Joint attention is another term that has been used to characterize the
state in which the child and an adult together attend to some third entity.
This condition gives the child an idea that other people can also be like
them.
Eight communicative behaviors produced

by children between the ages 12 to 16 months
a. a. Reach to object
b. b. Point or to hold out object
c. c. Reach to a person

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d. d. Waving hands
e. e. Slapping
f. f. Negative headshake
g. g. Smile
Primitive speech acts at the one-word stage

Speech Act Definition
Labeling Use word while attending to an
object or event. Does not address
adult or wait for response.
Repeating Repeats part or all of prior adult
utterance. Does not wait for a
response.
Answering Answers adult’s question.
Addresses adult.
Requesting Word or vocalization often
action accompanied by gesture signaling
demand. Addresses adult and
awaits response.
Requesting Asks question with a word,
sometimes accompanying gesture.
Addresses adult and awaits
response.
Calling Calls adult’s name loudly and
awaits response.
Greeting Greets adult or object upon its
appearance.
Protesting Resist adult’s action with a word or
cry.
Practicing Use of word or prosodic pattern in
absence of any specific object or
event.
A. C. Discourse Development
1. • According to Piaget (1926), pre-school children’s speech is not really
communicative.
2. • On the basis of his own observations of spontaneous conversations of
young children, he claimed that although children may take turns in talking,

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each speaker’s turn has little to do with the previous speaker’s turn. Each
child is producing his or her own monologue, albeit with interruptions for
the child’s monologue. He coined the term collective monologues to refer
such interactions.
3. • The pre-school child does not participate in true dialogue because,
according to Piaget, the child is “unable to place himself at the point of
view of his hearer” and has “no desire to influence his hearer or to tell him
anything.”
4. • This egocentrism is not limited to language use but is a general
characteristic of children’s thought at this stage.
5. • Private speech refers to the condition when children talk to
themselves. Like adults, children talk to themselves when they are alone
and engage in a task or in play.
o According to Vgotsky (1962), the primary function of private speech is not
language exploration but behavioral self-guidance. This account of private speech
derives from Vgotsky’s theory that an individual’s cognitive skills develop first in social
interaction and then later are internalized.
o Piaget and Vygotsky provide two different accounts of why young children
produce monologue – the Piagetian view is that the child lacks the requisite ability and
interest to be truly conversational; the Vgotskyan view is that the child is doing
something else with his or her speech.
• Researchers who have studied children’s solitary monologues suggest
that children use these monologues for language exploration and practice.
• Language play involves a child engaging into activities such as rhyming,
using alliteration, and making puns, which manipulate the sound of language. It
is said that children who produce high amounts of language play in their
spontaneous speech are also better than average at explaining verbal riddles.
Development of conversational skills
1. 1. Responding to speech and different speech utterance types

• Gradually, children start to respond more frequently to talk with
talk and also to respond differently to different kinds of utterances. In
general, children are more likely to respond to questions than to
nonquestions.
2. 2. Initiating topics
• The acquisition of language proceeded in parallel with changes
in the success and the type of topic initiations, and it no doubt
contributed to these changes. Children began initiating topics about

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themselves. Next, children began initiating topics about things in the
environment, and lastly, children began initiating topics about absent
or intangible things.
3. 3. Repairing miscommunication
• When adults fail to understand children’s noises and gestures,
children often persevere, repeating or modifying their signals until
they achieve the desired outcome.
4. 4. Sustaining dialogue and contingent responding
• It has been observed that initiating a new topic is actually easier
for children than producing a response that shares the first speaker’s
topic and adds new information to it.
5. 5. Young children’s peer conversations
• It has been suggested that an important influence on the
success of preschool children’s conversation is the context in which
the conversation occurs. Nelson and Gruendel (1979) observed
that children’s ability to sustain a dialogue is facilitated when they
share knowledge that provides background for their conversations.
6. 6. Development of narrative skill
• Children’s first narratives occur in the context of conversation.
Three Phases of Narrative Development
1st Children talk about past experiences typically

