THE ENVIRONMENT AND LANGUAGE

ACQUISITION
Introduction
From a very young age children learn how to use spoken language and
to understand the speech of others, in order to communicate with the
people around them (Brooks and Kempe, 2012). They can do this even
though a language has a variety of sounds, words with different
meanings and grammatical rules (Gordon and Grimes, 2005 and Lewis,
2009, Cited in Brooks and Kempe, 2012, p.2).
According to Whitebread (2012) the interaction of the learner with the
environment is dynamic and the learner will perceive and select the
information they are looking for from his or her surroundings in an active
way. The environment plays an important role during learning in general
and language acquisition in particular, that is the reason why the
environment is considered as the third teacher in the Reggio Emilia
approach (Thornton and Brunton, 2009). Consequently, the purpose of
this assignment is to illustrate the process of language acquisition during
the early years, the importance of the environment and the role of the
adult in this process.

How is language acquired?

Humans are social animals and communication it is a very important
aspect of humans social interaction (Buckley, 2003). Hence, developing
communications skills is fundamental because it enables us to interact
with other human beings. Oxford Reference (n.d) states that
communication is a form of interaction used between humans,
machines, animals or plants to transmit messages, information or
signals. There are many ways in which humans can communicate one to
another, wich can verbal and non-verbal (Oxford Reference, n.d).
The verbal from of exchange of ideas or information in humans can be
done through language, which involves the use of words in its written or
spoken form in an agreed way (MacMillan, n.d; Oxford Reference, n.d).
Language is what makes humans different from other species (Penn,
2008). As children grow up they learn how to use language, and at the
same time they learn how to use it appropriately according the context
or the situation (Mukherji and ODea, 2000). So how do children acquire
a language?
1

From a Behaviourist point of view, the child initially learns a language by

imitating an adult and then this is reinforced by a reward, such as a
smile from the parents (Whitebread, 2012). Therefore, Babies learn how
to speak if they are being talked to constantly (Penn, 2008). However,
the speed in which children understand and learn how to use language is
too fast to be able to explain it in this way (Whitebread, 2012).
Nativists, on the other hand, propose: language is a natural object, a
component of the human mind, physically represented in the brain and
part of the biological endowment of the species (Chomsky, 2002, p. 1).
This statement suggests that humans are born with the ability to learn
language and it is part of our brain, but the nature and quality of
language skills will depend on the nature and quality of language, input
received (Neville, 2007, Time 5:45). Chomsky (2002) suggests that
children are born with a device that helps them decipher language and
he calls it Language Acquisition Device (LAD). This device helps children
understand the fundaments of the grammar of any language in which
they are immersed (Penn, 2008). However, Chomsky points out that
children need to be stimulated with any language to be able to acquire a
language (Chomsky, 2002).
Furthermore, from an interactionism point of view, children develop their
communication skills, such as talking and listening, as they interact with
other people (Nicols, 2007). In other words, language is acquired and
developed as children have different opportunities to use the language
with adults and their peers. In fact, every person that lives or work with
a child help to improve his or her communication skills (Farrugia and
OKeefe, 2012),

Sequence of language acquisition from birth to 3 years

Language acquisition is a process that has many stages from the
moment that we are born. At the beginning, babies use the action of
crying in order to communicate with their parents or other adults that
are around them, and they have different ways to cry depending on what
they want to express (Brock and Rankin, 2008).
According to smith et al (2011), when babies are around 1 month old
they start producing sounds of a vowel as a response of social
interaction during different activities such as bath time or when the
dipper is being changed. These sounds are called cooing and it usually
happens when the baby is feeling happy (Mukherji and ODea, 2000).

