The burst of interest recently in this area could be due to the recognition that being monolingual is not the common state. Romaine (1989) explains this saying that there are “thirty times as many languages as there are countries ... This entails the presence of bilingualism in practically every country of the world” (p.8). Bilinguals could be elites, who chose to be bilinguals, or folk bilinguals, who were forced in a situation, where acquiring another language became a necessity. Genesee defines bilingual acquisition as, “the acquisition of two languages during the period of primary language development, extending from birth onward” (2000, p.167). Acquiring two languages can be one language at a time (sequential) or at the same time, (Simultaneous). This paper will focus on the simultaneous bilingualism, otherwise known as bilingual first language acquisition: the three-stage model valid or. Bilingual First Language Acquisition Ng and Wigglesworth (2007) give a broad definition of bilingual first language acquisition (BFLA) stating that it is “is the learning of both languages in a naturalistic setting, in which both the formal aspects and the social conventions of the languages must be acquired. Thus, the child must learn about the phonological properties of both languages” (p.40). Most researches agree that it is from birth until the age of three. However, it can be argued that by three, the child has already begun speaking fluently. The first spoken word ranges from the ages of ten months to fourteen. Keeping in mind that a child accumulates language even before speaking, it is possible to narrow down the age limit; Critical Period Hypothesis gives an estimate that is parallel. “Scholars have made a distinction between two c... ... middle of paper ... ...th German-English Bilinguals. GRIN Verlag. Leopold, W. F. (1947). Speech Development of a Bilingual Child, a Linguist's Record....: Grammar and General Problems in the First Two Years. III. Northwestern University Press. Meisel, J. M. (2011). First and second language acquisition: Parallels and differences. Cambridge University Press. Mey, J. L. (2009). Consise Encyclopedia of pragmatics. Ng, B. C., & Wigglesworth, G. (2007). Bilingualism: An advanced resource book. Taylor & Francis. Romaine, S. (1989). Bilingualism. B. Blackwell. VanPatten, B., & Benati, A. G. (2010). Key terms in second language acquisition. Continuum. Volterra, V., & Taeschner, T. (1978). The acquisition and development of language by bilingual children. Journal of child language, 5(2), 311-326. Yule, W., & Rutter, M. (Eds.). (1987). Language development and disorders. Cambridge University Press.
It is important to maintain children’s home language as it may help them learn and understand a second language. Barratt-Pugh (2000) discusses the benefits of bilingualism and maintaining it through early childhood settings, also mentions the concerns families have for their children maintaining two languages through schooling. Research within the article states that children who speak more than one language will have a higher level of understanding literacy content, form, genre, as well as understand the differences and translating within both languages. This demonstrates a contrast of strengths and experiences with literacy (linguist...
In Suzette Haden Elgin’s Native Tongue, infants of linguistic households are required to acquire various alien languages to become native speakers of Earth for the new languages studied. Our society, for the most part, understands that adults acquire foreign languages differently from the acquisition of a second language by a child. Furthermore, most people generally have the understanding that children learn languages quickly and easily compared to adults. Adults, however, are able to acquire foreign languages in fair or controlled conditions. There may be resulting differences between language acquisitions of new languages, but the rate at which adults acquire second languages should not be a factor.
Donegan, Craig. “Debate over bilingualism.” CQ Researcher. 19 January 1996. 6, 49-72. Web. 17 Feb. 2011.
Padilla, Amado. "Bilingual Education: Issues and Perspectives." From Community to College, New York, St. Martin's Press 1992
Hammers, J.F., & Blanc, M.A. (1989). Social and psychological foundations of bilinguality. In P. Mardaga (Ed.), Bilinguality and Bilingualism (pp. 110-133). Cambridge, NY: Cambridge University Press.
De Houwer, A. Two or more languages in early childhood: Some general points and practical recommendations (ERIC Digest). Washington, DC: ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics. (1999)
After Lenneberg's (1967) advanced analyses and interpretation of critical period in regards to first language acquisition, many researchers began to relate and study age issue in second language acquisition. In this area of study, Johnson and Newport (1989) is among the most prominent and leading studies which tries to seek evidence to test the Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH) in second language (L2) acquisition. This study aims to find identifying answers to the question of age-related effects on the proficiency for languages learned prior the puberty.
...n language and the development of literacy. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 13(2), 175-186. doi: 10.1080/13670050903474085
...thousands of years. Generally, bilingual education can mean any use of two languages in school, by teachers, students, or both – for a variety of social and pedagogical purposes. It also refers to the different approaches in the classroom that use the native languages of English language learners (ELLs) for instruction. These approaches include teaching English, fostering academic achievement, acculturating immigrants to a new society, and preserving a minority group’s linguistic and cultural heritage. Building on, rather than just discarding the students’ native-language skills, create a stronger foundation for success in English and academics. Also, if students learn languages at a younger age, it will be easier to remember and learn them, rather than if they were older. It helps to learn another language for students, and can later be useful in the future.
There is a “CORELATION” between the effects of “BILINGUALISM AND THE COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN”.
Rosenberg, M. (1996). Raising bilingual children. The Ambassador, The American School in Japan Alumni & Community Magazine, II(6), Retrieved August 14, 2010 from http://iteslj.org/Articles/Rosenberg-Bilingual.html
The development of the brain of a bilingual individual is better than a monolingual individual. Few years ago, researchers from the University of Washington (as cited in Klass, 2011, para 4.) found that the brains of bilingual infants (from families where two languages were spoken) are able to discriminate the different of the phonetic sound of the languages they usually heard when they grew up than monolingual infants in where their brains were adapted to only identify their mother tongue only. Dr. Patricia Kuhl, one of the members of this research team thus believe that bilingual education can shape infants’ brains and keep them ready for future challenges. Concurrently, a renowned psychologist, Dr. Ellen...
Child development language is a process by which children come to communicate and understand language during early childhood. This usually occurs from birth up to the age of five. The rate of development is usually fast during this period. However, the pace and age of language development vary greatly among children. Thus, the language development of a child is usually compared with norms rather than with other individual children. It is scientifically proven that development of girls language is usually at a faster rate than that of boys. (Berk, 2010) In other terms language development is also a crucial factor that reflects the growth and maturation of the brain. However, this development usually retards after the age of five making it very difficult for most children to continue learning language. There are two major types of language development in children. These include referential and expressive language development styles. In referential language development, children often first speak single words and then join the words together, first into –word sentences and then into th...
... middle of paper ... ... Language development also is influenced by environmental experiences, including culture” (p. 116).
Strozer, J.R. (1994). Language acquisition after puberty.Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.