The Critical Period of Language Acquisition Theory Language acquisition is critical in the early stages of childhood. It plays a key role in developing communication skills within an individual. In extreme cases, like Genie, the detrimental effects of missing first language can be seen easily with her lack of communication skills and ‘animal’-like behaviour. Feral children such as Genie have been researched in order to understand the detrimental effects of complete social isolation during this critical period. Animals are also great example of how exposure is extremely important in this development. Brain development and stimulation are key elements in gaining language skills; the critical period for language acquisition relies on this stimulation and exposure in order to develop properly. Being deprived of this critical period can result in little to no development in the language region of the left hemisphere of the brain. Without this development a person cannot gain adequate communication skills; they will not be able to form sentences, learn a vast amount of words, or gain understanding of grammar rules. Language acquisition is the period in time in which a person develops their communication skills. They begin the process of learning how to understand and use language, string together sentences, learn grammar rules and begin their knowledge of their first language by learning words in it (Suanda; pg. 2). First language is the development of these skills in infants all the way until puberty. It is also known as the Critical Age Hypothesis, which states that biologically, the basis of language and the ability to learn your first language is all within a fixed... ... middle of paper ... ...is a legend that Psamtik I, the Saitic king of Egypt in the 7th century BCE “assumed that the first word uttered by a child, if they never heard anyone speak, would be in the original language” and in this case, he thought that would be Ancient Eygpytian (Saxton; pg. 57). He isolated a child in the hopes to discover if his hypothesis was correct. Unfortunately, history does seem to repeat itself when cases such as Genie’s are discovered. These horrific cases however, have helped researchers establish the understanding that the critical period for language acquisition is vital, and without adequately going through this stage and stimulating the left hemisphere of your brain, a person can grow up with little to no language capabilities. They will resemble a person who has suffered a brain injury, like Sarah Scott, and will not be able to function socially in society.
The “deaf and dumb” stigma as well as the delayed language and cognitive development of some Deaf children concerns this topic. “Ninety percent of deaf children have hearing parents, and usually there’s a significant communication gap” (Drolsbaugh 48). Therefore, it is not that being born deaf or hard of hearing that makes children unintelligent. It is the lack of access to language in the critical early years, as hearing parents often do not know sign language, that causes later issues in education. This can be seen from the fact that the brain’s plasticity, or its ability to acquire new information and establish neural pathways, is the greatest at birth and wanes throughout development. Therefore, if a child does not have sufficient access to language before five, significant language, and thus cognitive impairment, can result (100). Additionally, children learn about the world around them and develop critical thinking skills through asking questions. However, hearing parents often “wave off” such questions as unimportant due to difficulty explaining them (48). Therefore, early exposure to an accessible language such as ASL is crucial in developing language and cognitive abilities. When hearing families are fully aware and understanding of this, it can greatly facilitate improvements in education for Deaf
When most people think of the process of language development in “normal” children, the concepts that come to mind are of babies imitating, picking up sounds and words from the speakers around them. Trying to imagine that a child who cannot hear one single sound a person makes can learn to speak a language is absolutely fascinating. These children range from amazin...
Language is integral to learning as it is linked to our thoughts. It helps us to organise our thoughts in an organised way. If a child has difficulties in communicating with others due to a speech and language delay or disorder, they will not be working to their full potential, as they will be less able to organise their thought processes and express themselves. This becomes even more of a problem as children become older and the curriculum becomes more demanding, the use of rational and abstract thinking will become more important, hence the importance of early detection and intervention. The early years are a time of rapid learning and development, therefore the earlier the diagnosis of delayed language acquisition, the easier it will be for professionals and others to target the childâ€TMs needs so that they are able to give appropriate support, thus benefiting the
Genie’s case demonstrates that although it is possible with extensive training to acquire some language after the critical period, a mastery of language after this period is not possible. Aspects such as vocabulary and certain conversational skills (textbook) are possible but the underlying grammar Genie’s lack of lateralization highlights the relationship between language and lateralization although it is unclear language input is a prerequisite for language acquisition.
