Quiz Bowl Reviewer (Set 1):
Part of Speech
1. Noun – any words that names people, things, animals, places, events, or ideas.
Examples: doctor, bag, bear, park, holiday
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Types of Nouns:
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Common Noun – these are generic names of persons, things, or places.
Examples: car, pizza parlor, television series
 Proper Noun – they always start with a capital letter and refer to specific names of persons, places, or things.
Examples: Volkswagen Beetle, Shakey’s Pizza, Game of Thrones
 Types of Common Nouns:
 Concrete Noun – this kind refers to nouns which you can perceive through your five senses.
Examples: folder, sand, board
 Abstract Noun – are those which you can’t perceive through your five senses.
Examples: happiness, grudge, bravery
 Genders of Noun:
 Masculine – this refers to nouns of the male sex.
Examples: sorcerer, actor, tiger, rooster, prince, fox, stag, bull, ram
 Feminine – this denotes nouns of the female sex.
Examples: sorceress, actress, tigress, hen, princess, vixen, doe, cow, ewe
 Common – it is the gender of nouns which can refer to either male or female.
Examples: student, driver, lawyer, criminal, leader, visitor
 Neuter – it refers to nouns that have no sex.
Examples: computer, city, pizza, bus, brownies, oven
 Forms of Noun:
 Singular Noun – it names one person, place, thing, or idea.
Examples: game, hero, reply, loaf, datum, thesis, alumnus
 Plural Noun – it names more than one person, place, thing, or ideas.
Examples: games, heroes, replies, loaves, data, theses, alumni
 Countable and Non-countable Nouns:
 Count Noun – it refers to anything that is countable, and has a singular and plural form.
Examples: kitten, video, ball
 Mass Noun – they need to have “counters” to quantify them.
Examples (Counters): kilo, cup, meter
Examples (Mass Nouns): rice, flour, garter
 Possessive Noun – shows ownership by adding an apostrophe, an "s" or both.
Examples: book's cover, Diane's book, moss's color
 Compound Noun – it contains two or more words that join together to make a single noun.
Examples: softball, son-in-law, post office
 Collective Noun – it refers to a group of persons, animals, or things.
Examples: faculty (group of teachers), class (group of students), pride (group of lions)
Pronoun – they function as a replacement for a noun.
Examples: I, it, he, she, mine, his, hers, we, they, theirs, ours
 Cases of Personal Pronoun:
 Nominative Case – the pronoun is the subject of your sentence.
Examples: I, he, she, you, it, we, they
 Objective Case – it is normally used as a grammatical object.
Examples: me, you, him, her, it, us, them
 Possessive Case – these demonstrate ownership.
Examples: my, mine, your, yours, his, hers, its, our, ours, them
 Demonstrative Pronoun – these are used to demonstrate or indicate.
Examples: this, these, that, those
 Indefinite Pronoun – these are used for non-specific things.
Examples: all, some, any, several, anyone, nobody, each, both, somebody
 Interrogative Pronoun – these are used in questions.
Examples: who, what, when, why, how
 Relative Pronoun – these used to add more information to a sentence.
Examples: who, whose, whom, which, where, that
 Reciprocal Pronoun – these are used for actions or feelings that are reciprocated.
Examples: each other, one another
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Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns:
 Reflexive Pronoun – these refers to another noun or pronoun in the sentence.
Example: The dog bit itself.
 Intensive Pronoun – these refers back to another noun or pronoun in the sentence to emphasize it.
Example: The cat opened the door itself.
Verb – these are the action words in a sentence that describe what the subject is doing.
Examples: sing, dance, play, bake, do, like, hate, win
 Types of Verbs:
 Action Verb – these are words that express action or possession.
Example: Mark gave his phone to Carmela.
 Linking (Copula) Verb – these are words that connect the subject of a sentence to a noun or adjective that renames
or describes the subject.
Example: Lisa is in love with Jason.
 Helping (Auxiliary) Verb – these are used before action or linking verbs to convey additional information regarding
aspects of possibility or time.
Example: Tanya could learn to fly helicopters.
 Kinds of Action Verb:
 Transitive Verb – they always have a noun that either receives the action of the verb or names the object to whom or
for whom the action was done.
Example: Laurissa raises her hand.
 Intransitive Verb – these words that does not refer to the object to receive its action.
Example: Laurissa rises slowly from her seat.
 Basic Tenses of Verb:
 Present Tense – they show an action or condition occur in the present.
Example: I think I should sleep now.
 Past Tense – they show an action or condition occurred in the past.
Example: They taught me how to cook a scrambled egg.
