The Effect of Learning Environment on Language Acquisition:A Survey of Chinese and Pakistani Siblings

Muhammad Adeel Akram; Hongyan Wang; Iqra Mustafa

doi:10.18535/sshj.v8i09.1343

Abstract

First Language Acquisition is a complex phenomenon and it has been debated for decades by theorists and researchers. The biological foundations of language such as Chomsky’s LAD and the obvious influence of external stimuli have resulted in many different schools of thought for language acquisition. This paper explores different theories of language acquisition and presents their features as well as their criticisms. It also outlines the differences between acquisition and learning, and presents the stages of language acquisition. This study’s primary aim is to explore what role nurture plays in the early stages of development of language. The researcher would explore this question by conducting a survey based on the time of onset of speech in the siblings’ first language. This survey is being conducted because siblings get the same kind of environment but the younger siblings have a comparatively more favorable language environment as they get the stimulus from the parents as well as their elder siblings. The researcher has done a comparative survey on the onset of speech between the siblings and analyzed the results to draw the conclusion of this paper. The researcher has systematically collected data from language learning schools in China and Pakistan. Data is gathered from 100 parents of the children who have more than one child and are learning second language in an institution. Out of the 100 participants, 52 were Chinese and 48 were Pakistanis. Quantitative method of research is adopted for analyzing the data collected in the survey. Questionnaire is used as a data collection tool which consists of open-ended and close-ended questions. Later in analysis section, data is comprehensively examined and investigated. Earlier onset of speech in first child and second child was analyzed in which the ratio is 31% and 69% respectively and out of 100 participants only 8% of the siblings had same time of onset of speech. Research shows that earlier onset of speech results comprised of 56% of girls as compared to 44% of boys. Research on language learners through their parents’ feedback concludes that both nature and nurture play an important role in the development of language acquisition. This is because we need our genes and brain to build a language acquisition device (LAD), and then, after we have the ability to learn a language and interact with people around us, we gradually acquire words and grammar, and our language system is then complete.

Keywords

ModernizationMilitary TanksMinimum Essential ForceTechnology Transfer

References

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[refR-1] Bolinger, D. (2002). Aspect of language. America (2nd ed). Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-2] Brown, H. D. (2000). Principles of language learning and teaching (4th ed). Addison-Wesley. Longman.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-3] Brown, R. (1977). A first language in the early stages. Harvard university press Cambridge, Massachusetts.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-4] Bruner, J. S. (1983). Child’s talk: Learning to use language. W. W. Norton.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-5] Chaer, A. (2003). Linguistik umum. P T Rineka Cipta.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-6] Charlie, A. (2013). An introduction to applied linguistics. Nurturing English Learners | Language Arts for Young ChildrenGoogle Scholar ↗

[refR-7] Chomsky, N. (1957). Syntactic structures. Mouton.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-8] Chomsky, N. (1959). A review of B. F Skinner’s verbal behaviour. Language, 26–58.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-9] Clark, A. (1997). Being there: Putting brain, body, and world together again. The MIT press. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/1552.001.0001DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-10] Clark, H. H., & Clark, E. V. (1977). Psychology and language: An introduction to psycholinguistics. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-11] Domjan, M. (2010). Principles of learning and behavior (6th ed). Belmont/Cengage.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-12] Freeman, D. L., & Michael, H. L. (2014). An introduction to second language acquisition. Routledge, Taylor & Francis.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-13] Fromkin, V. (1983). An introduction to language (3rd ed). New York: CBS College Publishing.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-14] Gleason, J. B. (1998). Psycholinguistics (2nd ed). Harcourt Brace.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-15] Goh, C. C. M., Silver, & Elaine, R. (2004). Language acquisition and development. Pearson Education.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-16] Hargrave, A. C., & Sénéchal, M. (2000). A book reading intervention with preschool children who have limited vocabularies: The benefits of regular reading and dialogic reading. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 15(1), 75–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0885-2006(99)00038-1DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-17] Haspelmath, M. (2008). The language system is abstract but cannot be understood without its social functions. Theoretical Linguistics, 37(1–2). https://doi.org/10.1515/thli.2011.004DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-18] Hutauruk, B. (2015). Children first language acquisition at age 1–3 years old in balata. IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science (IOSR-JHSS), 51–57.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-19] Ingram, D. (1989). First language acquisition method, description, and explanation. Pub by Cambridge university press.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-20] Jeynes, W. H. (2005). The effects of parental involvement on the academic achievement of African American youth. Journal of Negro Education, 74(3), 260–274.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-21] Krashen, D. S. (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition (first internet edition). Pergamon Press.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-22] Kobayashi, Y. (2010). The role of gender in foreign language learning attitudes: Japanese female students’ attitudes towards English learning. Gender and Education.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-23] Lakoff, R. (1975). Language and woman’s place. Harper Colophon Books.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-24] Lenneberg, E. (1967). Biological foundations of language. John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-25] MacIntyre, P. D., & Charos, C. (1996). Personality, attitudes, and affect as predictors of second language communication. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 15(1), 3–26. https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927X960151001DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-26] Pellegrini, A.D. (1995). Joint book reading makes for success in learning to read: A meta-analysis on intergenerational transmission of literacy. Review of Educational Research, 65(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.2307/1170476DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-27] Piaget, J. (1926). The language and thought of the child. Harcourt Brace.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-28] Reese, L., & Gallimore, R. (2000). Immigrant Latinos’ cultural model of literacy development: An evolving perspective on home-school discontinuities. American Journal of Education, 108(2), 103–134. https://doi.org/10.1086/444236DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-29] Reilly, J. (1998). Narrative discourse in children with early focal brain injury. Brain and Language, 61(3), 335–375. https://doi.org/10.1006/brln.1997.1882DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-30] Rowland, C. (2014). Understanding child language acquisition. Pub by Routledge. Taylor & Francis Group London and New York.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-31] Skinner, B. F. (1957). Verbal Behaviour. Appleton-Century-Crofts.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-32] Slobin, D. I. (1985). Crosslinguistic evidence for the language-making capacity. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-33] Steinberg, D. D. (2003). Psycholinguistics: Language, mind and world. America. Longman, Inc.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-34] Yule, G. (2010). The study of language. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar ↗