Language Acquisition and learning: Understanding how we communicate

by: Daryl Wyson

1. Perhaps one of the most fascinating phenomena in human civilization is the reality of language.
How can letters, which by themselves are meaningless, form meaningful utterances when
combined, and these single utterances, in turn, convey a message when transformed into a
sentence or paragraph? (Varga, 2010). This characteristic of language enables it to serve as a
medium that facilitates the transmission of knowledge and culture.
2. Yet, despite the significance of language, we have barely unveiled the principles that govern
language acquisition and learning. Yes, we need to learn a language to be understood, and we
all do using different methods. As such, language scholars have developed paradigms which
have attempted to explain how language acquisition and learning occur. Throughout history,
these have helped us understand the complex nature of language learning and acquisition, and
as we learn new insights about these phenomena, the said paradigms, in turn, also evolve and
develop.
3. In the days of the psychologist B.F Skinner, language learning was primarily viewed through
behaviorist terms. Just like any other behavior, a person learns a language as certain utterances
are positively or negatively reinforce. If a behavior rewarded, it develops; if it is shunned, a
person refrains from performing it. When applied in language learning, Skinnerian psychology
would posit that utterances which are positively reinforced or rewarded are retained while
those that were not reinforced or even penalized would eventually be unlearned (Stern, 1983)
4. Language then, through Skinnerian terms, is viewed largely as the result of habits formed
through reinforcement. Thus, in this paradigm, a grammatical error committed by a child is
considered as a bad habit, and at an early stage, should be corrected so that it would not
become a “fossilized” or an error that cannot be corrected, so to speak. Exhibition of excellent
syntax, vocabulary and speech on other hand is considered as good habits and therefore should
be rewarded.
5. Under this paradigm, several teaching methodologies were developed and employed in
language learning environments. For instance, back in the 70’s Filipino students in certain
schools were fined for each Tagalog word they uttered while in school to help them learn
English. In this scenario, speaking in Filipino was deemed as a bad habit, and thus, should be
penalized. Aside from the said policy, the audio-lingual method also reflects this principle. In this
approach to language learning, student are asked to recite what they hear on tape in the hope
that by doing so, they will form a habit and become proficient English speakers.
6. Despite the seeming promise of behaviorism, it falls short in taking into account why new and
creative sets of utterances are created by humans. If what this theory posits were true, then
there would only be certain patterns, those which were positively reinforced, that humans can
produced. In reality, however the act of language production or what we call as speech act
(Austin, 1962 quoted in Brown, 1994) is very creative and purposeful as it seeks to accomplish
new, and an infinite number of combinations used by language speakers. Thus though languages
follow syntactical rules, new words are still formed and even older ones are able to take on new
meanings.
7. For these reasons, Noam Chomsky cited Skinner’s view and propose a more cognitive-oriented
view. For Chomsky, grammar is transformational and generative, this means that new
utterances are continually being created, and meaning does not remain static. Through the use
of a brain structure called the Language Acquisition Device (LAD), we are able to learn a
language (Chomsky, 1956). He proposed the concept of universal grammar, or the idea that
people, through the use of the LAD, are able to process language in such a way that they are
patterned in comprehensible and syntactical outputs. Thus, for Chomsky, language learning
takes place from within and not from merely responding to external stimuli.
8. Similarly, Vygotsky offers an idea similar to Chomsky’s; according to him, language and
rationality, though they have different roots, intertwine at some point in a person’s
development, and when this happens, rationality will be expressed through language, and
language, on the other hand, could not manifest in the absence of rational thought. According
to him, a child has two types of concepts, namely spontaneous concepts and scientific concepts.
The spontaneous concepts are learned naturally form the child’s environment even without
conscious instruction. Examples of which are the codes a child uses to refer to adults (e.g. papa,
mama) or one-word utterances which try to elicit a response (e.g. water, pupu). Scientific
concepts, on the other hand, are the ones which have to be consciously taught such as
grammar, reading, and the like.
9. Perhaps Piaget’s psychosocial development framework may provide a clue on how language
actually develops in the LAD throughout the different stages in cognitive development (Banks
and Thompson, 1995). The first of these is called the sensorimotor stage. At this point in
development, actions are reflexive rather than planned. It is not until the latter part of the
sensorimotor stage that a child uses words (or proto-words) and numbers to represent objects
(e.g. mamam=water; dada=father).
