The questionable and ambiguous nature surrounding the notion that children play an active role in acquiring language has been debated by many theorists of different perspectives. These three perspectives include the learning view, the nativist view and the interactionist view. In this essay I will discuss each perspective with reference to psychological theories and research that relates to each view. The learning perspective of language acquisition suggests that children acquire language through imitation and reinforcement (Skinner, 1957). The ideology behind this view claims that children develop language by repeating utterances that have been praised by their parent, therefore gaining a larger vocabulary and understanding of phrases over
An individual always requires the use of their first language to make a connection and then to process the second language. There are many schools that pretend to have perfect bilingual kids, but they have to pay attention to the bilingual teacher preparation. Schools must use caution when selecting personel. They must ensure the preparation of their bilingual educators will adequately prepare teachers to meet the needs of their students in an effort to help them to
Cummins (2005) states that instruction should be done only using target language, and translation between the two languages should not be allowed. On the one hand, many researchers like Zentella (1981), Shin (2005), Setati, Adler, Reed and Bapoo (2002) state the negative effects of the usage of two languages in the classroom. While on the other hand, researchers like Lin (2005), Martin (2005) and Arthur & Martin (2006) bring different arguments to state the useful character of bilingual classrooms such as better learning process, safe practice for the students, participation, etc. Different researchers give different explanations to the term “bilingualism”. Baker (2003), for instance, describes it with diglossia stating that each language has different social functions.
INTRODUCTION The general concept of learning through experience was discovered in around 320 B.C. Aristotle wrote in NICHOMACHAEN ETHICS “for the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them. But as an articulated approach experiential learning is of much more recent period. David A. Kolb helped to develop the modern theory of experiential learning, drawing heavily on the work of John Dewey, Kurt Lewin and Jean Piaget. In 1987 Kolb published a book entitled Experiential Learning.
Since they must subconsciously choose words from a certain language, they gain more practice at selecting vital information over trivial details. As a result, bilinguals have the upper hand when it comes to dismissing distractions and multitasking. Almost unbelievably, there is evidence that suggests bilinguals make more rational decisions. The fact of the matter is, our natural human emotional bias is greatly diminished when using a second language. As we gain emotional distance and shift our focus on to information, we find ourselves performing more rational responses.
Methods There are numerous approaches in bilingual education, although all English as a second language (ESL). In ESL; there is little or no use of a child 's native language. However it includes many similar approaches inspired from bilingual education because of multinational classes. “ESL classes often has students with many different primary languages. In some schools; variety of approaches are used to bilingual education, designing individual programs based on the needs of each child (Santa, 2004).” In the bilingual education, one of the most common approaches is transitional bilingual education (TBE).
In this point, the author defends that the charge that bilingual programs make exclusive use of the primary languages of the LEP students is absurd. LEP students learn all school disciplines as native students must. Besides, it takes more time and energies to know the content in English well enough to handle higher academic English. Likewise, I agree with the author that students’ not being given access to the curriculum in a language they understand will prevent them from participating in school
The third myth explores the relation between home language and second language, contending that children from non-English-speaking backgrounds learn English best when putting in an all-English environment. Nonetheless, studies indicate that an increase exposure to English does not speed up the acquisition, and the support of home language is beneficial to other academic performances. Teachers have false belief that oral proficiency implies proficiency in the more complex academic language. Overly underestimating the complexities of
In 1970, another study found out that bilinguals are more intelligent than monolinguals. Both of these studies have been found to be marred by failing to take social and cultural issues and effects into account (Grosjean, 1982). The fact appears that bilinguals are neither more nor less intelligent than their monolinguals. Nevertheless, having two languages give bilingual children some advantages in several domains particularly in the tasks that involve cognitive flexibility and the control of attention. For example, bilinguals are excellent at paying attention, taking off irrelevant information and selecting between several solutions to a problem.
In the 1960s Noam Chomsky entered the scene with a new view of first-language acquisition that language learning is not a matter of developing good habits by mimicry, repetition, and over-learning. This view had an important effect on theories and methods of second-language acquisition. According to Chomsky, the ability to acquire such a complex skill as first language can only be explained by a unique human ability to acquire languages, i.e., the language acquisition device (A. Brown, 2006). In the early 1970s, there was a considerable interest in cognitive-code theory for language teaching, but no clear-cut methodology emerged.