Traditionally, researchers in the areas of linguistics, psychology, and sociology have all contributed major theoretical positions regarding how young children acquire their first language or mother tongue. More recently, research using various types of brain scans is contributing evidence that supports some of these theories and appears to contradict or call for revisions to other theories. This course will guide you to this brain-based research to complement the information other courses will provide about currently recommended approaches, methods, techniques, and strategies for language acquisition and learning.
When you look at the list of readings for this assignment, you may be tempted to count them and decide to skip several. What you need to know is that each of the ScienceDaily research reports is about one page in length and is a very simple, clear summary of research results for a particular study and each one presents a different aspect, issue, or context related to the topics in this module. While you may not choose to cite every one of the sources, you need to read all of them to determine which ones “build a case” for your particular way of synthesizing the information.
Keep in mind that you will use these resources to reinforce and/or contradict or modify the theories and hypotheses discussed in the presentations, other readings, and in other courses you have taken. Most textbooks for language acquisition courses and ESL methods courses do not include the type of research reported in these recent ScienceDaily reports, so they provide an excellent resource to use in confronting, debating, and clarifying the syntheses of research reflected in even the best-written and most current course textbooks.
In this module’s application, you will read brief reports on research related to language acquisition. You will synthesize the research consulted, cite sources accurately, and state conclusions that are consistent as they relate to the following three topics:
- how language is acquired by babies and very young children.
- how speaking more than one language impacts the way languages are acquired, developed, and learned.
- how learning an additional language after adolescence or as an adult affects the learner.
Directions for Completion:
- Your Module 3 Application consists of three parts, which will be included in one paper. Use the title, Synthesis of Recent Research for your main title with subheadings as specified in the assignment.
- Create a Word or text document for your response. Use 12-point Arial or Times New Roman font. Follow APA format.
- Create a title page in APA format.
- Compose introductory and concluding paragraphs for your paper.
- Part 1: Follow the directions for “Synthesis of Recent Research on Language Acquisition: Baby Talk” to complete Part 1 in the Word or text document.
- Part 2: Follow the directions for “Synthesis of Recent Research on Language Acquisition and the Impact of Speaking More Than One Language” to complete Part 2 in the Word or text document.
- Part 3: Follow the directions for “Synthesis of Recent Research on the Impact of Language Acquisition After Adolescence” to complete Part 3 in the Word or text document.
- Compose an introduction to establish context for the paper and a conclusion to summarize the research findings.
In order to situate your point of view and assist your professor in understanding your perspective, for this course in particular, your introduction to each assignment should mention the following:- the setting and location where you currently work and/or live (if not currently teaching);
- previous contexts where you have taught English, ESL, or EFL, and
- your personal life experiences with learning different languages and living in different cultural and social settings.
- Follow the directions for submission to submit your final Word or text document.
- Use the references that are provided to you within the assignment. Please note that unlike journal references, ScienceDaily research reports follow the format for newspapers or daily/weekly online magazines that use the complete date in reverse order and the URL that goes directly to that article because they do not have volume/issue information.
- The authors of the research reports are the institutions that sent in the report to brag about what their scholars are doing. You may abbreviate the names of the institutions in the citations when it is clear which source you are citing, and you only need the year for the in-text citation, unless you cite more than one article from the same source in the same year.
- Please only use and cite the ScienceDaily articles you actually read, not the additional journal articles that may be cited in the ScienceDaily article. If you accessed and read those journal articles, of course, you may cite them; but this assignment intends for you to only use the brief research reports in ScienceDaily.
Part 1: Synthesis of Recent Research on Language Acquisition: Baby Talk
Directions for Completion:
- Access and read the articles, and make notes on how language is acquired by babies and very young children.
- According to the research reported in these brief reports, synthesize a point of view regarding how language is acquired by babies and very young children. The synthesis should be a maximum of 200 words. Use the subheading, Language Acquisition and Baby Talk Synthesis.
- Cite at least two articles from which you drew your information, correctly using APA format.
- Beware! If you look at the end of a ScienceDaily article for the APA reference and see quotation marks, that is the Chicago Style Sheet version. You have to click on the APA tab above the reference citation to get the APA formatting.
References
Association for Psychological Science. (2010, February 17). Bilingual babies: The roots of bilingualism in newborns. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100216142330.htm (Links to an external site.)
Concordia University. (2011, January 20). A second language gives toddlers an edge. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110119120409.htm (Links to an external site.)
Concordia University. (2013, January 16). Language mixing in children growing up bilingual. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130116123641.htm (Links to an external site.)
Ithaca College. (2013, July 15). Bilingual children have a two-tracked mind. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130715151106.htm (Links to an external site.)
Ithaca College. (2014, July 10). Mothers orchestrate infant attention to teach new words, study concludes. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140710111521.htm (Links to an external site.)
NIH/National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2012, April 3). Bilingual children switch tasks faster than speakers of a single language. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120403112006.htm (Links to an external site.)
Northwestern University. (2014, March 7). Infants using known verbs to learn new nouns: Before infants begin to talk in sentences, they are paying careful attention to conversations. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140307100220.htm (Links to an external site.)
Rutgers University. (2014, September 30). Improving babies’ language skills before they’re even old enough to speak. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140930171434.htm (Links to an external site.)
