SLS terms

A study in which the same learners are followed over a period of time to study their language 

Children’s early speech that lacks function words

The ability to treat language as an object, for example, being able to define a word, or to say what sounds make up that word

A style or way of using language that is typically of or appropriate for a particular setting. For example, speaking and writing usually require different registers; the resisters used in writing a research report is different from that used writing a letter to a friend

Words which have little content meaning on their own but show grammatical meaning such as conjunctions (and), prepositions (at, in, on), articles (the, a)

A way of speaking and using language that is typical of a particular regional, socioeconomic, or ethnic group (for example, American English, Indian English, African-American Vernacular English, British cockney, Singapore Vernacular English). The term ‘dialect’ is sometimes used

The order in which certain features of a language (for example, grammatical morphemes, negation, questions) are acquired in language learning

A study in which participates at different ages and/or stages of development are studies at a single point of time in order to make inferences about language development

The smallest meaningful unit in a language that has a grammatical function. Example: -s/cookies, -ed/played

Learning a second language without losing the first language

The proposal that there is a limited period during which language acquisition can occur

The language that caretakers address to children (slow speech, various intonation patterns, easy vocabulary, short sentences)

A participant in a conversation (a person that a speaker is interacting with)

Partially or completely losing the first language as a second language is acquired

A theory that language acquisition is based on general learning abilities (no language-specific) and on opportunities to engage in conversations, often those in which other speaker modify their speech and their interaction patterns to match the learners communication requirements

Knowledge of language

A psychological theory that all learning, whether verbal or non-verbal takes a place through the establishment of habits. According to this view, when learners imitate and repeat the language they hear in their surrounding environment and are positively reinforced for doing so, habit formation (or leaning) occurs.

A theory that human beings are born with abilities (Language Acquisition Device) that are specifically for the acquisition of language.

The metaphorical ‘place’ in which a learners is capable of a higher level of performance because there is support from interaction with a interlocutor

The way we use our language in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. This is usually contrasted with competence, which is the knowledge that underlie our ability to use language, this subject to variations due to inattention or fatigue whereas competence, at least for the mature native speaker, is more stable