How Languages are Learned LIGHTBOWN, P.

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AC I(NOWLE DGE ME NTS
The authors cmd ptblisher are grar,efuI to those who hqve
given permksion to reproduce the following extracts and
adaptations oJ copyight material: p.77 Extract from
Language Delelowent and Language Disorders by
Lois Bloom and Margaret Lahey (1978). Macmillan
Publishers; p.47 Figure Ílom'Some issues relating
to the Monitor Model'by Stephen Krashen, On
TESOI (1977). Reprinted by permission ofTESOL
International Association; p.49 Extract from
'Constructing an acquisition-based procedure
for second language assessment'by Manfred
Pienemann, Malcolm Johnston, and Geoff Brindley
irt Studies in Second Longuage Acqu$üofl , Volume 10/2,
pp.277-a3 1988). Reproduced by permission of
Cambridge University Press; p.53 Extract Ílom
'speeding up acquisition ofhisfter: Expücit L1/L2
contracts help' itSecond Language Acquisition and
the Younger Learner: Child's Play? by Joanna White
(2008) pp.193-228. With kind permission ofJohn
Benjamins Publishing Company, Amsterdam/
Philadelphia; p.54 Exhact ftom 'Second language
instruction does make a diffe¡ence'by Catherine
Doughty in Studies in Second Language Acquisiüon,
Volume 13/4, pp.431-69 (7991\. Reproduced by
permission of Carnbridge University Press; p.1 36
Reprinted fr om In t ern ati on al J ournol of E duc aüonal
Research, Volume 37 by Merrill Swain and Sharon
tapkin'Talking it through: two French immersion
learners' response to reformulations' Pp.285-304
(2002)with permission from Elsevier; p.139 Exüact
from 'Corrective feedback and learner uptake'
by Roy Lyster and Leila Ranta in Studies in Second
Longuage Acquisition, Volume 7917 pp.37 -66 (7997).
Reproduced by permission of Cambridge
University Press.
Cartoonsw: Sophie Grillet @ Oxford University
Press 1993, 2005, and 2012.
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vlll Contents
Individual differences in second language learning
Preview
Research on learner characteristics
Intelligence
Language learning aptitude
Learning styles
Personality
Attitudes and motivation
Motivation in the classroom
Identiry and ethnic group affiliation
Learner beliefs
Individual differences and classroom instruction
Age and second language learning
The critical period: More than just pronunciation?
Intuitions of grammaticality
Rate of learning
Age and second language instruction
Summary
Suggestions for further reading
Explaining second language learning
Preview
The behaviourist perspective
Second language applications: Mimicry and memorization
The innatist perspective
Second language applications: Krashen's'Monitor Model'
The cognitive perspective
Information processing
Usage-based learning
The competition model
Language and the brain
Second language applications: Interacting, noticing,
processing, and practising
The sociocultural perspective
Second language applications: Learning by talking
Summary
Suggestions for further reading
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NOIIfNCIOUINI
Innoduction
In Chapter 2 we look at second language learners' developing knowledge,
their abiliry to use that knowledge, and how this compares with Ll learning.
In Chapter 3, we rurn our attention to how individual learner characteristics
may affect success. In Chapter 4, several theories that have been advanced
to explain second language learning are presented and discussed. Chapter
5 begins with a comparison of naturd and instructional environments for
second language learning.'We then examine some different ways in which
researchers have observed and described teaching and learning practices in
second language classrooms.
In Chapter 6, we examine six proposals that have been made for second
language teaching. Examples of research related to each of the proposals are
presented, leading to a discussion of the evidence available for assessing their
effectiveness. The chapter ends with a discussion of what research findings
suggest about the most effective ways to teach and learn a second language
in the classroom.
In Chapter 7, we will provide a general summary of the book by looking at
how research can inform our response to some'popular opinions' about lan-
guage learning and teaching that are introduced below.
A Glossary provides a quick reference for a number of terms that may be new
or have specific technical meanings in the context of language acquisition
research. Glossary words are shown in bold letters where they first appear in
the text. For readers who would like to find out more, an annotated list of
suggestions for further reading is included at the end of each chapter. The
Bibliography provides full reference information for the suggested readings
and all the works that are referred to in the text.
'W'e have tried to present the information in a way that does not assume that
readers are akeady familiar with research methods or theoretical issues in
second language learning. Examples and case studies are included through-
out the book to illustrate the research ideas. Many of the examples are taken
from second language classrooms. \le have also included a number ofactivi-
ties for readers to practise some of the techniques of observation and analysis
used in the research that we review in this book. At the end of each chapter
are 'Questions for refection to help readers consolidate and expand their
understanding of the material.
Before we begin ...
It is probably true, as some have claimed, that most of us teach as we were
taught or in awaythat matches our ideas and preferences about howwe learn.
Take a moment to refect on your views about how languages are learned and
what you think this means about how they should be taught. The statements
in the activity below summarize some popular opinions about language
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Introduction
Photocopiable @ Oxford University Press
l2 Learners'errors should be corrected as soon as
they are made in order to prevent the formation
of bad habits.
l3 Teachers should use materials that expose
students only to language structures they have
already been taught.
l4 When learners are allowed to interact freely (for
example, in group or pair activities), they copy
each other's mistakes.
l5 Students learn what they are taught.
ló Teachers should respond to students'errors by
correctly rephrasing what they have said rather
than by explicitly pointing out the error.
l7 Students can learn both language and academic
content (for example, science and history)
simultaneously in classes where the subject
matter is taught in their second language.
l8 Classrooms are good places to learn about
language but not for learning how to use language.
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.ile^\ sE r{fJessJJ I"Jntlnf,-ssoJf, puE f,nsrnSur¡ssor:3o
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euop ueaq s"q qf,J"asar sII{r Jo qcnur g8noqr¡y 
'aBenBuBI PIIqr uo l{rreesar
Jo lunolue asuarurur uB sr aJer{I 
.peuJEal sl aSenSue¡./v\or{ JoJ suoneueldxa
s" paraJo ueeq e Br{ tEqr serroar{l IErrAes rePlsuof, ueqr ilI^\ a4N 'uarPllql
Sunol3o rueurdolalop aSrn8uq aqr re fgarrq lool ill1r\ ar* terdeqc slq] uI
^.er^eJd
COOHCITIHf,,TfUVE NI
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Language learning in early childhood
Tbef.rst three years: Milestones and
deu e lopmental sequences
One remarkable thing about first language acquisition is the high degree of
similariry in the early language of children all over the world. Researchers
have described developmental sequences for many aspects of first language
acquisition. The earliest vocalizations are simply the involuntary crying that
babies do when they are hungry or uncomfortable. Soon, however, we hear
the cooing and gurgling sounds of contented babies, lying in their beds
looking at fascinating shapes and movement around them. Even though
they have little control over the sounds they make in these early weeks of
life, infants are able to hear subtle differences between the sounds of human
languages. Not only do they distinguish the voice of their mothers from
those of other speakers, they also seem to recognize the language that was
spoken around their mother before theywere born. Furthermore, in cleverly
designed experiments, researchers have demonstrated that tiny babies are
capable ofvery fine auditorydiscrimination. For example, they can hear the
difference between sounds as similar as pa'and'ba'.
Janet'ü7erker, Patricia Kuhl, and others have used new technologies that allow
us to see how sensitive infants are to speech sounds. tü7'hat may seem even
more remarkable is that infants stop making distinctions between sounds
that are not phonemic in the language that is spoken around them. For
example, by the time they afe ayear old, babies who will become speakers of
Arabic stop reacting to the difference between pa' and'ba'which is not pho-
nemic in Arabic. Babies who regularly hear more than one language in their
environment continue to respond to these differences for a longer period
('Werke¡ 'Weikum, and Yoshida 2006) . One important finding is that it is not
enough for babies to hear language sounds from electronic devices. In order
to learn-or retain-the abiliry to distinguish between sounds, they need
to interact with a human speaker (Conboy and Kuhl 20II). The Internet
abounds with remarkable videos of infants reacting to language sounds.
rMhether they are becoming monolingual or bilingual children, however,
it will be many months before their own vocalizations begin to refect the
characteristics ofthe language or languages they hear and longer still before
they connect language sounds with specific meaning. However, by the end of
their first year, most babies understand quite a few frequently repeated words
in the language or languages spoken around them. Theywave when someone
says 'bye-bye'; they clap when someone says pat-a-cake'; they eagerly hurry
to the kitchen when 'juice and cookies' are mentioned.
