How Babies Learn Language Compared to How Adults Learn a Second Language - Essay Example

They further expand on these skills through imaginary play and through their perception of audio around them, as has been stated (Berk 2004). There is no extraordinary difference here then in regards to how adults being learning a second language as they hone in on their audio perception as well and gradually sound out new words from how they are hearing them formed in their social environment and through educators as well. Babies develop what sociologists and psychologists term as, "private speech" (Berk 2004).

Even adults do this when they are learning a second language, and younger children do it when they are engaging in all sorts of activities such as building blocks, art and drawing, fantasy play, and in many other personal areas as well. For example, when adults are learning a second language, often when they are in the privacy of their car or at home they speak the new vocabulary words to themselves, sounding them out and testing themselves to see if they can pronunciate them properly. In Berk's book (2004) some sociologists define how children and adults utilize private speech when they are faced with issues that are relative to their cognitive abilities or issues that promote social challenges as learning language definitely would do.

So obviously the correlation between the development of babies, young children, and adults who are learning a second language is absolutely obvious. The cognitive technique is identical yet is just approached in different ways at various stages of life. Therefore, for babies and toddlers, private speech is simply their way of vocalizing their developing cognitive skills. For example, the cooing that babies do early on such as when they are between 1month to 6 months later develops into actual pronunciated words, the first being ma-ma normally then da-da.

Sociologists therefore point out that every stage of life is a developmental form of learning, even in adult life (Berker 2004). Liebergott et al (1995) points out that although the language skills of infants in their first year of life is usually indiscernible it is still considered to be the most important year of cognitive development for babies, especially in regards to communication skills. This is due to the fact that this first year lays the groundwork for future cognitive learning abilities and the verbal sounds that infants hear during this first year and develop are then enhanced upon and developed into actual vocabulary words.

Again, the similarity of adults learning a second language is astonishingly similar to the beginnings of vocabulary of that of an infant. This is because adults have to learn how to speak all over again, just in a secondary fashion. So adults, listen, observe and interact with others to develop the necessary cognitive skills to speak the second language fluidly just as infants follow the same developmental phases of their learning processes to develop their initial language abilities. Libergott et al (1995) emphasizes that the interactions between the mother and the infant in regards to vocalizing needs and wants is what helps build on the