Aspects of Language Acquisition
With a view to examining the research questions pertinent to this paper
, the following aspects of language will be examined: features and characteristics of language, cross-linguistic influence and metalinguistic awareness, as they relate to the issues of LI, L2 and L3 acquisition.
Prior to embarking on this examination, a brief discussion of the term 'balanced bilingual' will follow. The term usually describes a person who has age-appropriate competence in two (or more) languages, and furthermore that the person would be as competent as a native speaker of the same age in both languages. It does take into consideration the fact that one language may be dominant over the other, and that the languages are often used in different domains.
The term should not be interpreted as a rigid classification for the purposes of this paper as the measurement of a 'balanced bilingual' was not an objective of the study.
For that reason, children attending Gaelscoileanna, where all subjects are taught through the medium of Irish, are assumed to be more balanced bilinguals than those children attending English-medium schools as they are required to follow the same curricular guidelines as those attending Scoileanna sa Ghaeltacht, and therefore must develop age-appropriate abilities to function at a similar competence level to native speakers of the Irish language.
Lado (1961, pp. 2-3) identifies some of the most distinctive features of language. The following list outlines these features:
Language is primarily an instrument of communication among human beings in a community.
A community that speaks the same language is known as a speech community. Language in its most common manifestation consists of oral-aural symbols of communication. Both cultural meanings and individual (or literal) meanings may be expressed through language. Language is a fact in its own right.
Finally, he indicates that we can speak of language as a conventionalised, highly complex system of habits which functions as a human instrument of communication' (Lado, 1961, p. 4).
Bloom (1978, p. 1) has pointed out that languages exist because of the functions they serve. A major aspect of development, according to the same author, is how individuals learn to use language for different purposes, such as to get and give information, or to initiate and monitor interactions with others.
Learning a language, according to Driscoll and Frost (1999, p. 2), is a valuable and worthwhile enterprise at any age for a variety of reasons. The following is a summary of their findings: It provides the possibility of practical communication. It is a source of intellectual stimulation and enjoyment.
It cultivates broader perspectives into other cultures. It enables people to gain insights into their own culture and language.Harris and Conway (2002, p. 2) refer to the belief held that learning a modern language at primary level would promote international communication and harmony as another reason for learning a language.
Lado (1961, p. 1) informs us that all of the advances in transportation and communication made by man have brought home to us the value of world languages for international communication. The Scottish Executive Education Department states that language is at the heart of pupils' learning.
It is identified in that report that it is through language that children acquire much of their knowledge, build an understanding of themselves and their world and develop many of their skills. In short, 'Learning to use language effectively enables pupils to order, explore and refine their thoughts'.
Aspects of Language Acquisition
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