 Future Tense – they show an action or condition will occur in the future.
Example: I shall return tomorrow.
 Regular and Irregular Verbs:
 Regular Verbs – they form their past and past participle forms by adding –ed.
Examples: walked, played, tried, baked
 Irregular Verbs – they form their past and past participle forms in different ways.
Examples: made, wrote/written, put, burnt, drank/drunk
 Perfect Tenses of Verb:
 Present Perfect Tense – they show an action or condition has occurred relative in the present.
Example: I have lost my purse.
 Past Perfect Tense – they show an action or condition had occurred relative in the past.
Example: The plane had left by the time I got to the airport.
 Future Perfect Tense – they show an action or condition will have occurred relative in the future.
Example: Margaret will have married Jerome by then.
 Progressive Tenses of Verb:
 Present Progressive Tense – they show a continuous action or condition is occurring in the present.
Example: We are choreographing a dance.
 Past Progressive Tense – they show a continuous action or condition was occurring in the past.
Example: I was lying on the bed while I was reading.
 Future Progressive Tense – they show a continuous action or condition will be occurring in the future.
Example: I will be finishing college next year.
 Perfect Progressive Tenses of Verb:
 Present Perfect Progressive Tense – they show a continuous action or condition has been occurring relative to the
present.
Example: I have been studying since I was a child.
 Past Perfect Progressive Tense – they show a continuous action or condition had been occurring relative to the past.
Example: He was talking loudly because he had been drinking.
 Future Perfect Progressive Tense – they show a continuous action or condition will have been occurring relative to
the future.
Example: I will have been working for 35 years by the time I retire.
 Verbals:
 Gerunds – they end in ‘-ing’ and functions as a noun.
Example: He liked skiing.
 Infinitives – are the base forms of a verb with ‘to’.
Example: He called to warn her.
 Participles – they are verbs in a present or past participle form that may function as an adjective or a noun.
Example: The dancing parrots entertained the crowd.
Adjective – they are used to describe a noun or a pronoun.
Examples: beautiful, quick, ridiculous
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Types of Adjectives:
 Descriptive Adjective – these are used to describe nouns and pronouns.
Example: Felix is a simple man.
 Quantitative Adjective – these words describe the quantity of something.
Example: I have many friends in school.
 Demonstrative Adjective – they describe “which” noun or pronoun you’re referring to.
Example: That person tries to persuade me to join their group.
 Possessive Adjective – they describe to whom a thing belongs.
Example: This is my sandwich!
 Interrogative Adjective – they meant to ask questions and always followed by a noun or a pronoun.
Example: Which partner would you choose?
 Distributive Adjective – they describe specific members out of a group.
Example: Each person in the room must be healthy.
 Article Adjective – these are used to describe which noun you’re referring to.
Example: A fan of a popular celebrity just tripped and fell into the ground.
 Degrees of Descriptive Adjectives:
 Positive Adjective – these are used to describe, not compare.
Examples: nice, creative, good
 Comparative Adjective – these are used to compare two things.
Examples: nicer, more creative, better
 Superlative Adjective – these are used to compare three or more things.
Examples: nicest, most creative, best
Adverb – they describe adjectives, verbs, or another adverb.
Examples: gracefully, here, too, yesterday
 Types of Adverbs:
 Adverb of Degree – answer the questions “how much” or “to what extent”.
Example: Becky almost fell on the bridge.
 Adverb of Frequency – express “how often” something takes place.
Example: Jake rarely attends the church due to scheduling conflicts.
 Adverb of Manner – express “how” something happens.
Example: He finished the test easily.
 Adverb of Place – describe “where” an action takes place.
Example: Please, stay downstairs.
 Adverb of Time – they tell us “when” the verb happened or will happen.
Example: I’ll probably go to the gym tomorrow.
Preposition – these refer to words that specify location or a location in time.
Examples: from, to, under, beyond, since
 Types of Preposition:
 Preposition of Time – are used to refer time in various aspects.
 at – is used for a precise time.
Example: The group will gather at 3’o clock afternoon.
 in – is used for months, years, centuries and seasons.
Example: It all began in 1990.
 on – is used for days and dates.
Example: I was born on September 10, 2000.
 Preposition of Place – are used for several types of places.
 at – is used for a specific place or address.
Example 1: Reen lives at Purok Twin River East, Koronadal City.
Example 2: I was at home yesterday.
 in – is used inside and for towns, counties, states, countries and continents.
Example 1: She flew somewhere in Asia.
Example 2: James have waited in the car.
 on – is used to discuss on surface and on streets and avenues.
Example 1: Johnny Depp walked on Broadway Street earlier morning.
