Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-04T09:55:10.444Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Second-language acquisition via immersion in daycare*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 February 2009

Rachel Karniol
Rachel Karniol*
Affiliation:
Tel Aviv University
*
Department of Psychology, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Israel
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This paper presents a case study of second-language acquisition of Hebrew via immersion in daycare between 1;10 and 3;0. A period of silence was followed by rapid onset of L2 production simultaneously with many references to language itself. Eight types of language awareness were identified, and of these, several types may be prerequisites for starting L2 production. The nature of L2 speech during the first stages of production suggests that to crack the sematic code of L2, the child relies on identifiable contingencies between utterances and subsequent behaviours by speakers and listeners. As a result there are many more imperatives and interrogatives in L2 than are evident in L1 speech, and these appear to be learned by rote in an unanalysed manner. The transition to complex constructions occurs via the juxtaposition of known but syntactically unanalysed chunks, and results in patterns of syntactic errors similar to those of adult second-language learners. Reliance on L1 as a fall-back strategy was also evident. Several implications of these data for cognitive development in general are discussed.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 17 , Issue 1 , February 1990 , pp. 147 - 170
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

I would like to thank Ruth Berman for her helpful suggestions and comments during various stages of this research.

References

REFERENCES

Asher, J. J. (1969). The total physical response approach to second language learning. Modern Language Journal 53. 3–17.Google Scholar
Asher, J. J., Kusudo, J. A. & de la Torre, R. (1974). Learning a second language through commands: the second field test. Modern Language Journal 58. 24–32.Google Scholar
Berman, R. A. (1985). The acquisition of Hebrew. In Slobin, D. I. (ed.), The crosslinguistic study of language acquisition. Vol. 1. Hillsdale NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Bloom, L. (1973). One word at a time. The Hague: Mouton.Google Scholar
Bowerman, M. (1987). Commentary: mechanisms of language acquisition. In MacWhinney, B. (ed.), Mechanisms of language acquisition. Hillsdale NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Brown, R. (1973). A first language: the early stages. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burling, R. (1959). Language development of a Garo and English speaking child. Word 15. 45–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, H. H. & Clark, E. V. (1977). Psychology and language: an introduction to psycholinguistics. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.Google Scholar
Clark, R. (1974). Performance without competence. Journal of Child Language 1. 1–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, R. (1977). What's the use of imitation? Journal of Child Language 4. 341–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Della Corte, M., Benedict, H. & Klein, D. (1983). The relationship of pragmatic dimensions of mothers' speech to the referential-expressive distinction. Journal of Child Language 10, 35–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dulay, H. C. & Burt, M. K. (1974). Natural sequences in child second language acquisition. Language Learning 24, 37–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ervin-Tripp, S. (1971). An overview of theories of grammatical development. In Slobin, D. I. (ed.), The ontogenesis of grammar. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Fantini, A. E. (1985). Language acquisition of a bilingual child: a sociolinguistic perspective. San Diego CA: College Hill Press.Google Scholar
Fillmore, L. W. (1976). The second time around: cognitive and social strategies in second language acquisition. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Stanford University.Google Scholar
Hakuta, K. (1974). Prefabricated patterns and the emergence of structure in second language acquisition. Language Learning 24, 287–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hakuta, K. (1976). A case study of a Japanese child learning English as a second language. Language Learning 22, 321–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hardy, J. A. & Braine, M. D. S. (1981). Categories that bridge between meaning and syntax in five-year-olds. In Deutsch, W. (ed.), The child's construction of language. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Hattori, S. (1965). The sound and meaning of language. Foundations of Language 1. 95–111.Google Scholar
Heath, S. B. (1985). Narrative play in second language learning. In Galda, L. & Pellegrini, A. D. (eds), Play, language, and stories: the development of children's literate behavior. Norwood NJ: Ablex.Google Scholar
Huang, J. & Hatch, E. (1978). A Chinese child's acquisition of English. In Hatch, E. M. (ed.), Second language acquisition: a book of readings. Rowley MA: Newbury House.Google Scholar
Imedadze, N. V. K. (1960). Psikhologischesskoy prirode rannego dvuyazchiya. Voprosy Psikkologii 6, 60–9.Google Scholar
Itoh, H. & Hatch, E. (1978). Second language acquisition: a case study. In Hatch, E. M. (ed.), Second language acquisition: a book of readings. Rowley MA: Newbury House.Google Scholar
Kessler, C. (1972). Syntactic contrasts in child bilingualism. Language Learning 22, 221–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krashen, S. (1978). The monitor model for second language acquisition. In Gingras, R. C. (ed.), Second language acquisition and foreign language teaching. Washington DC: Center for Applied Linguistics.Google Scholar