At 12 months, most babies will have begun to produce a word or two that
everyone recognizes. By the age of two, most children reliably produce at
least 50 different words and some produce many more. About this dme, they
begin to combine words into simple sentences such as 'Mommy juice' and
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(lddrg sz furuoyt¡) e¡ndoo
(req slppeq) s- a,rrssessod
(tuam Áqeg) suro; rsed rep8arl
(qooq ozvrr) s- prn¡d
(Suruunr furuo¡lq) &ur aqssat8o¡d luesa¡d
'parpnls fagr saruaqd
-roru rr{t Jo eruos s.l$,oqs (11ooq g.L6l su^&\org ruor3 pardepe) .vro¡aq tsIT eql
'aruanbas JEInuls t ur pa;lnbce eJalv\ sauragdroru ¡ecneruruer8 Vl ñqt PunoJ
laqr (qereg pue 'elg 'ur"py pa¡ec) ue¡P¡gr oerqrJo tuaurdola,rap a8en8ue¡
aqr3o.,(pnrs purpn¡l8uol e uI 'sruaPnrs PuE san8ea¡or slq PuE u^\org raSo¿
fq rno paur¿f, se,/v\ serpnrs úv\oul-lsaq eI{Uo auo 'qsrÉug u¡ saruagd.roru ¡rr
-neruu¡¿¡8 a¡mb¡e uarpllql .&\oq uo Pasnf,oJ sJatlf,JEesar FJs es '<s096I el{r uI
seuer{dJoru IBf, lreuur"Jc
'sreal looqrs eqr ¡run
IoJruof Japun llara¡druor aq rou deru PuB erull aJolu ua a saler (,laa3, se grns)
s¡ern¡d re¡nSarrr Jo asn Darro3 'sunou or s8urpua p.rn¡d ppe l¡qertar larp
ero;aq 3uo1 ¡ern¡d pue .rt¡n8urs uea urq qsrn8urrslp utr uarPllql 'a¡duexa
JoC 'arun Suoy r roj SurpuersJapun a,rnruSoo suaJPIIr{o ut luasa¡d uaag a^¿q
r¿qr s¿epl Sulssa¡dxa JoJ sluauela :lrsm8ut¡ 3I{r Jo uorllsrnbce ¡enprr8 aqr
tf,egal ot rr¡eas sa¡uanbas ¡eruaudolartap agl 'saser Jar{ro uI 'arullJo Surpurrs
-Japun auos do¡a,rap daqr Ipun ¡aa^\ lsEL Jo r!\oJJoulot, sE l{f,ns sgJs PE
¡e.rodruar esn lou op ueJpllqr'a¡druexa ro¿ 'tuarudo¡arrap arrrrluSol s,ueJPIIql
ot palEIeJ eJB uoltlslnbce a8en8uz¡ ur saSels esaql 'lualxa euros QT.',sa8els,
¡o sa¡uanbas ¡rruauldo¡a^epJo sturat uI PaqIJf,saP ueaq e^EI{ surauzd asaql
'sarnl¿al a8rn8uz¡eruos roú '8uru;re¡ art faqr a8en8ue¡ aqrJo saJnrBai lueur
3o ruaudo¡a ep pue acuaS¡au¡a eql ur su¡au¿d a¡qerclpard are eraqt 's-real
aarr{r tsJg Jleql ur a8en8ut¡ 1o lra,rorslp aqt r¡8nonp ssa¡8o¡d uaJPIII{3 ry
,'de¡ rnolgo au do.rp or puaratd nol a-reqztr Sulqr
luury teqr op asee¡d {pp"C, ue^a ro ,Sutqtaruos paddorp ÍPP"C, ro üz'roP
¡a3lpprq, ueau rq8¡ru ,qo-qn lpP"C, (uolltnlls eqr uo Surpuedaq ,'ule8r
aplstno oB ol luezrr I, utetu &ur ,aptslno a.lotu, 'a¡dtuexe Jo{ 'sPJolv\ aulgluof,
l¡a,rnrar: uer fagr regr su8rs ,&\oqs sefuetues PJod\-aaJI{l PUE -o^\l JIaI{I
'pJEJrl a,req laqr teqr* SuneIurr fFcaSradull uBI{l arou Sutop aJE uerPIIIir
ler{t saJueluas l¡rea eseql ur ue^a 'afuePl^a aes osp aA\ 'llqelreura¡ ',ssr1
fgeg, se Sulgr arues eqr u€eru tou seoP fqeq ssu, 'PIIql Suqeads-qst8uE
uE JoJ'snql'spro,,'r jo rsIT e rsnl ueqr aJou Iueql salelu reqr dlgsuone¡ar
¡nj8uluearu e eAEq spro r. paulqruof, al{r Pue Suueag arr laqr e8en8ur¡ arir
Jo JJPJO PJoa al{l slJJUeJ JaPJo PJolv\ agt '8u¡ssnu a;e saruaqdrou TEJIleIu
-uer8 pur spJo.lrauoprury gSnoqt ua^e 
,asnefaq seouetues sE tual{t azruSora.t
a/N 'sgJa^,ftenxne PuE 'suolllsodard 'sa¡r¡rre se s8ulqt qf,ns lno a,rea¡ laqr
esnef,eg ,:tgdtr8a¡al, pallrf, seuneuros oJE sef,ueluos asaql '(u-1v\op ¡e3 lqeq,
?ooqfl lqr [1taa ut Sututoal a7anSuaT
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Language learning in early childhood
regular past -el(she walked)
third person singular simple present -s (she runs)
auxiliary be (he is coming)
Brown and his colleagues found that a child who had mastered the gram-
matical morphemes at the bottom of the list had also mastered those at the
top, but the reverse was not true. Thus, there was evidence for a 'developmen-
tal sequence' or order of acquisition. However, the children did not acquire
the morphemes at the same age or rate. Eve had mastered nearly all the mor-
phemes before she was two-and-a-halfyears old, while Sarah andAdam were
still working on them when they were three-and-a-half or four.
Brownt longitudinal work was confirmed in a cross-sectional study of 21
children. Jill and Peter de Villiers (1973) found that children who correctly
used the morphemes that Adam, Eve, and Sarah had acquired late were also
able to use the ones thatAdam, Eve, and Sarah had acquired earlier. The chil-
dren mastered the morphemes at different ages, just asAdam, Eve, and Sarah
had done, but the order of their acquisition was very similar.
M-y hypotheses have been advanced to explain why these grammatical
morphemes are acquired in the observed order. Researchers have studied the
frequency with which the morphemes occur in parents' speech, the cognitive
complexity of the meanings represented by each morpheme, and the difficulty
ofperceiving or pronouncing them. In the end, there has been no simple satis-
factory explanation for the sequence, and most researchers agree that the order
is determined by an interaction among a number of different factors.
To supplement the evidence we have from simply observing children, some
carefully designed procedures have been developed to further explore chil-
drent knowledge ofgrammatical morphemes. One ofthe first and best known
is the so-called 'wug test' developed byJean Berko Gleason (1958). In this
'test', children are shown drawings of imaginary creatures with novel names
or people performing mysterious actions. For example, they are told, 'Here is
a wug. Now there are tvvo of them. There are two 
-' 
or 'Here is a man who
knows how to bod. Yesterday he did the same thing. Yesterday, he 
-'. 
By
completing these sentences with'wugs' and'bodded', children demonstrate
that they know the patterns for plural and simple past in English. By gener-
alizing these patterns to words they have never heard before, they show that
their language is more than just a list of memorizedword pairs such as'book/
books' and'nod/nodded'.
AcrtvtrY Try out the'wug' test
A web search for'wug test' will turn up many examples of the pictures and the
text created for this landmark research. lf you know some English-speaking
children under the age of five years, try using the test with them.
'.e9, PUE (oP, s3 qsns sgJe^
lrer¡xne;o ruJoJ lf,JJJoJ al{l ot lueue¡a arttteSau tql qf,Ettr or ur8ag uarPIIq)
V a8atg
1l tu31( luoP aH 'rr oP r,u?J I
'sesuat ¡o suos¡ad ruaJ3JIP JoJ stuJoJ asagr,{:ert ral rou
op uerplrr{r ta,rellol-1 'qJO^ Iepour ro lreqtxne aqr or arr¡rz8eu eqt Surgrerre
3o uraued qsn8ug tf,arroo eIF ArolloJ or ¡¿add¿ seouetuas aseql '(luoP, PUE
,r¡ref,, 3{ll sPJolv\ Sulpn¡:ur ',ou, uEql raqro arure8eu el{rJo sruro; ppe leu
uaJplrqJ 'efualuas xa¡duoc oJorrl E olul pelJasul sI luaruelo arrne8au aq¡
g aSatg
¡tel{t qlnor t,uoq 'rIBI{ qruoJ ou IPP"C
'.luoP, asn ueuo uouqlgord
¡o uouoala¡ Sulssa¡dxa sef,uelues 'gJa^ aqt aJoJag lsnl s¡radde PJo^\ a^n¿
-8au aq1 'pepnloul eq leu rrafgns eJuelues aql PuB ra8uo¡ ntor8 saruerau¡
7 a8a6
'rIEr{ gluof, oN'aDloof, oN'oN
'af,uBJalln eql uI PJoll
rsJU Jqt sE Jo Juol" IIE Jaqtla ',ou, pJodr agr fq passardxa f¡¡ensn sl uolte8a¡
¡ a8ug
'(tSet apol¡) IIa^\ sE sa8en8ue¡ raqro
ul pa^rasgo uaeq a^Er{ sa8ers rt¡rulg 't¡sÉug3o uorlrsrnbr¿ aql uI Pa^lesgo
uaag e^"q uone8au3o ruarudo¡a,raP aqt uI sa8ets SuvtrolloJ aql 'JePJo Prolú
pue spJo,& ar¿l¡do¡dde aqr Sursn 'saf,ueluas ut ruaql ssa.ldxa uec faqr aJoJeq
eurn aruos sD¡sl rl 'sa¡ntsa8 Pu" sPJo¡a a13urs qrrrtr uaqt ssa;dxa PuE suon
-lury asaqr puetsJepun uerPIII{r q8noqr ue^a ?ú'oqs selPnls ¡eurpnrlSuo¡
(I66I) s.ruoolg sIo'I sE 
.ra^a.r'roH 'a8els pror'r a¡8uls arp lE uala 'uotuess¿ uE
pala¡ ol ¡o 
,uonsaSSns e esnJal or 'srcelqoSo acue¡eaddeslP eqr uo lueuIluof,
ot ur¿al laqt 'st rtql d¡rte l¡a¡' uone8au Jo suollf,unJ al{r uJeal uarPIII{J
uonsSeN
'seJnlJnJls Pue suJoJ d\au alsaJf
or prEar{ a,req laqr reqA puolaq oB faqr ^roq PuE 'l¡r:neruarsfs sdo¡ar'ap
a8en8uq s,ueJPlrqf,,/!\oq s/\\oqs oslE saJnlEal a8en8ur¡ ragloJo uoplsmbre aq1
¿rlnluJlP eJoru
eJ€ sauo qlrLl^ pu€ lsee pug {eqr op sauaqd;otu le¡lleuuler8 qllqM
¿sa8e lua.ra¡¡rp
1€ ueJp¡ql aql Suoue ef,tlou nol op seluaJaJJlP Pue salllJ€lll'u!s reqM
poo tl?llzlr t1"taa m Sututaal a&an7uaT
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10 Language learning in early childhood
You didnt have supper. She doesnt want it.