Babies around 6 to 9 moths old start babbling, these are repeated

sounds of vowels and some consonants, such as dada (Smith et al,
2011). At this stage babies do not limit themselves to cry or make soft
sounds to communicate with the adults, and they can also shout or
scream to attract the attention (Smith et al, 2011), but this babbling can
show no signs of change or it can even terminate if the child is deaf or if
he or she is not exposed to any language (Mukherji and ODea, 2000). In
other words, babbling in children can stop if they do not have enough
stimulus and response from their surroundings.
Honig (2008) suggest that some babies say their first word before 9
10 months (Honig, 2008, p. 21), and this word is not perfect like the
ones you would find in a dictionary. However, this word could be a sound
that the baby makes very often every time he or she performs certain
activity, while trying to name or label something in their environment
(Smith et al, 2011; Whitehead, 2009). During this period the baby can
only say a word at time, but the different context in which the child uses
the word, in combination with the intonation and the gestures it gives
this word more meaning (Smith et al, 2011; Honig, 2008). These
sentences made of a single word are called holophrases (Smith et al,
2011).
When the child is between 14 and 19 months, some children show an
increase in their vocabulary, and in some cases they can produce up
until 9 words per day (Honig, 2008; Mukherji and ODea, 2000). This
phenomenon does not always happen, and some children keep showing
a slow but steady rate of learning new words, but most of them do show
a sudden rise in their vocabulary (Mukherji and ODea, 2000).
Even though a baby who is around 18 months old still uses some
holophrases, during this period the baby starts to create sentences with
two words, and these combinations slowly become more complex (Smith
et al, 2011), and when the baby is 24 to 27 months, he or she will
produce sentences using a combination of three and four words that
shows that the child is making use of grammar rules to construct them,
even though many of the utterances are not properly well constructed
(smith et al, 2011). This short and simple sentences are known as stage
one grammar (Mukherji and ODea, 2000).
According to Mukherji and ODea (2000), from about 30 months, children
start using more complex sentences that are also longer, and when they
are around 3 years old, children show a rapid growth in the difficulty of
the sentences they say. Findings from research show that there is a
connection between how large is the vocabulary of a child and the
complexity in the sentences he or she uses (Mukherji and ODea, 2000),

meaning that the bigger the vocabulary a child posses, the more difficult
the sentences he or she uses.

The environment and the role of the adult

For language to be developed there are some conditions that are related
to
the period of time a person needs to master a language, the quality of
social and communication interaction between children and others, and
the environment (Brooks and Kempe, 2012). Social psychologists
suggest that language development can only be possible in an
environment where adults communicate their language and culture, with
all its subtle meanings, to children (Mukherji and ODea, 2000, p.6).
Buckley (2003) proposes that a combination of the interaction with the
environment and internal factors help develop language in children. She
says that some of the internal factors are the chidlrens needs to
communicate, to have social interaction and to explore. She also states
that some of the environmental factors are the relationships of the
children with the adults and the opportunities of interaction with them,
which are also suggested on the theories of Vygotsky and Brunner
(Corden, 2000).
When adults are conversing they also take turns to speak, and children
learn these conventions by observing, listening and participating in
these conversations (Brock and Rankin, 2008). According to Mukherji and
ODea (2000) these opportunities are important because it gives the
children the chance to practice and experiment with their own growing
communication skills, and the role of the adult who care for young
children is crucial, as children need feedback and encouragement if they
are to become skilled speakers, communicators, readers and writers
(Mukherji and ODea, 2000, p. v).
Brunner (Cited in Smidt, 2011, p. 45) believes that children need to have
a history of social experiences in order to be able to create the rules of
grammar, these experiences must take place within routinized and
familiar settings (Smidt, 2011, p. 45) also called formats. He says that
these routines are the one that helps children develop their Language
Acquisition Support System (LASS) and he also thinks that these formats
are closely related to scaffolding. It is probable that the participation of
the children in routines, such as playing games like peek-a-boo or
exchanging objects, supports childrens understanding of speech
according to the context (Dockrell and Messer, 1999).