Example 2: Who slept on the floor last evening?
 Preposition of Direction – express the direction of something.
Example: The tiger is chasing towards Ryan.
 Preposition of Agent – are used to express a causal relationship between a noun and an action.
Example: A mess was made by the dogs.
 Preposition of Instruments – are used for joining nouns to other words in a sentence.
Example: The criminal was caught with the help of the police.
Conjunction – they join words, phrases, or clauses together.
Examples: and, or, but, so, because
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Types of Conjunctions:
 Coordinating Conjunction – the main function is to join words, phrases, and clauses together, which are usually
grammatically equal.
Example: Cassandra fell asleep, so Joaquin just went home.
 Subordinating Conjunction – are used to link two clauses together to form a dependent clause.
Example: Because it is so cold outside, I brought you a jacket.
 Correlative Conjunction – are pairs of conjunctions which are used to join equal sentence elements together.
Example: I can’t decide whether I’ll take Chemical Engineering or take Medical Technology in college.
8. Interjection – refers to words which express strong emotions.
Examples: “Ouch!”, “Hurray!”, “Hey!”
9. Functions of Nouns (N) and Pronouns (P):
 Subject (S) – a noun or pronoun partnered with a predicate verb.
Example (N): Michael is in the kitchen.
Example (P): He is over there.
 Object of Preposition (OP) – a noun or a pronoun answering "whom" or "what" after a preposition in a prepositional
phrase.
Example (N): Michael ate some chocolates with his friends.
Example (P): I bought the book for her.
 Direct Object (DO) – a noun or a pronoun answering "whom" or "what" after an action verb.
Example (N): Michael ate some chocolates.
Example (P): The river's current pulled him under.
 Indirect Object (IO) - a noun or a pronoun answering "to whom/what" or "for whom/what" after an action verb.
Example (N): Michael gave James some chocolates.
Example (P): Frank gave me some paperback books.
 Retained Object (RO) – a noun or a pronoun answering "whom" or "what" after a passive verb.
Example (N): Michael was fed some chocolates.
Example (P): Klavier was got some of it.
 Subjective Complement (SC) – a noun or a pronoun that renames or describes (equals) the subject after a verb of being
or a linking verb.
Example (N): Michael is a patissier.
Example (P): It was he who caught the winning touchdown Friday night.
 Objective Complement (OC) – a noun or a pronoun that renames or describes (equals) the direct object.
Example (N): We consider Michael a patissier.
Example (P): He made her happy.
 Appositive (App) – a noun or a pronoun that renames another noun.
Example (N): Michael, a patissier, ate some chocolates.
Example (P): My friends, those who stood by me, have all been rewarded.
10. Types of Voices:
 Active Voice – these describe a sentence where the subject performs the action stated by the verb.
Example: Harry ate six shrimp at dinner.
 Passive Voice – these refers the subject is acted upon by the verb.
Example: At dinner, six shrimp were eaten by Harry.
11. Pronoun-Antecedent Rules:
 Rule #1 – A pronoun and its antecedent must agree. They should both be singular or both be plural.
Example 1: Dr. Ellen Wong finished her reports.
Example 2: The doctors finished their reports.
 Rule #2 – Even though some indefinite pronouns have plural meanings, treat them as grammatically singular.
Example: Everyone in my English class does his homework.
 Rule #3 – Treat generic nouns as singular even though they might have a plural meaning. Be careful when you use a,
any, every, or each.
Example: A nursing student must study hard if he wants to succeed.
 Rule #4 – Treat collective nouns as singular unless the meaning is clearly plural.
Example 1: The committee granted its permission.
Example 2: The committee put their signatures on the document.
 Rule #5 – Treat most compound antecedents connected by and as plural.
Example: Joan and Jim moved to the mountains, where they built a cabin.
 Rule #6 – When a compound antecedent is connected by or or nor (or by either...or or neither...nor), make the pronoun
agree with the nearer antecedent.
Example 1: Neither the dog nor the cats could find their way through the maze.
Example 2: Either Mike or Giee will get his license.
12. Subject-Verb Agreement
 Rule #1 – Verb with –s is singular. Verb without –s is plural.
Example 1: He loves to play piano.
Example 2: They want to have a trip on summer.
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Rule #2 – Make the linking verb agree with the real subject.
Example 1: Marina’s concern is her classmates.
Example 2: Henry’s mother and father are his sole supporter.
Rule #3 – Non-count and mass nouns take singular verb.
Example: The food is good.
Rule #4 – Collective noun subject take singular verbs, but if the group is viewed as individual members, use a plural verb.