Even though their language system is by now quite complex, they may still
have dificulty with some other features related to negatives.
I dont have no more candies.
Questions
The challenge of learning complex language systems is also illustrated in the
developmental stages through which children learn to ask questions.
There is a remarkable consistency in the way children learn to form ques-
tions in English. For one thing, there is a predictable order in which the
'uh-words' emerge (Bloom 1991). ''$7hat' is generally the first wh- question
word to be used. It is often learned as part of a chunk ('\(hassat?') and it is
some time before the child learns that there are variations of the form, such
as ''$7hat is that?' and'\lhat are these?'.
'\lhere' and 'who' emerge very soon. Identifying and locating people and
objects are within the childt understanding of the world. Furthermore,
adults tend to ask children just these types of questions in the early days of
language learning, for example, '\lheret Mommy?' or ''Whot that?'
'Why' emerges around the end of the second year and becomes a favourite
for the next year or two. Children seem to ask an endless number ofquestions
beginning with why', having discovered how effectively this little word gets
adults to engage in conversation, for example, '\Why that lady has blue hair?'
Finall¡ when the child has a better understanding ofmanner and time, 'how'
and'when emerge. In contrast to 'what', 'where', and 'who' questions, chil-
dren sometimes ask the more cognitively difficult why', when, and 'how'
questions without understandingthe answers they get, as the following con-
versation with a four-year-old clearly shows.
cHrLD tü7hen can we go outside?
PARENT In about five minutes.
cHrLD l-2-3-4-51Can we go now?
The ability to use these question words is at least partly tied to children's cog-
nitive development. It is also predicted in part by the questions children are
asked and the linguistic complexiry of questions with different wh- words.
Thus it does not seem surprising that there is consistency in the sequence of
their acquisition. Perhaps more surprising is the consistency in the acquisi-
tion of word order in questions. This development is not based on learning
new meanings, but rather on learning different linguistic patterns to express
meanings that are already understood.
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.¿8url.r: aq sl ft¡¡r, tou tnq ,¿Sutfrc ag s1, 'a¡druexa.ro3) qtoq rou tnq 'PJo,r
-qmE rouorsJalur Jaqtlo asn or alg" ruaes uaJplll{J 'JeAa^\oI{'a8els slql tr ue,tg
¿u?erf, acr e>lrl sSop oq
'ef,uatuas er{l1o uorsJe e^neJelf,ep aqt ut lrcqtxne ou
aq ppo^\ aJar{r r{rrrf'.r ur suonsanb ul .op, ppe ue^a uel ueJPIIqr 'a8ers slqr rtrr
¿aru quz'rle¡d or 3ulo3 nol ary
'rrafgns aqt aJoJaq ¡eadde ]Er{l sJIr
-Erlrxnr arp ur lrarre^ eJoru sr aJagl rng 'E a8trg jo asoqt elqruasal suonsanb
JrlI 'uolsJelul l¡erTrxne-t:algns lq pauro3 are suoltsenb auos '7 a8er5 ly
yaSwg
¿tr par{f,ref, no,( lq¿¡ ¿euo e eq r uop nol fqr¡1
¿ar¡oor E a^Br{ uel I oC ¿prrll $ lppar aqr s1
'ruJoJ lualuelEls sll uI afuelues arpJo rsal aql Surrtea¡ 'esualues
BJo (luo{, aqr re (protvi uonsanb ro gra,r e) Sunpauros Surrrnd lq PauroJ art
suousanb teqr eq or srueas alnJ s,pllql eqt asnef,aq ,3urluor3, a8ers qgr IIEI alN
:euurer8 tppe equo arrn¡ads¡ad eqr ruo{ uEI{l rer{rrr a,rncads¡ad EPIIqT eql
ruo;3 urarred eqt aas ot peau alr\'slql aglJf,seP oI'uosreJ 8uo¡rtr aqr ro3 lq8rr
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¿lddeq nol ary
¿o3 1 ue3
:sr l{f,ns suorlsanb acnpord or uÉag
pue ruaJaglp sr suoltsanb 3o arnnnrrs aql leqr e3llou uarPllql 'f¡enp-erg
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'suortsanb pateaJf u,{\o JIaI{l eprs8uo¡e ,¿reqr
s.rerltr, sE r{f,ns sruJoJ peuJeel->lunql loerrof, aqr aonpord ol anunuoo lagl
¿rruos e^?q I ¿sn{r a>III noÁ
'uolteuolul Sulsrr qru*'ef,uetuas alneJ"lseP
eqrJo JaPJo PJo,/\4, al{r esn ueJPIIr{J 'suorlsanb ¡aeu sJolu 1se or urSag r{arp w
7 a8ug
¿reqr ErEt1,N ¿fppeq srraqr6
:qunql s" Peuftal uaaq arreq,bqr
esnef,aq lf,eJJof,-suollsanb lce¡¡oo auros acnpotd leru laql 'arutl arues aql ly
¿1ooq Áuruol J ¿aDIooJ
:uolleuolul Sursr qurtr sa3uelues
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¡ a8atg
Footlplltp t(ltra ut Sututral a8anSuaT
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T2 Language learning in early childhood
Therefore, we may find inversio n in yes/no questions but not in wh- ques-
tions, unless they are formulaic units such as "ü7'hatb that?'
Stage 5
At Stage 5, both wh- andyes/n questions are formed correctly.
Are these your boots?
\íhy did you do that?
Does Daddy have a box?
Negative questions may still be a bit too difficult.
\X/hy the teddy bear cant go outside?
And even though performance on most questions is correct, there is still one
more hurdle. tWhen tuh- words appear in subordinate clauses or embedded
questions, children overgeneralize the inverted form that would be correct
for simple questions and produce sentences such as:
Ask him why cant he go out.
Stage 6
At this stage, children are able to correctly form all question types, including
negative and complex embedded questions.
Passage through developmental sequences does not always follow a steady
uninterrupted path. Children appear to learn new things and then fall back
on old patterns when there is added stress in a new situation or when they
are using other new elements in their language. But the overall path takes
them toward a closer and closer approximation of the language that is spoken
around them.
Zhe pre-scltoolyears
By the age of four, most children can ask questions, give commands, report
real events, and create stories about imaginary ones, using correct word order
and grammatical markers most of the time. In fact, it is generally accepted
that by age four, children have acquired the basic structures of the language
or languages spoken to them in these early years. Three- and four-year-olds
continue to learn vocabulary at the rate of several words a day. They begin to
acquire less frequent and more complex linguistic structures such as passives
and relative clauses.
Much of children's language acquisition effort in the late pre-school years is
spent in developing their ability to use language in a widening social environ-
ment. They use language in a greater variery of situations. They interact more
often with unfamiliar adults. They begin to talk sensibly on the telephone
to invisible grandparents (younger children do not understand that their
telephone partner cannot see what they see). They acquire the aggressive or
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d¡¡rue3 pue spuerrj rrar{r qlrrvr, aJeqs or ar'o¡ feqr qlrq./$ '.salpplJ
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&ertoosrp eqt sapnlf,ur osle sseuar?1(E cnsm8ul¡elary ¡Jeuor{s l¡rnuersgns sr
stuasa¡da¡ rl rralgo egr q8noqr uaAe ',urBJJ, uer{l pJolvr Je8uo¡ e sr ,re¡¡ldralec,
teql puetsJepun laql 'sr (asnor{, se lsnl 'prorrr e sr (ar{l, ter{t pu"rsJepun p¿aJ
uer or{ \ uerplrgr 'sp¡o-reaf-aarr{r eTlun 'stuasa¡da¡ u Sulqr egt ruo{ etEJ
-¿das sl (pJo1r\, e rtqr SulpuetsJapun aqt sef,Jo3urer Sulpta¡ '8ulu¿aru s¿ ila^\
sB ruJoJ seg a8en8url regr SuryurtsJapun .&\eu E ot ueJplrql spea¡ a8ed e uo
s¡oqruls rer.llo pue sJouel lg paruasardal spJoa Sulaag 'sseuaJr^re rnsrn8url
-Eleru ol rsoog;ofuur ¿ sa¡tr8 peeJ or Sulureal 's^r'ro¡8 pue spuedxa lr¡lqe srgl
's;eal ¡ooqcs aql ut pue 'sreaf loogcs-ard agt ur s8urueeru u1r\o rraqt ssardxa
ol pue srar{lo puelsJepun or aSen8ue¡ asn ol lrlllq" aqr do¡a,rap uaJpllr{f
sffia[ Iooqrs aql
'luarudo¡ar'ap a8enSuel JoJ sonrunlJoddo ¡'rau s8u¡rq pur e8en8uel
Sulsn 3o s&¡rr ¡'rau sa.rrnba¡ Suuas Iooqls aql (asn a8en8ue¡ pue a8enSurl
roJ sllDIS pur a8pa¡r'tou¡ xa¡duo: a¡rnb¡e uarplrr{r ¡oor¡cs-ard q8noqr¡y
'looqls or oB fagr arun eql lg aroru ro srnor{ 000'02
JoJ tuau¡uoJr^ue JrerFJo a8en8ue¡ eqr qrr^\ tf,¿luof, ul are larp ltr{l eterurlse
l¿ru a¡r' 'lep e srnoq e la \r Jo uat JoJ a>p./v\E arc uaJplll{f, JI 'stuaruuoJl^ua
qolr-a8en8ue¡ ul puads uerplrqf, snoq lurur r'rog rsnl nof zvroqs III^ esllraxe
I¿f,ntuer{reru >1:rnb y 'fta 'uorsr^elar Suryrreztr 'ol pear Surag 'suoltesrarr
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qrvn SunceJerul srnor{ Jo spu"snor¡r ruads a^¿q ueJpllqr reql lgr.ror'r
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'(l?a er{l e>pf,, ruo5 le,rn tuareglp ¿ ul 8uo¡¡'¡. sr (Jrer{J aql {uIJp, rEI{r r'rortl
'pueq raqto eqt uo 'sp¡o-reaf-arrr{ 'suearü rr r"q.ü puersJapun uec faqr rrrp
13BJ rr{r uo l¡urcu sncoS ¡lrv' laqr rnq 'ppo llq e s,u .r*ou1 lagr reqr rrroqs leur
leql 'l qrwr Suorrvr, Sulqrlue s erar{l reqr aJns ssel eJE lagl ',lea aqt a1to, fes
Ja^au ppol'r faqr g8noqrp ta e./ú\oH 'asuas a>pru r,usaop tI asn"f,eg ',JIBqf
aqt >lurrp, fes or f¡ls, s,rr rerp nof ¡ar uEf, uarpllqr p1o-.real-aarq¡ 'sla,ruo:
tr Suru¿aru eqr ruo5 ete¡edas roalqo ue sr aBenBuEI r"oJr or óITr9e al{l 'sseu
-a¡e¿rre:nsrnSu[elau do¡a,rap or ulSag os[B ueJplrr{J 'sreaf ¡ooqcs-ard aqr u¡
'sarJel a8en8ue¡ lgr'.r put lroq pu"tsJepun or ur8aq pur aroldxa larp
'ftrvr sr¡r uI '(se3ro^ ruaJ$lp asaqr 8u¡sn asnce;d faql r{3ll{,/v\ ur &¡dpuarard
arerogele ur a8pa¡.,'ron1 srql asn laqr pue laqro q:ea or lpr fagr mog pue
serqsq or lpr srlnPe ^/y\oq ue3.&\tag ef,uaJaJIP aqr Paur?al ar'rq laqr 13Ip /{ogs
faql 'punor8le¡d aql ur sfor rregr puaJap or pepaau sI rrr{r e8en8ue¡ 8ur¡ofu:
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t4 Language learning in early childhood
One of the most impressive aspects of language development in the school
years is the astonishing growth ofvocabulary. Children enter school with the
ability to understand and produce several thousand words, and thousands
more will be learned at school. In both the spoken and written language at
school, words such as 'homework' or'ruler' appear frequently in situations
where their meaning is either immediately or gradually revealed.'Words like
population or'latirude' occur less frequently, but they are made important
by their significance in academic subject matter.
