ipl-logo

Language Acquisition Theories

1093 Words5 Pages

Many theories seek to explain language development in human beings. These theories are developed from both linguistic and psychological backgrounds. Language acquisition theories, therefore, depend on ideas adopted from these two wide fields. The theories specifically inform on some of the main reasons why human develop and learn a language. Language acquisition is a critical affair since each theory functions to prove the other not valid. Behaviourism and nativism are two theories that explain the acquisition of language in human beings. These two theories provide different perspectives in how human beings learn language. This essay will provide a comparison between these theories. The focus is on explaining the theories in regards to second …show more content…

Language is a complex form of communication. Language acquisition, therefore, is put on a different light when comparing the two main theories, behaviourism and nativism. These two schools of thought differ majorly in the presentation of nature and nurture. Behaviourism, a theory developed by B.F skinner explains that language acquisition is through nurture (Gass, 80). According to skinner, a child learns or acquires a new language basing on experience and reoccurring events. The environment, therefore, is a key player in language acquisition. It is in this respect that behaviourism theory maintains that what happens for a first language acquisition is the same for the second language acquisition. For an older individual to acquire a second language, the environment and experience to reoccurring events matter. The pattern developed by behaviourist thinkers is that, when the child grows with the parents who constantly communicate through a language, the child learns the language. Additionally, the pattern repeats in learning a second …show more content…

Noam Chomsky, the theorist behind nativism, argues that learning a first language depends on inherent characteristics. From the theory by nativists, a child has the inherent ability to learn and the capability to innovate a first language. They justify the theory by explaining that most times children talk about things they have never been trained to say. Clearly, the inherent ability and capacity to learn a language applies to learning a second language. The nativist approach denies the behaviourists the notion that learning a language is a response developed from the environment through a

Show More
Related

  • Mind In Society Vygotsky Summary

    775 Words  | 4 Pages

    Piaget believed that children are born with the innate skills to acquire language; whereas, Vygotsky supported the belief that it was the community that teaches a child language (Lourenço,

    Read More

  • Geniie Willey The Feral Child Case Study

    767 Words  | 4 Pages

    Through extensive research within the field of neurolinguistics, scientist and linguists have discovered how the brain works, and how this can be stimulated through an essential element, such as social interaction, in order to develop the intricate system of verbal communication. This essay is intended to discuss the role of the human brain in the development of language as well as the connection with a critical period for its acquisition taking into consideration the case study of Genie Willey, the feral child. To start with, it is paramount to understand how the brain divides its functions, which at the same time corresponds to the physical division of the organ itself. Being divided into two hemispheres and connected by the corpus callosum, each hemisphere is specialized in the performance of specific functions.

    Read More

  • Literacy Development In Early Years

    2418 Words  | 10 Pages

    This essay will firstly talk about early numeracy and pre-writing in early years. As part of this it will be discuss how early year’s educator can provide natural experiences within early years setting to promote an understanding and development of early numeracy and pre-writing skills in young children using example for my experiences on placement .Secondly it will discuss the issue of language and how the adults role in early years has change in response to language and communication also using example. And finally it will look at literacy and how the role of early years educator in promoting literacy development and how to devise a book using the children’s experience’s in bookmaking.

    Read More

  • Janice J. Beaty's Language Acquisition

    316 Words  | 2 Pages

    Children learn new things through everyday life experience. Especially, young children who attend to the program of day-care or preschool can develop speaking skills while they play and interact with peers and teachers, such as free play time, teacher-directed activities, and having snack and lunch together. According to Janice J. Beaty (2014), “spoken language is one of the important skills” (p. 197) and a child’s language acquisition begins at birth and progress through everyday life: young children go through the four stages, Preproduction (just listen) Transition to Production (response with single-word answers), Early Production (speak short phrases, do chat, sing, and have a simple conversation), Expansion of Production (speak expanded

    Read More

  • Dress Code In Jewish Culture

    1016 Words  | 5 Pages

    Since the first era of the social sciences with Ibn Khaldun in the 14th century, culture was a central topic because it involves the study of groups of people. As defined by Hofstede G., “It is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another. It is what makes a human being belong to a group” (Hofstede 7). According to an article published by the University of Washington, babies begin to learn language while in womb. They listen to what their mothers say in order to build a linguistic system which determines their mother tongue after birth.

