Using varied teaching strategies for beginning English language learners, including the use of cartoons, pictures, graphic organizers, drawing, pictures, videos, and other visual representations may increase language acquisition process among students. As a result, if the use of visual representations is a valid approach, then students should perform better on both oral and written forms. According to Collier (1987, 1988) from the time children are born until about five years of age when they begin to read, children get most of their information via visual observations. It stands to reason that students who are beginning the acquisition of a new language would exhibit the same characteristics regardless of chronological age. Moreover, Paivio …show more content…
In this regard, I would like to give special consideration to Paivio’s dual coding theory where learners process information both verbally and nonverbally. Dual Coding Theory was hypothesized by Allan Paivio of the University of Western Ontario in 1971. Paivio realized that providing visuals helps in learning when he developed this theory. He believes that through verbal associations and visual images a language learner can expand learned materials. The dual coding theory further explains that both visual and verbal information is used to represent texts of information. These information types are processed differently and are channeled in the human mind creating two different information storage areas. The mental codes representing these ideas are organized that can be acted upon, kept, and recover for succeeding use. Both visual and verbal codes can be retrieved when remembering information (Sternberg, 2003). A dual coding theory according to Clark and Paivio (1991) explains human behavior and experience in terms of
The visual learners prefer to use pictures, images, maps, colors, and spatial intelligence, which assist them to arrange their information, interact with others and give them a great sense of direction. They are great at accumulating information, curious and inquisitive due to the fact that without adequate information, the portrait of what they are learning will be imperfect. They are also enthusiastic about theory and facts; system diagram helps them to visualize the connection between parts of a system; story method assists them to learn by heart the content that cannot be seen easily. (Garner, 2012)
Communicating what we want to say, how we want to say it is the goal of expressing ourselves linguistically. For English Language Learners (and their teachers), the ability to do that successfully in their new language presents a challenge. In the content areas of instruction, it is especially important to draw out the information that a student already knows in their native language – even when they do not have the linguistic ability to express themselves in English – in order to assess their level of understanding and engage prior knowledge. Using non-linguistic representations provides a way of bridging that gap between actual understanding and the ability to express that understanding for English Language Learners. For teachers, non-linguistic cues or representations are an effective alternative method in the process of delivering language and content instruction. In this essay, I will discuss why non-linguistic representations work differently than linguistic methods. I will also evaluate selected Teachscape video to discuss how some teachers use these methods, tasks that allow English Language Learner students to develop authentic use of their new language, and the difference between a student-centered and a teacher-centered classroom.
This activity suits the child’s current stage of oral development will interest them and aid in them progressing in their oral development. Children at this stage of development enjoy listening to stories which is good not only for their receptive skills, but also for their expressive language (Fellows and Oakley, 2014), in all four key components of spoken language. It helps with phonemes by getting the child to focus on the phonological patterns throughout the text (Fellows and Oakley, 214). Syntax knowledge allows them to observe the sentence structure and grammar in the book which allows them to develop a stronger awareness of the syntax. Visual aids in storybooks can aid in the child in the understanding of semantics (Fellows and Oakley’s), as the story is read aloud their receptive skills hear those more difficult words, when paired with a visual cue such as a picture in the book the child understands better and thus they are able to gain a better understanding of how to speak these difficult words. A better understanding of pragmatics can also be gained from storybooks as they understand how people communicate in society such as greetings and asking for things (Fellows and Oakley,
Tchudi, Susan J, and Stephen Tchudi. The English Language Arts Handbook: Classroom Strategies for Teachers. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook, 1999. Print.
This paper will target ELL students of a secondary age level. It will be assumed they are between levels 3 and 4 of the Ministry of Education ELL/D Performance Standards. This level of student will often need help to elaborate on certain ideas. Sequencing is generally good at this stage, as is accessing prior knowledge, however, a graphic organizer can always benefit a student no matter what level. Grammar is improving greatly through these stages, but things such as homonyms and figures of speech will still be difficult (BC Performance Standards, 2001). Having the students learn how to write a narrative will complete a Prescribed Learning Outcomes for English 10: writing in a variety...
Memory has been and always will be associated with images. As early as 1896, leading psychologists were arguing that memory was nothing more than a continuous exchange of images. (Bergson) Later models of memory describe it as more of an image text; a combination of space and time, and image and word. (Yates) Although image certainly is not the only component of memory, it is undoubtedly an integral and essential part of memory’s composition.
