Rationale for Assignment
The assignment will test students’ knowledge regarding language acquisition from several potential perspectives. By giving students choice in their essay topic, as well as providing them with a ‘default’ option, students are also being offered the chance to sharpen their critical thinking skills by engaging with a topic that they find most interesting. Students will be expected to engage with the relevant theory(ies) regarding their topic and in doing so, this will allow them to demonstrate a deep understanding of the topic that they have chosen.
Assignment
For this essay you will be marked on the way in which you discuss the relevant theory(ies) connected with your choice of topic related to the broad application of ‘language acquisition’. You will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of the topic’s foundations and from here, go further in terms of then interpreting the relevant data as the means to build your own unique perspective on the matter. This does not mean having something brand new to say, but merely that you attempt to show your own understanding of the topic you have chosen to write about. To do this, it is crucial (and this applies to all assignments of course) that you do not merely repeat the material from lecture handouts – use this sparingly.
Be advised that whatever subject you choose to focus on for your essay – to include coming up with your own subject – you will be expected to demonstrate the following, all of which are standard within university assessment as well as reflecting the learning outcomes for this course unit:
• Discuss the relevant theory(ies) for your chosen essay in requisite analytical depth;• Demonstrate adequate understanding of such, in part by providing your own original illustrations and explanations for the theories, and not over-relying on content from classroom lecture or handouts – in other words, proving your understanding of the subject matter;• Where possible, and tied to the second bullet point, providing original insights on the subject; such content is often part of the higher scores.
Potential Essay Topics
1. The ‘default’ option – Discuss child language acquisition in terms of the two dominant theories. You will be expected to discuss what these theories refer to and provide examples of each. Beyond this, show the arguments in favour, and against, both theories. Finally, you should arrive with your own conclusion on the matter – which theory do you find most compelling?2. Discuss the implications for speakers who acquire two languages (they do not have to be joint first languages). Consider this in terms of acquiring two identities via the act of code-switching. Explain some of the reasons for code-switching, but be prepared to focus on the ways in which identities are constructed when speakers switch from one language to the other. This will involve a discussion of identity in terms of how we ascribe it to ourselves and how others ascribe it to us.3. Discuss child language acquisition by focusing on one specific aspect of language development (e.g. syntax, phonology, pragmatic awareness). The purpose here is to explain how one of these skills usually develops, and provide sufficient illustration, and then arrive at a summary in terms of what this suggests overall about acquisition of this said skill.4. Discuss the ways in which adults acquire a second language in terms of the various teaching methods used to help them learn. Be prepared to briefly discuss a variety of teaching methods, but ultimately argue for one teaching method in particular. Explain why you have chosen this method in terms of why it is the most effective in helping adults acquire a second language.5. Discuss any one, or more than one, of the relevant issues we have discussed in class regarding the teaching and learning of a dominant language for students – children or adults – whose native language is different. For example, you could consider the political issues reflected in the teaching and learning of English in the United States for Spanish-speaking children, and the English Only movement.
READING LIST
Clark, E. 2003. First language acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ellis, R. 1997. Second language acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Weekly Discussions
Week One – How do we acquire our first language? The Nature Argument [Chapter 1, Clark]
Week Two – How do we acquire our first language? The Nurture Argument
Week Three – Child-directed speech, and early perception [Chapters 2 and 3, Clark]
Week Four – Sign Language/dyslexia and writing based on a child’s L1
Week Five – Early production [Chapters 4 and 5, Clark]
Week Six – Developing pragmatic skills [Chapter 13, Clark]
Week Seven – Bilingual acquisition in children [Chapter 14, Clark]
Week Eight – Adult second language acquisition, Part I [Chapters 1-3, Ellis], to include EMI instruction
Week Nine – Adult second language acquisition, Part II [Chapters 4-6, Ellis]
Week Ten – Issues in child second language learning: home and school perspectives
Week Eleven – The politics of second-language learning
AIMS of course
This unit aims to:
Cover the development of language in terms of the early acquisition of one’s first language and the acquisition and learning of a second language. This course will enable students to better appreciate the remarkable fact that we all acquire our first language in particular with comparatively little learning input – how is this possible? How do we acquire meaning, morphology and syntax, for example? The course will cover babbling and gesturing to the development of words and sentences, and then progress to adult language acquisition and relevant issues regarding bilingualism. Likewise, the course will focus on the pedagogical implications for learning a second language, as opposed to acquiring it, discussing relevant topics such as teaching and learning theories (e.g. Krashen’s comprehensible input), as well as the political aspects of language (e.g. using speakers’ first language as a means to discriminate if they are not native speakers of the dominant language).
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE UNIT’S CONTENT
Child language acquisition and second language acquisition, covering relevant areas such as the poverty of the stimulus, Language Acquisition Device (LAD), the critical period and sensitive period, Universal Grammar (UG) and the stages involved in language learning. Adult language acquisition will also be covered, thus focusing on the acquisition of a second language later in life and how this differs from acquiring language as a child, but also including of course a prominent focus on children learning a second or foreign language, and the linguistic, cultural and sometimes political implications of this.
INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Category of outcome
Upon completion of the unit, students should be able to:
Knowledge and understanding
• Have a solid understanding of the theoretical frameworks and relevant topics in the study of language acquisition, both child language acquisition and that of second language acquisition• Be more aware of the psycholinguistic aspects involved with language acquisition and the relationship of the brain to language learning
Intellectual skills
• Have developed skills relevant to close reading of texts in order to evaluate hypotheses and data• Apply psycholinguistic theories to future studies of language and within a future work setting with children, be it L1 acquisition or L2 learning
Practical skills
• Close read texts better and have developed improved critical thinking skills• Engage with scholarly texts more and critique theories where necessary
Transferable skills and personal qualities
• Have developed skills relevant to a career in teaching children• Have developed skills that can be transferred to other branches of linguistics, such as syntax and pragmatics