What Developmental Linguistics Can Offer L1 Education. An Example of the Relation between Implicit and Explicit Word-formation Knowledge in Slovak Speaking Children

Abstract

The paper focuses on defining the relationship between developmental linguistics and L1 education. We consider both theories and empirical research in developmental linguistics an important theoretical basis for L1 education, especially in pre-school and junior school aged children. The examples of research on child language in Slovak speaking children are used to clarify the possibilities of transforming the findings in developmental linguistics into the curriculum of language learning/teaching. The dynamic interactions of implicit and explicit linguistic knowledge in L1 education is the way how developmental linguistics’ knowledge base can positively influence the results of language learning. The paper is based both on the analysis of theoretical sources and the empirical findings of qualitative linguistic research.