Second language acquisition in

early childhood

Second language acquisition in early childhood

• ready to learn language to communicate with the significant people in their lives.

• understanding of how children acquire a second language in order to design high quality learning environments

How do children learn a second language?

• preschool- aged children can just pick up a second language without much effort .

• becoming proficient in a language is a complex and demanding process that takes many years.

• The speed of language acquisition is due to factors both within the child and in the child’s learning environment.

Will Two Languages Help or Hurt Young Children?

• There are no negative effects for children who are bilingual.

• Their language development follows the same pattern as that of monolingual children who speak their first language.

• Children who have the opportunity to speak two languages should be encouraged to maintain both.

Simultaneous versus sequential second language acquisition

• When a child learns two languages simultaneously, before three years of age, the developmental way is similar to how monolingual children acquire language.

• As children are acquiring two languages and becoming bilingual, one language may dominate.

• It is rare for emerging bilinguals to be equally balanced in the development of both languages.

• second language sequentially, after three years of age, follows a different progression.

• At this point, the basic of the child’s first language have been learned. They now the structure of one language, but now must learn the specific features, grammar, vocabulary, and syntax, of a new language.

Code Switching/Language Mixing

code switching: switching languages for portions of a sentence

language mixing: inserting single items from one language into another

• Both are normal aspects of second language acquisition.

• main reason that children mix the two languages in one communication is because they lack sufficient vocabulary in one or both languages to fully express themselves.

• parents and teachers should not be concerned about.

• The goal must always be on improvement communication, rather than enforcing strict rules about which language can be used at a given time or under certain circumstances.

Questions for pre-school-teachers

• Do you know whether these children acquired or learned their second language?

• What differences have you noticed between a child who has got chilean parents from other who has foreign parents?

• Do you know if these children are constantly exposed to the second language at home?

• What are the main problems that bilingual children have in terms of learning?

• Do children that speak different languages interact between each other?

• In what language do they interact during the braks?