LG 420: Children's English
Sonja Eisenbeiss
Content
This module looks at how (typically developing) preschool children learn to combine words together to
form sentences (focussing mainly on the acquisition of English as a first language/L1 by monolingual and
bilingual children). It is therefore relevant both to students interested in first language acquisition, and to
those researching into the acquisition of English as a second language/L2 by native speakers of other
languages (since one of the key research questions you have to ask in any L2 study is the extent to which
L2 learners of English show the same pattern of development as L1 learners of English). We will take a
look at a critical number of influential models of first language acquisition and discuss the respective role
of children's input, children's general cognitive abilities and children's innate predispositions for language
acquisition. Based on this overview, we will analyse actual recordings of preschool children's speech. The
focus will be on monolingual children, but we will also look at the grammatical development of bilingual
children. For instance, we will ask whether a child who is bilingual in (say) Spanish and English initially
develops a single hybrid (Spanglish) grammar and lexicon for the two languages, or whether there is
evidence that bilingual children from the outset develop separate systems for each of the languages they
are acquiring. And we will examine language mixing in bilingual children, looking at whether there are
principles determining at which points in the structure of a sentence bilingual children do (and do not)
switch from one language to another.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module, the student will be able to:
(i)
describe commonly used empirical methods in language acquisition research and discuss the
core assumptions of theoretical models in research on the acquisition of the syntax of their first
language(s) by preschool children,
(ii)
describe and analyse aspects of the syntax of preschool children's speech, using appropriate
terminology, techniques and computer tools (CHAT, CLAN),
(iii) critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of research into preschool children's
acquisition of the syntax of their first language(s),
(iv)
present ideas in a structured, coherent and cohesive fashion, using appropriate style and
terminology, and demonstrating clarity, precision, accuracy and originality.
Learning and Teaching Method
The course consists of 10 weekly 2-hour lecture-plus-class sessions. The lectures will be kept reasonably
informal, with opportunities for participation by the students. The classes will primarily involve the
analysis of speech samples from preschool children, in small groups where appropriate. Students are
expected to attend regularly, to participate in group work as required, and to contribute actively to class
discussions. Some reading may be expected in advance of a lecture, and will definitely be required
afterwards so as to consolidate the understanding of the material and ideas presented in the lecture.
Assessment
100 percent coursework mark. Assessment for the course will be based on a 3,000 [+/-10%] report of a
small-scale study on a sample of children's speech, carried out by the student. A list of topics for these
studies will be provided. See separate documents for assessment instructions and assessment topics.
Course Outline
1. Week 16
2. Week 17
3. Week 18
4. Week 19
5. Week 20
6. Week 21
7. Week 22
8. Week 23
9. Week 24
10. Week 25
General introduction and tools for child language research
Generative vs. usage-based approaches to child language acquisition
The Emergence of Syntax
Null Subjects in early child English
The acquisition of questions and embedded sentences
The acquisition of passives
The acquisition of constraints on coreference
The acquisition of quantification
Bilingual first language acquisition
Presentation of projects
1. Week 16 General introduction and tools for child language research
Topics:
 an overview of core stages in the acquisition of English
 an overview of core issues in language acquisition research:
o the logical problem of language acquisition
o the bootstrapping problem
o the problem of development
o the problem of order in language development
o the critical period
o language separation in bilinguals
 research methods in language acquisition
 the CHILDES database
Core Reading: Stilwell Peccei, J. (2006), chapters A5, A8, B5; O'Grady, chapter 1; Ritchie, W.C.
& Bhatia, K.T. (1999a)
Further Reading:
 research methods in language acquisition: McDaniel et al. (1996), Menn & Ratner (2000),
Ingram (1989)
 CHILDES: the manual for the CLAN tools of the CHILDES database:
http://childes.psy.cmu.edu/manuals/clan.pdf
 a classic study on stages in development: Brown et al. (1968)
2. Week 17 Generative vs. usage-based approaches to child language acquisition
Topics:
 properties of child-directed speech
 the logical problem of language acquisition and the debate about the inntateness of children's
language acquisition mechanism
 generative grammar and the principles and parameters approach
 construction grammar and usage-grammar based approaches
Core Reading: O'Grady (1997): chapters 12-14; Guasti (2002): chapter 1; Tomasello (2006)
Further Reading:
 children's input: Chouinard & Clark (2003), Farrar (1990, 1992), Gallaway & Richards
(1994), Marcus (1993), Pullum & Scholz (2002), Saxton (1997), Saxton et al. (1998), Slobin
et al. (2007)
 the logical problem: Atkinson (1990), Pinker (1984, 1989), Bertolo (2001)
 generative approaches: Atkinson (1992), Chomsky (1981, 1986, 1989, 1995), Hauser et al.
(2002), Crain & Lillo-Martin (1999), Eisenbeiss (2007, subm.), Crain (1991) and responses to
Crain (1991)
 usage-based approaches: Goldberg (2003, 2006), Tomasello (2003), Clark & Kelly (2006)
 other functionalist approaches: Budwig (1995), MacWhinney, B. (1999), Elman et al. (1996)
3. Week 18 The Emergence of Syntax
Topics:
 syntactic categorization and the bootstrapping problem
 children's English in early stages:
o word order and negation
o the use of case, agreement and tense markers
o "root infinitives": utterances without finiteness markers (me going, daddy play,…)
o noun phrases
Core Reading: Guasti (2002): chapter 3.4 and 4, O'Grady (1997): chapters 3-4;
Further Reading:
 bootstrapping: Pinker (1984), Braine (1992), Weissenborn & Höhle (2001)

early syntax and root infinitives: Abu-Akel & Bailey (2000), Clahsen (1990, 1990/1991),
Clahsen et al. (1993/1994, 1996), Déprez & Pierce (1993). Eisenbeiss (2007), Galasso (2003),
Hoekstra & Hyams (1998), Ingham (1998), Lebeaux (1988), Pierce (1992), Poeppel & Wexler
(1993), Radford (1990, 1996), Rispoli (1998a, b, 1999a, b, 2000, 2002, 2005), Rizzi, L.