Phase elicited and maintained by an adult.
Adults provide the scaffolding for children’s

reports of past experience by introducing a
past event as a topic and then eliciting more
information on the topic.
The content of the narratives is supplied by

the adult and the child supplies single-word
responses to the adult’s questions.
2nd Children depend less on the scaffolding of

Phase adult’s questions, and the children’s
contributions are longer and introduce new
information.
3rd Children’s narratives depend less on either

Phase conversational support or general even
knowledge; and they include more

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information that is unique to the particular
even being recounted.
• Children’s narratives improve during the school years. One

source of improvement is children’s increasing mastery of the
linguistic devices necessary to make temporal order and pronoun
reference that is clear to link clauses together in a single cohesive
piece.
• Another source of improvement in children’s narratives is their

increasing understanding of the structure of the story.
Story Grammar Structure in Children’s Narratives
1. 1. A story consists of a setting and one or more episodes.
2. 2. The setting includes both the place and the characters.
3. 3. Each episode includes an initiating event and a resolution of the problem.
A. D. Sociolinguistic Development
Children’s use of request forms
• Children adjust their ways of requesting to different types of people.

When talking to peers, children modify their imperatives by adding please;
use questions when making requests to older children; and uses desire
statements and questions when talking to adults.
Politeness
• Children as early as 3 years old have the ability to discriminate

different forms of politeness.
Cultural differences in narrative style and development
• Earlier, it has been discussed that children’s narratives increase in

length and structure as children acquire narrative skill.
• Not all cultures perceive talking positively. E.g. Japanese children tend
to have brief narratives; some cultures do not allow children to join adult
conversations (children are better seen, not heard).
Gender differences in language use

GIRLS BOYS

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More likely to ask an Will only ask for help if
adult for help there is a great need
More polite and More assertive and
cooperative demanding in their
conversational style
Get interrupted by boys Interrupt girls often
Use fewer imperatives Use more imperatives
and uses a language
that includes others
In case of conflicts, In case of conflicts,
girls negotiate a boys issue directives
settlement and make threats

1. 1. How does the language use of pre-school boys and girls differ?
2. 2. What does the Piagetian view of pre-school children as egocentric

imply about their conversational and sociolinguistic skills?
3. 3. Describe the conversational skills of 2 to 3 year old children. What

can children do at this age, and in what ways do they still fall short of adult
competence?
4. 4. What are the possible relations between the development of the

communicative functions of language and the development of language
structure?
References
Hoff, E. (2001). Language development. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth=Thomson Learning.
Goodwin, M. (1998). Cooperation and competition across girls’ play activities. In J. Coates. 1999).
Language and Gender: A Reader. Malden, Massachusetts.

Page 83 of 92
1. Module 1
Module 10
Language in Special
Population
topic
a. 1. Language development and deafness
b. 2. Language development and blindness
c. 3. Language development and mental retardation
d. 4. Language development and autism
e. 5. Special language impairment
OBJECTIVES
a. 1.

Page 84 of 92
MATERIALS/EQUIPMENT
• LCD
• Laptop
• Power point present on the discussion
• T.V.
• VCD player
• VCD disc “Helen Keller”

• Prelingually deaf
• Sign language
• Oralist method
• Lip reading
• Down syndrome
• Williams syndrome
• Autism
• Special linguistic impairment
• Stuttering
• Cerebral palsy
• Cleft lip/palate
PROCEDURE
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a. 1. Film viewing on “Helen Keller” 60 minutes
b. 2. Discussion on the movie 40 minutes
Guide Questions for Discussion:
a. a. How did Helen Keller learn her first language?
b. b. What learning strategies did her tutor use to teach Helen language?
c. c. Do you consider Helen Keller’s language acquisition as successful?
d. 3. Discussion of the lesson 50 minutes
e. 4. Processing of the discussion 30 minutes

A. A. Overview of the Discussion
• While the vast majority of children appear to master language skills
easily, other children may be comparatively slow language learners and in
some cases, fail to acquire normal adult like language abilities.
• The study of language development in atypical populations provides

information about those populations. It also provides information that could
explain typical language development.
A. B. Language Development and Blindness

