Early Childhood And Second Language Aquisition (Essay Sample)

Early Childhood and second Language Acquisition
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Early Childhood and second Language Acquisition
Second language acquisition is the learning of a second language after the first language is set in place. This happens when a child who speaks another language other than English goes to school for the first time. Children normally have an easier time learning a second language; however, it offers no limitation as one can learn it at any age. It needs thorough practise to learn a second language. Some students have the ability to learn a new language quicker and easier than others do. Language learners are successful in learning a second language by virtue of their hard work, persistence, and self-determination ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"9T0YdbfW","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Saracho & Spodek, 2010)","plainCitation":"(Saracho & Spodek, 2010)"},"citationItems":[{"id":608,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/g4eTFTWn/items/K3P4RDHB"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/g4eTFTWn/items/K3P4RDHB"],"itemData":{"id":608,"type":"book","title":"Contemporary Perspectives on Language and Cultural Diversity in Early Childhood Education","publisher":"IAP","number-of-pages":"284","source":"Google Books","abstract":"A volume in Contemporary Perspectives in Early Childhood EducationSeries Editors Olivia N. Saracho and Bernard SpodekThe purpose of the book series is to present reviews of current research in specific areas of earlychildhood education. Each volume is devoted to a particular area of the field. Within each volumescholars present reviews of research on particular aspects of the field of early childhood education.Each chapter summarizes the current research and provides an extended set of references whichwill facilitate readers in furthering their inquiries into research in that area. All contributions toeach volume are juried, with an Editorial Board and additional scholars reviewing the draftchapters, suggesting ways that the chapters could be improved, and finally recommending themfor publication. This process insures the quality of the contributions to the chapter and avoids the possibility of bias in the work, Recent findings suggest that young children's learning experiences are critical to their learning development, which has attracted theattention of researchers, scholars, and policy makers. Interest has focused on the early childhood policy and practice that can helpimprove the academic paths of children in poverty. Many of these children are from linguistically and culturally diverse families. Thepurpose of this volume is to review and summarize the current state of knowledge related to linguistically and culturally diversechildren. It expanded cultural diversity to include social justice which can contribute knowledge in providing effective teacherpreparation programs and high quality programs for linguistically and culturally diverse children.","ISBN":"9781607524175","language":"en","author":[{"family":"Saracho","given":"Olivia N."},{"family":"Spodek","given":"Bernard"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2010",1]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Saracho & Spodek, 2010).
When to teach a second language
Most of the schools teach second and foreign languages when the students are in high school. This should not be the case. The second language teaching should begin when the child is in preschool. The teachers can be able to maximize on the child’s ability to learn. By the time a child reaches high school, the optimum learning ability of the child is lost i.e. in Sweden children are able to talk in three different languages in the preschool year. This is important to increase the literacy levels in a country ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"TOFwZfah","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Kail & Hickmann, 2010)","plainCitation":"(Kail & Hickmann, 2010)"},"citationItems":[{"id":614,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/g4eTFTWn/items/NC5NTNEW"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/g4eTFTWn/items/NC5NTNEW"],"itemData":{"id":614,"type":"book","title":"Language Acquisition Across Linguistic and Cognitive Systems","publisher":"John Benjamins Publishing","number-of-pages":"341","source":"Google Books","abstract":"How and why do all children learn language? Why do some have difficulties while others are early language learners? What are the consequences of early bilingualism? Is it possible to reach native-like competence in a foreign language? Although we still cannot fully answer these questions, research during the last two decades has begun to solve some pieces of the puzzle. This book proposes an interdisciplinary collection of writings from some of the best specialists across several fields in cognitive science, offering a wide sample of recent advances in the study of first language acquisition, bilingualism, second language acquisition, and disorders of oral language. It is addressed to all researchers and students interested in language acquisition, as well as to teachers, clinicians and parents, who will find therein many new findings and varied methodological approaches, as well as challenging questions that are still debated and in need of further research.","ISBN":"9027253145","language":"en","author":[{"family":"Kail","given":"Michèle"},{"family":"Hickmann","given":"Maya"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2010"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Kail & Hickmann, 2010).
Language acquisition is a natural process
People assume that teaching a second language to a preschool child would be futile. However, studies indicate that the best time for the child to learn the second language is in the first three to four years of the child’s life. Language learning is a natural process when the child is young. Adults often try to learn language in difficult ways i.e. an adult can learn French and recite the verbs in French yet they find it much more difficult to speak in French when they visit France. Children learn language quickly and easily through play and exploration ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"LdLtWu85","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Blake, Winsor, & Allen, 2011)","plainCitation":"(Blake, Winsor, & Allen, 2011)"},"citationItems":[{"id":600,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/g4eTFTWn/items/SMEMSWNR"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/g4eTFTWn/items/SMEMSWNR"],"itemData":{"id":600,"type":"book","title":"Technology and Young Children: Bridging the Communication-Generation Gap","publisher":"IGI Global","source":"CrossRef","URL":"/1002054/Technology_and_second_language_learning_Developmental_recommendations_for_early-childhood_education","ISBN":"9781613500590, 9781613500606","shortTitle":"Technology and Young Children","editor":[{"family":"Blake","given":"Sally"},{"family":"Winsor","given":"Denise L."},{"family":"Allen","given":"Lee"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2011",8,31]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2013",11,5]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Blake, Winsor, & Allen, 2011).
A child who grows up in a well-rounded environment learns to speak at least 2000 basic words at the age of four years. By observation of how a baby learns to speak proves that they are natural learners. During the first six months of a child’slife, a child babbles 70 sounds that make up the languages in the world. They are able to learn to speak using the sounds and words they pick from their environment. It is important for the parents and caregiver to use or speak in more than one language ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"E3bHd3DK","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Marisol Smith, 2009)","plainCitation":"(Marisol Smith, 2009)"},"citationItems":[{"id":595,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/g4eTFTWn/items/WQTDU8JG"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/g4eTFTWn/items/WQTDU8JG"],"itemData":{"id":595,"type":"speech","title":"Ppt Second Language Acquisition","genre":"Technology","abstract":"Second language acquisition in early childhood","URL":"/vacoka/ppt-second-language-acquisition-presentation","author":[{"family":"Marisol Smith","given":""}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2009",1,3]],"season":"Sat"},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2013",11,5]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Marisol Smith, 2009). The brain of a child discards the ability to speak in other languages he or she does not hear when young.
Second language learning in preschool years
This is the optimal period of laying the foundations for thinking, attitude, vision, and aptitudes. This happens during the child’s first years of life. Use of the natural ability of the child to learn a second language during this time is important. Learning of the second language is easy as learning the first language. Fifty percent, of a child’s ability developing in language is during the first five years of life and another 30 percent by the age of eight years ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"EPoqWMpu","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Mayberry, 1993)","plainCitation":"(Mayberry, 1993)"},"citationItems":[{"id":596,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/g4eTFTWn/items/D8CHTVKQ"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/g4eTFTWn/items/D8CHTVKQ"],"itemData":{"id":596,"type":"article-journal","title":"First-language acquisition after childhood differs from second-language acquisition: the case of American Sign Language","container-title":"Journal of speech and hearing research","page":"1258-1270","volume":"36","issue":"6","source":"NCBI PubMed","abstract":"This study determined whether the long-range outcome of first-language acquisition, when the learning begins after early childhood, is similar to that of second-language acquisition. Subjects...