First and Second Language Acquisition: Parallels and Differences

by Jürgen M. Meisel

• ISBN13: 9780521552943
• ISBN10: 052155294X
• eBook ISBN(s): 9781139118163
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-08-15
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• More Book Details

Summary

Infants and very young children develop almost miraculously the ability of speech, without apparent effort, without even being taught as opposed to the teenager or the adult struggling without, it seems, ever being able to reach the same level of proficiency as five year olds in their first language. This useful textbook serves as a guide to different types of language acquisition: monolingual and bilingual first language development and child and adult second language acquisition. Unlike other books, it systematically compares first and second language acquisition, drawing on data from several languages. Research questions and findings from various subfields are helpfully summarized to show students how they are related and how they often complement each other. The essential guide to studying first and second language acquisition, it will be used on courses in linguistics, modern languages and developmental psychology.

Table of Contents

The quest for the LAD

First language development - Universal Grammar as the centerpiece of the human language making capacity

Obvious (observable) similarities and differences between first and second language acquisition - developmental sequences

The initial state and beyond

Developing grammatical knowledge - parameter setting and inductive learning

Neural maturation and age - opening and closing windows of opportunities

A (tentative) theory of language acquisition - L1, 2L1, and L2

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.