• Though blind children without additional handicap conditions are not
language disordered in the usual sense, their language development does
reflect the influence of limited visual information during the language
learning process.
• Blind children’s access to nonverbal communication and to the

nonverbal context of communication is limited to what can be perceived
through the senses other than vision.
• Blindness does affect communicative interaction and some aspects of

language development. (Joint attention)
• Phonological development is also affected by blindness. Blind children

make errors than sighted children in producing speech sounds that have

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highly visible articulatory movements such as /b/, /m/ and /f/ but are not
different from sighted children in their production of speech sounds by
nonvisible articulatory movements such as /t/, /k/ and /h/. This suggests
that visual information such as lip configuration contributes to phonological
development in sighted children (Mills, 1987).
• With respect to vocabulary, blind children have been reported to have

fewer words for objects that can be seen but not touched and more words
for things that can be heard.
• Blind children tend to overgeneralize words. (E.g. calls a horse

doggie)
• Blind children experience delay in learning “helping verbs” such as

can, will and do.
• Blind children tend to be dependent on speech as a form of social

interaction.
A. C. Language Development and Deafness

• We know that it is necessary to be exposed to linguistic models in
order to learn a language. At a deeper level, if certain conditions limit
linguistic exposure, language development may be severely hindered.
• Children who are born with hearing impairment that limits their
perception of sounds generally will not be able to develop spontaneous
oral language that approximates that of normal children.
• The primary determinant of the course of language development of

these prelingually deaf children is the language exposure to which they are
exposed.
• One possible linguistic environment is the exposure to sign language,

the manual language used by the deaf community.
• American Sign Language (ASL) is used by the deaf community in

the US and some English speaking countries. The ASL has (1) lexicon, (2)
lexical items are composed of finite and discrete number of sublexical
components; (3) ASL has a grammar.
• Another linguistic method used by the deaf community is the oralist

method, in which deaf children are intensively coached in producing
speech and trained in reading lips.
• For deaf children who have a deaf parent and who are exposed to
sign language at birth, the course of sign language development is similar

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to the course of development of spoken language.
• Children acquiring ASL make overregularization errors in their use of

morphological markers. (e.g. use of goed for go and holded for hold)
• Deaf children acquire pronoun reversal errors.
• Deaf infants produce manual babbling, followed by the production of

single signs and then sign combinations. Therefore, the course of
language development is similar to the course of spoken language
development.
• As far as phonological development is concerned, deaf infants sound

very much like hearing infants. Deaf infants cry and coo and even begin to
babble. However, during the babbling stage, deaf infants do not produce
clear syllabic babbling typical of hearing infants. Also, orally trained deaf
children develop phonological awareness.
• Semantically speaking, deaf children used their speech and gestures

to express the same communicative intents such as to greet, to request,
etc.
• Deaf children who are orally trained have delayed syntactic

development. Various syntactic errors are characteristic of the language
produced by orally educated deaf children even after the age of 10 years.
A. D. Language Development and Mental

Retardation
• Mental retardation has different consequences for language
development depending on the type and severity of the mental retardation.
• Examination of patterns of linguistic development show that retarded

children demonstrate language skills best described as delayed rather than
deviant.
Two Special Mental Retardation Conditions
1. 1. Down syndrome
• Individuals with Down syndrome typically show language development that

is delayed not only in relation to chronological age but also relative to mental
age.
• Children with Down syndrome are more linguistically impaired than other
cognitive functions. Grammar and comprehension is particularly affected among