The tragic case of feral child Genie provides a unique perspective on the roles of socialization and linguistic exposure as they relate to post-puberty language acquisition. After eleven years of isolation and abuse, Genie was discovered possessing no known language, having already passed what has theorized to be the critical period. Utilizing a variety of methods and testing, professionals attempted to aid Genie in first language acquisition over the next five years with little success. Using examples of stalled grammatical development, language acquisition compared to both normal children and late learners of American Sign Language (ASL); and the roles of linguistic exposure, socialization and brain lateralization, this paper will demonstrate support of the theory of critical period for first language acquisition as it relates to Genie’s case.
The article “Nature and Nurture in Language Acquisition: Anatomical and Functional Brain-Imaging Studies in Infants” by Ghislaine Dehaene-Lambertz, Lucie Hertz-Pannier, and Jessica Dubois focuses on the study of the left hemisphere of the brain, which is where language is processed. Neuroimaging of infants’ brains show how words that are heard are sorted through in certain regions and how infants uncover characteristics of their native language. Dehaene-Lambertz also points out that it is advantageous for fetus to be exposed to speech while still in the womb. An important point is made when Dehaene-Lambertz and her colleagues establish that “human brains before intense exposure to speech have things in common with the brains of mature and linguistically competent human adults” (367). It is noted that certain parts in the cranial cavity of the brain, such as the auditory cortex, are bigger on the left side than on the right side, giving the cerebrum a slightly asymmetric structure in both the children and adults. Also, this finding is confirmed by Chomsky when he states that “such an organical structure as of the brain” (176) is capable of processing and generating human language. Since an infant’s brain is extremely similar to the adults’ cerebrum that have already mastered language communication, this proves that the infant’s brain is capable of the
Children acquire their native language, which fall within a wide range of languages, at a very early stage of development. During development, a child begins to show signs of verbal communication, usually starting out as cooing, babbling, recognizable words, and later two or more word sentences. This occurrence is also seen in the development of second languages. Second language acquisition is the study of how second languages are typically developed. The process of acquiring our native language is very similar and influential to the development of a second language. The development of a second language has become increasingly popular throughout the world. Today more people are growing up with appropriate resources to acquire a second language, which can be seen from the vast numbers of bilingual individuals.
This essay is going to illustrate the different stages in language acquisition that children pass through and elicit the theories in accordance.
... (p. 116). In her article, “Babies Prove Sound Learners,” Sohn (2008), states, “Such studies show that, up to about 6 months of age, babies can recognize all the sounds that make up all the languages in the world” (para.24). B.K. Skinner suggest that the materialization of language is the result of imitation and reinforcement. According to Craig and Dunn (2010), “Language development is linked to cognitive development that, in turn, depends on the development of the brain, on physical and perceptual abilities, and on experiences. Biological and social factors also jointly influence the early development of emotion and personality” (p. 117). In her article, A natural history of early language experience. Hart (2000), states, “Talking is important for children, because complexity of what children say influences the complexity of other people’s response” (para. 1).