Example 1: The family is unanimous on the issue.
Example 2: My family are always fighting among themselves.
Rule #5 – Mass nouns can only be pluralized by quantifiers.
Example: Two sacks of rice are delivered in Cotabato.
Rule #6 – Subject nouns that are derived from adjectives and describe people, take plural verbs.
Example: The rich are in favor of a tax cut.
Rule #7 – Proper noun subjects that end in –s take singular verbs.
Example: Mathematics is Jake’s favorite subject.
Rule #8 – Subject may take either a singular or a plural verb depending on the meaning that wish to express.
Example: Her eyeglasses are new.
Rule #9 – When use the word “pair”, the verb is singular but without the word “pair”, the verb is plural.
Example 1: His pair of shoes is new.
Example 2: My earrings are missing.
Rule #10 – Plural nouns such as a unit of measurement that signal one unit should take a singular verb.
Example: Nine hundred nautical miles is too far to travel in a day.
Rule #11 – Basic arithmetical operations (add, subtract, multiply, divide) take singular verbs.
Example: Five times six equals thirty.
Rule #12 – Clausal subjects are singular even if the nouns referred to are plural.
Example: What we need is more reference books.
Rule #13 – Gerund and infinitive subjects take a singular verb.
Example: Reading books is my hobby.
Rule #14 – With fractions, percentages, and the quantifiers all (of), a lot of, verb agreement depends on the noun coming
after phrases.
Example 1: A lot of the information is about the upcoming trip.
Example 2: All of the villagers need to evacuate.
Rule #15 – The indefinite pronouns are always singular.
Example: Every student has a responsibility to study their lessons.
Rule #16 – “The number” used as a subject takes a singular verb while “A number” takes a plural verb.
Example 1: The number of students coming is decreasing.
Example 2: A number of players practicing are increasing.
Rule #17 – With none as a subject, use a singular verb.
Example: None of the students is present.
Rule #18 – With either or neither as subject, use a singular verb.
Example: Either was acceptable to me.
Rule #19 – With correlative subjects either…or and neither…nor, the verb agrees with the nearer subject.
Example 1: Either Peter or his siblings are attending to the ceremony.
Example 2: Neither my cousins nor Bea is going to the party.
Rule #20 – When a sentence begins with there or here, you must look thoroughly to find the real subject.
Example 1: There are many devices in a man’s heart.
Example 2: Here is a book on the table.
Rule #21 – When the subjects joined by and refer to a single unit or is considered as one, it takes a singular verb.
Example: Bread and butter is a common breakfast for Americans.
Rule #22 – Compound subjects joined by ‘and’ referring to separate entities, should take a plural verb.
Example: Our professor and my friend live next door.
Rule #23 – Follow the general rule in pairing subjects and verbs regardless of prepositional phrases or clauses that are
sometimes placed in between the subject and verb.
Example 1: The color of his eyes is blue.
Example 2: The roads along the city are closed.
Rule #24 – The verb after the relative pronouns who, which, and that agrees with its antecedent.
Example 1: Children may not see a film that has an X-rating.
Example 2: Children may not see films that have an X-rating.
Rule #25 – Subjects followed by intervening expressions such as: in addition to, in company with, together with, as well
as, etc. should take verbs that agree with real subjects.
Example 1: The teacher, together with the pupils, is dancing.
Example 2: The employees, as well as the part-timers, are leading the strike.
Rule #26 – Titles of literary/artistic works and names of firms, companies, stores, etc. should take singular verbs.
Example: Green Coconuts is Manansala’s latest painting.
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Rule #27 – Words such as many and few are used only with plural nouns. Words such as much and little are used only with
non-count nouns and take singular verbs.
Example 1: Many applicants were hired.
Example 2: Much money is needed for the project.
Rule #28 – Each other is used when we refer to two person or things. One another is used when we refer to more than two.
Regardless, use plural verbs.
Example: He and his sisters always advise each other.
Rule #29 – The word some may modify a singular or plural noun.
Example 1: Some food looks delicious.
Example 2: Some tickets were not sold.
Rule #30 – Emphatic verbs must be followed by a simple for of a verb.
Example 1: Jake does possess wisdom beyond his years.
Example 2: Cath and Tess do play basketball.
Rule #31 – The verb concords with the subject, not with the predicate.
Example 1: My favorite gift is flowers.
Example 2: The thoughts I have are filled with your smile.
Rule #32 – When a sentence begins with a phrase, the verb agrees with one subject that comes after the verb.
Example 1: Hanging on a tree was a streamer.
Example 2: Seated among the students is the president of the school.
