The reality is that the universal grammar theory attempts to lay general structures that can be traced among languages. Therefore, if a constant 'X' is true then 'Y' will be equally true. It puts down how all languages expand when subjected to a given set of fundamental principles. With these principles, universal grammar enables us to try out word order prediction in languages, the phonemes, syntax etc.
Several linguists hold that the universal grammar and its linkage to the other parts of the brain is the machinery that enables children to be fluent in whichever language in their childhood. This is the most critical stage of language learning in the life of human beings. It is also argued under this theory that children have a higher ability to learn second languages in natural settings than adults. Adults however, have a higher ability to consciously learn a second language in artificial….

The environment that language acquisition occurs in, whether it is a first or a second language being acquired, is also hugely influential on the development of that language. It is only in context that a language with inherent ambiguities can be understood at a level of fluency, and if the environment surrounding the language learner does not help to reinforce the rules and/or vocabulary of that language, then language acquisition becomes more difficult (Freeman & Freeman 2004; Wilson 2000). In addition, things as basic and yet fundamental to all types of learning such as anxiety levels and self-confidence can also have huge effects on language learning, especially during second language acquisition (Wilson 2000).

My views generally align with the dominant view in this course, namely that second language acquisition is best facilitated by instilling the linguistic concepts known to assist in first language acquisition into second language learners (Freeman & Freeman….

In the final analysis, people have been learning how to acquire language for millennia without the assistance of scientific investigation, but the need for young people to do so quickly in an increasingly multicultural country and globalized marketplace is more important than ever before because they will probably have to learn a second (or third) language at their earliest opportunity.
eferences

Birdsong, D. (1999). Second language acquisition and the critical period hypothesis. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. This book examines reasons why very young learners might be subject to a critical period for language acquisition.

Costa, A.., Mcilvane, W.J., & Wilkinson, K.M. (2001). Emergent word-object mapping by children: Further studies using the blank comparison technique. The Psychological ecord, 51(3), 343. This study confirmed the usefulness of the blank comparison technique in emergent mapping research and provided the first data set from school-aged children.

Danby, S. (2002). The communicative competence of young children. Australian….

Finally, nativists must concede that culture and native language can shape ideas in the long run. After all, a person's cultural surroundings seem to greatly affect their interpretation of experiences over the course of their life (Bowerman and Choi 475-476). The difference in how much those cultural experiences affect an individual and their language, as well as when such effects happen, is what makes up the entire debate between "nature" and "nurture" in language development.
orks Cited

Behrens, Heike. "Cognitive-conceptual Development and the Acquisition of Grammatical Morphemes: the Development of Time Concepts and Verb Tense." Language Acquisition and Conceptual Development Eds. Melissa Bowerman, and Steven Levinson. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press, 2001. 450-474.

Bowerman, Melissa, and Soonja Choi. "Shaping Meanings for Language: Universal and Language-Specific in the Acquisition of Spatial Semantic Categories." Language Acquisition and Conceptual Development Eds. Melissa Bowerman, and Steven Levinson. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press, 2001. 475-511.

Brown, Penelope. "Learning….

A good starting point is identifying the factors that influence ELL student performance. According to Mitsutomi & McDonald, these factors include motivation, linguistic and cultural identity, study strategies, tolerance for ambiguity, and sociocultural support.
Although these factors provide a generic indication of the difficulties faced by ELL students, it is also recognized that each student is an individual, and enters the school system under widely varying circumstances and with differing expectations. Notably, the acquisition of English is hardly at all found to be influenced by whether or not the student had studied English as a foreign language in the home country.

These findings have some specific implications for the classroom. In the practical sense, teachers must recognize their own need to become sensitive not only to the language, but also to the culture needs of ELL students. As such, they need to develop a background in foreign languages and culture in….

Learning language is not much different from learning other skills, but it can be a highly complex process. For example, if human beings did not communicate using complex systems of language but instead relied on simple nouns and verbs, we would all sound like what we imagine "cave men" sounded like. "Food good," and other simple sentences do not demand mastery of grammar and in theory, such simple languages could be learned by young children easily. However, from the moment they are born, children are exposed to the voices of others, to the sounds and structures of their culture's language systems. Because they are constantly bombarded with language from people and from television, children start to form primitive sentences from an early age. One of the reasons why people who are born deaf often have difficulty speaking is because of their inability to hear and thereby imitate the sounds and….

Linguistics, Language Acquisition, & Pronoun Errors in Children
The acquisition of language is not a seamless process. All humans encounter errors as part of their linguistic development and practice. Humans around the world and across languages encounter similar behavior patterns as they grow into adults and gain linguistic fluency in their native languages. One such repeating phenomenon in English of note is the act of young children to misuse pronouns, using the word "me" when the correct word is "I." There are several ideas regarding how and why many children go through a stage in their linguistic development where they misuse pronouns. This paper will explore and critique the ideas of experts in several field including linguistics and language acquisition. The paper will propose and provide evidence for several factors that contribute to this speech phenomenon. The paper will show that this particular speech act is a result of the interaction….

Language Acquisition" by J. Crawford, covers how people acquire a second language, and some "persistent problems" with how we teach a second language in America today. The author briefly covers a history of language acquisition, and how early omans used "conversational dialogues" to help teach children many other languages, and how that method gradually altered throughout history, to the "grammar-translation approach" we tend to lean toward today. He also mentions some other less common methods that seem to show good results, such as the "direct" method, and the "audiolingual" method. The author also brings up many differing theories of language acquisition, and asks many questions about how students learn and teachers teach a second language. In fact, the author also raises questions about some techniques, and maintains they may be actually preventing children from learning another language, no matter how well thought of or well-executed they are. Clearly, while….

