Hi,
A while ago someone asks about films/documentaries on language development taht may be used to teach.
I have  often used F. Truffaut "the wild child" and this year, for a level 1 course that students from various backgrounds (humanities and hard science- some of whom chose it as a 'default' since there were not many courses offered in the intercession) took, I actually used it to develop a task they had to complete after they had had
their first lecture on Hockett design features. More than
80 students completed the course and all of them commented positively on the film and this particular task, which is why I feel I want to share it with other people who may have to teach language acquisition courses (find task below) If you do: remember you need to stop at specific points in the film, in order to give a chance to students to answer the questions.  If you or your library owns a DVD the subtitles are much clearer than in the video.  The questions
in which I ask students for their opinions, based
on their experience did not really weigh anything in the mark: it was a way to make students think and to have an idea of their opinions on this topic.

Yours,

Isabelle Barriere
Visiting faculty
Department of Cognitive Science
Johns Hopkins University 

Language acquisition 050.111

Your name:___________________

Mark: ________

In class 1 (4%):           Observing a case of atypical development and characterizing a communication system according to Hockett (1969) Design Features

Truffaut, F. (1969) The Wild Child based on  and accurate reflection of the two reports produced by Itard (1801, 1806) for the French Academy of Science.

The aims this task are a) to enable you to characterize a communication system on the basis of the design features defined in the lecture, b) to make you aware of the similarities and differences between the wild boy and typically developing children (with a focus on language and communication development and the contexts in which they are exposed to language). Bear in mind that there are sometimes more than one possible answer to the questions (and we will bear this in mind when we mark your work): it is therefore important that you explain in a few words how you reached your conclusion, where appropriate. 

I. BEFORE THE WILD BOY GOES TO LIVE IN ITARDS HOUSE

I.a In a few words describe the vocalizations that the wild child produces at the beginning of the film and the contexts in which they are produced

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I.b In a few words describe the way he interacts with people at the beginning of the film 

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I.c In a few words describes how the wild boy moves from one place to another 

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I.d In a few words describe the way he expresses his emotions

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II. HIS LIFE IN ITARDS HOUSE

II. a How does Itard communicate to the wild boy that he is ready to take him out for a walk, to his friend Lemeris house?

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II. b How does the wild boy express his joy on his way to Lemeris house?

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II.c At Lemeris house how does the lady with the baby communicate to the wild boy that she is going to give him a bowl of milk? Describe the behavior of the wild boy that constitutes evidence that at some level he has understoodthe message.

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II.d How does the wild child communicate to the same lady that he wants to play outside with Mathew?

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II.e How does he communicate the fact that he is hungry to Mrs Guérin?

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II.f On the basis of your answers to II.a, II.c, II.d, II.e would you say that the means of communication used by the wild child in these contexts exhibit the following design features (you may want to check the lecture hand-out).  Why/Why not?

Arbitrariness__________________________________________________________

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Duality of patterning____________________________________________________

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Displacement__________________________________________________________

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Productivity__________________________________________________________

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II.g On the basis of your answers  to II.a, II.c, II.d, II.e, would you say that the wild child is unable to communicate? Why/Why not?

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III. In the 2nd scene at Lemeris house, when the lady with the baby is not there to give him his milk, what does the wild boys behavior (hitting the cupboard to get his bowl of milk) reveal about his behavior: is it spontaneous or tied to the context?

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IV. Why was he named Victor?

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V. Characterizing the language input 

Va. In your experience (including the fact that you were a child yourself and you may have observed your siblings, cousins, children you may have looked after etc), is the attempt by Itards and Mrs Guérin to teach Victor the sound oat the dinner table similar or different to the way young typically developing children are exposed to a language/the sounds of a language? In what ways?_______________________________________

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V.b In your experience (including the fact that you were a child yourself and you may have observed your siblings, cousins, children you may have looked after etc), is the  scene acted out by Mrs Guérin and Itard showing how to ask for a bowl of milksimilar or different to the way young typically developing children are exposed to a language/the words of their language? In what way?____________________________________

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VI. The 1st word produced by Victor (lait/ milk)

VI.a What is this 1st word used for, to request or to name?

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VI.b Does the production of this 1st word provide evidence for the following design features? Why/why not?

Arbitrariness__________________________________________________________

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Duality of patterning____________________________________________________

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Displacement__________________________________________________________

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Semanticity__________________________________________________________

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VII. In your experience (including the fact that you were a child yourself and you may have observed your siblings, cousins, children you may have looked after etc), is the way Itard attempts to teach Victor to produce sounds similar or different to what happens in the language input to normally developing children? (that is do most parents do with their children what Itard does with Victor?)

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VII. Victors learning of names of tools (keys, hammer, brush) etc

VII.a Does the fact that Victor is able to match each tool to its drawing constitute evidence of the following design feature? Why/not?

Arbitrariness__________________________________________________________

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Duality of patterning____________________________________________________

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Semanticity__________________________________________________________

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VII.b Does the fact that Victor is able to match each tool to its written representation constitute evidence of the following design feature? Why/not?

Arbitrariness__________________________________________________________

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Duality of patterning____________________________________________________

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Semanticity__________________________________________________________

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VIII Itard and Pinel have different ideas about how to account for Victors behavior and his potential. In your own words, briefly outline these two views.

Itards views__________________________________________________________

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Pinels views____________________________________________________________

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IX. What does Victor rely on in order to carry out the alphabet task(ie matching each block letter to letters on the board) the first times? How does Itard attempt to challenge this strategy?

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X. Does his ability to use block letters to request milk exhibit evidence of the following design features:

Semanticity__________________________________________________________

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Arbitrariness__________________________________________________________

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Duality of patterning____________________________________________________

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XVII How does the doctor attempt to teach Victor to perceive distinctions between different vowels?  Is Victors learning of vowels successful?

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XVIII. When asked to bring a specific object to the doctor, does Victors good performance provide evidence of semanticity?

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XIX In your experience (including the fact that you were a child yourself and you may have observed your siblings, cousins, children you may have looked after etc), is the system of rewards and punishments developed and used by Itard to try to teach Victor language similar or different to what most parents do with their typically developing young children? In what way?

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XX. On the basis of your experience (including the fact that you were a child yourself and you may have observed your siblings, cousins, children you may have looked after etc), how would you characterize Victorss a) non-verbal communication abilities (ie. whether he is good at understanding peoples intentions and responding to their non-verbal signals and communicating his needs/feelings/emotions) and b) language abilities (his ability to distinguish between language specific sounds, understand and produce words and/or their combinations):

Like/inferior to a typical child aged between 1 year 6 months (1;6) and 2 years 6 months (2;6)_________________________________________________________________

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Like/Inferior to a child between 2;6 and 4____________________________________

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Like/ Inferior to a child between 4 and 6____________________________________

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