...hildren learn it so easily with minimal effort. One may question as to how the brain does it. Whereas, in amidst of all the questions, our cognitive processes discerns critical thinking or a rationalization. Strong empirical evidence reinforces the critical period hypothesis. Case studies of individuals who are able to acquire a second language, deaf individuals that communicate via the medium of sign language or a variety of signals, extreme cases of childhood neglect all stems back to the understanding of language acquisition. If a child is not exposed to language at an earlier time frame, then little exposure to environment and society prevents acquisition of a language. By contrast, studies on deaf children indicates the arduousness in learning a language after early childhood which may have been brought by the individual’s struggle in developing mental skills.
Child development language is a process by which children come to communicate and understand language during early childhood. This usually occurs from birth up to the age of five. The rate of development is usually fast during this period. However, the pace and age of language development vary greatly among children. Thus, the language development of a child is usually compared with norms rather than with other individual children. It is scientifically proven that development of girls language is usually at a faster rate than that of boys. (Berk, 2010) In other terms language development is also a crucial factor that reflects the growth and maturation of the brain. However, this development usually retards after the age of five making it very difficult for most children to continue learning language. There are two major types of language development in children. These include referential and expressive language development styles. In referential language development, children often first speak single words and then join the words together, first into –word sentences and then into th...
The aim of this essay is to explore language acquisition and compare and contrast different theories of language acquisition and language development. Language in its most basic form is used to communicate our needs and wants. It encompasses a range of modes of delivery including signing, spoken and written words, posture, eye contact, facial expressions and gestures. So how do we learn ‘language’? Are we born with the skills for communication, or is it something that we have to learn or have taught to us? Four theories are looked at in this essay to determine how children acquire and then develop language. These theories include behaviourist, nativist, cognitivist and sociocultural. This essay will highlight some similarities and differences in each theory and what impact these have on a child’s acquisition and development of language. Lastly we will look at the implications of these theories when working with children. Can a classroom teacher deliver a quality literacy program based on just one of these theories or does it need to incorporate components of all four? Sims, (2012) pp. 21 states ‘’High-quality learning experiences in the early years of life enhance children’s cognitive and language skills’’. This places a great responsibility on educators and teachers alike to provide an environment which is rich in learning opportunities that will encourage both the acquisition and development of language.
There are three main theories of child language acquisition; Cognitive Theory, Imitation and Positive Reinforcement, and Innateness of Certain Linguistic Features (Linguistics 201). All three theories offer a substantial amount of proof and experiments, but none of them have been proven entirely correct. The search for how children acquire their native language in such a short period of time has been studied for many centuries. In a changing world, it is difficult to pinpoint any definite specifics of language because of the diversity and modification throughout thousands of millions of years.
Lightbown, P., & Spada, N. M. (2014). How languages are learned (4th ed.). Oxford [england: Oxford University Press. [Kindle Edition]
The biological theoretical perspective comes from a man named Noam Chomsky. He believed that all children have a language acquisition device. This is defined in the book as “a biological endowment enabling the child to detect the features and rules of language, including phonology, syntax, and semantics”. The evidence found was that throughout cultures, children tend to have the same language milestones. Most begin at age two to four months by cooing and develop at 13 months with their first words.
In terms of biological development and cognitive development, he refers to studies that suggest children’s brains work better for language learning and those that suggest adults may make better use of learning strategies and develop meta-linguistic awareness. These two contradictory propositions question whether children are better second language learners or not. In favor of child learners, the Critical Period Hypothesis, supported by Noam Chomsky’s innatist theory about second language acquisition, assumes that language learning is biologically programmed and children do not need to be taught languages. Moreover, one may fail to acquire certain skills or knowledge as long as it misses the period of time it should have acquired them. Therefore, from this viewpoint, children may be more suitable for language learning, concerning their privileged biological functions. However, since adults have more social experiences and further cognitive development, they may take more advantages from the use of learning strategies and meta-linguistic knowledge for learning about vocabulary and grammar. This concept is the opposite of Universal Grammar, which corresponds to the Critical Period Hypothesis, confirming the biological nature of a
To continue with the key features, language is known to be special because of how children are able to learn in ways that are different from learning other things. (Willingham, 2007). Strong evidence shows how prepared the human brain is to learn language with very little stimulation. The results that show this point of view to be true is known to be the worldwide consistency of language learning.
Further in this term-paper I am going to describe the stages in child language acquistion starting from the very birth of an infant till the onset of puberty.