Factors that Promote Rapid Language Learning in Children

According to Chomsky (1972), language acquisition is one of the exclusive characteristics of human beings and is known as the jewel in the crown of cognition (Pinker, 1994). It is well known that other species on earth have communication system also, but differ substantially in their qualities from human communication. Several attempts have been made to teach apes to speak (Allen Gardner, 1969; Savage-Rumbaugh, Sevcik, Hopkins, 1988), but language acquisition is a mystery of human beings, it starts before a child is born (DeCasper Spence, 1986). Until today, no artificial intelligence has been created which can learn a language. Healthy newborn children acquire seemingly effortlessly and rapidly the language of any part of the world,†¦show more content†¦We can establish the importance of time, childrens language acquisition must develop within their first 5 years, children should not be denied linguistic stimulation and adequate social interaction must surround them. Gol dfield and Reznick (1990) investigated childrens vocabulary development. The growth of vocabulary starts slowly, around the first year children speak barely a couple of words, when children reach 18 months old they possess approximately 10 words in their vocabulary but after they undergo a huge development, they are capable of learning a new word almost every day. These words are mostly nouns, objects which are located in the direct surroundings. It is important from the acquisition process point of view to be surrounded by a nourishing environment, as in a deprived, depressing home the child’s development might be slowed down. Schachner and Hannon (2010) described in their studies the importance of the infant directed talk. Mothers or caregivers speak to a baby in a special way: slowly, with simple grammar, mostly about concrete things which are visible to the child. As the child develops, the infant-directed talk advances also, it becomes more complex so the child can lea rn more. In the experiment 5 month old babies were presented with adults who used infant directed talk and adult directed talk. The babies showed a preference for the person who spoke in the infant directed manner. Cooper and Aslin (1990) also discoveredShow MoreRelatedDeveloping A Successful Classroom Inclusive Environment Is The Quality Of Teaching926 Words   |  4 PagesAnother factor that incorporates in having a successful classroom inclusive environment is the quality of teaching. Alton-Lee (2003) argues that quality teaching has been identified as an important practice of positive outcomes for diverse students. Forlin (2012) discusses, but with more details than in Alton-Lee (2003) saying that quality teaching for students with diverse abilities has got various characteristics. 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