Language acquisition语言的习得.ppt

We are not born speaking! Language must be acquired. What is language acquisition? ◆A child’s acquisition of his mother tongue, i.e. how the child comes to understand and speak the language of his community. ◆ 1st language acquisition Follow milestones What are the two factors concerning child language acquisition theories? Linguistic environment children are exposed to; 2. The age they start to learn the language. These two factors bear remarkable relevance to their language development. Three theories of language acquisition 1. A behaviorist view 2. An innatist view 3.An interactionist view A behaviorist view of language acquisition Traditional behaviorists view language as behavior and believe that language learning is simply a matter of imitation and habit formation.  Dad: Would you like an apple and a banana? Mavis: Apple and banana. This theory explains how children acquire some of the regular and routine aspects of the language. 2)An innatist view of language acquisition The linguist Noam Chomsky claims that human beings are biologically programmed for language and that the language develops in the child just as other biological functions such as walking. Chomsky proposed that human beings are born with innate ability known as Language Acquisition Device. (语言习得机制，简称LAD) Later, Chomsky referred this endowment as Universal Grammar. (普遍语法，简称UG) Children’s acquisition of these grammatical rules is guided by principles of an innate UG. 3) An interactionist view of language acquisition Language develops as a result of the complex interplay between the human characteristics of the child and the environment in which the child develops. What characteristics does CDS(保姆式的语言) share? Slow rate of speech, high pitch, rich intonation, shorter and simpler sentence structures, frequent repetition, paraphrasing and limited vocabulary, topic which is closely related to the “here and now” environment. 1.Behaviourists view sounds reasonable in