Psycholinguistics Children Language Acquisition

Psycholinguistics

Children Language Acquisition

By:

Nurul Ashifa                           F1F011002

Retno Ari Listiana                              F1F011004

Kurniati                                   F1F011006

Rica Wahyuni                          F1F011024

Wibowo Widyatmoko. A                  F1F011078

Jenderal Soedirman University

Faculty of Social and Political Science

Humanities Department

English Language and Literature

Purwokerto

2014

          This paper will discuss about the children development since the birth until time before schooling.

1.      Theories of Children Language Development

Historically, there are three theories in children language development. The first is Nativism theory, children get their language naturally. Noam Chomsky is included in this ideology. The second is children get their language by nurture. B.F Skinner is included in this ideology. The last is cognitivism, children language acquisition is an ability coming from cognitive aspects. Jean Piaget is included in this ideology. Below is the brief explanation about those theories.

a.      Nativism Theory

In this theory, environment does not have any influences in language acquisition, even considering that the language is the biological giving since the children is born. Nativism people consider that the language is very complicated and crucial, so it is impossible if the language is learnt by using imitation in the short time. They believe that there are some important aspects in language system of children.

According to Chomsky, only human can get the language, other creatures can’t get it. Language behavior is genetic, it means the children will have same language behavior as their parents. Language can be mastered in short time, example: children at 4 years old can speak like adult. Chomsky said that the children born with a device named “Language Acquisition Device (LAD)”. It is considered as a part of brain for processing language, and it does not have relation with other cognitive skill. Based on Chomsky, language structure and principle is got by the children naturally.

b.      Behaviorism Theory

Children first language acquisition is controlled out of the children themselves, it means that children acquisition is stimulated by environment. Children are considered as passive receptor from the environment, they do not have active roles in their verbal behavior process. Language acquisition process is determined by practicing given by the environment. According to B.F Skinner, the stimulus from environment will strengthen children language acquisition.

c.       Cognitivism Theory

Jean Piaget (1954) said that the language is not the separated characteristic naturally, but it is one of ability coming from cognitive ripeness. Language development is based on the change deeply and commonly in the cognition. The sequences of cognitive development determine the sequences of language development.

Language structure exists because of continued interaction between children cognitive and their environments. Piaget declared children stage acquisition from 0 until 18 months called as “Sensory Motor stage”. In this stage, the children have not had a language yet because they have not used symbols to know the things around them. The children will know environment by their sensory and movements that they do (motoric).

Children will know the things which they see directly and if those things are moved to another place from their sight, so they will think that those things lost, there are no more things. In the end of one year old, children will get the thought that those things are available and it is permanent, although those things are often seen. Cognitive children development must be got first before they can produce their thought in the form of language skill.

Language acquisition from Nativism, Behaviorism, and Cognitivism related to other developments which are faced by the children. Therefore, before talking about language development itself, below are the brief explanations about Motor, Social, and Children Cognitive Development.

2.      Motoric Development

Motor means a movement. Motoric development is children development since 0 month and it is mostly can be seen. It can be seen from sitting, crawling on hands and knees until walking. After the birth, the baby needs 14-18 hours for sleeping and then slowly it will change.

At 3-4 month, baby can sit for a while (about one minute) helped by the parent. At 7-8 month, baby can sit by himself/herself without any helping. At 9 month, baby can sit for about 10 minutes or more. At 11 month, children can stand alone and around 13^th month, children can walk by themselves. Parent helps the children motor developments. The sequences of children ability can’t be changed. If the children are practiced of walking in much time, perhaps their ability in walking can be got earlier.

3.    Communication and Social Development

According to Poerwo (1989), since born until one year old, baby has not a language especially spoken language, but the baby can communicate to his/her mother or other people who is very close to her/him. “Very close” here means often be together with him/her. Because of baby’s visibility is only 20 cm at that time, so the communication will be eyes contact. It happens because the baby only can look into his/her mother’s eyes when the process of breast feeding is happening. Baby’s communication develops step by step, and it happens naturally.