(1993/1994, 2000), Schütze (1999, 2001), Schütze & Wexler (1996), Stromswold (1990),
Tsimpli (1992), Vainikka (1993/1994), Wexler (1994, 1998); see also volumes with articles
written from a generative perspective: Hoekstra & Schwartz (1994), Clahsen (1996),
Friedemann & Rizzi (2000), Meisel (1992), Weissenborn et al. (1992).
4. Week 19 Null Subjects in early child English
Topics:
 the occurrence of null subjects in early child English and in the acquisition of other languages
 generative accounts
 processing accounts
 discourse-pragmatic accounts
Core Reading: Guasti (2002): chapter 5, O'Grady (1997): chapter 5
Further Reading:
the null-subject parameter: Jaeggli & Safir (1989)
null subjects in child language: Austin et al. (1997), Bloom, P (1990), Gerken (1991), Hughes,
M. & Allen (2006), Hyams (1986), Hyams & Wexler (1993), Ingham (1992), Valian, V.V. (1990,
1991)
5. Week 20 The acquisition of questions and embedded sentences
Topics:
 word order in early questions
 complex questions
 embedded clauses
 relative clauses
 the role of children's input
Core Reading: Guasti (2002): chapter 6, O'Grady (1997): chapters 6-9
Further Reading: Guasti in Friedeman & Rizzi (2000), Stromswold (1990), Thornton (1990),
Thornton & Crain in Hoekstra & Schwartz (1994), Valian & Casey (2003)
6. Week 21 The acquisition of passives
Topics:
 passives in adult and child English
 the debate about the maturational account of the acquisition of passives
 the abstractness of children's representations for passives – syntactic priming studies
Core Reading: Guasti (2002): chapter 7, O'Grady (1997): chapter 10, Huttenlocher et al. (2004)
Further Reading: Borer & Wexler (1987, 1992), Branigan (2007), Brooks & Tomasello (1999),
Eisenbeiss (1994), Fox, & Grodzinsky (1998), Pinker et al. (1987), Savage et al. (2003)
7. Week 22 The acquisition of constraints on coreference
Topics:
 Binding Theory and constraints on coreference for full noun phrases, personal pronouns (e.g.
him/her) and reflexives (e.g. himself/herself)
 The acquisition of coreference constraints for reflexives
 The acquisition of coreference constraints for pronouns
 The acquisition of coreference constraints for full noun phrases
Core Reading: Guasti (2002): chapter 8, O'Grady (1997): chapter 11
Further Reading:
 For overviews of generative studies on the acquisition of coreference: Crain & Thornton
(1998), Elbourne (2005), Thornton, R & Wexler, K. (1999)
 See Avrutin (1999) for an account that focuses on the syntax-discourse interface
 For a non-generative view on coreference constraints see Comrie (1999).
8. Week 23 The acquisition of quantification
Topics:
 Quantifiers in adult English
 Children's errors with universal quantification
 Accounts for children's errors
Core Reading: Guasti (2002): chapter 9
Further Reading: Crain et al. (1996, 1998), Philip (1995)
9. Week 24 Bilingual first language acquisition
Topics:
 different types of bilingualism
 the debate about language separation in bilingualism
 code-switching and code-mixing
Core Reading: de Houwer (1995), Bhatia & Ritchie (1999)
Further Reading: Bokamba (1989), de Houwer (1990), Döpke (1992), Gawlitzek-Maiwald &
Tracy (1996), Genessee (2002), Genesee et al. (1995), Hyltestam & Obler (1989), Milroy &
Muysken (1995), Paradis & Genesee (1996), Romaine (1989), Stilwell Peccei (2006): chapters A8,
B8, C8, D8.
10. Week 25 Presentation of projects
 There is no assigned reading for this meeting as you will be presenting your own preliminary
results of your research projects. However, Wray et al. (1998); Field & Hole (2003): part 3 can
help you organise and write up your reports.
 The university's skills-webpage can support you in acquiring the skills for presentations,
research reports etc.:
http://www.essex.ac.uk/myskills/skills/default.asp
Suggested Introductory Reading
Stilwell Peccei (2006)
Further Reading




Ingram, David (1989) summarizes the results of many "classic" studies in child language acquisition
in table format, which is often very handy when you want to get a quick overview. The table of
contents is not very helpful, but there are indices that allow you to find information about terms,
studies, and particular languages easily.
The handbooks by Ritchie & Bhatia (1999b) and Fletcher & MacWhinney (1995) provide useful
overview articles on a broad range of topics related to monolingual and bilingual first language
acquisition.
The following journals contain many articles on the acquisition of English by monolingual and
bilingual children: Cognition, First Language, International Journal of Bilingualism, Journal of Child
Language, Language, Language Acquistion, Lingua, Linguistic Inquiry, Linguistics.
The
CHILDES
webpage
provides
further
bibliographies
on
child
language:
http://childes.psy.cmu.edu/bibs/ . These bibliographies can be downloaded in endnote format, which
makes referencing easier.
References
NOTE: If you want to buy a book for the course, I recommend Guasti (2002) as most of the core
readings come from this book. Additionally, you might consider O'Grady (1997). I will make my
own publications available online, including a manuscript about the acquisition of syntax that I am
currently preparing.
Abu-Akel, A. & Bailey, A.L. (2000). Acquisition of use of a and the in English by young children.
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Blackwell.
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