Name:_______________________________________________Date:__________________Period:____
Language Acquisition Lab – Chapter 3
Research Questions: How do we learn language?
Method: In this lab, students will invent a set of words and use two different groups to learn
the words in different ways. One group will learn the words through memorization alone. The
other group will combine memorization with a physical activity.
Background: Humans learn language in many different ways. Toddlers have an amazing
capacity for learning language and seem to absorb the language that they hear around them.
This is why toddlers are sometimes called a “sponge,” absorbing all of the stimuli around them.
By the time a child is two years old, he or she will acquire many hundreds of words. If raised in
a household where adults routinely speak in two languages, the child will acquire both
languages with the same speed as a child who is exposed to just one.
The Learning process changes sometime in early childhood. Learning becomes a more active
process, and a child learns to read, write, and speak fluently only in his or her original language.
This is how adults learn new languages, too, and its takes a lot of effort.
There are multiple ways to learn new words. One method is through simple memorization.
Another is through memorization combined with a physical activity. It is possible that making
the body do something while a word is being learned creates a better learning process.
Hypothesis:
Option A – New words are easier to learn through memorization alone
Option B – New words are easier to learn through memorization combined with
a physical activity
Option C – There is no difference in learning new words when memorization is
paired with physical activity and when words are learned with memorization
alone.
Name:_______________________________________________Date:__________________Period:____
Procedure:
1. As a class we will invent 10 new words. These invented words must be verbs and must
be simple actions that one can do in everyday lift. Example: “snorfle” might mean to
hold your nose closed for three seconds.
a. __________________________________________________________________
b. __________________________________________________________________
c. __________________________________________________________________
d. __________________________________________________________________
e. __________________________________________________________________
f. __________________________________________________________________
g. __________________________________________________________________
h. __________________________________________________________________
i.
__________________________________________________________________
j.
__________________________________________________________________
2. As a class we will divide into two teams. Team A will simply memorize the words. Team
B will pair the memorized words with actions that correspond to the word.
3. After 15 minutes of studying – both teams will take a quiz to write the words and
definitions.
4. Students will collect data from the class quizzes.
Data Collection
Number of Correct Responses % of Correct Responses
Team A
Team B
Name:_______________________________________________Date:__________________Period:____
Analysis Questions
1. Did the results of the lab support your hypothesis? How do you know?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2. What conclusions can be drawn from the results of this study?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3. How can you apply these conclusions to your life or the lives of others around you?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4. What problems could be corrected with this lab?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________