When children are born they have no concept of what a mother and father are, but they understand who they are and as the grow older they are able to connect those words mother and father to a person. Many behaviors and characteristics are resulted from learning. Albert Bandura tested a social experiment where a child watched another person act aggressively, they child then mimicked this aggressive behavior. This conditioning all leads to nurturing. Nurturing a person and conditioning them through actions and language can lead them to be anything, even if they have a genetic nature. Genie, through careful study and teaching was able to learn certain words and know the difference between the color black and white. She could use simple signs to get people to understand what she wanted. Prior to her teaching, she knew nothing of how to communicate, but due to a nurturing environment she was able to connect to the people around her. The critical period of a person's life comes when they are at infancy. This is the time when children learn the simple words of whatever language they are being taught. Studies have shown that if you want your child to be bilingual, the best way to teach them is when they are young, because at this point they are in the early stages of learning a language, and they are able to adapt much more quickly to this language then when they get older. The critical period of a child again falls under nurture, as it is up to the parents to nurture their child by teaching them the language they need to know to be successful. Language doesn't come in a your genetic nature, it comes from your parents teaching. While many believe that one can only learn a language in the critical period, it is disproven in A Genie and millions of other. Genie was able to form words and half decent
Wilder Penfield and Lamar Roberts first introduced the idea that there is a “critical period” for learning language in 1959. This critical period is a biologically determined period referring to a period of time when learning/acquiring a language is relatively easy and typically meets with a high degree of success. German linguist Eric Lenneberg further highlights Roberts and Penfield’s findings and postulated the Critical Period Hypothesis in 1967. According to the Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH), certain biological events related to language development can only happen in the critical period. During this time, the brain possesses a degree of flexibility (ability and ease of learning a language) and becomes lateralized (assignment of language functions becomes concrete – either in the left or right hemisphere) (Marinova-Todd, S; Marshall, D & Snow, C. 2000 9-10). This critical period lasts from childhood through the onset of puberty (usually at around 12 years of age). Once this period is over, it is more difficult to learn a language because language functions in the brain have become concrete. This hypothesis can be seen with the case of Genie, a woman who was isolated from human interaction and language up to the age of 13. By the time she was rescued, she was well after the critical period for language acquisition, and as such, she did not have a full command of the English language. Had she been rescued before the age of 13, she may have had more linguistic capability. However, this accounts for firs...
In the discussion of nature verse nurture, one controversial issue is language. Arguing on the side of nature, children across the world seem to exhibit universal stages of linguistic development. Infants as young as seven months old are able to recognize simple linguistic rules from a string of sounds. When a child is first learning to speak, they typically combine words in ways that an adult would not. They can also speak and communicate clearly without adult correction. These observations suggest that we are born with the capacity to communicate verbally and through the use of kinesics, or gestures. However, nurture also plays a large role in the use of language. Linguistics differ amongst children from region to region based on the way the people around them speak. Thousands of languages such as: Spanish, English, Italian, and Creole are spoken around the world. Vernacular and accents also vary within each language and is acquired through a learning process, not genetics(Brown, 10/1/13). Another major environmental factor is correction from parents and adults. A child may be born with the ability to speak, but grammatical correctness and annunciation requi...
The critical period hypothesis for language acquisition was popularized by neurologist Eric Lenneberg. The hypothesis suggests that if an individual is not exposed to language during a specific period in their childhood then they will have great difficulties acquiring language later in life (Redmond, 1993). I believe the two “wild children” cases of Genie and Victor provides evidence to support the critical period hypothesis. Genie’s case supports the hypothesis because although she developed a vocabulary and despite all of her intense therapy sessions, she still was not able to create meaningful and grammatically correct sentences (Garmon, 1994). Genie’s inability to create real sentences may indicate that she endured the extreme deprivation during her critical period and it prevented her from acquiring language. Victor’s case also supports the critical period hypothesis. The professionals in the documentary The Secret of The Wild Child stated: “While Victor knew how to read simple words, he never learned how to talk” (Garmon, 1994). This quote implicates that similar to Genie, Victor developed a vocabulary,
There are three main theories of child language acquisition; Cognitive Theory, Imitation and Positive Reinforcement, and Innateness of Certain Linguistic Features (Linguistics 201). All three theories offer a substantial amount of proof and experiments, but none of them have been proven entirely correct. The search for how children acquire their native language in such a short period of time has been studied for many centuries. In a changing world, it is difficult to pinpoint any definite specifics of language because of the diversity and modification throughout thousands of millions of years.
Children’s acquisition of language has long been considered one of the uniquely defining characteristics of human behaviour.