UNIVERSIDAD DE MANILA

Arrocerros St. Mehan Gardens, Manila

ENG 123: PRINCIPLES AND THEORIES OF LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND LEARNING

MIDTERM EXAMINATION

Angelo Vincent R. Sapon

BSED-ENG-11

I. Answer five (5) questions (with total points of 100) from the choices below.
Take note:
a. Discussion of each answer should not be less than 300 words
b. Plagiarism is strictly prohibited. No lifting of passage/ table from any source is
allowed.
c. References should always be cited/acknowledged.
d. Duplication of any kind automatically gives you a zero score.
e. Criteria on grading:
a. Content – 5 points
b. Grammatical Correctness – 5 points
c. Organization - 5 points
d. Mechanics - 5 points

QUESTIONS:

1. Discuss the nature of language and learning.

2. Discuss the Behavioristic approach in language acquisition and learning
3. Briefly explain the Constructivism: A Multidisciplinary Approach.
4. How would you describe a language learner under a Generative Linguistics and
Cognitive Psychology?
5. Discuss the Nativist Approach in Language acquisition and learning.
6. What are the teaching implications on Structural Linguistics and Behavioral Psychology?
7. How does a learner learn the language? is there a difference between L1 and L2
acquisition and learning?
8. How are the schools of thoughts manifested in a language classroom?
9. Explain the Socratic Questioning Method in Language Acquisition and Learning.
10. What are the Stages in Child Language Acquisition?

Nothing is impossible, the word itself says, “I’m possible”

Angelo Vincent R. Sapon
BSED-ENG-11

1. Discuss the nature of language and learning.

- When we talk about the nature of language, it is all about how language strives and lives
with us and how it is used by everyone. Language in general terms is used to
communicate with other humans. But in more specific terms, language can be oral or
written. Oral language consists of sounds like vowels and consonants. These sounds are
combined to form a word. On the other hand, written language consists of symbols and
characters such as lower and uppercase letters. When these symbols are combined, it
forms a word. When words are now formed, humans put meanings into these words. Do
take note that these meanings could change depending on the language, as language
can be diverse. Since people all over the world have different geographic location, and
have different culture, they will most likely have a different language. Even though
language is used for communication, some languages may die. Languages could die and
the only reason for this is that people do not use this specific language anymore. Do
take note that just because a language have gone extinct, it does not mean that is did
not exist. Just like us humans, a person may die but the memories and the name still
lives in this world, that goes for languages as well. Moving on, the nature of learning is
very present in everyone. I meant everyone because learning is universal, it is not
limited to a certain person, nor does learning stop in schools. Even if we are not in
school, learning is still present, we could learn how to cook, ride a bike, and many more.
Learning is not limited to a certain country, everyone is capable of learning something.
In addition, we can learn new things by experiencing them firsthand. Like how we ride a
bike, we could read billions of books or watch video tutorials about how to ride a bike,
but we will never truly learn how to ride it unless we actually try it. Another thing is that
when we talk about learning we oftentimes associate it with teachers and professionals.
Well, that is true, but everyone can learn from anyone. A child could teach their parents
how to play Valorant as a family bonding, or how a native Filipino teaches Tagalog to an
American internet friend. Learning helps us acquire skills and knowledge that we use to
change our behaviors to adjust to certain situations. I remember our Work Immersion
teacher taught us how to speak in interviews and how to be formal, and I was able to
use those learnings in our mock job interview. But obviously, the perfection of applying
those lessons and learnings did not come overnight, it took a lot of practice and
exercises to actually ace and master the things you have learned
2. Discuss the Behavioristic approach in language acquisition and learning
- The Behavioristic approach simply talks about how a child learns and acquires the
language based on their environment. They could learn the language by observing how
other people speak and then imitate it. This is present in scenarios where a child would
imitate a bad word and then the mother would ask the baby “where did you hear that?”
 Another example is the cartoon show Dora the Explorer where in they often times
repeat a set of words and give time for the audience to say it with them, like the phrase
“Swiper no swiping” wherein Dora encourages the young audience to imitate or say the
phrase with her. In addition, Behavioristic approach also uses rewards and praises, like
when a child speaks a word properly the mother or any family member would shower
the child with praises. Praising the children when they did something good not only
helps them learn but also boosts their confidence. When a child gets praised when they
say a word, not only would the child be happy but they will also feel encouraged to
speak more. Behavioristic approach is not limited to praises, it could also be rewards
such as food, gifts and many more. In my opinion, the Behaviorist approach is crucial in
first language acquisition because it is much easier for babies and children to learn a
language where they are getting rewards and praises. Plus, it would be hard for the
children if we would just present them with words and expect them to learn it already.
They need to know how words are pronounced so they could imitate it, and with
enough practice and encouragement they will soon say words on their own. The key
players in this approach are the children and the people around them, it could be
parents, siblings or family members or guardians.

