In this article, we will read about Language Learning and Acquisition one of the most important topics in English Pedagogy for CTET Paper 1 & 2.
CHAPTER 01 – Language Learning and Acquisition
Language:
- It is the expression of meaningful words. We use language to express our thought and it is a systematic arrangement.
- According to ALLEN,” language is a means of communicating thoughts.”
- English has 5 vowels on the basis of writing.
- Based on sound:-
Language vowels consonant total
English 20 24 44
Hindi 10 33 43
Language families:
- About 1600 languages are spoken in India. There are 22 major languages in India, written in 13 different scripts, with over 720 dialects.
- English comes in INDO –EUROPEAN family.
FAMILY – LANGUAGE
INDO –EUROPEAN – (Hindi, English, Gujarati, etc.)
DRAVIDIAN – (Tamil, Telugu, Kannada)
Bilingualism and polyglots:
- A person who can speak two languages is called bilingual.
- A person who can speak five to ten languages is called a polyglot.
- The use of more than one or two languages increases cognitive and pedagogical efficiency.
Multilingualism:
- A person who uses many languages.
- The difference between polyglot and multilingualism is that a polyglot loves languages for their own sake and learns them for fun but a multilingual person speaks several languages due to external factors.
- For example, a Tamil student speaks a different language at his home but the school language is different from the home language, or because there are many different language communities in close proximity and it is useful to be able to speak all of them.
- Multilingualism is a resource, not a limitation.
- It helps in the cognitive development of a child.
Language Acquisition:
- When children acquire language through a subconscious process during which they are unaware of grammatical rules, this process is called Language Acquisition.
- For example when a child learns their first language in their home by mother, father, environment etc.
- This language is called first language, mother tongue, native language, and natural language.
- It is a natural process.
- It comes under an informal situation.(which means not planned )
Language Learning:
- Language learning is the process by which we learn a new language with the help of grammar rules and vocabulary.
- It is also called a second language, foreign language, or target language.
- It is a conscious effort in informal situations.
Stages Of Language Acquisition:
1. Cooing (6 weeks)
2. Babbling(About 6 months)
3. One-word stage (Around 1 year)
4. Two-word stage (Around 18 months)
5. Longer utterances(2-4 years)
Parts of languages:
Phoneme:
It is the smallest unit of language. It is a unit of sound in speech.it does not have any meaning itself, but when you put phonemes together, they make words. Example: a, b, c, etc.
Phonology:
It is the study of sound patterns and their meanings.
Morpheme:
It is the smallest unit of a word that provides a specific meaning to a string of letters. Example: Cat, Bat, etc.
Semantic:
When all the words in a sentence have a meaning, then it is known as a semantic sentence. Example: Ram goes to school.
Syntax:
In this structure of a sentence is important. This Means the sentence should follow the grammar rules and the subject, object, and verb should be at the correct place.
NOTE- Semantic and Syntax both refer to sentences. Semantic refers to the only meaning of a sentence but Syntax refers to the structure or rules of a sentence.
Ellipsis:
It is a punctuation mark consisting of three dots (…).ellipses are used when we want to neglect a word, phrase, line, paragraph, etc.
Example: “After school, I went to her house, which was a few blocks away, and then came home.”
“After school, I went to her house … and then came home.”
We removed the words “which was a few blocks away” and replaced them with an ellipsis without changing the meaning of the original quote.