Language Acquisition

Children learn language from their interactions with other learners as well as becoming a functioning member in society. They learn through their surroundings, communities, television, books, toys, games, and people.

I think the nativist theories are interesting. Are they implying that some of our parents brain and memory is being passed on to us, or that everyone just has a foundation already layed out in their brain and we just need to make the child aware of it and feed it in order to watch it grow? I don’t know, makes me think. I mean, most children do develop at similar stages and all parents cannot be giving the same nurturing. Unfortunately, all parents do not give their children the necessary attention. Which could be why some develop slower, but it seems that certain skills might be innate.

I think it’s weird though, if we have this innate sense for language, is it the same for everyone of different cultures? Is it just pulled out of us using our native language. Does a Chinese speaking baby differ from the English speaking baby when they are born, and before being introduced to words? Is there a difference in the two brains or is one just trained to use whatever it is born with in the language of it’s parents? What about the adopted baby, say a Chinese baby, and adopted by an American family, raised to speak English. Does that mess with this innate grammar system at all?

I think the article on learning 2nd languages is very helpful and describes the adult learning process of learning a 2nd language very well. I know that I understand Spanish a lot better than I can put it into words. I find it especially hard forming grammatically correct sentences. But I can usually get my point across.

I like the idea of learning one language, say French, and then learning Dutch through a FrenchßàDutch book. Although, I think it would be way too confusing for me. I think the fact that students are learning languages in the early grades now, is a pretty good idea. I think children have an easier time of picking up new information and learning new things.