First Language Acquisition
Saville-Troike, M. (2005). Introducing second
language acquisition. New York: Cambridge
UP.
10-0918
First not Foreign
• What is your FL?
• How did you learn your FL?
How did you learn your L1?
• Procedure
– Babbling
– One word stage
– Two word stage
– Phrases
– Sentences
How do theorists say about L1?
• Behaviorists (Skinner, 1957)
– Tabula rasa
– Stimuli: linguistic responses
– Conditioning (classical vs. operant)
– Reinforcement
Language learning = The production of
correct responses to stimuli
Adv vs. Disadv?
Adv vs. Disadv of Behavior Approach
• Advantage:
– Observable, empirical, descriptive
• Disadvantage:
– Not linear. What about imitation, creativity, &
interaction?
How do theorists say about L1?
• Nativists (Chomsky, 1965)
– Innate predispositions (LAD/UG) (p. 28-29)
– Systematic, rule-governed acquisition
– Creative construction
– “Pivot” 樞紐 grammar
– Parallel distributed processing/ Connectionism
Language is generative through LAD
Adv vs. Disadv?
Adv vs. Disadv of Nativist Approach
• Advantage:
– Explanatory, especially unobservable language
development
– Construct common phenomena among
languages
• Disadvantage:
– no explanation on function of meaning
constructed from social interaction
How do theorists say about L1?
• Functionalists (Bloom, 1971; Piaget)
– Constructivist
– Social interaction
– Cognition and language
– Functions of language
– Discourse: looking for cues
Which approach do you believe
most and least?
• Behaviorist Approach?
• Nativist Approach?
• Functional Approach?
Issues in FLA (1)
• Competence vs. Performance (Q5)
• Comprehension vs. Production (Q6)
• Nature vs. Nurture
• Universals: head-initial, head-final
• Systematicity and Variability
Issues in FLA (2)
• Language and thought: which influences which?
• Imitation (p. 44): form vs. meaning/function (Q7)
• Practice and frequency (p. 45)
• Input: corrective input
• Discourse: initiation and responses, especially in pragmatics
The Direct Method
• Series Method (Gouin, 1880)
• Reaction to the Grammar-Translation
Method: focus on listening and speaking
• Learn L2 in the way of learning L1
• Focus only on everyday voc and sentences
• Inductive grammar
• Use concrete objects for the words