Brain and Language 4 PDF
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Summary
This document provides an agenda and information about the critical period in language acquisition. It details how language abilities may be innate but require environmental input, focusing on the critical period as a biologically determined window of opportunity for learning language. In the research, it's suggested that after this period, syntax acquisition might be significantly affected, influencing differences in language proficiency.
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Agenda • Conclude our discussion of brain and language • Start talking about phonetics 5 What did we learn from the research on the Critical Period? • We may have an innate ability to acquire language, but we require linguistic input from our environment • Must receive input within a critical per...
Agenda • Conclude our discussion of brain and language • Start talking about phonetics 5 What did we learn from the research on the Critical Period? • We may have an innate ability to acquire language, but we require linguistic input from our environment • Must receive input within a critical period (i.e., a biologically determined “window of opportunity”) • After the critical period, humans are unable to acquire language with native-like proficiency-particularly syntax. Again, different domains are impacted differently. 6 Language as a specialized system Are language abilities intertwined with or separate from other cognitive functions? – In other words, is there a relationship between language abilities and general intelligence? • Specific Language Impairment (SLI) 7 Specific Language Impairment (SLI) • Affects about 7-8% of kindergarten age children • Very specific types of difficulty with language: children with SLI often omit grammatical words/word parts like ‘of, the, is,’ etc. • Meowmeow chase mice. • Show me knife. • It not long one. 8 Specific Language Impairment (SLI) • Children may start speaking late, and may be hard to understand. • Children have normal IQ and normal ability in all other areas, including speech and hearing. • It is only linguistic ability and often only specific aspects of their grammar that are impaired. 9