Vocabulary grows at a rate of between several hundred and more than a
thousand words e year, depending mainly on how much and how widely
children read (Nagy, Herman, andAnderson 1985). The kind ofvocabulary
growth required for school success is likely to come from both reading for
assignments and reading for pleasure, whether narrative or non-fiction. Dee
Gardner (2004) suggests that reading avariety oftext types is an essential part
of vocabulary growth. His research has shown how the range of vocabulary
in narrative texts is different from that in non-fiction. There are words in
non-fiction texts that are unlikely to occur in stories or novels. In addition,
non-fiction tends to include more opportunities to see a word in its different
forms (for example, 'mummy', 'mummies', 'mummified').Th. importance
of reading for vocabulary growth is seen when observant parents report a
child using a new word but mispronouncing it in a way that reveals it has
been encountered only in written form.
Another important development in the school years is the acquisition of dif-
ferent language registers. Children learn how written language differs from
spoken language, how the language used to speak to the principal is different
from the language of the playground, how the language of a science report is
different from the language of a narrative. As Terry Piper (2006) and others
have documented, some children will have even more to learn if they come
to school speaking an ethnic or regional variety ofthe school language that is
quite different from the one used by the teacher. They will have to learn that
another variety, often referred to as the standard variety, is required for suc-
cessful academic work. Other children arrive at school speaking a different
language altogether. For these children, the work of language learning in the
early school years presents additional opportunities and challenges. 'W'e will
return to this topic when we discuss bilingualism in early childhood.
Explaining first language acquisition
These descriptions of language development from infancy through the early
school years show that we have considerable knowledge of tahat children
learn in their early language development. More controversid, howeve¡ are
questions about how this development takes place. rVhat abilities does the
child bring to the task and what are the contributions of the environment?
¿(>pnn ar{t) ll or Pauaddeq leqAt ,\srvrr
(rerr¡)
'1cnrr dunq 'slaarl[\ ]f,nrr dtunq dirrild
plf,nJt dunp eqr ul sleeq/( e¡ou¡ lnd euuo8 ar¡o sIo'I
'aJorü laD utrrad
'uo lool <sIoT
pue lsrr¿ 'sr¡npe o^\r alr{^/$, >l3nrr dulnp e qrl^\ Surlqd sr (sqruou V7) nta¿
'enSoprp Surirro¡o3
aqr uI r1npe aqt sat¿llurl Jalad ^{'oI{ sfllou 'eloqe suouusaP aqr Surs¡ 'r¡npt
Surlrsln ¿ qrl¡l pa&¡d laqr se peprof,er arar* laqr usrr{\ plo sqtuoru ,zfioqe
¡¡e aram,{aq1 'uÁqru¡ pur 'lpul3 telad luoU sldr¡¡sue¡l aql eulluBxa ^\oN
'SlOJJ¿f,
rre I{roq legl'storref, lea auo Jal{ro Jr{I 'sloJref, lea aH ,{cNIc
'urJoJ Jo uonelndrutu ar'¡rpadal :af,Itf,EJd
s¡op qrrn'fe¡¿ ,\cn'I
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.ef,ueJaltn s esla euoerüos3o rrrd ro IIEJo uonnedar prortr-ro1-PJo1v\ :uollelllul
raprsuof, 'srulal o u asagr rq r""r* r;]'rlllff;{I;11*i:il?J"qJtü ur sasse¡o¡d l¡¿ul¡d eqt sE l\xlJvtd pue uotlaluat Pa/'/'JL srsIJnoI^EI{3q eI{I
$ldut?tca ?u? suo?qu{aq :qcaads s,uaty¡tqe Sutst1auy
.uJ"el or spaau pF{l egr Surqrf-ra^aJo ef,Jnos aql sE luauuoJl^ua aql ol e3uEl
-¡odu¡l rze¡8 sa,tl3-froal{r slgl'rnolleqeq a8en8ue¡ s,P¡ql aqr adeqs PFo^\
,luauluoJr,rua aql q sJJr{to lq pa-rago lualuef,JoJuleJ JIII Jo fcuats¡suoc ar¡t
s" II3./$ sE'sreallPltll 3q1 a8en8ut¡ sqrJo ó¡rurnb pue.lrnrnb aql'^\eI^
,rqio,8.rrp:o:ry:asn a3en8ue¡ DerJof,Jo ,sllq'I{, PeurroJ fagr ¡run su¡aued
pu? spunos eseql asnf,BJd pue arrr¡urr 01 anurluol pFo^, UaJPIII{3 'luatuuoJ
-rrr,rrlrr,{r,{q pafurnorua snql 
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urJoJ 3I{r e{81 PInoJ slrll '(luauef,JoJulal a,rrlrsod,,partraf,eJ PJ"3I{ larp reqm
,r.tiorárr ór riá*ru" rraql 
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pal?lnul usrpllqr uaq.&\ rEqr pazsaqrodlq slslrnol^El{e3 IBuolllPBJJ '(Ls6l)
rauuDIS c 
.g sB,/ü lroaqr ¡etlSoloqrlsd srql3o tuauodo¡d u¡¿\olDl-lseg agl
,3.trurla¡ r3*3,r"1 or prrfiar qlrlN 'sarers perrun aql uI f¡rroadsa 's0l6l
pue s076I aqr ur ltrluangur se/'r rsgr Sulurra¡3o lroaqr B sI IusIJnoI eqeg
a nur a ds"ta d $t¿not a? q a q a qI
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puE (ls¡euur ,tsl:nor,reqaq :ruarudolartap a8en8ue¡ ule¡dxa or PaJUB^P? uaaq
aAEII suousod prlraroaql ultru earqr'&nruel q10Z 3r{rJo slPPIlu srir muIS
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T6 Language learning in early childhood
nETER (looking under chair for it) Lose it. Dump truck! Dump
truck! Fall! Fall!
LoIs Yes, the dump truck fell down.
IETER Dump truck fell down. Dump truck.
(Unpublished data from P M. Lightbown)
Ifwe analysed a larger sample of Petert speech, we would see that 3040 per
cent of his senrences were imitations of what someone else had just said. \7e
would also see rhat his imitations were not random. Thar is, he did not simply
imitate 3040 per cent of everything he heard. Detailed analyses of large
samples of Petert speech over about a year showed that he imitated *otá,
and sentence structures that were just beginning to appear in his sponraneous
speech. Once these new elements became solidly grounded in his language
system, he stopped imitating them and wenr on to imitate others.
unlike a parror who imitates the familiar and continues to repear the same
things again and again, children appear to imitate selectively. The choice
of what to imitate seems ro be based on something new that they have just
begun to understand and use, not simply on what is available in the environ-
ment. For example, consider how Cindy imitates and practises language in
the following conversations.
Cindy (24 months, 16 day$ is looking at a picture of a carrot in a book and
trying to get Patsy's attention.
cINDY Kawo? kawo? kawo? kawo? kawo?pATsy 
'ülhat are the rabbits eating?
crNDY They eating ... kando?
PATSv No, thatt a carrot.
cINDy Carrot. (pointing to each carrot on the page) The other ...
carrot. The other carrot. The other carrot.
(A few minutes later, Cindy brings Patsy a stuffed toy rabbit.)
pATsy \ü/hat does this rabbit like to eat?
cINDy (incomprehensible) eat the carrors.
(Cindy gets another stufFed rabbit.)
crNDy He (incomprehensible) eat carrors. The other one eat carrots.
They both eat carrots.
(One week later, Cindy opens the book to the same page.)
crNDy Heret the carrors. (pointing) Is that a carrot?
