Comparing Primary and Secondary Language Acquisition Essay

Submitted By sotak72
Words: 1594
Pages: 7
Open Document
Comparing Primary and Secondary Language Acquisition
Jonathan Ferrell
Grand Canyon University: TSL-546
March 25, 2015

Comparing Primary and Secondary Language Acquisition
One of the greatest achievements of mankind is the development of language. Communication between human beings unties individuals into a complex society where collaboration between individuals allows them to reach their full potential. The human brain plays a key role in the human’s ability to understand and use language. “Every healthy child is born with 100 billion brain cells and each cell makes up to 20,000 connections” (Vos, 2008). The synaptic connections in the brain of an infant respond to the stimuli in the environment and grow at an astonishing rate as the brain works to process the information it is receiving. It takes less than a year for an infant’s brain to develop one trillion synaptic connections. Without a sufficient supply of new stimuli these connections will not last. This, however, is not problematic since it is during these initial years, when the number of synaptic connections are at their greatest, that children acquire their primary language. By age ten almost half of the connections have died. There is enough stimuli present for most individuals to maintain the remaining synaptic connections in in their brains, and at twelve years of age these connections have become the foundation for individuals to move beyond the acquisition of language and begin to use language in more creative and complex ways.
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association differentiates between language and speech. Language is viewed as a set of rules established by society. These rules address, “What words mean, how to make new words, how to put words together, and what word combinations are best in what situations” (The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2015). Speech, on the other hand, is defined as, “The verbal means of communicating and consists of articulation, voice, and fluency” (The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2015). Language acquisition and mastery follows developmental timeline. The ability of school age children to master communication skills correlates to the development of their cognitive abilities. As the children mature these correlations become more and more evident. When children enter kindergarten they should have the ability to communicate with those around them. At this point they are not able to use written communication, with the exception of printing their name, but they can read a picture book and use illustrations to convey ideas. Children use language as social currency as they enter first grade and create stories by connecting sentences together. They have gained a basic understanding of the rules of grammar and have begun to read. These language and communication skill continue to expand over the course of the year and by second grade students can use language to compare and contrast items and can read and write for a variety of purposes. Within the next twelve months students can provide detailed accounts using both oral and written communication. Their ability to hold a discussion will also increase and they master the intricacies of oral communication such as tome, verbal inflection, rate of speech, and volume. These skills will develop to the point where third graders should be able to have a conversation with an adult. As students near the end of primary school signs of their developing cognitive abilities should become more evident in their language skills. Fourth graders begin the move away from concrete usages of language and begin to comprehend figurative language. In addition to this they can process language in both oral and written form and summarize what they have heard or read. When encountering new and unfamiliar words they can also access prior knowledge to determine the meaning of the unfamiliar pieces of language.
As students transition from the primary grades into
Show More

Related Documents: Comparing Primary and Secondary Language Acquisition Essay

Behaviourist And Cognitive Development

(1849-1936) demonstrated this type of learning in his experiments with dogs Classical Conditioning (before conditioning) When UCS automatically triggers an involuntary, unconditioned response (UCR) Basic Processes of Classical Conditioning Acquisition: establishes or strengthens a CR ( i.e. by repeated CS (or previously neutral stimulus) with _UCS pairing > (Leads to) CR) Extinction: a CS gradually ceases to elicit a CR when no longer paired with a UCS Spontaneous Recovery: Return of…

Words 904 - Pages 4

Anthropology Final Notes Essay example

Notes from October 3 Neolithic Revolution 5,500 year old leather shoe discovered in Armenia (5,500 BP) Mesolithic (or middle stone age) Began is Europe, Asia and Africa about 14,000 years ago The end of the glacial period saw physical changes in human habitats. Sea levels rose, vegetation changed and herd animals disappeared from many areas. This period marked a shift to hunting smaller game and gathering a broad spectrum of plants and aquatic resources. It was a more sedentary period with increase…