Language is one of the tools that children use to help them learn, and its
importance raises as children increase their knowledge of how it works
and the way they can use it (Conteh, 2011). Therefore, as children grow
up, it is important that the adults spend time with them extending their
interest and explaining things about the world, stimulating their actions
and thoughts into new areas and talking with them (Nutbrown, 2011, p.
6), by doing this the adult is scaffolding childrens vocabulary so children
can learn how to explain their thoughts using different words and
language, and at the same time they are developing their knowledge
(Whitehead 2009, Nutbrown, 2011).
It is very important to create spaces where the needs of the children are
met, and where they are stimulated and motivated to learn and
communicate. According to Piaget (Cited in Smith et al, 2011, p. 467)
the role of the practitioner is to create environments where the child feel
encouraged to ask questions, experiment and speculate, instead of just
receive information without question it. This can be reflected in the
Reggio Emilia approach, where the environment is designed in a way
that children feel free to tell their opinions and their feelings, and they
are encouraged to explore, research, communicate, be involved in
projects and at the same time reinforce their identity (Thornton and
Brunton, 2009).
Montessori (Cited in Isaacs, 2007, pp. 12-13) suggests that the
environment must encourage the development of children in a holistic
way, so it must provide children with opportunities that would help them
develop their own individual potential (Isaacs, 2007). Taking into account
the stage of development of the child, the adult must assure that the
activities, material, objects and occupations in the environment are
brought to the attention of the child to facilitate, scaffold and extend
developmental opportunities for the child (Montessori, Cited in Isaacs,
2007, p. 13).
McDonagh and McDonagh (2008) also propose that interactive
storytelling has an important role when supporting childrens language
in the Early Years. Activities such as story sacks, songs and rhymes or
role-play, gives the opportunity for children to hear, process and
practise models of language in a non-threating way (McDonagh and
McDonagh, 2008, p. 10). From this statement it can be said that children
are learning to communicate effectively while talking about their
favourite stories, singing a song, or pretending to be someone else while
role-playing. In addition, Whitehead (2009) suggest that when children
have the opportunity to play with other children and spend time with
them, they are not only developing their communication skills, but also
their social skills, because during this activities, children are learning
how to adjust to the existence and the requests of other children and
5

they are also learning to replace many impulsive physical reactions with
words and reasons (Whitehead, 2009, p. 144).
Nutbrown (2011) states that an essential part of learning experience is
the process of getting sandy, dirty and wet! (Nutbrown, 2011, p. 7).
According to this statement, it is also very important that children have
the opportunity to experience the outdoors. White (2014) suggests that
the outdoors have many benefits for childrens development, which
includes giving children the chance to ask questions, explore and get
messy while exploring the natural world and learning. May et al (2006)
says that if children are given a large amount of space, the would be
able to create imaginative places, complex plots and ingenuous
solutions to problems (May et al, 2006, p. 147), and also while playing
outside children are developing their independence, because during
these moments is more likely that they will have their most treasured
accomplishments (May et al, 2006).
According to Weston and Marsden (2011), from the moment a baby is
born, he or she learns about the world that surround him or her through
physical movements, and as they grow, understanding and awareness
develops from the physical nature of experience and interaction
(Weston and Marsden, 2011, p. 179). Rachel and Margaret McMillan
(1859-1917 and 1860-1931, Cited in Weston and Marsden, 2011, p. 181)
noticed a relationship between physical and intellectual development,
they saw that children with lower physical development had reduced
cognitive development. Thus, children need the space and the chance to
move and develop physically to improve their learning and their wellbeing. In addition, research findings also suggest that, if children have
more opportunities for physical interaction and stimulation, the brain will
create more neural connections, which will be more strong and complex
(Weston and Marsden, 2011).

EAL Learners
English as an Additional Language (EAL) Learners have certain different
needs from the pupils whose English is their first language, because they
are learning using another language, and they also come from cultural
backgrounds and communities with different understandings and
expectations of education, language and learning (Davies, 2012).
Practitioners must be careful to take account of these differences (Flynn,
2008), to be able to support EAL Learner develop a positive self-esteem
(Clarke, 2004)
EAL learners must be encouraged to develop solid bases in their first
language, because the skills of these language are transferable to
acquisition of English, and at the same time it and reinforces childrens

understanding of how to use language (DfCSF, 2007). According to

Haslam et al (2005), for EAL Learners the beginning is all about physical,
visual clues and things that are not difficult to understand. So activities
like story sacks are also very helpful for these pupils (McDonagh and
McDonagh, 2008)
It is important to highlight that EAL pupils also need opportunities for
positive interactions with other children, staff and community (Clarke,
2004, p.2). In addition, it is important to know that many EAL learners
also go through a silent period when they are learning a new language
(DfCSF, 2007), thus it is important to given the time to become familiar
with the new environment and language, and to explore and reflect
(Clarke, 2004) until they feel ready to start use the new language
(Haslem, 2005).

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