Syntax
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Types of Phrases:
 Noun Phrase – consist of a noun and all its modifiers.
Example: The sports car drove the long and winding road.
 Verb Phrase – consist of a verb and all its modifiers.
Example: You have been sleeping for a long time.
 Gerund Phrase – consist of a noun phrase that starts with a gerund.
Example: Strolling along a beach at sunset is romantic.
 Infinitive Phrase – consist of a noun phrase that begins with an infinitive verb.
Example: The company decided to reduce hours for everyone.
 Appositive Phrase – restate and define a noun.
Example: The Florida panther, the state animal of Florida, is an endangered species.
 Participial Phrase – begin with a past or present participle.
Example: Grinning from ear to ear, she accepted her award.
 Prepositional Phrase – begins with a preposition and can act as a noun, an adjective or an adverb.
Example: He was between a rock and a hard place.
 Absolute Phrase – has a subject, but not an action verb, so it cannot stand alone as a complete sentence.
Example: His tail between his legs, the dog walked out the door.
Types of Clauses:
 Independent Clause (IC) – it can stand alone as a sentence.
Example: I am not tidying the dishes
 Dependent Clause (DC) – it cannot stand alone as a complete sentence and accompanied with a subordinating conjunction.
Example: unless Peter helps
Types of Sentences:
 Simple Sentence – consists of one independent clause only.
Example: My nephew went home to America.
 Compound Sentence – consists of two independent clauses and accompanied with a coordinating conjunction.
Example: The radio said earlier that today’s weather will be a sunny day, yet it is raining.
 Complex Sentence – consists of one independent clause and one dependent clause.
Example: I am going to the mall if Mercedes joins us.
 Compound-Complex Sentence – consists of two independent clause and one dependent clause.
Example: Bernadetta likes to sleep in but she can get up early if she has work.
Morphology
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Types of Morphemes
 Free Morphemes – freestanding
 Lexical Morphemes – represent the major parts of speech
Example: apple, Cristy, chair, pretty, quick, lovely
 Grammatical Morphemes – represent the minor parts of speech
Example: the, or, and, so, either, an
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Bound Morphemes – attached to another word
 Derivational Morphemes – Can be either a prefix or a suffix that changes the grammatical category of the word.
Example (Prefix): enlarge, aside
Example (Suffix): rubberize, normalize, specialize, manly
 Inflectional Morphemes – Are all suffixes and neither change the grammatical category of the word nor do they
produce a new lexeme.
Example:
{PLU} = Girls
{PRES} = Writes
{POSS} = Cristy’s
{PAST} = Wrote
{COMP} = Smarter
{PAST PART} = Written
{SUP} = Smartest
{PRES PART} = Writing
Productive Lexical Processes
 Compounding – putting two words together to make a new word
 Closed – no space (Example: Bullfrog)
 Open – with space (Example: Ice cream)
 Hyphenated – with hyphen (Example: Two-fold)
 Derivational Affixation
 Prefix – At the start of the word (Example: impossible)
 Suffix – At the end of the word (Example: possibility)
 Infix – At the middle of the word (Example: fan-freaking-tastic)
 Circumfix – Both at the end and the start of the word (Example: impossibility)
 Conversion – grammatical category of the word changes without any reduction to spelling.
 Homonymy – the relation between words with identical forms but different meanings.
 Homophones – same sound, different spelling
Example: bear and bare
 Homographs – same spelling, different meaning
Example: bow (polite gesture) and bow (archery)
 Polysemy – many meanings
Example: fly (insect, action)
Semantics
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Types of Senses
 Speaker-sense – is the speaker’s intention in producing some linguistic expression. This is outside the domains of
semantics.
Example: Fred is a real genius. – sarcastically
 Linguistic-sense – is the meaning of a linguistic expression as part of language.
Example: Fred is a real genius. – literally
Types of References
 Speaker Reference – what the speaker is referring to by using some linguistic expression.
Example: Here comes Queen Elizabeth – sarcastic
 Linguistic Reference – is the systematic denotation of some linguistic expression as part of language
Example: Here comes Queen Elizabeth – literal
 Points under Reference:
 Referent – the entity referred by the use of a referring expression such as a noun or a noun phrase Example: That bird
looks sick)
 Extension – Refers to the set of all potential referents for a referring expression; it remains the same in the past,
present, or future.
Example: The extension of a bird is the set of all birds).
 Prototype – A typical member of the extension of a referring expression.
Example: An eagle might be a prototype of a bird).
 Stereotype – A list of characteristics describing a prototype.
 Coreference – Two linguistic expressions that have the same extralinguistic referent.
