Do children learn second languages easier than adults? A comparative analysis of child and adult second language acquisition
Do children learn second languages easier than adults? A comparative analysis of child and adult second language acquisition

Author: Kevin Salzmann

Publisher: GRIN Verlag

Published: 2014-06-13

Total Pages: 20

ISBN-13: 365667177X

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Seminar paper from the year 2014 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Pedagogy, Literature Studies, grade: 2,3, University of Kassel (Institut für Anglistik/Amerikanistik), course: Introduction to Second Language Acquisition, language: English, abstract: In the field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA), researchers often get confronted with a controversial issue: Are children better second language learners than adults? Do they always outperform older learners? After a general introduction into the field of SLA, this term paper focuses on the relevance of age in second language learning. Theories of critical and sensitive periods during the learning process will be examined in order to emphasize that age has an important impact on effective SLA. Afterwards, specific differences in child and adult SLA will be taken into consideration; how do children acquire a second language and how is it different from the acquisition of an old- er person? By answering these questions differentiated it might be possible to come to a conclusion whether children or adults are better second language learners.

How to Improve Your Foreign Language Immediately
How to Improve Your Foreign Language Immediately

Author: Boris Shekhtman

Publisher: M S I Press

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 104

ISBN-13: 9780967990750

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This book provides a unique set of tools designed to enhance an individual's success in communicati0n in a foreign language environment. The devices presented allow the speaker of a foreign language to demonstrate the level of his/her language more impressively. These techniques were developed and tested by the author with adult professionals in such varied fields as journalism, diplomacy, government, and international business.

What Language Is
What Language Is

Author: John McWhorter

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2013-02-12

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 1101644451

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New York Times bestselling author and renowned linguist, John McWhorter, explores the complicated and fascinating world of languages. From Standard English to Black English; obscure tongues only spoken by a few thousand people in the world to the big ones like Mandarin - What Language Is celebrates the history and curiosities of languages around the world and smashes our assumptions about "correct" grammar. An eye-opening tour for all language lovers, What Language Is offers a fascinating new perspective on the way humans communicate. From vanishing languages spoken by a few hundred people to major tongues like Chinese, with copious revelations about the hodgepodge nature of English, John McWhorter shows readers how to see and hear languages as a linguist does. Packed with Big Ideas about language alongside wonderful trivia, What Language Is explains how languages across the globe (the Queen's English and Surinam creoles alike) originate, evolve, multiply, and divide. Raising provocative questions about what qualifies as a language (so-called slang does have structured grammar), McWhorter also takes readers on a marvelous journey through time and place-from Persian to the languages of Sri Lanka- to deliver a feast of facts about the wonders of human linguistic expression.

Preschool Bilingual Education
Preschool Bilingual Education

Author: Mila Schwartz

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-05-23

Total Pages: 374

ISBN-13: 3319772287

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This volume provides an up-to-date collection of key aspects related to current preschool bilingual education research from a socio-linguistic perspective. The focus is on preschool bilingual education in multilingual Europe, which is characterized by diverse language models and children's linguistic backgrounds. The book explores the contemporary perspectives on early bilingual education in light of the threefold theoretical framework of child's, teachers', and parents' agencies in interaction in preschool bilingual education. Five significant theoretical concepts are promoted in this volume: the ecology of language learning, an educational partnership for bilingualism, a notion of agency in early language development and education, language-conducive contexts, and language-conducive strategies. The volume examines preschool bilingual education as embedded in specific socio-cultural contexts on the one hand and highlights its universal features on the other. The book is a fundamental read for scholars and students of second language teaching, preschool education, and bilingual education in multilingual and multicultural societies.

Psycholinguistic Research (PLE: Psycholinguistics)
Psycholinguistic Research (PLE: Psycholinguistics)

Author: Doris Aaronson

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 2013-11-20

Total Pages: 549

ISBN-13: 113447833X

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Originally published in 1979, this book represents an effort to bring together the two disciplines at the core of psycholinguistics, psychology and linguistics. It discusses a broad variety of theoretical approaches to psycholinguistics as well as covering a wide range of topics. At the time the book had four goals: to discuss many of the important contemporary issues in psycholinguistics; to explore the different views on major theoretical controversies; to provide an analysis of background literature as a framework in which to evaluate the issues and controversies; and to describe interesting high-quality research currently being done by the authors and some of their colleagues. Today it can be read and enjoyed in its historical context, with many of the chapters still relevant in psycholinguistic research today.

Issues in Modern Foreign Languages Teaching
Issues in Modern Foreign Languages Teaching

Author: K. Field

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2004-08-02

Total Pages: 291

ISBN-13: 1134581041

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Issues in Modern Foreign Languages Teaching draws together a range of issues in the teaching of modern foreign languages into one volume that will encourage students and newly qualified teachers to consider and reflect on the issues so that they can make a reasoned and informed judgement about their teaching of MFL. It will be relevant for students and newly qualified teachers at both primary and secondary level and will fill a gap in their knowledge due to time constraints - and an emphasis on standards - on ITT and PGCE courses.

Mind Matters in SLA
Mind Matters in SLA

Author: Clare Wright

Publisher: Multilingual Matters

Published: 2018-09-21

Total Pages: 268

ISBN-13: 1788921631

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This book examines key issues in theories of what language is and what happens in the mind during second language acquisition (SLA), inspiring readers to think in new and exciting ways about language learning and teaching. Chapters, written by both established and rising star scholars, provide cutting-edge insights and new empirical findings on major topics of formal and cognitive linguistics, psycholinguistics and second language development, and offer a coherent, wide-ranging, reader-friendly examination of learner-internal factors in SLA. The first section of the book focuses on issues that are pertinent to our understanding of language acquisition, particularly in relation to syntax. The second section comprises empirical chapters on syntax, the lexicon, phonetics/phonology and language production in English and other languages. These chapters refer to theories and frameworks from within SLA to enable the reader to grasp the key questions and issues that are currently relevant. The final section focuses on research relating to how second language (L2) learners make transitions from one stage of development to the next; it covers state-of-the-art psycholinguistic research concerning how L2 acquisition occurs in real time, and includes discussion of models of L2 development both in and out of the classroom.