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components of language.
• Lexical development starts late and proceeds slowly in children with Down
syndrome. They typically produce their 1st word around 24 months approximately
1 year later than typically developing children.
• Grammatical development is the area of language most affected by Down

syndrome. It is delayed relative to mental age and shows an extremely
protracted course of growth.
• In contrast, communicative and pragmatic development appear to be

particular advantage of children with Down syndrome. At around 6 months, these
children vocalize and engage in mutual eye contact.
• During pre-school years, children with Down syndrome seem interested in

social interaction and less interested in objects.
2. 2. Williams syndrome
• Persons with William’s syndrome speak in long, grammatically complex

sentences, use a rich vocabulary and can tell coherent and complex stories.
• Individuals with William’s syndrome displayed a striking discrepancy between their

language skills and their level of general cognitive functioning.
• Even though they are mentally retarded, their language appears intact.
• Individuals with William’s syndrome show clear deficits on morphosyntactic

knowledge.
• In terms of pragmatic development, they have relatively competent conversational

skills but cannot respond to questions.
• The evidence of excellent lexical development, combined with poor performance

on grammar suggests that children with William’s syndrome have a unique set of
abilities that lead them to acquire language in a different manner and a different
outcome than typically developing children.
• Children with William’s syndrome pay an unusual amount of attention to people’s

faces and voices. It seems that their brains have more space devoted to a task that
would impede learning.
A. E. Language Development and Autism

• Autism is always associated with some degree of both language delay
and deviance. Approximately 50% of autistic individuals either do not
speak or produce only echolalic speech, in which they “parrot” previously

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heard utterances.
• The most significant language impairment in autistic individuals is in

communicative competence. Although higher functioning autistic
individuals may acquire normal vocabulary and grammar they usually fail
to use their language for normal communicative interaction.
• It is difficult to have a successful conversation with an autistic

individual. Conversations tend to be limited to a small number of topics –
those that are of special interest to the individual. Higher functioning
autistic may have mastered the grammar of their language but do not use
those linguistic skills to contribute new relevant information to the ongoing
discourse.
• Individuals with autism seem to illustrate the dissociability of language

and communication and the separate contributions to language acquisition
of (1) a computational mechanism for acquiring the grammar ; and (2) the
social/cognitive underpinnings of communicative development.
A. F. Special Language Impairment (SIL)

1. • In general, studies on the language abilities of SLI children seem to
suggest that their linguistic development is based characterized as delayed
rather than disordered.
2. • The most obvious feature of the language development of children

with SLI is a language delay, which is often greater for production than
comprehension.
3. • The delayed development that characterizes SLI shows up in every

area of language: phonology, semantics, syntax and pragmatics.
4. • Children with SLI demonstrate continued language problems and are

at risk for reading and general education failure.
5. • Children with SLI have more trouble acquiring grammatical

morphology than acquiring syntax or vocabulary.
6. • It seems clear that the cause of SLI lies not in the children’s
environment but in some characteristic of the children themselves. For
some children, SLI is likely to have genetic basis.
7. • Children who are labeled with SLI may not have anything wrong with
them per se; they simply represent the lower end of the range of human
ability to acquire language in the same way that other children represent
the low end of the range in musical and athletic ability.

Page 90 of 92
A. G. Atypical Speech Development
1. 1. Cerebral palsy
• Children with cerebral palsy often demonstrate problems with respiratory

support for speech and difficulty producing or controlling the rapid movements of
the speech organs.
• In most cases, children with cerebral palsy, receptive language ability and
intellectual functioning are relatively unimpaired.
2. 2. Cleft palate
• A condition in which various facial structures particularly the hard and soft
palates fail to develop properly during the 1st trimester of gestation.
• The child with cleft palate often mistakenly elicits listener perceptions of
linguistic or cognitive deficiency. They have normal linguistic and intellectual
abilities.
3. 3. Chronic otitis media
• Children with this linguistic condition cannot discriminate between defective

productions and the correct model.
• Children with this disorder have articulation disorders. Their articulation

development is perceived to be either slow or defective.
4. 4. Childhood stuttering
• This is a condition wherein children experience developmental disfluency or

periods during which their developing capacity to produce fluent speech appears
strained by their emerging linguistic abilities.
• The cause of stuttering is presently not known. It is said that stuttering is

genetically predisposed but others believe that it reflects the inability of the
child’s system to deal with simultaneous language formulation and motor speech
demands.

1. 1. Describe the language acquisition process on language learners with
physiological deficiencies.
2. 2. How can language learners with mental deficiencies learn a

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language?
3. 3. What first language acquisition theory best describes the language

learning of pople with mental and physiological impairments?
References
Grela, B. Rashiti, L.& Soares, M. (2004). Dative prepositions in children with specific language
impairment. Applied Psycholinguistics, 25, pp. 467-480.

