how children learn languages

1. HOW CHILDREN LEARN
LANGUAGES
Chapter 2- The Primary English Teacher’s Guide
Jean Brewster
Gail Ellis
Denis Girard
Penguin English Guides

2. STAGES IN CHILDREN’S FIRST LANGUAGE
ACQUISITION
▶ 1) babbling
▶ 2) the first word
▶ 3) two words
▶ 4) phonological, syntactic and lexical norms
▶ 5) syntactic complexity and richness
▶ 6) conversational skills

3. Linguistic Stages before school age
▶ 1) first utterances are used to get attention( meaning is conveyed by
intonation)
▶ 2) children begin naming and classifying things, where? Up, down,hot,
cold
▶ 3) children ask many different kinds of questions, often using
intonation with statements. Eg: doggy gonne, Mummy?
▶ 4) children use increasingly complex structures to make a wide range
of requests.
▶ 5) children can use the language they need widely.

4. Main characteristics of language
acquisition
▶ Behaviourist views: imitation and practice or habit formation are key
processes in language development.
▶ Nativist views: theories from 17th and 18th c. suggested that there are
innate features of the human mind. But Chomsky talks about an internal
Language Acquisition Device which allows infants to process all the language
they hear and to produce their own meaningful utterances.
▶ Cognitive-development views: emphasised that language was an
aspect of general cognitive growth , claiming that certain thinking skills must
first mature in order to créate a framework for early language development.
▶ Social- interactionist views: emphasises the importance of human
social interactions, and the role of adult and child relationships in learning.

5. Different Language Acquisition
Perspectives
▶ A behaviourist view: sees the two processes as very similar since
practice and imitation are common to both
▶ An innatist view: it requires the child to use past experience to
structure new experience.
▶ A cognitive developmental view: important differences because the
L2 learner is more cognitively developed than the L1 learner
▶ A social- interactionist view: the social context for each tends to be
very different.

6. Are the L1 and L2 acquired in the same
way?
Phases:
▶ L1 and L2 acquisition processes are very similar, although many of the learning
conditions are very different.
▶ Processes learners go through:
▶ 1st they work out rules about how the language works.
▶ 2nd they generalize these across a group of similar instances.
▶ 3rd they use rules where they are not appropriate (over use)
▶ 4th begin to use the language items correctly.
As regard language learning conditions:
a) Learners of L2 do not have as much time as L1 learners
b) They receive far less one to one interaction
c) They have a very different motivation for learning.

7. Does Younger Mean Better?
▶ The notion that language is best learned during the early years of
childhood (CPH) made the number of countries which have started
teaching English at primary level increase.
▶ An early start is not, in itself, an automatically advantage; but it’s
influenced by many other factors such as:
❏ Levels of motivation and confidence,
❏ Differences in language aptitude,
❏ Personality,
❏ Quality of teaching,
❏ Adequate time for learning,
❏ High-Quality materials.

8. Bilingualism and Multilingualism
Many schools attempt to make their students bilingual but they don’t
consider their limitations (few hours, the number of students, their
motivation and conflicting claims of other subjects).
It is important to remember that differences in language learning
opportunities and exposure to the target language occur not only
between countries but even within a country (rural and urban areas).
Motivation is an important factor in successful language learning but
it is not the only one taking into account that input (exposure) and
output are also essential.

9. Who learns how much of what language
under what conditions?
▶ Who learns?: individuals of different ages, aptitudes and motivation.
▶ How much of what language?: governed by factors such as the goals
of language learning, the curriculum and syllabus and the effects of
tests.
▶ Under what conditions? refer to who is talking to whom, the
environment of the interaction, the type of classroom and the kinds
of topics which are discussed. They define the type of INPUT
learners will receive.

10. INPUT depends on:
❏ The goals of language learning.
❏ The syllabus in use.
❏ The teacher’s beliefs about learning and language learning.
❏ The teacher’s language level and teaching style.
❏ The size of classes and the type of resources available.

11. Teachers stance according to their
beliefs and previous experiences
The teachers’ beliefs about how children learn languages strongly influences
the way they teach. The way they were taught conditions them too, since
they tend to repeat the same methodology.
Examples:
● If you follow a behaviourist view, you may ask your children to learn
through repetition of decontextualized drills.
● If you believe in Total Physical Response (TPR) your ask your children to
perform the actions you have said but not saying anything.
● If you agree with a strict communicative view you will ask your students
not to translate into their mother tongue and you will avoid teaching
them formal grammar

12. From learner-centred to learning-centred
The concept learner-centred is no longer used. It was related to put fun into
learning, but in practice, the fun was the only factor that remained, resulting in
little learning.
The term learning-centred consists of maximizing learning providing both,
support and challenge in learning.
To apply learning-centred teaching in our classrooms, it is essential to know
about the physical, conceptual and educational characteristics of children and
how theory has shaped our views on how children think and learn.

13. What is different about teaching
children?
★ Children do not have a long-term goal that motivates them to spend
long hours learning the language
★ They have a lot of energy and need to be physically active
★ They have a wide range of emotional needs
★ They are emotionally excitable
★ They are developing conceptually and are at an early stage of their
schooling
★ They are still developing literacy in their own world
★ They get bored easily
★ They are excellent mimics
★ They can concentrate for surprisingly long time if they are interested
★ They can be easily distracted but also very enthusiastic
Chronological age is not always the same as developmental age.
Individual differences are always present (sometimes they depend on
parental support)

14. Emotional differences:
▶ Children have emotional needs, such as developing self-esteem and confidence in
learning.
▶ They tend to be egocentric and do not cooperate with others as effectively as older
children
▶ They can become easily frustrated
▶ They may be unstable emotionally and have sudden emotional outbursts
Physical differences:
▶ They are still developing motor skills
▶ They are more physically restless and require short activities that allow them to burn
off energy.
Conceptual, educational and linguistic differences
▶ Young children are still developing numeracy and literacy and are still learning to
master complex grammatical expressions in their L1
▶ 3 to 6 year-old children are capable of symbolic thought.
▶ Pupils of seven plus are more capable of realistic and rational thought
The very young need opportunities to choose and decide on actions; to
investigate, explore and be curious. They need stimulating experiences to
make them enthusiastic about learning.

15. How children think and learn: Main
theoretical contributions along the time
❏ Behaviourists saw children as a ´blank slate´who learned passively. They
are given different kind of stimuli and are praised or punished according to
their answers. Teaching equals learning. Transmission model of learning
❏ Piaget: Children learn actively by constructing their own thinking in a
particular environment. They go through stages of intellectual development
and it is not possible to teach them some things until they are ready. He
underestimated the role of adults in helping the children.
❏ Bruner: He adds the idea of scaffolding. Each child tries to link what he/she
sees at school with his/her previous experiences and ways of seeing the
world. (Contructivist)
❏ Vygotsky: He emphasises the role of the adult and of language in children’s
learning. He saw the process of mental development as two different levels:
what the children can do now (actual level) and what he might be able to do
with help and supervision (potential level of development).

16. All in all...
Behaviourists: The teacher transmits his/her knowledge to passive
students
Piaget: Children are active but they need to be taught according to the
cognitive level they are going through. (He does not take into account the
adult support and guidance)
Bruner: He adds the idea of experience. No child can learn if what
he/she is taught is not linked somehow to what he/she already knows.
Vygotsky: he establishes two different levels of mental development.
The second one called potential level of development is esential in the
classroom because it highlights the role of the teacher: it consists of all
the things the child will be able to do if he/she is guided by an adult.

17. Learning Styles, NLP
❏ Visual learning style: information learned mainly through the eye.
❏ Auditory learning style: based on a preference for learning linked to
hearing.
❏ kinesthetic learning style: learning through movement and manipulating
things.
The understanding of children aged five to seven years old comes
through the hands, eyes and ears, so the physical world is dominant at
all times.

18. The Multiple Intelligences, Gardner (1993)
Linguistic Intelligence: a learner with good vocabulary, good reader.
Logical Intelligence: a learner who likes using computers, is good at problem solving
and likes classifying.
Spatial Intelligence: a learner who enjoys drawing, who learns well from using
pictures, charts, maps, etc.
Kinesthetic Intelligence: a learner who learns through manipulating or moving
objects and lively activities.
Musical Intelligence: a learner who learns well through the use of chants, rhymes
and songs.
Interpersonal Intelligence: a learner who learns well from pair -or group- work
activities.
Intrapersonal Intelligence: a learner who is good self-evaluator and likes to reflect.
Naturalist Intelligence: a learner who is good recognizing patterns in things, and
noticing differences and similarities between things.

19. Thinking about pupil’s learning
Teachers generate their personal theories on children’s learning in five
main ways:
❏ Through their own memories of childhood learning,
❏ Through their teacher training and reading,
❏ Through reflection while they are in action in the classroom,
❏ After being in the classroom or informal discussion with colleagues,
❏ Through professional development activities, such as further training or reading.

20. Teaching Learning and Language Skills
How to teach English to children:
Factors which influence classroom methodology:
▶ The context within which English is learned and the role it plays
within the community
▶ The goals and syllabus for English
▶ Beliefs about teaching and learning in general
▶ Language teaching and learning in particular
▶ The language teacher and his/her training
▶ The materials, resources and time available
▶ The amount and type of assessment used

21. Supporting transfer of language learning skills from L1
to the L2
comparing
process and conditions between L1 and L2 learning
shows
s
7 principles which teachers need
to be aware and make use of wherever it is possible

22. Teaching styles
Teaching-centred Learning-centred
*The teacher is the one who *The teacher bases the classes
holds the truth and is the conductor who on the students’ interests
controls the actions in the classroom.
* Pupils are passive and are not *Pupils are more independant
encouraged to reflect and can be more creative- active role
* Traditional style * Communicative approach

23. Types of language teaching approach
• Audio-lingual
• Total Physical Response (TPR)
• Communicative approach
• Task-Based learning (TBL)
• Story-based methodology
• Cross-curricular

24. STAGES IN LEARNING
▶ Presentation-Practice-Production (PPP)
▶ Meeting new language, Manipulating it
and Making the language your own (MMM)
THE FIRST TWO STAGES ARE VERY
WELL CARRIED OUT.
THE FINAL STAGE IS OFTEN LESS
EFFECTIVELY USED OR MISSED
OUT ALTOGETHER.

25. TASK DESIGN▶ Have a clear goal
▶ Have a clear outcome
▶ Are contextualized with a
real purpose and
audience
▶ Encourage production and
creative use of language
▶ Provide more pupil
Independence and choice
▶ Are more cognitively
demanding
▶ Can be personalized
according to pupils’
interests
▶ Provide opportujnities to
develop interaction and
fluency
• Support linguistic and
cognitive demands of tasks
in a structured way
• Focus on language practice
• Are cognitively simple
• Are not always
personalized according to
pupils’ interests
• Are not a meaningful end in
themselves
• Provide a small degree of
pupil freedom and choice
• Provide controlled, guided
practice
• Rehearse specific language
ítems, skills or strategies

26. MEETING PUPILS’ NEED
▶ Is there a comfortable and relatively stress-free environment
in your classroom?
▶ Do you think this is important in language learning?
▶ Is English often being used purposefully, for a real
communication and learning?
▶ Are children given enough opportunities to actually use the
language which has been modelled for them?
▶ Is there a reasonable balance between cooperative and
competitive learning activities?
▶ Are the needs of pupils’ different ability types and learning
styles acknowledged and catered for sufficiently?

27. ▶ Cesar Rasilla, Rocío Martínez, Belén Escudero, Claudia Loza, Belén de la Cruz