 Anaphora – The process of replacing a longer expression by a pronoun or another kind of “pro-form”. A proform is
used to avoid the usage and repetition of the word used in one sentence.
Example: Pronoun, Pro-adjective, Pro-verb, Pro-adverb, Pro-sentence)
 Deixis – A deictic expression has one meaning but can refer to different entities depending on the speaker and his or
her spatial and temporal orientation.
Example: Members of the congress believe they deserve a raise.
3.
Meaning of Lexical Items
 Semantic Features and Restrictions
Subject
Female
Lady
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Girl
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Woman
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Grandmother
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Human
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+
+
+
Young
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Meaning Extension – It is the deliberate violation of this semantic constraints that result in rich imagery and poetic
language.
Example: training cats and dogs
Literal – cats and dogs are falling down from the sky
Figurative – there is fighting/brawl
Denotation and Connotation
 Denotation – dictionary meaning
 Connotation – emotional associations
Phonology
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Place of Articulation
 Bilabial Consonants – lips (p, b, m, w)
 Labiodental Consonants – upper teeth, lower lip (f, v)
 Interdental Consonants – teeth and tip of tongue (ɵ, ð)
 Alveolar Consonants – alveolar ridge and tip of tongue (t, d, l, n, s, z)
 Palatal Consonants – palate and tip of tongue (ʤ, ʧ, ʃ, ʒ, r)
 Velar Consonants – back of tongue and velum (k, g, ŋ)
Manner of Articulation
 Obstruent
 Stops – two articulators being brought together such that the flow of air through the vocal tract is completely blocked.
(p, b, t, d, k, g)
 Fricatives – two articulators being brought near to each other to impede air flow but not totally blocked. (f, v, ɵ, ð, s,
z, ʃ, ʒ, h)
 Affricates – beings with stops and ends with fricatives. Complete closure of the vocal tract and ends with a narrow
opening of the vocal tract. (ʤ, ʧ)
 Sonorants
 Nasals – one which the airflow through the mouth is completely blocked but the velum is lowered, forcing air through
the nose. (m, n, ŋ)
 Liquids – cover term for l-like and r-like articulators. (r, l)
 Glides – vocal tract is constricted but not enough to impede or block air flow. (w, y).
Manner
Stops
Fricatives
Affricates
Nasals
Liquids
Glides
v
nv
v
nv
v
nv
Bilabial
b
p
m
w
Labiodental
Interdental
v
f
ð
ɵ
Alveolar
d
t
z
s
n
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Palatal
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Theories of Language Acquisition
1.
First Language Acquisition
 Behaviorism (B.F. Skinner)
 Language behavior is the production of correct responses to stimuli through reinforcement
 Language learning is the result of imitation (word-for-word repetition), practice (repetitive manipulation of form),
feedback on success (positive reinforcement), and habit formation.
 The quantity and the quality of the language that the child hears, as well as the consistency of the reinforcement offered
by others in the environment, would shape the child’s language behavior.

2.
Children’s imitations are not random. Their imitation is selective and based on what they are currently learning. They
choose to imitate something they have already begun to understand, rather than simply imitating what is available in
the environment.
 Children’s practice of new language forms. The way they practice new forms is very similar to the way foreign
language students do substitution drills. Their practice of language forms is also selective and reflects what they would
like to learn. They are often in charge of the conversation with adults.
 Innatism (Chomsky)
 Children are biologically programmed for language and language develops in the child in just the same way that other
biological functions develop.
 The environment makes only a basic contribution, that is the availability of people who speak to the child. Therefore,
the child’s biological endowment (LAD) will do the rest.
 Children are born with a specific innate ability to discover for themselves the underlying rules of a language system
on the basis of the samples of a natural language they are exposed to.
 Chomsky argues that behaviorism cannot provide sufficient explanations for children’s language acquisition for the
following reasons:
 Children come to know more about the structure of their language than they could be expected to learn on the
basis of the samples of languages they hear
 The language children are exposed to include false starts, incomplete sentences, and slips of tongue, and yet they
learn to distinguish between grammatical and ungrammatical sentences
 Children are by no means systematically corrected or instructed on language by parents.
 LAD or Language Acquisition Device is an imaginary black box existing somewhere in the brain. It contains the
principles which are universal to all human languages. For the LAD to work, children need access only to samples of
a natural language, which serve as a trigger to activate the device. Once the LAD is activated, children are able to
discover the structure of the language to be learned by matching innate knowledge of basic principles (UG) to the
structures of the particular language in the environment.
 The evidence used to support Chomsky’s innatist position are:
 Virtually all children successfully learn their native language at a time in life when they would not be expected to
learn anything else so complicated.