PATSY Yes.
(Unpublished data fromP. M. Lightbown)
'$uatuJltl3
Jo suonsenb sJe>[Eads JeTro eqr uo sal?Joq?Ia PuB suollsanb sJ3^\sLrB Put
$lse er{s'pealsul 'Ja)Frds Jaqto aql salellrul l¡arer aqs tnq 'safueluas a:r¡:¿¡d
parelaJjo sarJas e sacnpord roj¡asraq sreadal seulltaruos uf;qte¡ 'fpur3 a1ry
G€]:gLGI lr.lrT puu uroo¡g tuoglil
.ureJl
oor{f oor{J e sr sql (ulerr;o u¿d tno 8ur¡er) ¿ooI{J ool{l Y N,\uHrlrx
'xoq aqr uI s,rl 'ePrsul sIo-I
¿urEJl oor{f, ool{f, aJolu ¿ aJJqra ¿aJJqrN
'>pnrr ulrqre¡ (1cnrr rno 8ur¡er) lf,nJr ta) 'uIEJl oor{3
oor{f, aJoru oN 'eJoru B leD 'aJou ra8 1 (xoq ut Sutgcreas) N,runrvx
(:agraSor l srnd sro.1¡
'r*og nol r'roqs II<I >loo'I 'lr op uEf, noÁ 'll op uer noÁ ';4O sIo'I
'srqr op I 'sn{r op 1 (raqraSor urc¡l tnd ot
8uú-u) 'slqr op rue,& I 'srqt oC (ulerr3o sJ33 o-1r\l tno 8ur¡er) N,\uHrvx
('roog eqr uo epIIS aqr stnd ulrgru¡)
'srqr oP I 'sFlL'roou uo u1(oP rnd N,\)rHrvx
'sI rEI{r rBIl!\^\oDl nol qg sIo'I
¿srql EtErL[\'le¡d rue¿6 (epls tno Stqtt) 'ulerl ool{3 ool{f, I{11.&\
&¡d ruem I 'urerr ool{f, ool{f, qrv't le¡d turt\ I (8eq ro3 Surqeee-r)
'urerl ooqr oor{f, al{r rr¡8norq sIo'I'sa
¿urrrl ooqr ool{l eqr rq8norq sIo-I ¿ool{r ooq3 ¿s,{or 8ur-rq 1
¿rqSnorq 1 slot aqr aas nof pl6l
(sqruour V7)uthqYY
'sro-I PuB urirgrr¡ uJJ \leq uollssJa^uo:8urno¡o; aql ut arnorrd
pue uonerrrul 3o saldruzxa al{l TJPISuoJ'luaf, rad 91 ueql ssal rE Parelm
-lm uaaq seq tered pue lpur3 Jo rEI{r or a¡geredurof, elrr e re papaacord
luaudo¡autap esoq,/ra 'uaJPIItls JaIPo Jo q:aads eql uI uollelllul Jo lunour¿
aql 'p¡p fprlf put rared se I{f,nru se asrlcr¡d PuE ele}llil uarPllqr IIE roN
'tuaruuorr^ua aqr lq uErF ral{}Er pll{c aqt aplst{
Surgtauos fg paulrurarep peruaes asrlce¡d Pue alelllul ol ]Erl^Uo alrol{o aIP
'/lres a^\ se 'os ue,rg 'uoltlslnb¡e e8en8ue¡ 3o uorreue¡dxe lslJnoll?qaq eW
or r¡oddns oruos pual ot ruaes lPttl PuB rered ruorj qraeds jo sa¡dues aq1
'¡oBuuroru,
lpuarrnr $ aqs teq,t\ uo pasnroJ aq or .readde a¡lpe¡d PuE uoIlelIIUI JaI{
lared e{ll 
,teql sl 8ur¡ns lsouI sI IP(LA'IISI^ lsel slsle¿ efuls uaas lou PEII
aqs 1ooq agr ul aSed aqt or rq8le.tts suJnl Pue ralsl >lea^\ E üossel aSenSue¡,
aql sJaqruaueJ el{s letlt sr Surlsa¡alul lsolu sdeqra¿ isessElf, a8en8ue¡ u8ra;o;
eruos uI tuepnrs E a>lll spunos reqr lem e uI saJnlJnJls PUE sPJo/( d\au sasll
-cerd aqg 'uotllsrnbrr a8tn8ue¡ req uo preq Suurortr aq or sreadde fPtlf,
?ootl?l?qr lpaa ut &urutua1 a8anSuaT
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18 Language learning in early childhood
Thus, children vary in the amounr of imitation rhey do. In addition, many
of the things they say show that they are using language creativel¡ not just
repeating what they have heard. This is evident in the following e*ampl.r.
Patterns in knguage
The first example shows a child in the process of learning pamerns in lan-
guage, in this case the rules of word formation, and overgeneralizing them
to new contexts.
Randall (36 months) had a sore on his hand.
MoTHER M"yb. we need to take you to the doctor.
RANDALL \7'hy? So he can doc mylittle bump?
Randall forms the verb 'doc' from the noun 'doctor', by analogy with farmers
who farm, swimmers who swim, and actors who act.
fNor l putd.-
W"!,1!brrrysetÍ !
Focus onmeaning
Even older children have to work out some puzzles, for example, when famil-
iar language is used in unfamiliar ways, as in the example below. vhen David
(5 years, 1 month) was ar his older sister's birthday parry, toasrs were pro-
posed with grape juice in stemmed glasses:
FATHER I d like ro propose a roasr.
Several minutes later, David raised his glass:
DAvrD I d like ro propose a piece of bread.
only when laughter sent David slinking from the table did the group realize
that he wasnt intentionally making a play on words! He was concentraring
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suonelruJrl asaql 'arlnbf,E ueJplrr{f ter{t JEruruE.rB xa¡duroo eJotu ar{lJo uog
-rsrnbrr erlt JoJ uoneue¡dxa,ftotcrSsnrs r tou sr rusrJnor^Er{eq lrf,rsself, '.a>fertr
ueiplrql t"ql uonpzrprauaSra,l,o Jo slJos aqr Surureldxa ot ,(rr'r, aruos saoB
rusrrnor^Eqaq q8noqr¡e puv 'tol ? eletrurr oq,/!\ asoqr se l¡prde.r pue f11ry se
a8en8ue¡ a¡lnb¡¿ uouetrulr IJJ^o elurl op oq,&\ ueJplrql 1a^eaoH 'saSets tsar¡
-rea aqr re fllelcadsa 'a3en3ue13o slradse aulrno: pur re¡n8eJ eqrJo aruos uJ?el
ueJplrr{f,./(oq Surpuersrapunjo lem alqruoseal E JeJo ot sruees rusrJnorler{eg
'lf,eJJof, uauo pue a¡qrsuegarduroc l¡ensn aJE seouatuas,/!\au Jraql 'spJo,s
JO SaSn 1v\eu JO STuJOJ l1\eu atearc feql 'slxaluof, 1v\eu ol ueql azrlEJauaS pw
su¡aued lno >pld or ;raddt uarplrql 'reqre¡ 'stlnpe ruoU preaq a,reg laqr r¿{¡
saf,ualuasJo suortnada¡ l¡a.rau lou tre laql'uarp¡¡¡r lq parea-rr sruJoJ Jrp
Jo aruos urc¡dxa louuer euole rfnfe.rd pue uonelnul '8ulurca¡ a8en8uel 3o
ssa:o¡d aql uo l'ropuuvi E g1r^\ sn aplrro;d q:aads suarplrqrJo saldruexa asaql
'lf,aga pue asnef Jo JapJo ar{t se8uego <asnEfeg, Jo (aJo3ag, e>[l
pro^\ E.&\oq pu"tsrapun raf rou prp eH 'rsr5 pres aq r"g./ü ErEI{r os 'sPueq srq
Áp or parduaue IIEpuEU ero1ag pereaddesrp sla^\ol eqt <eser srql uI 'muar
-JnJJo Jraqr Jo JapJo arp ul stue a uonualrl or puer tuarudo¡a,rap a8en8ue¡
3o a8ers srql re ua:plgC 'rsJg sauof, asn"lo qrlq¡ rnogt a1€lsrru E ep€tu eq
rnq 'lervre sle,l\ot Jr{r IIB loor nol asnereg spueq ftu f-rp luer I, luearu eH
'spueq Áu lrp ruec I asntrag lene s¡azrrot eqr IIE >loor noÁ
'le \or e roj Suqoo¡ servr (sqruoru I 'sreaf E) Ippus¿
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20 Language learning in early childhood
7h e innatist p ersp ectiue
Noam Chomsky is one of the most infuential figures in linguistics, and
his ideas about how language is acquired and how it is stored in the mind
sparked a revolution in many aspecrs of linguistics and psychology, includ-
ing the study of language acquisition. The innatist perspective is related to
Chomsky's hypothesis that all human languages are based on some innate
universal principles.
In his 1959 review of B. F. Skinnert book Wrbal Behauior, Chomsky chal-
lenged the behaviourist explanation for language acquisition. He argued that
children are biologically programmed for language and that language devel-
ops in the child in just the same way rhar orher biological functions develop.
For example, every child will learn to walk as long as adequate nourishment
and reasonable freedom of movement are provided. The child does not have
to be taught. Most children learn to walk at about the same age, and walking
is essentially the same in all normal human beings. For Chomsky, language
acquisition is very similar. The environment makes only a basic contribu-
tion-in this case, the availabiliry of people who speak to the child. The
child, or rather, the childk biological endowment, will do the rest.