Page 92 of 92

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Course Syllabus

Department of English and Applied Linguistics

Faculty: Dr. Rochelle Irene G. Lucas

1. 1. be familiar with the various concepts and principles governing

2. 2. understand the different processes of language learning such as

3. 3. evaluate and analyze the various concepts and principles of language

4. 4. develop a proposed study and module on both first and second

Week 1 Hoff (2001) pp. 6,

https://cdn.fbsbx.com/v/t59.2708-21/11787528_10200837336…oh=3fb0bca1805e06f2b7541ac3a4d5ecc5&oe=5C3E8A88&dl=1 14/01/2019, 9H37 PM

Week 2 Hoff (2001) pp. 45-

A. D. Brain development and

Week 3 Garcia (2004) pp.2-4

https://cdn.fbsbx.com/v/t59.2708-21/11787528_10200837336…oh=3fb0bca1805e06f2b7541ac3a4d5ecc5&oe=5C3E8A88&dl=1 14/01/2019, 9H37 PM

Film Showing: Nell

Week 4 Gitaski (2000) pp.1-

a. A. Overview of the Topic

https://cdn.fbsbx.com/v/t59.2708-21/11787528_10200837336…oh=3fb0bca1805e06f2b7541ac3a4d5ecc5&oe=5C3E8A88&dl=1 14/01/2019, 9H37 PM

Listening to speech in 1st year of

Perception In Tomasello, M. &

Week 7 Hoff (2001) pp. 151-

a. A. Early Lexical Development de Boysson-Bardies

https://cdn.fbsbx.com/v/t59.2708-21/11787528_10200837336…oh=3fb0bca1805e06f2b7541ac3a4d5ecc5&oe=5C3E8A88&dl=1 14/01/2019, 9H37 PM

Week 9 Hoff (2001) pp. 260-

https://cdn.fbsbx.com/v/t59.2708-21/11787528_10200837336…oh=3fb0bca1805e06f2b7541ac3a4d5ecc5&oe=5C3E8A88&dl=1 14/01/2019, 9H37 PM

Week 12 Presentation of Study and Demo

Teaching Method/ Strategies

https://cdn.fbsbx.com/v/t59.2708-21/11787528_10200837336…oh=3fb0bca1805e06f2b7541ac3a4d5ecc5&oe=5C3E8A88&dl=1 14/01/2019, 9H37 PM

Hoff, E. (2001). Language development. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth-Thomson Learning.

Tomasello, M. & Bates, E. (2001). Language development: The essential

5. Module writing and demo teaching (35%)

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• NO MAKE UP QUIZ IS GIVEN TO LATE AND ABSENT STUDENTS.

D. Research paper and Module

prepared. (see format on module 4)

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• Font Type: Arial, Garamond or Times New Roman

• Margins: Left- 1.5

Right, Top & Bottom- 1.0

1. • Ink Color: Black

2. • Paper Size: 8 ½” x 11” (short white paper)

3. • Paper Substance: 70-80 gsm

2. 2. Submission of late requirements is highly discouraged. Late papers WILL

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1. 1. be informed of the chronological overview of the study of language development;

Estimated Number of Meetings

Key Concepts for Understanding

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2. Open discussion on the chronological overview of

3. Individual processing on the focus questions provided 30 minutes

4. Open discussion on the focus questions given 40 minutes

POINTS FOR DISCUSSION

• In Book II of his work History, Herodotus relates the story of the

• In order to do this, Psammetichus ordered a shepherd to raise

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• In the ancient times, the structural nature of language was not

1. 2. Studies in the late 19th and early 20th Century

• A lot of studies in children’s language development had been

• The kinds of questions that child language researchers asked

• Notable exceptions were the studies of feral or isolated children

• In the educational world, children’s language was studied in

• Errors in grammar and pronunciation in children were also

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• The mid-1950s saw a revolution in the study of child language.

• Work on descriptive linguistics and early transformational