Publication Date

5-5-2024

Document Type

Student Project

First Advisor

Smith, Matthew

Degree Name

B.S. (Bachelor of Science)

Department

School of Allied Health and Communicative Disorders

Abstract

Knowing that there is no singular event that leads to learning a language, and factoring in the extent an individual’s culture can affect language learning, this study emphasizes the importance of a cross-linguistic approach to continue to broaden the scope of language acquisition research. The primary objective is to identify and analyze the critical commonalities in the initial stages of learning English and French as first languages through two major categories: speech/language and culture. This project carried out an analytical review of 24 pieces of relevant literature, in both languages, in an effort to highlight key findings. Those findings include: the overlap in speech sound development, similarities in acquiring sounds in a typical order, and the potential effects that arise out of cultural influences, such as the teaching techniques and learning strategies involved in a preschool environment or language outcomes of participating in communicative interactions differently at the family-life level. Comparing the typical processes across two languages in their early stages provides space to explore potential assumptions and limitations in current research, which has largely been carried out in a monolingual context. Ultimately, this study aims to contribute to, and advocate for, a more comprehensive understanding of language acquisition across linguistic and cultural contexts.

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