Key Concepts in Language Acquisition and Learning
1. When does language acquisition start?
Language acquisition starts before birth. Shortly after birth, children can distinguish their native language from other languages, provided the languages are sufficiently different.
2. Importance of Pointing in Communication
Learning how to point with a finger is very important for the development of communication. Why is this so? Children point to:
- Express themselves
- Express desires
- Share experiences with others
- Draw attention to someone or something
- Refer to things
Understanding Linguistic Meaning: Designation, Sense, and Structure
Understanding Linguistic Meaning
Linguistic content types are defined by three key concepts:
- Designation: The relationship between words and things, connecting the signifier and the reality it represents.
- Meaning: The concept of language, encompassing the significant features that identify a sign.
- Sense: Related to meaning but more concrete, influenced by all factors involved in communication. It’s the specific content of messages transmitted through speech or writing.
Types of Linguistic Meaning
There
Read MoreLanguage Learning Skills and Techniques
Language Skills
There are four key skills in language learning:
- Oral skills: Speaking and listening
- Written skills: Writing and reading
- Productive skills: Speaking and writing
- Receptive skills: Reading and listening
SLA/SLL
- SLA (Second Language Acquisition): This is the process by which people learn a second language apart from their native language in a natural and unconscious way.
- SLL (Second Language Learning): This is the process by which people consciously learn a second language, often focusing on
Key Features of Journalistic Language
Each media outlet uses different codes, always conditioned by the communication channel. The fundamental channel is the language code. In journalistic communication, other significant elements are part of codes of non-linguistic signs, such as the code of images, and the image-noise code consisting of visual images and basic elements.
Specifically, in broadcast and newspaper texts, the basic function is to report facts and themes that public opinion considers of general interest. Journalistic communication
Read MoreLanguage Assessment: Types, Methods, and Best Practices
Language Assessment: Methods and Practices
Test: A method that measures understanding in a given domain. It is an instrument (set of techniques and procedures), structured, and offers a result. It can measure general or specific ability levels and occurs at an identifiable time in a curriculum.
Assessment: Encompasses a wider domain than tests. It can happen at any time, for example, when students are talking and the teacher corrects them. Students have the opportunity to use the language before a
Read MoreMastering Meaningful Learning: Concepts and Strategies
Types of Meaningful Learning
It is important to emphasize that meaningful learning is not a “mere connection” of new information with existing cognitive structures. In contrast, only rote learning is a “simple connection,” arbitrary and not substantive. Meaningful learning involves the modification and evolution of new information, as well as the cognitive structure involved in learning.
Ausubel distinguishes three types of meaningful learning: representational, conceptual, and propositional.