    Read More

  • Crain Chapter Summary

    1126 Words  | 5 Pages

    In contrast, chapter 14 focuses on the development of language in children. Norm Chomsky believed that children imitate others and acquire a large number of sentences they store in their heads. Chomsky proposed that children have an innate knowledge of Universal grammar, which is that children automatically know the general form any language must take. Chomsky’s perspective of language ties with independence because he believed that children independently master an intricate system of grammatical rules, we should respect their independent efforts. Overall, both Werner’s and Chomsky’s different perspective of development mentions the importance of independence to the development of

    Read More

  • Pavlov's Theory Of Classical Conditioning

    1265 Words  | 6 Pages

    One of the earliest explanations of language acquisition was proven by Skinner. He proved that for language to develop it needed an environmental influence. Skinner argued that children learn language based on “behaviourist reinforcement principles by associating words with meanings”. The child realises the communicative value of words and phrases when correct utterances are rewarded. In an ECCE setting the preschool teacher helps shape the child’s language by rewarding them when they imitate speech, sounds and

    Read More

  • Interactionist Theory Of Language Development

    1115 Words  | 5 Pages

    This is referred to the interactionist theory. “Similar to the behaviorist theory, the interactionist theory believes that nurture is crucial in the process of language development. Though, the interactionist perspective differs from the behaviorist

    Read More

  • Analysis: Is It True That The Language I Speak Shapes My Thought

    177 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the document “Is it true that the language I Speak shapes my thoughts?”, issued by the Linguistic Society of America, the editor Betty Berner comes up with a series of questions related to language and how we think. Berner claims that different mental image such as music, shapes and fragances can be thought without using language. On one hand, language acquisition is a process that results from the interaction of children with the environment (Vigotsky).

    Read More

  • Language Development In Multicultural Education

    9762 Words  | 40 Pages

    The students will develop pride in themselves and their heritage. Thus, the psychological and cognitive aspects involved in learning of two or more languages in an educational setting, the challenges of linguistic planning and the translation of information across languages is what we shall discuss elaborately in subsequent sections. I shall attempt to provide on the one hand an overview of L1 learning, and on the other hand some ways in which this relates to L2 learning in a

    Read More

  • Nativist Theory Of Language Acquisition

    1333 Words  | 6 Pages

    The questionable and ambiguous nature surrounding the notion that children play an active role in acquiring language has been debated by many theorists of different perspectives. These three perspectives include the learning view, the nativist view and the interactionist view. In this essay I will discuss each perspective with reference to psychological theories and research that relates to each view. The learning perspective of language acquisition suggests that children acquire language through imitation and reinforcement (Skinner, 1957). The ideology behind this view claims that children develop language by repeating utterances that have been praised by their parent, therefore gaining a larger vocabulary and understanding of phrases over

    Read More

  • Watson's Theory Of Behaviorism

    705 Words  | 3 Pages

    Behaviorist psychology had a significant effect on the teaching and learning principles of audio-lingual method. In Audiolingualism, the underlying theory of learning is behaviorist. Stimulus, response, and reinforcement are the main components of Behaviorism. When we adjust it to language learning; the stimulus is the information about foreign language, the response is student’s reaction on the presented material, and the reinforcement is natural “self-satisfaction of target language use (Richards & Rodgers, 1987). At the same time, foreign language learning from this perspective is a matter of automatic habit formation.

    Read More

  • Essay On Child Language Development

    752 Words  | 4 Pages

    Crain and Lillo-Martin state that “language is not a concrete set of things out in the world that we can point out to or measure rather; it is something inside our brains and minds”. The LAD in a child’s mind will eventually help the child to make sense of the language that develops through social interactions and experience. The LAD within the child’s brain makes it easy for them to understand the language. This claim is in coherence with Bruner (1957) who claims that, “Children are not little grammarians, motivated to decode the syntax of the language around them through the operation of their LAD, but social beings who acquire language in the service of their needs to communicate with others”. I second this statement because I believe that the acquisition of language is innate but the development of the language is parallel with what the child’ experiences and social interaction with their family, school, society.

    Read More

  • Child Language Development

    2891 Words  | 12 Pages

    The development of literacy and language is a continual progress within a person. This development is one that starts from the moment a child is born (Hurst and Joseph, 2000). This development is promoted within the home environment and is extended within the early years’ classroom domain. Literacy and language development is comprised of four strands, which are listening, speaking, reading & writing. These four factors are in constant interaction together and are constantly developing within the person (Saffran, Senghas and Trueswell, 2001).

    Read More

  • Language Acquisition Literature Review

    1000 Words  | 4 Pages

    Research Questions From the literature review, it was established that there were several factors affecting language learning and acquisition. More specifically, it was revealed that factors such as exposure at an early age, motivation, attitudes, incentives and educational system can influence language acquisition. However, most of the research were conducted in the west and were focused on students as subjects to the study and foreigners working in the country where they need to learn the language to lengthen their range of employment opportunity.

    Read More

More about Language Acquisition Theories

Open Document