Running head: LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AUTOBIOGRAPHY 1

Language Acquisition Autobiography

Language Acquisition Autobiography

The acquisition of language is derived through the process of exposure to language and

cultural transmission and this complex process comes much easier for those who are young.

Every individual has their own unique language experiences, but all development of language

includes five components that are the foundation for learning language. Phonology,

morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics work together to build meaningful

communication with each other. According to Aronow (2015), “Although a considerable amount

of languages around the world seem to have nothing in common with each other on the surface,

the majority of linguists propose that all languages share certain universal principles” (para. 1).

Personal Language Memories

My earliest memories of language are at four years old. Although most of the memories

are not of me speaking but of those around me speaking and me listening. I was the youngest of

two children in my family and I have fond memories of watching and listening to my brother

play with his friends. Before kindergarten, I remember getting books off the shelves in our house

and writing random letters on a sheet of paper and asking my mom if they were words. I also

have vague memories of kindergarten and learning to write my name. In first grade, I recall

reading aloud when called upon during class and being very nervous. I do not recall my parents

reading to me, but I have always been an avid reader and I believe this has helped my language

development immensely. I am also good at spelling and believe my love of reading has been a

contributing factor.
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ELA

In my childhood years, I do not recall there being an emphasis on language. Language

was just something that happened. Besides my mom buying me books to read, I do not recall any

conversations about the importance of language. My parents had a tumultuous relationship, and I

was left to my own devices often. When I was younger, I had not put much thought into

language. I did a lot of read to my children and helped them with writing and penmanship. I was

more involved with my children’s education than my own parents. My feelings about ELA

changed in my 40’s when I began a job working in a reading intervention class. I am exposed

daily to children who struggle to read and comprehend writing. Through the four years working

in this class, I have used my prior knowledge of reading and writing to help the students, but

learning from my teacher, has been eye-opening. I have learned some students are missing

certain components to reading and comprehension and my understanding why helps me to be a

better teacher. My students in reading intervention have inspired me to become a teacher and

continue to help them to be proficient readers and gain a love of reading. There is nothing better

than watching a student who has struggled and hated reading learn to love reading.

Components of Language

There are five basic components to language including phonology, morphology, syntax,

and semantics. Phonology is defined as, “Systems of sounds and combinations of sounds in the

English language” (Yerkovich, n.d., p. 1). In small children, the practice of phonology includes

babbling and attempts at combining sounds to make words. Phonological awareness begins at

two years of age and continues through kindergarten and first grade.
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Morphology is the “Understanding of morphemes and how they are used to construct

complete sentences” (Yerkovich, n.d., p. 1). A morpheme is the smallest unit of language and

words can contain more than one morpheme such as rattlesnake that contains two morphemes

(Spirko, 2019). Morphology is crucial to vocabulary development and is the beginning stage of

comprehension. This stage occurs around two and a half years of age and is indicated when

children can add -ing or -s to a word (Yule, 2017).

Syntax refers to the rules in which sentences must be formed, different languages contain

different rules when forming sentences. Sentences can be structured in variations that still have

the same meaning. Syntax helps learners to compose grammatically correct sentences as well as

understand that the order of the sentence is important to its meaning. There are three stages of

development of syntax in children with the first stage starting at 18 months and the last ending at

40 months (Yule, 2017). Through these stages, children learn to form questions and negatives.

Semantics in language refers to “Meanings of words and the variation of meanings in a

single word” (Yerkovich, n.d., p. 1). This is a gradual stage that begins at one year old and an

example of this is a toy block being referring to as block, cube, or toy. Semantics is important in

our daily lives and influences reading comprehension. Overextension of a word is a common

pattern in children and is based upon similarities of shape, sound, and size (Yule, 2017). An

example of overextension of a word is referring to all four-legged animals as dogs.

When discussing pragmatics in language, it refers to “Understanding the different

contextual uses of language” (Yerkovich, n.d., p. 1). Pragmatics is important to the development

of social relationships as social relationships require an understanding of the context in which

people communicate. Communication between friends and parents looks very different and

knowing when to use which language type is a vital part of language development. According to
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Leigh (2020), “By aged three a child should show development in gaining attention using words,

introduce topics and develop use of language to help others understand what they are saying”

(para. 5).

Conclusion

After learning the components of learning language, I understand the need for children to

navigate through each stage. Although humans are born with the capabilities to speak language,

human language interaction is critical to language acquisition, and without it, children would not

learn language. Memories from my childhood show that although I do not recall the stages of

language, I learned language by working through each stage. It is clear how important

interactions with other humans are for children to learn language properly, without early

language experiences, students may feel uncomfortable socially interacting with other students or

teachers. As teachers, understanding the stages of language development is critical to the success

of students throughout their lives not just academically but socially as well.
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References

Aronow, R. (2015, June 7). An Intro to Language Universals. Linguistics Network.

https://www.linguisticsnetwork.com/an-introduction-to-language-universals/

Leigh, K. (2020, February 10). Understanding & Helping Pragmatic Language Development.

Sensational Kids. https://www.sensationalkids.ie/understanding-helping-pragmatic-

language-

development/#:%7E:text=By%20aged%20three%20a%20child,to%20develop%20over%

20the%20years.

Spirko, J. (2019, January 10). How to Do a Morpheme Breakdown of a Word. The Classroom |

Empowering Students in Their College Journey.

https://www.theclassroom.com/morpheme-breakdown-word-3543.html

Yerkovich, K. (n.d.). Five Components of Language. Vengage. Retrieved November 15, 2020,

from https://venngage.net/p/230725/five-components-of-language

Yule, G. (2017). The study of language (Sixth ed.). Cambridge University Press.