Language Acquisition
The language theory

According to Krashen 'communication' is the purpose of a language. Focusing on communicative abilities is just as important. The relevance of 'meaning' is also stressed upon. According to Terrell and Krashen, a language has its very own lexicon. The stress on vocabulary is apparent here and language is seen as a means to 'communicate meanings' as well as 'messages'. 'Acquisition' takes place in case where people understand messages in TL, according to Krashen. Natural Approach consists of 'messages', 'structures' and 'lexical items' in plain view. Production and perception are two lexicons on which clarification of messages and organization is dependent upon. According to Krashen, acquisition is a mere combination of rules of the language by employing language for communication. Linguistic competence is only attained by 'input' which contains structures at 'interlanguage+1' level (i+1). It is obtained by " comprehensible input'.

Learning theory of language

In his second theory….

It seems unbelievable how infants go from not knowing anything at all, to knowing how to express themselves in every way they can. They first learn how to tell their parents what they want by either pointing or yelling until they get what it is that they want, to actually putting words together to tell them exactly in the language that parents will understand. The question still arises as to how they learn so quickly. The idea that babies come preprogrammed to learn how to speak has been debated among scholars for ages. It seems to be the most plausible hypothesis since language is learned so early on in life.
The fact that so much brain processes go into the language development stage gives a lot of evidence to how innate language really is. When certain areas of the brain are either damaged, or not fully evolved, language deficiencies present….

Children and Language
Language Acquisition in Children

Language development in children takes a certain, predictable pattern. This pattern, also called "production," has certain important characteristics, seen in many children. First, one will note, that a baby aged 0-2 months will employ vegetative sounds, such as burps, cries and coughs. In this first stage, these sounds will be involuntary, but they nonetheless signify communication. The first real communication is anywhere from 2-3 months, and is exemplified by a baby's cooing sounds. Then, from 4-6 months, a baby will start uttering consonants, such as "g" and "k," but not real syllables. However, in this third stage, a baby will experiment with volume and pitch. Then, from 7-9 months, a baby will start canonical babbling and will start uttering syllables. Lastly, from 8-12 months, a baby will reduplicate its babbling (i.e. gagaga).[footnoteef:1] [1: All the facts above are taken from the source provided by the….

ilingual First Language Acquisition
ilingual Paradox

ilingual Deficit Hypothesis

Unitary Language System Hypothesis

ilingual Advantage Hypothesis

Differentiated Language System Hypothesis

Vocabulary Development

The MacArthur CDI

Linguistic Milestones

Lexical Identifiers

Translation Equivalents

Interlocutor Sensitivity

Language Choice

Codemixing

Parental Discourse Strategies

Early Constraints

It is common knowledge that all over the globe young children seem to effortlessly acquire two or more languages at one time. Yet some uphold the belief that children who are exposed to multiple languages too early (with the dividing line as to what is "too early" being a gray area) may experience developmental language delays and/or confusion. Scientific research has attempted to examine whether young bilinguals can ascertain that they are acquiring two separate and distinct languages early on. (Watson, 1996) We will examine the criteria for measuring early language development, the concepts associated with ascertaining a child's developmental progress, the research supporting the prevailing theories and the significant findings inherent in credible research in these areas.

Research and Analysis

ilingual Paradox

The line of thought that….

First, Spanish sounds different from English in terms of vowel sounds, sentence stress, and timing. (Shoebottom, 2007, Spanish). In addition, Spanish speakers can confront grammar problems when learning English, "although Spanish is a much more heavily inflected language than English, there are many aspects of verb grammar that are similar. The major problem for the Spanish learner is that there is no one-to-one correspondence in the use of the tenses. So, for example, a Spanish learner might incorrectly use a simple tense instead of a progressive or a future one." (Shoebottom, 2007, Spanish). Moreover, because these issues reflect basic differences between the two languages, progressive learning in Spanish does not translate to better English ability.
In addition, the fact that English and Spanish share a common base language should make some aspects of English acquisition easier for the Spanish speaker than for the Arabic speaker. In fact, there are several….

How do you (or would you) integrate technology with literacy instruction? Share your best idea with your colleagues.I would used technology as a means to supplement traditional classroom instruction. Students often learn in different and varying ways. By utilizing multiple sources of instruction, students can have a differentiated and much more enriching learning experience.What other information or tools do you need to successfully integrate technology and literacy instruction? Ask your colleagues for input.In terms of information, have a recent and up to date curriculum will be needed. Here it is important to have strong standards that incorporate the latest learnings in education. From a tools standpoint, it will be important to have software and equipment that can be used by students in the learning journey. Equipment would include tablets, strong internet connection, and other computers. Software would include e-books, learning software, a video conferencing software.How can technology be leveraged to….

Second language proficiency and academic achievement can be challenging to develop simultaneously. Krashen's (2010) work illustrates the various systems of learning, including the learning that takes place subconsciously and the learning that takes place more by rote methods. Likewise, Gottlieb (2006) differentiates between social and academic language proficiency and academic achievement for students. The acquisition of the language entails different cognitive processes than the acquisition of subject-specific knowledge. Educators armed with a more thorough understanding of academic versus language proficiency can better help their students succeed on both levels.
Krashen (2010) points out that each human being learns language in the same way. Individual differences may be important for current scientific paradigms, but for educators, a more universal approach will be far more helpful in creating a classroom environment and pedagogical approach that will be effective. After all, human biology is universal; so, too are the cognitive processes involved in language….