Chomsky argued that the behaviourist theory failed ro account for 'the logical
problem oflanguage acquisition'-the fact that children come to know moreabout the structure oftheir language than they could reasonably be expected
to learn on the basis of the samples of language they hear. The language
children are exposed to includes false starts, incomplete sentences, and slips
of the tongue, and yet they learn to distinguish between grammatical and
ungrammatical sentences. He concluded that childrenk minds are not blank
slates to be filled by imitating language they hear in the enyironment. Instead,
he hypothesized, children are born with a specific innate abiliry to discover
for themselves the underlying rules of a language sysrem on the basis of the
samples of a natural language they are exposed to. This innare endowmenr
was seen as a sort of template, containing the principles that are universal to
all human languages. This universal grammar (UG) would prevenr the child
from pursuing all sorts of wrong hypotheses about how language sysrems
might work. If children are pre-equipped with UG, then what they have to
learn is the ways in which the language they are acquiring makes use of these
principles.
Consider the following sentences, from a book by Lydia \X/h ite ( 1 9 8 9). These
English sentences contain the reflexive pronoun'himself'. Both the pronoun
and the noun it refers to (the antecedent) are printed in italics. (An asterisk
at the beginning of a sentence indicates that the sentence is ungrammatical.)
a John saw himself
b *HimselfsawJohn.
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aqr ur ssa¡3o¡d Jraqr pu" 'fruejur ur tr ol pasodxa are faqr 3r a8rn8uel u8.rs
ureel llrlv\JEap llpuno3ord arc oqz'r ua¡pllgf, 'ólunruruor ¡en8ur¡r¡nur e m
a,rr¡ fagrSl a8rn8ur¡ auo uer{t eJoru ro-e8rn8ue¡ a nru rlaqr armbce I¡¡S
-sseflns uaJplrql il" rsotule r¿qr rrEJ aqr sazlseqdrua a,rn¡ads¡ad tslteuul aq1
'uo¡r¡s¡nbre a8en8uq ro3 lla,rrsn¡cxe pasn sI usruer{f,eru ateum
er{r rer{r aJoruJaqunJ azrsagtodlq faql 'rndul Jr{lJo suon¿trurT Jo alds m
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uarplrqr IIE erurs trr{r ezr$qrodlq laq¡ 'lndur eqt ur alqelr¿,rr secualuas 3w
-sn¡e.rd pue SunernulJo srseq eqr uo l¡a.rnd paur"al aq Ja au p¡nor reruure-6
xa¡duroc r{Jns terir an3¡e a¡.rtcads¡ad lsneuur ar{l ruo{ uonrsrnbf,E a8rn8uu¡
lpnrs oqru. sreqoreesa¿ 'srar{lo aql Jo ólTe¡neurue;8un aqt azuSorer pun
saf,ualuas ¡ecrreruurerS aqr ra.tdratur lpcauoc or alqe aq plno^\ uarpllq:
e8e-¡ooqos lsour 'taÁ 'ler'r aqr 8uo¡e sror;a e>leru op uerpllql pue 'uJEal o¡
p.leg lra,r aq plno \ tl suaes l 'ólxa¡duol Jo pury sryr rE >lool a^{ uaqlil
'tlasunr¡ ¡o a¡nt¡rd e ¿qft{ pa,&\oqs ¿utlo[ l
:lllg ro uqof raqrta ol reJar Plnos a^Ixaua¡
er{r eJar{^\ (>1) ur se 'a¡glssod sr luepaf,etue euo u€ql aJoru 'sasef, aruos uI
' 
(asnr¡r alug) rua8t¡arur sr.!1 a sutt t¡ *tp sarayTag utl of * (
'(asne¡c auug-uou) rua8r¡arur aqotllasuttc¡ sa€Ileg u7o[ t
'(f) ul tou lnq (l) ur uorlrsod rcalqns eqr ur aq uEf, a^Ixegar eql 'eJourJal{unJ
'(q) "l se 'slervr¡e lou tng '(p) pu¿ (e) ur se luapaf,elue otp sB esnrlr aIUES atp
ur aq tsnru e rxegal aqr l¡ens¡ 'r¿qr ueql parecr¡duoc eJoru ua^a Erl puy
'fiasru1q qser'r ot IIIS pesFuorduqof q
:Jar{lra >lJo \ l rJo \ alnJ sII{r tegt s tol{s (g) 'ra,razvro¡1 'luaPef
-alue aqr sr unouo¡d elrxageJ aql or rsesolf, unou aqr rrr{r epnl3uoJ rq8lru a,n
lasryr¡ qsr.l$olrugplol urlof* t
tlasu,nq qsel,l'otlltg p¡or ugof ¡
tlasu,ttr1 peTI porC rer{r prcs uqof* a
t1asryr¡ p¿1;lr.ati ter{t ples ur{o[ p
:s" qf,ns safueluas JePrsuos eaJJ
' 
ur.1 of satoq!1a sruxq relJe 3ur¡oo1 r
:srqr sar'ordsp (c) tng 'ot sra;ar
ll unou arF ^/\olloJ lsnur unouord ar'rxagar er{rJr sE $lool ll '(q) pur (e) u1
?ooqnltp tltaa ut Sututaal a3on3uo7
(.IB:
>ISIJ
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aser
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suJ:
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22 Language learning in early childhood
Children acquire the basic syntax and morphology of the language spoken to
them in a variety of conditions, some ofwhich would be expected to enhance
language development (for example, caring, attentive parents who focus on
the childb language), and some which might be expected to inhibit it (for
example, abusive or rejecting parents). Children achieve different levels of
vocabulary creativiry social grace, and so on, but virtually all achieve the
abiliry to use the patterns of the language or languages spoken to them. This
is seen as support for the hypothesis that language is somehow separate from
other aspects ofcognitive development and may depend on a specific module
of the brain.
The Critical Period Hypotltesis
The innatist perspective is often linked to the Critical Period Hypothesis
(CPH)-the hypothesis that animals, including humans, are genetically
programmed to acquire certain kinds of knowledge and skill at specific times
in life. Beyond those 'critical periods', it is either difficult or impossible to
acquire those abilities.'S7'ith regard to language, the CPH suggests that chil-
dren who are not given access to language in infancy and early childhood
(because ofdeafness or extreme isolation) will never acquire language if these
deprivations go on for too long.
It is difficult to find evidence for or against the CPH, since nearly all children
are exposed to language at an early age. However, history has documented a
few'natural experiments'where children have been deprived of contact with
language. Two of the most famous cases are those of 'Victor' and'Genie'.
ln 1799, a boy who became known as Victor was found wandering naked
in the woods in France. His storywas dramatized ina1970 film by Frangois
Thuffaut called L'enfant sauuage (TheWild Child). 'Whe n Vctor was captured,
he was about 12 years old and completely wild, apparently having had no
contact with humans. Jean-Marc-Gaspard Itard, a young doctor accustomed
to working with deaf children, devoted five years to socializing Victor and
trying to teach him language. Although he succeeded to some extent in devel-
oping Victort sociabiliry memory and judgement, there was little progress
in his language abiliry.
Neárly 200 years later, Genie, a I3-year-old girl who had been isolated,
neglected, and abused, was discovered in California. Because of the irrational
demands of a disturbed father and the submission and fear of an abused
mother, Genie had spent more than 11 years tied to a chair or a crib in a
small, darkened room. Her father had forbidden his wife and son to speak to
Genie and had himself only growled and barked at her. She was beaten when
she made any kind of noise, and she had long since resorted to complete
silence. Genie was undeveloped physically, emotionall¡ and intellectually.
She had no language.
lEr{l pepnlfuof, sJar{f,rEasal aql'dno;8 arsT arp ueqr l¡ruarsrsuof, sJotu Il¡aqt
pasn 'uJnl uI 'oq^\ dno.l8,(¡reg aqr uegr.{¡ruarslsuor Jrolu sJa>lr¿lu eql Pasn
dno¡8 a^IIBN ar{t 'sJa>lJ?ru p:ntruruer8 uo SutsnroS sls31 uo larta,"log 'a8pa
-prou¡ f-rqng"f,ol ur a¡durexa.lo3 
,.ISVJo asn rIeI{rJo stf,eds" eluos uI sdno¡8
eql uea^\rag af,ueJeJlp ou PunoJ lt,1¡ '(Zt a8e lar3e 15y Sururea¡ ue8aq
or¡,,v'.) s.reu8rs arET pue '(a8e 3o s¡eal xrs Pue JnoJ uaa^\lJq 15y 8u¡sn ue8aq
oqm) srauSls fl.rrg '(,{rtlq urorj TSV or pasodxa aram, ogrvr,) s¡au8rs a^IleN
pareduroc laql 's.raryru I¿f,Iterururr8 puaqarduos PUE acnpord 01 'ISVJo
srasnJEaPJo lrnlqB al{r PaIPnrs san8ea¡oc rel{ PuE (Oee t) rrodrv'a¡ rssr¡g
'sfuarua,roru fPoq
Jo pu"q cg¡rads q8no;gr passardxa are sJe1Jelu asaql'Jequnu put (asual
rt"á 
,r¡á*"*a ro3) ault se s8urqr r{fns attf,rpur ot sra>lJeru ¡m¡reuruer8 3o
asn sa>lpru (15y) aEun8uul uSrg ueJrJerrrv'sa8en8url uatllJ/t\ PUE PJo ell-I
'Hdf al{i ol Par¿ler l{f,rEasar
lueuodrut atuosJo rcalqns agt uaaq seq aSen8ue¡ u8ls Sururea¡ ul acuauadxa
ralEl s,uarpllqr esaql'PIql aql ol rlqlssaf,f,e sI lBr{r aSrnSue¡3o PIo^eP lnq
sfe,vr tsotu uI Flurou aq leru pouad PooqP¡ql f¡rea arp 'sng1 'lzr* Frurou
fpua.redde uE ur lfEJalur 01 sssues Jer{lo sasn pln{t eql asnBf,eq JEaq louuef,
pplr rlaqt lrr{t ozllear tou feru stua¡ed Sutreag 'I{uIq ruory'ISV ol pasodxa
áq ór l¡at¡¡ eJE uerplll{r asaqr l¡uo pue 'sluarzd1"aP or urog srEJeaP f¡puno3
-ord aqr Jo luer rad g1-g l¡ug 'slualed Sulreaq a^EI{ oq.,'r _uarPIII{l JEáP
f¡punoSoid oruos roJ asrr agt sl slql 
.aru' 
Iensn ar¡r re aBenBuEI or ssrrrr
ri"q ro,, op ral 
,slua¡¿d Jrarp ruog aJef, pue JAol a^Ief,al lagr araqn saruoq
1¡ou euros oq,/ú uarplrqf,Jo asm eql sI HdJ olpJo rser arel¡do¡dde aro.'' v
.uonf,eJelur uerunr{ IEruJou ruog PereJedas a;arrr faqr aJoJag uela 'luetu
-¡ledrur a8en8uq rgnads e ro 
,sle¡ap ¡eruaudo¡anaP 'aBBtuEP uIEJg luory
PsreJns uraql Jo JeI{rIa Jaq]3q,/v\ suI(UJJleP o1 elglssod rou sl r1 'a8tn8ue¡
.rr"q or lr¡¡qeul Jrar{l ol pernqrrruof, a,req tgSnu lrrJnleur ¡rer3o¡orq saPISaq
sJolf,?J Jaqro req \ /(ouI louuB3 al|t 'seseJ lBnsnun IPns tuog ef,uaPl^a Jo
srs€g aqt uo peurguor sl sseqrod,,(q aqr reqr an8;r ol lFlgJIP sl ll 'HdJ
,qr jo i¡oddns .rt ,r,rtpt,tt apv.,'ord ot ¡eadde alua9 PuE rolf,I¡ g8noql¡y
'qraads aultnoJ
pu? f,rElnluJoJ pesnJe^o pue fFuarsrsuosur stuJoJ pcrrru[ue;8 Pasn eqs 'uolr
ltttpotá put-uolsuaqa¡duoc uae \leq dr8 purou uer¡r 1a3rc1 E se,r\ eral{I
.p¡ó reaf-a,rg pordlr eJo tEr{l aIII rou ser'r a8en8uel s,alua) 'a8en8_ue1 ol arns
-'od"r jo tr"rf r,tg JaUE 
,ssalaqlJa^eN 'stIBJl PuE selsel IEnP_I^lPul SuoJls Pu¿
sdqsuonr¡a.r puosrad daap pado¡a^ap aqs 'arE.&rB fla,rruuSoc PuE PazllBlf,os
Sulurocag ul ssa¡8o¡d alge>IJ¿tueJ sPrru elua) 'slooqrs ¡rtcads PaPueuE PUE
auoq JatsoJ ¿ uI Pa^II eqs 'erlua3 uoIlElITIqEqaJ 3 uI po¡rad JaIJq E J3!V
.(LL6l) ssunJ .t"*g Snrpr¡rul ,slsrderaql pue srar{f,Eet lueur3o uoltedl¡lt
-red aqr qtl^\ Palef,nPa PII? roJ PeJEf sE,&\ eluaD 'POraAof,sIP sEl(\ aqs JeUV
PooqPl ltp,Qna ur Sututaa. aSanfuuaT 87,
24 Language learning in early chi ldhood
their study supports the hypothesis that there is a critical period for first lan-
guage acquisition, whether that language is oral or gestural.
Another line of research that has given new insight into the importance of
early language experience comes from studies of international adoptees.'
These aré children who were adopted at an early age by families who did
not speak the language rhe child had heard during infancy. In their review
of rtudi.r of international adoptees, Johanne Paradis, Fred Genesee, and
Martha Crago (201 1) concluded that cognitive and linguistic outcomes were
generally veiy positive. Some comparisons of their language with that of
.hildr.tr the same age who had always heard the same language showed that
subtle differences persist even after seyeral years, but these are not the kinds
of differences that most people would notice. Here again, of course, one
cannot know whethef something other than a late exposure to the language
spoken in the adoptive environment also contributed to differences between
these children and others who did not experience an abrupt change in their
Ianguage environment. Nevertheless, with continuing research on childrent
linguisiic behaviours and intuitions, as well as the neurological studies of
infánts' speech perception that we saw above, it is becoming clearer that
lattguageácquisition begins ar birth, and possibly even before, as the child's
brain is shaped by exposure to the language(s) in the environment.
The innatist perspectiye is thus partly based on evidence that there is a criti-
cal period foi l"ngu"ge acquisition. It is also seen as an explanation for 'the
logical problem oil"ng,r"g. acquisition', that is, the qu_estion of how adult
rp-."k ri come to know the complex structure of their first language on the
basis of the limited samples of language to which they are exposed.
Interactionist/ dea e lop m ental p ersp e ctiu es
Developmental and cognitive psychologists have focused on the interplay
b.t*..r, the innate learning ability of children and the environment in which
they develop. Th.y 
"rg,r. 
th"t the innatists place too much emphasis on the
'final state' (th..o-p.t"nce of adult native speakers) and not enough on the
developmental aspects oflanguage acquisition. In theirview,language acquisi-
tion istut one example of the human childt ability to learn from experience,
and they see no needto assume that there are specific brain structures devoted
to language acquisition. They hJpothesize that what children need to know is
.rr.rály 
",raifable 
in the language they are exposed to as they hear it used in
thousanis of hours of interactions with the people and objects around them.
Psychologists attribute considerably more importance to the environment
than the lnnatists do even though they also recognize a powerful learning
mechanism in the human brain. They see language acquisition as similar
to and infuenced by the acquisition of other kinds of skill and knowledge,
rarher than as something that is different from and largely independent of
97
'7 raldEr{J ur aes
III¡\ a¡vr se 'tuarudo¡a,rap a8en8uel puofas uo r{fJBaseJ ur IEJtuef l¡Sursea;:ur
aluofeg a^?q s./rrar^ slrsto8l¡ 'uorlJeJatur lElf,os ul pa8rarua qcaads pue
'qcaads pazr¡eu;arur l¡enuassa srr'rrg8noqr 
.Alsto8l¡roC 'plro^\ IEclsfgd aqr
qll \ uonf,Ererur g8norgl paJrnbre e8pa¡non1 ssa¡dxa ol pesn eq plnof, ter{r
u¡elsls ¡oqruls e s¿ a8¿n8ue¡ rtr,es ra8el¿ 's.re8el¿ ruog sJa5rp,r*al,r sÁ1sto8l¡
'a8pa¡zrroul ¡'rau a¡lnbce ot osle pue e^Eq lagr a8pa¡zrroul aWJo
lsoru Jr{t arytu uaqr sdlaq reqr ernlf,nJls a,rnroddns3o pur¡ e 
.sr trgl ,8u¡p¡o3
-J"f,s r{rr.&\ plql or1r apr,rord suonesra^uor ag1 'rq8noqt pue a8en8ue¡ qroq
3o sulSrro eqt suonrsJJ^uor esaqt ur 1r\Bs pue uarplrq) reqto qrv( pue sllnpE
qrr^\ a^Er{ uerplrr{J ler{t suontsreluof,Jo e¡uet¡odrul eqr pe rJsqo l¡sro8l¡
'KJ¿n luaudo¡a,rap purxord¡o auoz aqt se f¡ruapuadapur Surop3o alqedec
aq p¡nomfaqr utqr eroru op plnof, uarplrrir r{llqr\ ul arr¡d ¡e:lroqderaru e or
perreJer llslo8l¡ 'erueurro3red pur a8pa¡ru,oul Jo slar'a1 rag8rq 01 arue pB
or alqe aJ¿ ueJplrr{J 'luJruuoJrrrua e^nfeJetul a,rn¡oddns E ur ter{t panSre
aH 'uonrererul lurf,os ruor3l¡reuud sdo¡a,rap a8en8uel rErF papnpuor eH
's0€6I Pu¿ s0z6l eqr uI uorun lrr^os eql ur sloor{f,s ur stlnpE pue uarplrql
uaa.r\.]ag osle pue ua.rp¡qc Suoure suonf,Brarur pa^rasgo eH '(g/6 I ) flsro8l¡
z'a1 rsr8o¡oqclsd aqr sen' tuarudola ep plr{r Jo rurpnls lBnuenHur rarFouv
'lueuruoJrlua eqt qrrd\ uonf,eralur ¡errslqd g8norqr palnbre J^Er{ uaJp¡ql
reql a8pa¡moul ruasarder ol pasn aq um aSen8uel 'pooqplql ul pado¡az'ap
eJB lrr{t srualsfs loqrufs 3o Jagunu B Jo euo sezrr a8en8ue¡ 'ra8el¿ JoC 'perel
-ndrueru.ro pe lasqo ag um reqt s8ulqr eql pue pllql Jql uea^\taq uonJ€retur
aql uo rlnq sr Surpuersrapun a,rrtruSor Surdo¡a,rap aql 'ruasarda.r laqr srdar
-uof ar{t 3o SurpuetsJapun suaJpl¡lo arp uo spuadap (aJoru, ro .ra88rg, se
r{Jns suJal ureuaf,Jo esn aqt 'eldurrxa.tog 'a8en8ue¡ arrnbce leqr rvrog aulru
-rarap l¡rred ppo,/vl ruaudo¡a,rap artuuSoc suaJplrql r'roq eas ol lsea sl 11
'(rarer'r uo lBoH ol sJaqlo put lurs ol spoJ auros asn?J ('rre '¡e¡tateru
'rg8¡a,,'r'azls rlaql) spoJJo tas eJo salr¡ado¡d qrlq^\ rno Sulrn8g) Surcuara3ul
¡erl8o¡ pue'(aur¡ pazaanbs l¡rq8p e ur saruuad 0I u¿ql snorerunu erour tou
aJE aurl 8uo¡ e uJoJ ol rno peards saruuad 0I ier{r Suml,oq) a:u¿.lraddr
rrerp ur sa8ueqrSo ssa¡pre8ar sapnuenbSo ó¡¡qrts agr'(araqr ¡ps are rq8rs
ruog ueppl{ s8ulqr regr 8ultllou>1) acuaueurad roafqo se s8ulqr q:ns jo 8ur
-PuetsrePuna,ulluSoc Jrar{t jo ruaurdo¡alap aqr a3eJr or elqE sE,/$, aH 'a¡doad
pue srcalqo glr^. uorreJelur Jrar{l ur puB íe¡d.naqr ur uarplrr{J put s}ueJur
pe^rrsgo ra8er¿ ',(¡ntuec qrgz ar{Uo saperap l¡ree aqr uI '(I 16I) raSer¿ ueaf
'tslSolotualsldaTrsSo¡oqcfsd ssrrtg eqt sE \ ruarudo¡arrap azrlr¡u8oc Jreql uo
rlmg $ a8en8ue¡ suaJplrr{r tBr{r ^\or^ or{r jo srueuodo¡d lsJrlJea ar{rJo auo
llslotl¡pue ra8erd
'a8en8ue¡3o uonrsrnbfr Jrar{r pue tuarudo¡arrap ar'nluSoc s,ueJplrqr
uea.l*teg drqsuone¡ar esop eqr pazrsrqdua 8uo¡ a,req (gL6D ulqols ueq sE
r{fns sJar{f,Jeaser 'paapul 'tuarudo¡a-r'ap e,urruSoc pue a:uarradxe s pIr{J ar{r
?ooqpllqr r(1na ut Sututaal a7an&uaT
26 Language learning in early childhood
Cross-cultural research
Since the 1970s, researchers have studied childrent language learning envi-
ronments in a great many different cultural communities. The research has
focused not only on the development of language itself, but also on the ways
in which the environment provides what children need for language acquisi-
tion. Between 1985 and 1997, Dan Slobin edited five volumes devoted to
research on the acquisition of 28 languages, providing examples and analyses
ofchild language and the language-learning environment from communities
around the world. One of the most remarkable resources for child language
researchers is the Child Language Data Exchange System (CHILDES),
where researchers have contributed child language data in dozens of lan-
guages in recorded and transcribed forms that are available as electronic files
from the CHILDES website (Mac\flhinney2000).
One feature of cross-cultural research is the description of child-rearing pat-
terns. Catherine Snow (1995) and others have studied the apparent effects
on language acquisition of the ways in which adults talk to and interact
with young children. In middle-class North American homes, researchers
observed that adults often modify the way they speak when talking to little
children. This child-directed speech may be characterized by a slower rate of
delivery higher pitch, more varied intonation, shorter, simpler sentence pat-
terns, stress on keywords, frequent repetition, and paraphrase. Furthermore,
topics of conversation emphasize the childt immediate environment, picture
books, or experiences that the adult knows the child has had. Adults often
repeat the content of a childt utterance, but they expand or recast it into a
grámmatically correct sentence. For example, when Peter says, 'Dump truck!
Dump truck! Fall! Fall!', Lois responds, 'Yes, the dump truck fell down.'
Ha ,he not
Cons;dere¿ 1'1c
efr.cE9 of Stt¿t"'
B¿l go bf'
'ffi
'fem prldlr aJoru E
ul a8en8ue¡ do¡amp 01 uuJID Pa./dollr uollf,EJalul asol{^{ ¡auued IEuorlESraA
-uof, B se l¡ruerrodrul arorrl 'lng '¡apour e se lluo lou-Jar{lorq JaPIo sI{ PEq
aq :s.ru1f IuoS ruaJeglp se,r,r lualuuoJl^ua :nsnSul¡ s,uualD fe¡ap e8en8ue¡
3o adlr erurs ar{t feldsrp tou PP uuelD reglorg ¡e8unol s¡u¡f 'a8e srri jo
pcldlr e¡oru aSrn8uel fq pace¡dar 'pareaddesp Peq su¡aued graads Fnsnun
aqrJo rsoru sqluoru o^\r puB s.leal;noi3o a8e aqr lg 'a,rordur or ue8aq san
-lllqe a^lsserdxa srq 'r¡npe ue qll^\ suolssas leuorlesJaluor ue8ag ulf uaq¿¡
'JapJo pJo,&\ ¡eclteruruer8un '¡ensnun Pasn aq 'a8e slq or atet¡do¡dde szapl
ssa¡dxa or parduane ag qSnoqr¡y 
.a3en3ue13o stredse IIE ur la^el a3r r'ro1aq
IIa,^ se.ü eq lpr{l pJlBf,IpuI sqtuoru aulu pue uraf aeJl{l l" luJlussasse a8enSuel
y 
.a8en8ur¡ uSrs ¡o IEJO Jarpre ul rulq qlr^t parbrunruruof, lua;¿d E r{f,rrr( ur
lueuruorrlua lerurou e ur lueudo¡a.tep olrsln8ul sH ur8aq lou plp rulf f_o3
perrr IIa^\ se,l.r aq slcadsa¡ reqlo ur q8noqrp 'snql 'rul[ qrur a8en8uel u8ls
asn lou plp srua.red eql IEI{I uI lEnsnun ser'r fllueJ ag1 f¡ruanba5 PaI{3rBr\
aq qllqlr\ 'uolsl^elal q8norgr s¿z'r a8¿n8uel IEro I{1I^\ lf€luof, l¡uo srq puz
'siuared3eapJo plqr SuliEaI{ E s",l\ eH 'urf pa¡¡m laql PII{I Elo ruaudo¡a,rap
aSeffiurl eql perpnts (Ig6i) san8ea¡or rer{ puB sqf,ES eullenbref 'Sutssnu sr
uorrf,erarur r{f,ns araq^\ seser lq Peteulrunlll sl PIIqI aqr ol spuodsal oq^\ Jol
-nf,olJetu uE pu¿ p¡lqc 3uru.rca1-a8en8ue¡ E uaa,l\leg uollJeJalulJo elor agl
uollf,sJelul Jo eJu"uodul eq¡
'uerplrqr or passarppe graads uI eletu srFP? aruos
teql suonef,glpotu el{l Jo rraJa urat-8uo1 aqr a8pnl or lFrUglP sl }I 'snql
.a8en8uq Álunuuoc agl a;mbce fagr puv'luauruoJr^ua rreql ur ruaql ol
p3Suruuau sr lEr{l aSenSuq reag laqr r{JIqlA ur suoDBn}rs ur _aJE ueJPlrqs
i,{irrrot l¡a,re ul ;ssa¡rgrra,tr¡ .uJJpp{f, Jrerp grr^.r tf,BJa}ur sdno¡8 fruqra
puE f,[uouof,aorsos luaJeJrp u¡ s]ua¡ed sfer"r arp ur sDuaJaJIp lErluasqns
peruatunf,op a^EI{ sreqro PuB (886I) r{leaH acrrg lalrrq5 'solels Pallun aqr
urqlr^{ ua,rg 
.sre,lr8aref, Jraql sE a^ras oqm s8u¡¡qls Jeplo q¡m l¡r.reru¡.rd r:e
-Jelur uJJpllqc Sunol'sJltellos Jtuos uI reqr Pa^Jesqo e^el{ sJaI{IJEJSaJ Jaqro
's¡us e8en8ue¡ pado¡a,raP
aJoru e^¿g puE Jeplo arz faqr llun srppe qtr/ú suorlEsJa^uof, ur elEdrf,rl
-¡ed or peSrrnotua ro parcadxa lou are leql 'sr¡npr 01 uals{ puE qf,rE^\ or
parrad*a are uerpllq) 'ltanos lrnul IEuoIrIP"rl uI lsqr Pa^lasgo (ZeeD o8er3
er{uery 
.s¡au¡zd IEuoIIESJa^uo¡ al¿udo¡ddz ag or uaJPIIql rlsl{l raPlsuof,
rou PrP ¿auln9 r'r,a¡ ende¿ uI srsqtou IInIE) lEI{l Punoi (066I) uneJell{f,S
Iqrutg 
,a¡druexa roC 'uaJpllqo Sunof ,ftal qrrn' fe¡d ¡tqra,r Jo uolltsra^uof,
ui a8e8ua tou op srlnp' 
,sa'arf,os eruos uI 'l'SJa^run su?auJ ou fq sl sauoq
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?oot/?l lqr Qna m Sututaal a8anSua'¡ LZ
28 Language learning in early c h ildhood
Jim showed very rapid acquisition of English once he began to interact with an
adult on a one-to-one basis. The fact that he had failed to acquire language nor-
mally prior to this experience suggests that impersonal sources oflanguage such
as television or radio alone are not sufficient. One-to-one inreraction gives chil-
dren access to language that is adjusted to their level ofcomprehension. tü7hen
a child does not understand, the adult may repeat or paraphrase. The response
of the adult may also allow children ro find our when their own utterances are
understood. Television, for obvious reasons, does not provide such interaction.
Even in childrent programmes, where simpler language is used and topics are
relevant to younger viewers, no immediate adjustment is made for the needs
of an individual child. Once children have acquired some language, however,
television can be a source of language and cultural information.
Usage-based learning
As more and more research has documented the ways in which children
interact with the environment, developmental and cognitive psychologists
find further evidence that language acquisition is 'usage-based'. In this view,
language acquisition is possible because ofchildrent general cognitive capac-
ities and the vast number of opportunities they have to make connecdons
between the language they hear and what they experience in their environ-
ment. Sophisticated electronic recording devices have been used to track
and count words and phrases children hear in their daily lives. Deb Roy
documented his son's acquisition of words, showing the frequency and the
contexts for the occurrence of language. Most remarkable, perhaps, is the
demonstration of the power of interaction between the child and the adults
and how adults focus on rhe language the child has begun to use (Roy 2009).
The usage-based perspective on language acquisition differs from the behav-
iourist view in that the emphasis is more on the child's ability ro create
networks of associations rather than on processes of imitation and habit for-
mation. Referred to by various names, including cognitive linguistics, this
view also differs sharply from the innatists' because language acquisition is