 Language is separate from other aspects of cognitive developments (e.g. creativity and social grace) and may be
located in a different “module” of the brain.
 The language children are exposed to does not contain examples of all the linguistic rules and patterns
 Animals cannot learn to manipulate a symbol system as complicated as the natural language of a 3-4 year old
child.
 Children acquire grammatical rules without getting explicit instruction.
 The biological basis for the innatist position is the Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH). According to Lenneberg, there
is a specific and limited time period for the LAD to work successfully. The best evidence for the CPH is that virtually
every child learns language on a similar schedule in spite of different environments.
 Interactionism (Jean Piaget)
 This position views that language develops as a result of the interplay between the innate learning ability of children
and the environment in which they develop.
 Developmental psychologists attribute more importance to the environment than the innatists, though they also
recognize a powerful learning mechanism in the human brain.
 They see language acquisition as similar to and influenced by the acquisition of other kinds of skill, rather than as
something that is largely independent of the child’s experience and cognitive development.
 Problems of innatism:
 The innatists placed too much emphasis on the “final state” (i.e. the linguistic competence of adult native
speakers), but not enough on the developmental aspects of language acquisition.
 Language acquisition is an example of children’s ability to learn from experience. What children need to know is
essentially available in the language they are exposed to.
 According to Jean Piaget, language is dependent upon and springs from cognitive development. That is, children’s
cognitive development determines their language development. He argued that the developing cognitive understanding
is built on the interaction between the child and the things that can be manipulated.
 For Piaget, language was one of a number of symbol systems developed in childhood rather than a separate module of
the mind. Language can be used to represent knowledge that children have acquired through physical interaction with
the environment.
Second Language Acquisition
 The Acculturation Model (John Schumann)
 Defined by Brown (1960) as the process of becoming adapted to a new culture.
 It is important because in the second language settings the acquisition of a new language is seen tied to the way in
which the learner’s community and the target language community view each other.



The central premise of the acculturation model is that second language 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 second language.
 Acculturation, hence SLA, is determined by the degree of social and psychological distance between the learner and
the target language culture.
 Social distance is the result of a number of factors which affect the learner as a member of a social group in contact
with the target language group. The greater the social distance between the two groups, the more difficult for members
of the 2LL group to acquire the language of the TL group.
 Social factors may either inhibit or promote contact between second language group (2LL) and the target language
group (TL).
 Social dominance – TL group and the 2LL group should view each other as socially equal
 Enclosure – Refers to the amount of sharing of such social constructs as schools, churches, recreational facilities,
professions, and trades that the L2 group enjoys with the TL group. Such sharing enhances contact between the
two groups and consequently facilities the language learning process.
 Cohesiveness and Size – L2 should be small and not very cohesive. If the group tends to be always together then
its cohesion will make language learning difficult. If the group is large, then the interaction with the group will
increase while the opportunities for contact with members of the other group will decrease.
 Congruence and Similarity – If the language of the two groups belong on the same language family, there will
probably be close similarity between their language structures.
 Attitude – For learning to be made easier, it is important that the members of the L2 group hold positive ethnic
stereotypes about the TL group.
 Intended Length of Residence – If the 2LL group intends to stay longer in the TL area, this will reduce the social
distance and ameliorate motivation. If the 2LL group intends to stay in the area permanently, the chances of
success in learning the TL are enhanced.
 Psychological distance is the result of various affective factors which concern the learner as individual
 Psychological factors
 Language Shock – The learner experiences doubt and possible confusion when using the L2.
 Culture Shock – Schumann defines it as anxiety resulting from disorientation encountered upon entering a new
culture.
 Motivation – The learner’s reason for trying to learn the target language
 Ego Permeability – An individual’s language ego develops with his mastery of the phonology, morphology,
syntax, and lexicon of the TL. His language competence then becomes objectified. In early stage of development,
the language ego boundaries are permeable but later they become fixed and rigid.
The Nativization Model (Roger Andersen)
 Nativization consists of assimilation wherein the learner makes the input conform to his own internalized view of what
constitutes the L2 system.
 Denativization involves accommodation, wherein the learner adjusts his internalized system to make it fit the input.
The Accommodation Model (Howard Giles)
 In this theory, Giles argues that it is how the ingroup defines itself in relation to the outgroup that is important for 2 nd
language acquisition.
 Intergroup relationships are dynamic and fluctuate in accordance with the shifting views of identity held by each other
vis-à-vis the other.