5. Discuss the Nativist Approach in Language acquisition and learning.

- The Nativist approach was created by Noam Chomsky. The Nativist approach basically
tells that children naturally have a Language Acquisition Device or LAD in their brains.
Chomsky believes that children already have knowledge of the language, it is just that they
do not know how to use it yet. This is why the environment of the child determines the
language it will learn. Hearing words would trigger the Language Acquisition Device to
function, thus acquiring the language. The Language Acquisition Device helps children to
distinguish sounds coming from people or speech sounds and sounds coming from things.
Although the Nativist Approach is a great approach, it has plenty of flaws as well. The
Nativist Approach feels and looks well structured but it simply lacks evidence to support its
claim. The approach fails to provide real-life situations on how the Nativist approach helps
children learn a language. Lastly, scientists were not able to locate the Language Acquisition
Device in our brains. Although there are parts of the brain where speech and sound
production are present but sadly, the Language Acquisition Device is not one of them.

7. How does a learner learn the language? is there a difference between L1 and L2
acquisition and learning?

- A learner could learn in multiple ways, it could be through imitations, rewards and
punishments, and direct instructions. Just like in the behavioristic approach where a child could
imitate words. Or how the Behavioral psychology utilizes rewards and punishments, this could
be used in teaching a language wherein the rewards and punishments could serve as a
motivation to learn. Like if someone is learning a second language and if they get it right they
would get a plus point as a reward but if not, they would get a failing mark. Learners could also
learn the language through direct instruction. Just like the Structural Linguistics wherein it
breaks down the components of a language and gradually teaches it to children in a more bite-
size way to avoid information overload. Moving on, I believe the first language acquisition and
second language acquisition both have similarities and differences. First language acquisition is
more on observation and imitation and how a learner gradually learns the language. This is
evident in the behavioristic approach and the stages in child language acquisition. While the
second language acquisition is more on the structures of the language and how it is
grammatically used. Like the nouns, pronouns, verbs and adverbs and then move to phrases
and sentences. The second language acquisition is also concerned with grammar, and this is
evident in generative grammar. Both first language acquisition and second language acquisition
have the same purpose which is learning and acquiring the language, both also utilize things
related to behaviors such as rewards, reinforcements, and punishments.

8. How are the schools of thoughts manifested in a language classroom?

- Various schools of thought are present in a language classroom, and based on my
observation these are the behavioristic approach, Structural Linguistics, and behavioral
psychology. The behavioristic approach is mostly present in elementary school,
specifically grades one to three. Wherein both Filipino and English subjects teach
children the different speech sounds such as vowels and consonants and how they are
used to create words. The teacher would oftentimes let the students imitate words on
how they are correctly pronounced. Next is Structural Linguistics, as an English major I
could say that this school of thought is present in college wherein we had subjects that
explore the components and structures of English, and these subjects are Introduction
to Linguistics and Structure of English. The teachers in these two subjects taught us the
syntax of the English language, the phrases and clauses, and different types of sentence
structures. Last but certainly not least, the behavioral psychology wherein it uses
rewards and punishments in order to learn. This is present both in elementary language
subjects and college language subjects. In elementary, I still remember how my grade
five English teacher would give us a sticker whenever we recite in her class, and when
you collect a certain number of stickers you could trade it for food or even a point in the
upcoming quizzes. On the other hand, if you spoke in Tagalog the punishment is that
you would be the cleaner of the room after the class. In college, the behavioral
psychology is used as well. Teachers would often give plus points as a reward whenever
a student was able to recite in a graded recitation, failure to recite would result in a
failing mark which is the punishment. Overall, behavioral psychology is present in the
language classroom because it uses rewards and punishments as a motivation to learn.