(see dialect, sociolect). In some cases, there is a continuum from one
language to another. Dialect A of Language X on one side of the border may
be very similar to Dialect B of Language Y on the other side of the border if
language X and language Y are related. This is the case between Sweden
and Norway and between Germany and the Netherlands.
see also registerlanguage achievement n
a learner’s mastery, in a second languageand foreign language, of
what has been taught or learned after a period of instruction. Language
achievement may be contrasted with language aptitude, which is
measured before a course of instruction begins.
language acquisition n
also language learning
the learning and development of a person’s language. The learning of a
native first language is called first language acquisition, and of a second
or foreign language, second language acquisition. Some theorists use
“learning” and “acquisition” synonymously. Others maintain a contrast
between the two terms, using “learning” to mean a conscious process
involving the study of explicit rules of language and monitoringone’s per-
formance, as is often typical of classroom learning in a foreign language
context, and using “acquisition” to refer to a nonconscious process of rule
internalization resulting from exposure to comprehensible input when the
learner’s attention is on meaning rather than form, as is more common
in a second languagecontext. Still others use “acquisition” only with
reference to the learning of one’s first language.
language acquisition device n
also LAD
another term for language faculty. The term is seldom used nowadays,
having been replaced by the concept of universal grammar.
language across the curriculum n
(in the teaching of English and in language arts) an approach that
emphasizes the teaching of language skills in relation to their uses in the
total school curriculum, particularly in the content areasrather than in
isolation from the school curriculum. This approach reflects a functional
view of language and one which seeks to teach language through activities
which are linked to the teaching of other school subjects. A similar
approach to the teaching of reading and writing is known as writing across
the curriculumand reading across the curriculum.
language achievement