Espanol Y El Cerebro
(Spanish and the Brain)
Laterialization :
- younger ages use same parts of the brain to learn multiple languages
- when each side of the brain is used to learn
- completed by puberty
Young learners before the age of 5 are considered native speakers.
Advantages to being a Younger Learner :
- more likely to develop a native accent
- less to learn to be considered proficient
- more likely to receive comprehensible input
Advantages to being an Older Learner :
- can consciously use strategies to aid learning
- has knowledge from Language 1 to use
- has greater control over input
Proficiency :
- includes grammatical, sociolinguistic, discourse and strategic competence
BICS : Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills
- 2-3 years ; basic questions and sentences
- 4-10 years ; ability to read, write, speak, and listen at an academic level
Early Speech Production
Characteristics :
- can understand more than can produce
- can produce one or two more words at a time
- learn questions and how to answer them
- good skills of reading and writing are transferrable
Factors that Affect L2 (language #2
- age (younger/older ?)
- motivation (really motivated or just ehh ?)
- access to the language (studying ? listening to other people speak it ? how often ?)
- personality (positive or negative outlook ?)
- first language development (strong, mediocre, weak ?)
- quality of instruction (good or bad instructor ?)
- cognitive ability