Human voice and eyes contact becomes the first interesting thing for the baby. Of course, it can create communication. After the baby born, human voice is the most interesting sound rather than the other voice form another sources.  Since baby born, she/ he will look attractive and can receive his/her mother sounds and movements. The baby will be familiar with his/her mother’s face. After a week, the baby can move his/her hands, tongue, and lips. Moreover, after three week, the baby will give the “social smile” for interaction. Toward a month, she/he can imitate the short and long voice of his/her mother. In the second month, the baby will be often “cooing” like a dove for showing his/her happy feeling. Toward three month the baby’s cognitive ability will increase, she/he is not interested in a poker face, she/he expects expressive face for interaction.

Toward 12 week, the baby starts to produce his/her response voice in interaction, and after 12 week, the baby will understand about “pola gilir”. Toward 5 month, the baby starts to imitate an adult voice and movements, and when the baby is 5 month, he/she can make any sound which show his/her felling such as happy, unhappy, and curious. Toward 6 month, the baby’s interest in toys and things increases, so it becomes three connected interaction: baby, mother, and things. Between 7-12 months years old, the baby shows his/her pretension more by hands or mouth movements without any voice, then the voice come out step by step.

Purwo says in his book that there are two researches of baby’s voice meaning:

1.                  Von Reffler Engel (1973) record there was a boy baby who always produced “e-e-e” sound to ask something and “u-u-u” for unhappy feeling.

2.               Dore (1976) record that four 11 month years old children produced “a-a-a” for showing a happy feeling and “e-e-e” for complaining something.

4. Cognitive Development

Cognitive refers to mental phenomenon which relate to world introduction that always relate to baby’s mind. There are four children’s cognitive development stages (Morgan, 1986):

1. Sensomotorik Stage
2. Praoperational Stage
3. Operational Concrete Stage
4. Operational Formal Stage

5.               Language Developments

a.      Phase of Articulation Development

               This phase passed by babies since they were born until 14 months. When they were 14 months, babies are able to produce vocal sound like “aaa”, “eee”, or “uuu,”that has a certain purpose. The development of articulation is passed by baby trough these steps:

·         Resonance Sound

Sound production that happens in mouth cavity and related to babies’ activities and motoring development in mouth cavity. The babies do this activity until they are 6 months, while they are breastfeeding. In this activity, there is reflex movement which is out of control of the babies.  This reflex movement there is the activities of suck swallow. The rapid growth in mouth activity, nose, and neck enable the babies to produce many kinds of sounds. The Most frequent sound that produced by babies is crying. In the end of first month, baby’s crying can be differentiated in meaning.

·         Cooing Sound

Around 2 months, babies have developed the control of mouth muscle to start and end the movement. In this phase, the laugh sound and cooing sound can be heard. Actually, the cooing sound is a sound of “quasi consonant” that happen in one breath with checked sound between velar and uvular.

·         Babble Sound

Babble is producing sound continuously without any purpose and it is usually done by babies in age 4 to 6 months. In this time, often try to produce any kind of sound; and they now can control the organs involved in this sound mechanism. This period is a time when the babies produce a long syllable sound.

·         Repetead Babble Sound

This phase is passed by the babies while they are 6 to 10 months. In the beginning, the consonant that can be pronounced are labial sound [p] and [b], alveolar sound [t] and [d], nassal sound and sound [j]. However, the sound is not perfect and the production is also quite slow. The most common sound which is heard is a syllable sound which is the series of consonant and vocal like “bababa” and “ma mama”.

·         Vocable Sound

Vocable is a sound which is like word but it does not have meaning and not the immitation of the adult. The vocable can be produced by the babies in the age of 11 to 14 months.  The vocable sound consists of 4 types that are one vocal and repeat vocal, syllabic nassal, sillabic fricative and nassal consonant.

            b. Stage of development of words and sentences

After children master vocable ability, then they can master to say words, simple sentences and perfect sentences. To master 3 abilities above, children have to through some stages, such as:

1.      First word

In this stage, when the children their firs`t word, their articulation should be clear. It is because the listeners understand what they speak. Then, the word that is produced have to be related to the thing that they speak.

According to Francescato, child tries to say the word that it stands for a meaningful sentence without concerning to the fonem. Then, based on Waterson, child can only capture particular characteristics of the words spoken by an adult, and the pronunciation’s abilities are limited to their articulations.

