Universidad del Este

Recinto de Carolina Programa Ahora

Programa AHORA

Taller 1

Alexandra Mercado
S00-305071
Teaching english as a second language at primary level (K-3)
EDUC 413
Prof. Cynthia Garcia Avils

Genishi, C. (1998). Young Children's Oral Language Development. ERIC Digest. ERIC
Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education.

The development of oral language is one of the child's most natural and impressive
accomplishments. This article presents an overview of the process and mechanics of
language development, along with implications for practice.When and how language is
learned, almost all children learn the rules of their language at an early age through use,
and over time, without formal instruction. One of the source for learning must be genetic.
Humans beings are born to speak; they have an innate gift for figuring out the rules of the
language used in their environment. The environment itself is also a significant factor.
Children learn the specific variety of language that the important people around them
speak. Children do not, however, learn only by imitating those around them. We know that
children work through linguistic rules on their own because they use forms that adults
never use, such as "I goed there before" or "I see your feets." Children eventually learn the
conventional forms, went and feet, as they sort out for themselves the exceptions to the
rules of English syntax.

As with learning to walk, learning to talk requires time for development and practice
in everyday situations. Constant correction of a child's speech is usually unproductive.
Children seem born not just to speak, but also to interact socially. Even before they use
words, they use cries and gestures to convey meaning; they often understand the
meanings that others convey. The point of learning language and interacting socially, then,
is not to master rules, but to make connections with other people and to make sense of
experiences (Wells, 1986).

In summary, language occurs through an interaction among genes which hold innate
tendencies to communicate and be sociable, environment, and the child's own thinking
abilities.

Parents and caregivers need to remember that language in the great majority of
individuals develops very efficiently. Adults should try not to focus on "problems," such as
the inability to pronounce words as adults do. Most children naturally outgrow such things,
which are a tiny segment of the child's total repertoire of language. However, if a child
appears not to hear what others say to her; if family members and those closest to her find
her difficult to understand; or if she is noticeably different in her communicative abilities
from those in her age range, adults may want to seek advice from specialists in children's
speech, language and hearing.

Aimin, Liang. "The Study of Second Language Acquisition Under Socio-Cultural Theory."
American Journal of Educational Research 1.5 (2013): 162-167.

This article presents the Socio-Cultural Theory, based on Vygotskian thought, is a

theory about the development of human cognitive and higher mental function. The theory
argues that the development of human cognitive and higher mental function comes from
social interactions and that through participation in social activities requiring cognitive and
communicative functions, individuals are drawn into the use of these functions in ways that
nurture and scaffold them. From a social-cultural perspective, childrens early language
learning arises from processes of meaning-making in collaborative activity with other
members of a given culture. Lantolf and Thorne defend that the principles of the SocioCultural Theory can also apply to Second Language Acquisition. They explain that
Learning is embedded within social events and occurring as an individual interacts with
people, objects, and events in the environment.

The Second Language Acquisition is concerned with how individuals acquire a

certain language other than the native language. SLA is defined by Grass and Selinker as
the study of how learners create a new language system with only limited exposure to a
second language. It is the study of what is learned of a second language and what is not
learned; it is the study of why most second language learners do not achieve the same
degree of knowledge and proficiency in a second language as they do in their native
language; it is also the study of why only some learners appear to achieve native like
proficiency in more than one language. Throughout the few past decades, Second
Language Acquisition has been discussed from different perspectives. One of these is
behaviorism which proposes that language learning occurs through a series of stimuli and
responses and that all learning is the establishment of habits as a result of reinforcement.

Skinner is one of the champions of this perspective, who holds that language is a verbal
behavior, that is, that the production and comprehension of what is uttered is automatic.
Thus, language learners can be made to automatically produce and comprehend
language. For behaviorists, no learning occurs if there is no observable change in
behavior. They mainly choose to ignore inaccessible mental processes and focus on
observable behavior.

Therefore, Second Language Acquisition is a complete mental process. Cognitivism

offers a coherent understanding of the learning processes involved. It presents theoretical
support for teaching practices and suggests a range of useful teaching strategies that
encourage learning. However, cognitive perspectives focus on learning as an individual
mental event ignores social processes and embodiment. Another view of language
acquisition and development which is the focus of this article is the socio-cultural
perspective which makes attempts to depict the interrelated cognitive and social
characteristics in acquiring a second language. The socio-cultural perspective mainly
comes from the Socio-Cultural Theory, initially proposed by Vygotsky, but has been
brought to the field of Second Language Acquisition by researchers including Lantolf &
Thorne and Swain.

As for Second Language Acquisition, Socio-Cultural Theory ideology is quite

different from that of the behaviorism and cognitivism. In behaviorism it is implied that
language learning occurs when individuals provide conditioned responses to stimuli and
that language learning is a process of habit formation. By contrast cognitivism expects
more cognitive participation of language learners in the process of learning and contends
that learners make use of their mental processes. However, Socio-Cultural Theory
presented another ideology of learning, which appeared in the field of learning with two

perspectives: cognitive and social. Grounded upon Socio-Cultural Theory, social

interaction and cooperative learning are paramount in constructing both cognitive and
emotional images of reality. Human learning is a continuous reciprocal interaction of
cognitive, behavioral and environmental factors. Therefore, Socio-Cultural Theory provides
a new perspective on the process of Second Language Acquisition, in which learners are
encouraged or required to think as well as speak in the target language, that is to say,
language and thought should be closely connected with each other. The root for this
connection lies in social communication activities.

In conclusion, the younger the better Young language learners who are starting to
learn a second language seem to outperform older learners but it has been pointed out
here that over the long run the older students are more effective learners if they are
provided with the sufficient target language exposure and motivation. The amount of
exposure to the target language is extremely important element in this case and LarsonHall (2008) among others conclude that age does play an important role in Second
Language Acquisition but certain conditions need be present such as sufficient exposure
to the target language and motivation. Almost any second language learner who is
provided with sufficient exposure to the target language will outperform those who are not
giving the opportunity to practice the target language in a social environment. To influence
second language learners the teachers role is extremely important to achieve complete
Second Language competence.

References:

Aimin, Liang. "The Study of Second Language Acquisition Under Socio-Cultural Theory."
American Journal of Educational Research 1.5 (2013): 162-167.

Genishi, C. (1998). Young Children's Oral Language Development. ERIC Digest. ERIC
Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education.