Words 6850 - Pages 28

Essay about Wgu E-Business Expansion Proposal

These services may include in-person meetings to assist with medical-office visits, the provision of legal services in their source language, and the translation of Spanish-language Web sites and blogs into their English-language equivalent. (The last service blends document preparation with translation and interpretation.) These services can capitalize on the Latin America market but also on non-polyglot Spanish speakers in the…

Words 13986 - Pages 56

Psychology: Scientific Study Of Behavior And Mental Processes

AP Psych: Module 1­17 Vocab Psychology Scientific study of behavior and mental processes Structuralis m Early of psychology, used introspection to explore elemental structure of the mind Empiricism View that knowledge comes from exp. via senses, and that science flourishes thru observation and experimentse Functionalis m School of psychology that focuses on functions of mental and behavioral processes and how they enable organisms to adapt, survive, and flourish Humanistic…

Words 3228 - Pages 13

Essay about Similarities and Differences. a Comparison of Ifrs and Us Gaap

IFRS. Comprehensive publication including hundreds of worked examples, extracts from company reports and model financial statements. IFRS News Monthly newsletter focusing on the business implications of the IASB's proposals and new standards. Acquisitions – Accounting and transparency under IFRS 3 Assesses the impact of the standard, highlighting the key issues for management and raising…

Words 33240 - Pages 133

Title: What does personalised learning mean in practice? Analyse the learning needs of EAL pupils, and those of SEN pupils. Essays

Assignment TM1 Title: What does personalised learning mean in practice? Analyse the learning needs of EAL pupils, and those of SEN pupils. Discuss how the needs you identify can be met most effectively in subject teaching. Within this context over the past ten years’ the term ‘personalised learning’ gained political capital and could be considered as a defining feature of the UK’s educational system. (Miliband 2004) Personalised learning – theory and practice The Sussex report states personalised…

Words 6883 - Pages 28

Essay about Science Literacy Issues Intervention Report

Science Literacy Issues: Intervention Report !1 1. Introduction: ______________________________________________________3 2. Students Literacy Strength and Weaknesses: ____________________________3 2.1. Literacy Strength: ____________________________________________________3 2.2. Literacy Weaknesses: _________________________________________________3 2.3. Social Conditions Positively Affecting Literacy: ___________________________4 2.4. Social Conditions Negatively Affecting Literacy: __________________________4…

Words 4833 - Pages 20

Importance Of Ict In Education

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION The past two decades have witnessed an evolution in different aspects of education due to rapid advancements in Information Communication and Technologies (ICTs). This evolution is evident in distance learning which has witnessed a shift in methods of communication from traditional mailing services to real time students-students and students-teacher interaction. Furthermore, the application of emerging aspects of ICTs have made it possible to combine face-face methods of…

Words 10141 - Pages 41

Essay about The Effect of Student Attitudes and Beliefs on Mathematics Education

IMPACT OF SMASSE INSET ON STUDENTS' ATTITUDE AND PERFORMANCE IN MATHEMATICS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KOSOFE DISTRICT BY BERNARD - SAMUEL - CLEMENT MATRIC NO: PT/10/22738 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE NIGERIA CERTIFICATE OF EDUCATION (N.C.E) DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER/MATHEMATICS IN ADENIRAN OGUNSANYA COLLEGE OF EDUCATION IJANIKI, OGUDU CAMPUS JUNE 2013 DEDICATION To my God the beginner and the author of my life who made it possible…

Words 29432 - Pages 118

Pastoral Policy In Botsbia

planning arrangements should all aim at promoting an atmosphere that supports the intentions of the PCP (Calvert & Henderson, 1998). Against this background, this study focuses on the perceptions of junior secondary school managers about the impact of PCP on the management of junior secondary schools in Botswana. 1.1Background Many countries are signatories to a number of child directed international agreements that call for changes in educational structures (Nthitu, Kathard & Sayed, 2009). Some…

Words 23484 - Pages 94