Children Learning A Foreign Introduction to Language

Language Language is the vehicle of discretion.

Language means the peculiar mode to transfer.
Language transmits the intended message to the receiver.
Everyone as a human being utilizes it.
Language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of
communicating ideas, emotions, and desire by means of voluntarily
produced symbols.
Attempts to understand the complexities of human cognitive
abilities and especially the acquisition & use of language are as old
& as continuous as history itself.

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Taking a Learning Centered Perspective Jean Piaget’s Perspective

Language is a means through which thought Piaget tied the role of social interaction to the
is organized, refined, and expressed. importance of language.
In short, language helps in the formation of
concepts, analysis of complex ideas, and to Piaget tied the role of language in the
focus attention on ideas which would development of conceptual and logical
otherwise be difficult to comprehend. understandings.
The theories of Piaget, Vygotsky, Chomsky,
Skinner, etc. debate the exact functions of He made language an integral part of his ideas
language. on intellectual development.
Yet its role as a tool in conceptual thinking is
undesirable.. Piaget linked the role of social interaction in
intellectual development to the role of language.

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 Jean Piaget’s Perspective Lev Vygotsky’s Perspectives
According to Piaget, language is According to Vygotsky, a word without a thought is a dead thing,
and a thought not embodied in words remains a shadow.
inherently a social factor partly
because of the conventional nature He emphasized word as a small-scale version of human
of words and this conventional consciousness and argues that thought finds reality and form in
nature of words is crucial for speech.
conceptual development. The speech structures mastered by the child become the basic
Piaget theorized that language was structure of his thinking.
simply one of children's ways of The structure of the language one habitually uses influences the
representing their familiar worlds, a way he perceives his environment.
reflection of thought, and that A child first seems to use language for superficial social
language did not contribute to the interaction, but at some point, this language goes underground to
development of thinking. become the structure of the child's thinking.
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Lev Vygotsky’s Perspectives Jerome Bruner’s Perspectives

In Vygotsky's view point, language is Language is important for the increased
critical for cognitive development. ability to deal with abstract concepts.
He argues that language in the form of Bruner argues that language can code stimuli
private speech guides cognitive and free an individual from the constraints of
development. dealing only with appearances, to provide a
The corner stone of Vygotsky's theory more complex yet flexible cognition.
are the social significance of education
and its relation to societal The use of words can aid the development of
involvement. the concepts they represent and can remove
the constraints of the “here & now” concept.
According to him, language and
culture play essential roles both in Basically, he sees the infant as an intelligent
human intellectual development and in & active problem solver from birth, with
how humans perceive the world. intellectual abilities basically similar to those
of the mature adult.
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Language Acquisition Versus Language Learning: Language Acquisition Versus Language Learning:
Language Acquisition Language Learning
Children acquire language through a subconscious Language learning is not communicative.
process during which they are unaware of
grammatical rules. It is the result of direct instruction in the rules of
This is similar to the way they acquire their first language.
language. It certainly is not an age-appropriate activity
They get a feel for what is and what isn’t correct. for your young learners.
In order to acquire language, the learner needs a In language learning, students have conscious knowledge of the new
source of natural communication. language and can talk about that knowledge.
The emphasis is on the text of the communication They can fill in the blanks on a grammar page.
and not on the form.
Research has shown, however, that knowing grammar rules does not necessarily
Young students who are in the process of acquiring result in good speaking or writing.
English get plenty of “on the job” practice.
A student who has memorized the rules of the language may be able to succeed on a
They readily acquire the language to communicate
with classmates. standardized test of English language but may not be able to speak or write correctly.

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Advantages to Starting Young with Advantages to Starting Young with

Foreign Language Foreign Language
Cognitive Benefits
Linguistic Benefits
While some parents worry that starting their toddler on a second language will
Young language learners can acquire native-like interfere with developing English skills, the opposite is actually true.
fluency as easily as they learned to walk, in
Children can differentiate between two languages within the first weeks of life.
contrast to an adult language learner.
Children who study foreign language show higher cognitive performance in
The young brain is inherently flexible, uniquely overall basic skills in elementary school.
hard-wired to acquire language naturally.
Children who learn a foreign language at a young age also exhibit better
Younger learners benefit from flexible ear and problem-solving skills, enhanced spatial relations, and heightened creativity.
speech muscles that can still hear the critical Learning a second language early on encourages
differences between the sounds of a second flexible thinking and communication skills,
language, as well as reproduce them with native- helping children consider issues from more than
like quality. one perspective.

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 The Foreign Language: Summary of Key Learning
Describing The Indivisible Principles
Learning The Children actively try to ‘sense make’, that is to find and construct a
Since children who start Foreign meaning and purpose for what adults say to them and ask them to do.
learning foreign language very Language

young may encounter nothing They can only make sense in terms of their world knowledge, which is
Learning The
but the spoken language for Learning Oral
Written limited and partial.
Skills
Language
several years, the customary Teachers thus need to examine classroom activities from the child’s
division in to the four skills point of view in order to assess whether pupils will understand what to
Vocabulary Discourse do or will be able to make sense of new language.
seems somewhat inappropriate,
and an alternate division of Children need space for language growth.
language has been attempted.
Grammar Conversation Extended Talk
In both language and cognitive development, the ZPD or immediate
Following figure illustrates potential of the child is of central importance for effective learning.
dividing up “language” for
foreign language learning: Grammar Grammar Routines and scaffolding are two types of language-using strategies that
seem to be especially helpful in making space for children’s growth.
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Summary of Key Learning Principles Summary of Key Learning Principles

Children’s foreign language learning
Language in use carries cues to meaning that may not be noticed. depends on what they experience
Children need skilled help in noticing There are important links between what
and attending to aspects of foreign and how children are taught, and what
language that carry meaning. they learn.
Since they cannot benefit much from Within the ZPD (immediate potential of
formal grammar, other ways of doing the child), the broader and richer the
this have to be found. language experience that is provided for
Development can be seen as internalizing from social interaction children, the more they are likely to
learn.
Language can grow as the child takes over control of language used
initially with other ways of doing this have to be found. Foreign language lessons often provide
all or most of a child’s experiences in
lessons that will build those skills.
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