Hi, friends!
This module discuss about language acquisition and language learning.
The factors influencing the acquisition of a language,
like the learner factors, environmental factors and infrastructural factors
are dealt in detail.
Acquisition and learning.
Language acquisition is the process by which humans acquired the capacity to
perceive and comprehend language. As well as to produce and use language.
Acquisition is implicit and subconscious which take place in an informal situation.
According to Stephen Christian 1985, language acquisition does not require
extensive use of conscious grammatical rules and tedious drill.
Acquisition requires meaningful interaction in the target language,
natural communication in which speakers are connected,
not with the form of their entrances but with the messages they are convenient
and understanding.
Language acquisition encompasses the development of
four interdependent systems.
Pragmatic: communicative use of language in a social context;
Phonological: perception and production of sounds to form words;
Semantics: processing of meaning
and grammatical use of syntactic and morphological rules to combine words
into meaningful sentences.
The phonological and grammatical systems constitute the language form.
The pragmatic system describes
how language should be adapted
to specific social situations
in order to convey emotions
and reinforce meaning.
The term acquisition is used for L1
and the term learning is associated with L2.
Children acquire language through a subconscious process
during which they are unaware of grammatical rules,
that is no deliberator for to learn the language.
They pick up language in informal situations.
Language acquisition is implicit, and effortless as meaningful communication
occurs in natural environment.
While communicating the message in the text is given more important
rather than the form.
... connected through feedback or when they hear the correct usages.
Later on, they can cut it themselves
when they become masters of linguistic generalizations.
They will be confident in using the language in the real life situations.
Language learning is explicit and conscious
and takes place in a formal situation.
The rules of the language are taught directly
and learning is the product of formal instruction.
It is learning about a language.
Children have the conscious knowledge of the new language, and can talk about it.
They can memorize the rules to solve a grammatical problem,
but when it comes to the practical level of using the language
it may not work.
In the case of second language,
all the third or the fourth language,
this is what happens.
Whatever that is learned
meaningfully and naturally, is retained and will become acquired.
Factors influencing acquisition.
Language learning is a habit formation
and so,
if one's acquired it becomes automatic.
According to Paul Roberts:
"When we learn the first language,
we face the universe directly
and learn to clothe it with speech.
When we learn a second language,
we tend to filter the universe through the language already known."
By the time the child learns a second language,
he is familiar with the system of mother tongue.
He has to set aside the rules and sets of his mother tongue
to invite the habits of a new language.
Factors influencing acquisition can be broadly classified into three.
They are:
Learner factors.
Infrastructural factors.
Environmental factors.
The learner factors.
The learner factors influencing the acquisition of a language are mainly:
Psychological, Physiological and Sociological.
Factors like aptitude, attitude, interest, personality,
multivision, age, sex, intelligence and learning styles come under this.
Aptitude.
Aptitude refers to the potential for achievement.
According to Carrol,
foreign language aptitude consisted of four independent abilities
They are