The Effect of Learning Environment on Language Acquisition:A Survey of Chinese and Pakistani Siblings

First Language Acquisition is a complex phenomenon and it has been debated for decades by theorists and researchers. The biological foundations of language such as Chomsky’s LAD and the obvious influence of external stimuli have resulted in many different schools of thought for language acquisition. This paper explores different theories of language acquisition and presents their features as well as their criticisms. It also outlines the differences between acquisition and learning, and presents the stages of language acquisition. This study’s primary aim is to explore what role nurture plays in the early stages of development of language. The researcher would explore this question by conducting a survey based on the time of onset of speech in the siblings’ first language. This survey is being conducted because siblings get the same kind of environment but the younger siblings have a comparatively more favorable language environment as they get the stimulus from the parents as well as their elder siblings. The researcher has done a comparative survey on the onset of speech between the siblings and analyzed the results to draw the conclusion of this paper. The researcher has systematically collected data from language learning schools in China and Pakistan. Data is gathered from 100 parents of the children who have more than one child and are learning second language in an institution. Out of the 100 participants, 52 were Chinese and 48 were Pakistanis. Quantitative method of research is adopted for analyzing the data collected in the survey. Questionnaire is used as a data collection tool which consists of open-ended and close-ended questions. Later in analysis section, data is comprehensively examined and investigated. Earlier onset of speech in first child and second child was analyzed in which the ratio is 31% and 69% respectively and out of 100 participants only 8% of the siblings had same time of onset of speech. Research shows that earlier onset of speech results comprised of 56% of girls as compared to 44% of boys. Research on language learners through their parents’ feedback concludes that both nature and nurture play an important role in the development of language acquisition. This is because we need our genes and brain to build a language acquisition device (LAD), and then, after we have the ability to learn a language and interact with people around us, we gradually acquire words and grammar, and our language system is then complete.