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When we study language, we are approaching what some might call the ‘human essence’, the
distinctive qualities of mind that are, so far as we know, unique to man.
Noam Chomsky, Language and Mind.
Descriptions of English and other languages is an American linguist, political writer and a
remained little changed from times of the Greeks leading figure in linguistics, (professor at
and Romans until this century. These Massachusetts Institute of Technology), who in
descriptions were based on an analysis of the role 1965 published a strong attack upon B.F.
played by each word in the sentence. Skinner’s Verbal Behavior, and explained his
rejection of the behaviorist model of language
Structuralism acquisition by stating that children were innately
In the 1930s language was first described in programmed to acquire language; he proposed
terms of structural frameworks. By varying the the existence of a “Language Acquisition
words within these structural frameworks, Device” (LAD). LAD is characterized as having
sentences with different meanings can be various innate linguistics properties:
generated. This method of linguistic analysis led
in English language teaching to the development
of the substitution table as a typical means of 1. The ability to distinguish speech sounds from
explaining grammatical patterns. In a structuralist other sounds.
view, sentence patterns were a series of slots into 2. The ability to organize language into system
which specified fillers could be placed. For of structures.
example: 3. The knowledge of what is possible and what
is not in any linguistic system.
Animate Subject transitive verb Direct Object 4. The ability to construct the simplest possible
Jim visited Mary. system based on the linguistic data to which one
The Boy ate an apple. is exposed.
NP VP
Det A N V NP
PRO V NP
He discussed N PP
sex P NP
with Madonna
2. The Brain and Language
The brain is the most complicated part of the nerve cells at birth. Even if an individual lives
human body and less is known about it than more than one hundred years, no new nerve cells
about any other part. It is quite small – a normal are formed in this part of the brain. Yet the most
human brain weighs about one kilogram, and a rapid growth of the neocortex occurs during the
bigger brain does not mean a better brain. first ten years or so of life. What, then, is
growing?
The brain receives information from the world
through the sensory system. This information is NEURONS
gathered through the eyes, nose, eras, mouth, and Neurons are brain cells consisting of a compact
surface of the body; scientists have not been able cell body, dendrites, and axons. They are
to find any limit to the amount of information responsible for information processing through
that the human brain can store. the conversation of electrical and chemical
signals. A normally functioning neuron is
On opening the skull, one sees the outer surface continuously firing, integrating, and generating
of part of the forebrain, a wrinkle surface called information. Although a single neuron can
the cerebral cortex (cortex means “bark”). The receive signals from thousands of other cells, and
cerebral cortex deals with higher cognitive its axon can branch repeatedly, sending signals to
processing. thousands more, neurons generally connect most
with other neurons that are close-by, forming
The Brain what are called neural networks.
THE CEREBRAL CORTEX
The outer surface of the cerebral hemisphere, the
cerebral cortex, has a surface area of one to two
square feet – an area that is larger than it looks
because of the folds, or convolutions that allow
the cortex to fit compactly inside the skull. The
convolutions give the surface of the human brain
its wrinkled appearance, its ridges and valleys.
The cerebral cortex is divided into four areas
called the frontal, parietal, occipital and temporal
lobes.
Work in pairs. Complete the following chart showing the profiles of four language learners:
a) A child learning his or her first language
b) A child learning a second language informally
c) An adolescent learning a second language in a formal language learning setting
d) An adult learning a second language in a formal setting
Use a + for a characteristic which is usually present, a – for a characteristic which is usually absent, and a?
for cases where the characteristic or condition is sometimes present, sometimes absent, or where you are
not sure of your opinion.
From how languages are learned (1993) by Patsy Lightbrow and Nina Spada, OUP