Key Variables
High Motivation, High Level
of Proficiency
Low Motivation, Low Level of
Proficiency
Identification with in-group
Weak identification
Strong identification
Inter-ethnic comparison
Ingroup not seen as inferior
Ingroup seen as inferior
Perception of ethnolinguistic vitality
Low perception
High perception
Perception of ingroup boundaries
Soft and open
Hard and closed
Identification with other social categories
Strong identification
Weak identification
 The Discourse Theory (Evenlyn Hatch)
 Language development should be considered in terns of how the learner discovers the meaning potential of language
by participating in communication.
 In this study, Halliday shows that the development of the formal linguistic devices for realizing basic language function
grows out of interpersonal uses to which language is put.
 Because the structure itself is a reflection of the functions it serves, it can be learned through learning to communicate.
 SLA follows a ‘natural route’ in syntactical development.
 Native speakers adjust their speech in order to negotiate meaning with non-native speaker.
 The conventional strategies used to negotiate meaning, and the resulting adjusted input, influence the rate and route of
SLA.
 Thus, the ‘natural’ route is the results of learning how to hold conversation.

The Monitor Model (Stephen Krashen)
 Seeks to quantify how and by what processes individuals acquire a second language.
 This hypothesis actually fuses two fundamental theories of how individuals learn languages.
 Krashen has concluded that there are two systems of language acquisition that are independent but related: acquisition
and learning.
 It has five hypotheses:
 Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis
o The acquired system or acquisition is the product of a subconscious process very similar to the process
children undergo when they acquire their first language. It requires meaningful interaction in the target
language – natural communication – in which speakers are concentrated not in the form of their utterances,
but in the communicative act.
o Meanwhile, the learned system or learning is the product of formal instruction and it comprises a conscious
process which results in conscious knowledge about the knowledge. The learned system relates to formal
instructions where students engage in formal study to acquire knowledge about the target language.
o Krashen argues that acquisition is a more important process of constructing the system of language than
learning because fluency in L2 performance is due to what we have acquired, not what we have learned.
 Monitor Hypothesis
o Seeks to elucidate how the acquired system is affected by the learned system.
o When second language learners monitor their speech, they are applying their understanding of learned
grammar to edit, plan, and initiate their communication.
o This action can only occur when speakers have ample time to think about the form and structure of their
sentences, is concerned about producing correct language, and has learned relevant rules.
o The acquired system acts to initiate the speaker’s utterances and is responsible for spontaneous language use.
The learned system acts as a monitor making minor changes and polishing what the acquired system has
produced.
o Three types of monitor users:
 Over-users – Are performers who feel they must know the rule for everything and do not entirely trust
their feel for grammaticality in the second language. They use their monitor all the time.
 Under-users – They appear to be entirely dependent on what they can pick-up of the second language.
These are learners who have not learned or who prefer not to use their conscious knowledge.
 Optimal users – Are performers who use their learning as a real supplement to acquisition, monitoring
when it is appropriate and when it does not get in the way of communication.
 The Natural Order Hypothesis
o The Natural Order Hypothesis is based on research findings which suggested that the acquisition of
grammatical structures follows a natural order which is predictable.
o For a given language, some grammatical structures tend to be acquired early while others late.
o An example is that learners of English as a second language generally acquire the grammatical structure of
yes-no questions before the grammatical structure of wh-questions.
o Furthermore, according to the hypothesis, the order of acquisition remains the same regardless of explicit
instruction; in other words, explicit teaching and learning cannot change the natural order of acquisition.
 The Input Hypothesis
o According to this hypothesis, the learner improves and progresses along the natural order who he/she receives
second language input that is ONE STEP BEYOND his/her current stage of linguistic competence.
o For example, if a learner is at a stage “I”, then acquisition takes place when he/she is exposed to
‘comprehensible input’ that belongs to level “I” + 1.
o Since not all learners can be at the same level of linguistic competence at the same time, Krashen suggests
that natural communicative input is the key to designing a syllabus, ensuring in this way that each learner
will receive some “I” + 1 input that is appropriate for his/her current stage of linguistic competence.
 The Affective Filter Hypothesis
o The Affective Filter Hypothesis embodies Krashen’s view that a number of ‘affective’ variables play a
facilitative, but non-casual, role in second language acquisition.
o These variables include motivation, self-confidence, and anxiety.
o Krashen claims that learners with high motivation, self-confidence, a good self-image, and a low level of
anxiety are better equipped for success in SLA.
o Low motivation and self-confidence, and debilitating anxiety can combine to ‘raise’ the affective filter and
form a ‘mental block’ that prevents comprehensible input from being used for acquisition.
o One the other hand, positive affect is necessary, but not sufficient on its own for acquisition to take place.