language acquisition process

 language acquisition process

My annotated bibliography will be focused around the language acquisition process. Since I was a young child, I have been able to speak two languages, English and Gujarati, without any problems or effort. However, when I attempted to learn a third language, Spanish, as a teenager, I struggled in every step. This made me question the acquisition abilities of children versus adults as to who is better suited to learn a new language. From my personal experiences, I have come to the conclusion that kids are superior to adults when it comes to learning a new language and expressing it exceptionally, even though they have not gained the level of knowledge that of adults. The significance of the topic I have chosen to focus on is to gain an understanding of why children are well equipped to learning new languages and when you should be teaching your kids to speak, along with which languages to speak because multilingual’s have an increased level of creativity and enhanced learning ability. So, my question(s) are as follow: Why is learning to speak a language(s) at a native fluency while still at a young age so much easier than after adolescence? Now, why should you focus on teaching your kids a second language at a young age?

 

Breon, Tiffany. “SiOWfa14 Science in Our World: Certainty and Cont.” SiOWfa15 Science in Our World Certainty and Controversy, 7 Sept. 2014,

Learning a Second Language Is Easier for Children, But Why?

In this blog post for the Science: Continuity and Certainty class at Penn State University, student Tiffany Breon brings attention to the idea that children are better equipped to learning a second language. She is stating a question for a side that she has already chosen which is essentially what I am doing for this paper. Breon concludes that children can learn subconsciously while adults have to put in effort because they are expected to have a higher vocabulary and understanding of language while kids are still the developmental phase. She even uses her own experiences of learning a second language to bring personal reason into the claim.

However, scientific data is missing in her post which would give it a reasonable boost. Even so, this source is relevant to my research question because it covers the base of my argument that children are in fact the leaders when it comes to language acquisition.

Clark, Laura. “The Best Age for Kids to Learn a Second Language.” Motherly, Motherly, 12 June 2018, www.mother.ly/parenting/the-best-age-for-kids-to-learn-a-second-language

In the article, The Best Age for Kids to Learn a Second Language, Laura Clark, a well-established author, uses scientific data and experience to convey her knowledge on the matter. I find Clark’s use of details in her article to be quite appealing as she draws from multiple scientific studies from the likes of Harvard. Her main claim that children who learn a second language enhance creativity and critical learning skills will benefit my paper in more than one way. I strongly believe that this author is good back bone for my paper as she is acclaimed on site that parents go to for advice on raising their children, and realistically the most likely to read my paper.

Cruz-Ferreira, Madalena. “Ask A Linguist FAQ.” LINGUIST List Home Page, https://linguistlist.org/ask-ling/lang-acq.cfm

This forum, Ask A Linguist, is carefully dissecting the root questions of my research question by independent scholar Madalena Cruz-Ferreira. A series of questions being answered about the various areas of language acquisition by children by Ferreira and her panelists is what makes up this source. The main idea for this forum is what children are capable of and why parents shouldn’t be as concerned as they might find themselves while their children are going through the developmental phase. The claims are thoughtfully conceived to answer all questions the reader could have if they are struggling to grasp the concept so there is little to no room for doubt. This will help my paper greatly because it will allow me to process the counter arguments in a fashionable manner as they are already being dissected in this source.

Galatro, Tori. “Why Do Children Learn Languages Faster than Adults?” Tessa International School, Ruben Http://Tessais.wpengine.com/Wp-Content/Uploads/2017/12/Logo.png, 24 Feb. 2018, https://tessais.org/children-learn-languages-faster-adults/

In this scholarly article, Why Do Children Learn Languages Faster than Adult,  author Tori Galatro takes environmental factors into consideration while explaining the language learning process of children. I appreciate that Galatro is thinking about the whole picture of the subject but the lack of concrete evidence through studies deters how I could implement this style in my own paper. However, her claims are nothing short of admirable as she points out the increasingly multicultural world and how it has effects on the children being raised today. I certainly think this will strengthen my argument as it will give me an emotional appeal through pathos.

“Language Acquisition.” Linguistic Society of America, www.linguisticsociety.org/resource/faq-how-do-we-learn-language

In this guideline for language acquisition, the Linguistic Society of America goes over the basic principles of the topic. The highly knowledgeable group studies the developmental stages of children learning language and has used this article to answer any simple or broad questions people might have regarding it. They state that children do not necessarily learn how to speak from their parents but call upon the natural instinct to connect or speak with others around them. The conclusion is made that children acquire language quickly, easily, and without any formal teaching. This thought process plays into my favor for the direction I am taking with my research paper and will only aid me in conveying my message.

Lemetyinen, Henna. “Language Acquisition.” Simply Psychology, Simply Psychology, 1 Jan. 2012, www.simplypsychology.org/language.html

In this article, well-acclaimed phycologist Henna Lemetyinen compares the human mind with lesser species. She focuses on the differences of the brain chemistry of humans and other animals to distinguish the concept of language which is very intriguing to me and a tactic for my paper. This article shows that we may not have all of the answers as it compares the thought process of Skinner being later rejected by Chomsky, a phenomenon that could happen again. It brings me to the conclusion that we may not have all the answers just yet as we learn something new every day, but so far, my approach has been unhindered for many decades. Undoubtedly, Lametyinen will prove as service to my paper because she focuses specifically on the human mind.

Saffran, Jenny R., et al. “The Acquisition of Language by Children.” PNAS, National Academy of Sciences, 6 Nov. 2001, www.pnas.org/content/98/23/12874