For example, when an adult can say fonetic [k], but the children can just say fonetic [t], so they will say [ikan] (in bahasa) with [itan]

1.      One- word sentences

One – word sentences is also called holophrases. One – word sentences is a many single words or syllables that stand for meaningful sentences. Then, the first utterance that can be produced by the children is the utterances of adult that usually they heard. Then the utterance is also familiar with the children, such as toys, people, pets, food and clothes.

The sequences of the syllable are produced by children, like VC, CV, or CVCV.

For example:

Juice [dus]

Cookie [toti]

Baby [bibi]

mama

In this stage, the development of child’s vocabularies is slow, but it becomes fast based on the development of the child’s ability. Therefore, when the age of the child is 18 month, they have 50 vocabularies. Most of the vocabularies are nouns, verb.

2.      Two-word sentences

In this stage, the children can just construct two words in a sentence. It happens when the age of the children is around 18 month. To construct two -word sentences, they follow the order of adult’s construction.

Based on Bloom, the orders are:

Agent + action                        mommy come; daddy sit

Action + object           drive car; eat grape

Action + location        go park; sit chair

Entity + location         cup table; toy floor

Entity + attribute        box shinny; crayon big

In this stage the development of child’s language is more productive than one – word sentences based on the development of child’s ability overall.

3.      Multi word sentences

After the children master two-word sentences, they can construct three word sentences. According to Brown (1973), the construction in this stage is the result of compounding or elaboration from the previous stage, two-word sentences.

For example the children elaborate the contraction of agent + action and action + object become agent + action + object.

Agent + action                        = Daddy throw

Action + object                       = Throw ball

Agent + action = object          = Daddy throw ball

When the age of children toward 2 years old, they can construct multi words and sentences through elaboration technique. However they can construct multi word sentences, two word sentences still be dominant.

Then, to develop the children’s ability to construct the sentences well and to say the sentences well, their mother use yes no question technique and they use conversation technique. When mother asks a question to the children, then mother answers her question herself. Therefore around 3 years old, children know the pattern of conversation.

c. Toward School Phase

Toward school phase here means that the kids come close to elementary school, when they attain the age of five until six years old. Kindergarten’s education, especially play group is can’t as reputed as school yet, because those just help to prepared them to join to real school, that is elementary school.

If we re-investigate about language expansion of the kids were after they are said their first word and only one word. Their words are so simple, concrete and refer to things, event, or people around them. Then, two years later after they know 50 words, there are a lot of kids can combine two words. Nevertheless, these two words sentences is not contain by article, preposition, or other grammatical elements. So, their two words sentences can make an equivocal. Example, “Mommy juice” it may be “Mommy’s juice”, or Mommy, give me a juice”, or “Mommy is drinking her juice”. However, the moms can understand their kid’s mean with their two words sentences.

A number of researches are show the two words sentences in a variety of language in the world, the kids say their same mind and meaning in this age. While their sentence becomes long, it has many words meaning and start using grammatical type.

According to Benedict (1979)

At 13 months old, the kids have already mastered about 50 words, but they productively show those words in 19 months old. In two until four years old is their time to evolving their vocabulary quickly

According to Clark (1982 in Purwo 1989)

In two until six years old, the kids always make new words, such as plant-man for gardener or crackering for I am crackering my sup.

About the introduction of writing in society is not effective, the kids already know about writing before pre-school. For example, they are know that their name can wrote on a piece of paper. They already differentiate pictures and letters in book, and they know that their parent is read a writings not pictures in the story book or another.-When enter to kindergarten, the kids have mastered almost all of grammatical rules. They can make a news, asks, and an amount of another construction. But they are still difficult to make passive sentence.

According to Harwood (1959 in Purwo 1989)          

The kids before six years old can’t make passive sentence yet. About 12.000 spontaneously sentences made by five years old of kids, Harwood can’t find a passive sentence then.

According to Bardie (1976 in Purwo 1989)

About 80% of the kids attain the age of seven-half until eight years old can make a passive sentence. Pre-school kids also get a trouble with imperative sentence construction.

Ervin-Tripp (1977 in 1989 Purwo)

The pre-school kids have learned something beyond the vocabulary and grammar. They can also use language in various social contacts. They can mock their friends, but they can show a respectful speech to their parent.