SAGE Publications. (2014, June 4). Multilingual or not, infants learn words best when it sounds like home. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/06/140604094106.htm (Links to an external site.)
Sissa Medialab. (2014, September 8). Word ‘edges’ are important for language acquisition. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140908083348.htm (Links to an external site.)
University of British Columbia. (2011, February 20). Infants raised in bilingual environments can distinguish unfamiliar languages. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110218092539.htm (Links to an external site.)
University of British Columbia. (2013, February 14). Bilingual babies know their grammar by 7 months. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130214111606.htm (Links to an external site.)
University of Chicago. (2014, August 19). Hand gestures improve learning in both signers, speakers. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140819094005.htm (Links to an external site.)
University of Hertfordshire. (2012, October 4). Signing in babies does not accelerate language development, study suggests. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121004093155.htm (Links to an external site.)
University of Iowa. (2014, August 27). Parents, listen next time your baby babbles. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140827122632.htm (Links to an external site.)
University of Missouri-Columbia. (2014, September 17). Babies learn words differently as they age, researcher finds. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140917141431.htm (Links to an external site.)
University of Notre Dame. (2011, December 20). Babies track word patterns long before word-learning starts. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111209150156.htm (Links to an external site.)
University of Washington. (2011, August 29). Bilingual babies’ vocabulary linked to early brain differentiation. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110829070559.htm (Links to an external site.)
Part 2: Synthesis of Recent Research on Language Acquisition and the Impact of Speaking More Than One Language
Directions for Completion:
- Access and read the brief articles, and make notes on how speaking more than one language impacts the way languages are acquired, developed, and learned.
- According to the research reported in these brief reports, synthesize a point of view regarding how speaking more than one language impacts the way languages are acquired, developed, and learned. The synthesis should be a maximum of 200 words. Use the subheading, Language Acquisition and the Impact of Speaking More Than One Language.
- Cite at least two articles from which you drew your information, correctly using APA format.
- Beware! If you look at the end of a ScienceDaily article for the APA reference and see quotation marks, that is the Chicago Style Sheet version. You have to click on the APA tab above the reference citation to get the APA formatting.
References
Association for Psychological Science. (2010, November 9). Bilingual benefits reach beyond communication. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101109113028.htm (Links to an external site.)
Association for Psychological Science. (2013, May 20). How bilinguals switch between languages. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130520163859.htm (Links to an external site.)
Newcastle University. (2011, March 15). Bilinguals see the world in a different way, study suggests. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110314132531.htm (Links to an external site.)
Northwestern University. (2012, April 30). Bilingualism fine-tunes hearing, enhances attention. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120430152033.htm (Links to an external site.)
Penn State. (2011, February 21). Juggling languages can build better brains. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110218092529.htm (Links to an external site.)
Penn State. (2013, September 10). Think twice, speak once: Bilinguals process both languages simultaneously. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130910121521.htm (Links to an external site.)
Rutgers University. (2014, May 27). Learning early in life may help keep brain cells alive: Brain cells survive in young who master a task. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140527154750.htm (Links to an external site.)
Universitat Jaume I. (2010, July 7). Bilingualism associated with brain reorganization involving better efficiency in executive functions, research finds. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100707065139.htm (Links to an external site.)
University of Granada. (2013, February 20). Bilingual children have a better ‘working memory’ than monolingual children. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130220084444.htm (Links to an external site.)
University of Haifa. (2011, February 1). Bilinguals find it easier to learn a third language. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110201110915.htm (Links to an external site.)
University of Kansas. (2011, May 31). Bilingualism no big deal for brain, researcher finds. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110531121313.htm (Links to an external site.)
Newcastle University. “Bilinguals see the world in a different way, study suggests.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 15 March 2011. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110314132531.htm>.
University of Nottingham. (2011, August 2). Chinese-English bilinguals are ‘automatic’ translators. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110802113321.htm (Links to an external site.)
Part 3: Synthesis of Recent Research on the Impact of Second Language Acquisition After Adolescence
Directions for Completion:
- Access and read the articles, and make notes on how learning an additional language after adolescence or as an adult affects the learner.
- According to the research reported in these brief reports, synthesize a point of view regarding how learning an additional language after adolescence or as an adult affects the learner. The synthesis should be a maximum of 200 words. Use the suheading, Impact of Second Language Acquisition After Adolescence.
- Cite at least two articles from which you drew your information, correctly using APA format.
- Beware! If you look at the end of a ScienceDaily article for the APA reference and see quotation marks, that is the Chicago Style Sheet version. You have to click on the APA tab above the reference citation to get the APA formatting.
References
Cell Press. (2012, March 29). Being bilingual wards off symptoms of dementia. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120329124603.htm (Links to an external site.)
Ghent University. (2014, December 1). Bilingualism delays Alzheimer’s manifestation by more than four years. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141201090428.htm (Links to an external site.)
Northwestern University. (2014, November 12). Bilingual brains better equipped to process information. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141112084504.htm (Links to an external site.)
Society for Neuroscience. (2010, June 3). Second language learners recall native language when reading, brain research suggests. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100601171848.htm (Links to an external site.)
Society for Neuroscience (SfN). (2013, January 8). Cognitive benefit of lifelong bilingualism. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130108201519.htm (Links to an external site.)
Wiley. (2014, June 2). Speaking two languages benefits the aging brain. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/06/140602101204.htm