Krashen, S. & Terrell, T. D. (1983). The natural approach: language acquisition in the classroom. New York: Pergamon.Google Scholar
Langley, P. & Carbonell, J. G. (1987). Language acquisition and machine learning. In MacWhinney, B. (ed.), Mechanisms of language acquisition. Hillsdale NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Leopold, W. F. (1949). Speech development of a bilingual child: A linguist's record. Vol. 3. Evanston IL: Northwestern University Press.Google Scholar
MacNamara, J. (1972). Cognitive basis of language learning in infants. Psychological Review 79. 1–14.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
MacNamara, J. (1977). Cognitive strategies of language learning. In Mackey, W. F. & Andersson, T. (eds), Bilingualism in early childhood. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.Google Scholar
McLaughlin, B. (1984). Second language acquisition in childhood. Hillsdale NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Meisel, J. M. (1980). Linguistic simplification. In Felix, S. W. (ed.), Second language development: trends and issues. Tubingen: Narr.Google Scholar
Menyuk, P. (1971). The acquisition and development of language. Englewood Cliffs NJ: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Moerk, E. L. (1983). The mother of Eve – as a first language teacher. Norwood NJ: Ablex.Google Scholar
Nelson, K. (1973). Structure and strategy in learning to talk. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development 38. No. 149.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Newport, E. L., Gleitman, H. & Gleitman, L. R. (1977). Mother, I'd rather do it myself: some effects and non-effects of maternal speech style. In Ferguson, C. A. & Snow, C. E. (eds), Talking to children: language input and acquisition. Cambridge: C.U.P.Google Scholar
Peters, A. M. (1983). The units of language acquisition. New York: C.U.P.Google Scholar
Peters, A. M. (1985). Language segmentation: operating principles for the perception and analysis of language. In Slobin, D. I. (ed.), The crosslinguistic study of language acquisition. Vol. 2. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.Google Scholar
Pienemann, M. (1980). The second language acquisition of immigrant children. In Felix, S. W. (ed.), Second language development: trends and issues. Tubingen: Narr.Google Scholar
Pinker, S. (1984). Language learnability and language development. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Porter, R. (1977). A cross-sectional study of morpheme acquisition in first language learners. Language Learning 27, 47–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Redlinger, W. E. & Park, T. Z. (1980). Language mixing in young bilinguals. Journal of Child Language 7. 337–52.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roeper, T. (1987). The acquisition of implicit arguments and the distinction between theory, process, and mechanism. In MacWhinney, B. (ed.), Mechanisms of language acquisition. Hillsdale NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Rondal, J. (1985). Adult-child interaction and the process of language acquisition. New York: Praeger.Google Scholar
Ronjat, J. (1913). he developpement du langage observé chez un enfant bilingue. Paris: Champion.Google Scholar
Rosansky, E. J. (1976). Methods and morphemes in second language acquisition research. Language learning 26. 409–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Slobin, D. I. (1970). Universals of grammatical development in children. In d'Arcais, G. B. Flores & Levelt, W. J. M. (eds), Advances in psycholinguistics. Amsterdam: North Holland.Google Scholar
Slobin, D. I. (1973). Cognitive prerequisites for the development of grammar. In Ferguson, C. A. & Slobin, D. I. (eds), Studies in Child Language. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.Google Scholar
Snow, C. E. (1981 a). The uses of imitation. Journal of Child Language 8, 205–12.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Snow, C. E. (1981 b). Social interaction and language acquisition. In Dale, P. S. & Ingram, D. (eds), Child language – an international perspective. Baltimore: University Park Press.Google Scholar
Snow, C. E. Saying it again: the role of expanded and deferred imitation in language acquisition. In Nelson, K. E. (ed.), Children's language, Vol. 4. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Swain, M. (1972). Bilingualism as a first language. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of California, Berkeley.Google Scholar
Swain, M. & Wesche, M. (1975). Linguistic interaction: case study of a bilingual child. Language Sciences 37, 17–22.Google Scholar
Valette, R. (1964). Some reflections on second-language learning in young children. Language Learning 14, 91–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vihman, M. M. (1982). Formulas in first and second language acquisition. In Obler, L. K. & Menn, L. (eds), Exceptional language and linguistics. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Vihman, M. M. & McLaughlin, B. (1982). Bilingual and second language acquisition in preschool children. In Brainerd, C. J. & Pressley, M. (eds), Verbal processes in children: progress in cognitive developmental research. New York: Springer-Verlag.Google Scholar
Volterra, V. & Taeschner, T. (1978). The acquisition and development of language by bilingual children. Journal of Child Language 5, 311–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wagner-Gough, J. & Hatch, E. (1975). The importance of input data in second language acquisition studies. Language Learning 25. 297–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar