Readings
I remember talking about the “U-shaped development” in class briefly the other night (feet-foots-feet). Reading about it again has further peaked my interest in the subject -- and to think that this sequence can happen in both L1 and L2! If I ever get married and have children, I am going to be recording all sorts of linguistic observations on them, the poor little dears.
On page 81, one counterargument against a strong deterministic role for frequency of input is that “the most frequent words in English… are relatively late to appear, and among the last (if ever) to be mastered.” This sentence REALLY stuck with me after having read the chapter. I think about how I still can mess up gender-plurality agreement in Spanish, which is a very basic and formulaic linguistic form. Why is this? If a language is so dependent on certain forms, our natural instinct would be to think that this is the first element that would be acquired in our L2.
The factors of language success mentioned in this chapter are as follows: age, sex, aptitude, motivation, cognitive style, personality, and learning strategies. The table on page 82 (4.3 Age differences in SLA) will be and continues to be relevant in my TESOL experiences. I have now had a taste of both worlds, the younger and the older language learners. Each category definitely has its advantages; and each one definitely encompasses the learning obstacles as well.
“The Wild Child” (Question #3)
Victor learned best when Dr. Itard first gave a model for the desired outcome, for example when the nurse and the doctor demonstrated how to best ask for milk (lait). Without a doubt, Victor was a hands-on and visual leaner. The doctor eventually was able to gradually increase the level of linguistic difficulty, yet first he had Victor match visually the drawing of the tools with the particular tool itself. Being a visual learner myself, I was brainstorming on various ways to present the basics of a language. It's harder than it looks! It would feel like a never ending game of charades at times, but eventually the visual is formally processed. Additionally, it was extremely important for Victor to have a “breather” time set aside each day to just explore the outdoors. I think each of our students have this “breather” element, and we must both discover and respect it. Such case studies as Hellen Keller, Genie and Victor test the limits of language.
I feel the same way about kids and what not. If that ever happens I feel like I'm going to be recording all sorts of fascinating linguistic patterns I find. I wonder how they'll react to that? :)
ReplyDeleteAs far as the age table on pg. 82, I don't consider myself an older learner but I have experienced the learning of a second language from the time I was in elementary school until now and I also really enjoyed looking at the table and sort of comparing myself to the ideas there. I thought it did a great job of showing the advantages each 'age grouping' has.