LAnguage acquisition
From the study design
This area of study focuses on the developmental stages of child language acquisition. Students understand that in addition to words and their meanings, children learn to use the phonological and grammatical conventions of the language, as well as the appropriate use of these conventions in different social situations. As children acquire language, they can be seen to change their language system gradually in response to the language use of others. Children’s language develops across a range of subsystems at different stages, allowing for increasingly complex communication and a greater range of functions.
Students are introduced to different theories that attempt to explain how children acquire language and to research about the so-called ‘critical period’, the window of opportunity during which language must be acquired. Students are acquainted with case studies that show what can happen when a child is deprived of the opportunity to learn a language. Students also examine the similarities and differences that exist between first and additional language acquisition. They consider differences in the language acquisition process in children who are brought up bilingual, or who acquire two or even three languages as they grow up.
This area of study focuses on the developmental stages of child language acquisition. Students understand that in addition to words and their meanings, children learn to use the phonological and grammatical conventions of the language, as well as the appropriate use of these conventions in different social situations. As children acquire language, they can be seen to change their language system gradually in response to the language use of others. Children’s language develops across a range of subsystems at different stages, allowing for increasingly complex communication and a greater range of functions.
Students are introduced to different theories that attempt to explain how children acquire language and to research about the so-called ‘critical period’, the window of opportunity during which language must be acquired. Students are acquainted with case studies that show what can happen when a child is deprived of the opportunity to learn a language. Students also examine the similarities and differences that exist between first and additional language acquisition. They consider differences in the language acquisition process in children who are brought up bilingual, or who acquire two or even three languages as they grow up.