2. Translate the following words and word combinations into Russian:

they are thinking or solving a problem, involves using rules, combine symbols, produce meaningful words, lets us communicate facts and ideas, make decisions, transmitted through language, the smallest units, a combination of letters, recognizable sounds, it is made up of, rules for combining words, to express thoughts, the rules differ from language to language, the same word can have different meanings.

3. Fill in the blanks with suitable words from the active vocabulary.

morpheme, phoneme, vowels, language, syntax, semantics, consonants

1. …………… is a meaningful linguistic unit consisting of a word or a word element that cannot be divided into smaller meaningful parts.

2. English is very popular ……….. today.

3. …………… is the study of the rules whereby words or other elements of sentence structure are combined to form grammatical sentences.

4. Each language consists of ……….. and …………..

5. …………… is the smallest phonetic unit in a language that is capable of conveying a distinction in meaning.

6. …………… is the study or science of meaning in language.

4. Answer the questions to the text:

1. What is language?

2. What are the functions of language?

3. What elements does language consist of?

4. What is the smallest unit of sound in human language?

5. What is a morpheme?

6. What is syntax?

7. What is the most complex aspect of language?

5. Retell the text.

Text Language development, Understanding Psychology, 2003, p. 306

1. Read the text using the vocabulary and express the main idea of the text in Russian:

acquisition – приобретение, установление

argue – спорить, аргументировать

exploration – исследование, изучение

feedback – ответная реакция, взаимодействие

infant – ребенок

inherit – унаследовать

observation – наблюдение

operant conditioning – оперантное научение

possess – обладать, сохранять

rage – буйствовать, кипеть

reinforcement – подкрепление

utter – издавать, произносить, выражать словами

Language development

For many years a debate over exactly how children learn language raged. B.F. Skinner believed that children learned language as a result of operant conditioning. When children utter sounds that are similar to adult speech patterns, their behavior is reinforced through smiles and extra attention; therefore, children repeat those sounds. Eventually children learn to produce speech. Critics state that children understand language before they speak – and before they receive any reinforcement. They also believe that children learn the rules of language before they receive any feedback on speaking correctly.

Some psychologists argue that children learn language through observation, exploration, and imitation. These social learning advocates point out that children use language to get attention, ask for help, or to gain other forms of social contact. Parents can stimulate language acquisition by responding to and encouraging language development. These psychologists believe that both innate and environmental factors play a part in how a child learns language.

Although Noam Chomsky believed that reinforcement and imitation do contribute to language development, he did not believe that all the complex rules of language could be learned that way. Chomsky (1957) theorized that infants possess an innate capacity for language; that is, children inherit a mental program that enables them to learn grammar.