10. When a child turns two, he enters what Piaget termed as preoperational stage. In this part of
human development, children are now capable of storing internal images which represent their
view of reality. A child at this stage is egocentric, probably as a result of his being the centre of
attention in his early years, and uses language to satisfy his needs. Those who belong to this
stage tend to verbalize what they feel without thinking of how others would react or feel. This
stage lasts until around age six.
11. At around six years old, a child enters the concrete operational stage. At this point, the child
now recognizes logical relationships and grammatical structures. Thus, it is also at this stage
when formal grammatical instruction can begin since the child now recognizes patterns.
Furthermore, it is also at this point when a child realizes that grammar rules are not rigidly fixed
and may vary as the context and use also change.
12. Finally, Piaget posits that at around puberty, a person enters into the highest stage of cognitive
development, the formal operational stage. At this point, a person is now capable of
understanding abstract concepts. Thus, it is assumed that at puberty, a child can now appreciate
poetry and deduce the different contexts in which statements are used.
13. Although language development occurs throughout the different stages of development, some
would argue that there is only a critical time by which a person can efficiently learn a language.
This is what we call as the critical period hypothesis, and according to some, the best time to
acquire a language is prior to puberty when the brain cells are still developing and can easily
absorb knowledge. This was first suggested by the neurophysiologist Penfield (Stern, 1983).
 Recently, Wolfe and Brundt (2001) reasserted this hypothesis, stating that the best time to learn
a language is before ten years old. Until now, however, despite many succeeding studies, this
issue remains debatable since there are several cases where adults effectively learn a second
language.
14. These theories call on language teachers to appropriate their respective pedagogies according
to how cognitive functions develop. Since it assumes that the brain, through the LAD, can
decipher grammatical patterns, language can be taught using the structures that comprise
language. Moreover, these also call for a graduated teaching of language which follows brain
development. For instance, in the early grades, grammatical structures should already be taught
since the LAD is now able to recognize them. In high school, however, since it is assumed that
students can now understand abstract concepts, more advanced linguistic skills such as literary
analysis, expository writing, summarizing, and other higher order thinking capacities (Arrends
1994 quoted in Salandanan, 2009) should already be taught.
15. Perhaps a more balanced view of language learning is the one proposed by Krashen (1981). He
both took into consideration and delineated the roles of input (environment) and cognition on
language learning and how each of the two functions. According to him, language acquisition
happens when one is constantly exposed to linguistic input. This linguistic input, then is
unconsciously acquired by the learner until such time that the learner himself or herself is now
able to produce the language. Language learning for him, is an entirely different phenomenon; it
happens when one consciously studies the rules and intricacies of the target language; i.e.
grammar rules, principles of coherence and unity, etc. What a person has acquired through
language learning forms his monitor, or that device which he uses to filter out his linguistic
output. For instance, when a person speaks in a casual conversation, he does not employ his
monitor a lot, which means that he neither self-corrects his grammar errors nor consciously
thinks of grammar rules when speaking.
16. He also took into consideration a person’s affective filter which determines how much langue a
person would learn. If a person has a high affective filter, that is, he has a high degree of anxiety
towards the language, he is less likely to learn the language. On the other hand, if a person’s
affective filter is low, that is, he feels comfortable with the language, then language learning is
also high.
17. As far as Krashen is concerned, language classrooms, then, should be viewed only as a place
where learning is facilitated and not entirely a place of acquisition, although acquisition may
also take place in the classroom when the teacher asks the students to form buzz groups, read a
particular selection, or watch a film. However, the classroom can offer only so much acquisition
given the limited time students spend there. Thus, taking into account Krashen’s model,
language teachers are advised to encourage the students to expose themselves to authentic
language inputs, or language inputs used in actual communication situations. In the classroom,
language teachers could also facilitate acquisition although their main concern is to give them
formal language instruction, which involve the teaching of grammar rules an structures, reading
techniques, vocabulary building techniques, and the like. Presumably, having learned the
aforementioned lesson points would allow students to improve their communicative
competence.
18. Although there are several theories on how we learn a language, none of them is exhaustive and
comprehensive. Instead, each theory, together with the studies that accompany them, contain
certain truisms which can be added to a language teacher’s repertoire of learning theories and
teaching techniques. The challenge, then, for the language teachers and students alike is to
identify the points in the theories which would best apply to them and use them to facilitate
language learning. We cannot have a one-size-fits-all theory of language learning, but the ones
enumerated in this paper somehow give us an idea on the different ways we can approach
language learning and teaching.