behaviourism |
Behaviourism is the theory in which explains the human and animal behaviour in terms of conditioning; responding to a stimulus. It suggests that we take actions according to the environment we are in and then learn from the surroundings. For example, when children are exposed to an environment with their parents, they watch the task that their guardians perform and will try to copy the action. Therefore, this idea is implying the fact that children must have something to react to in order for them to learn. Then, they will be able to distinguish which behaviours are acceptable or not. This will be achieved through practice of gaining reinforcement and also punishment.
This theory came up on surface in 1897. At the time, Pavlov conducted an experiment on dogs. He found that dogs made connection with the bell ringing at the time for them to eat food. At last, the dog salivated even if there was no food but the rings from bells. John B Watson investigated further, expanding on Pavlov’s experiment. Later on, B.F. Skinner was the one who developed these results into a theory, which we now know as behaviourism. His own evidence was the Skinner box. With this, he explained the effect of reinforcement in language development. |
critical period hypothesis
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Critical period hypothesis is the theory, which suggests that the acquisition of a primary language must occur at an ideal period. If not, the ability to learn one’s language is significantly diminished. Although this theory originally applied to child language acquisition, it now also extends to the concept of sequential language acquisition. This is because, as you grow older, you would encounter some difficulties in learning a new language.
A neurosurgeon from Montreal named Wilder Penfield first proposed this critical period hypothesis. He believed that children up to 9 years old are quite capable of learning a second language. Also, Eric Lenneberg, a linguist and neurologist, defined that critical period lasts until around age of 12. An evidence for these declarations is a case study of a girl named Genie. She is a widely known feral child who was discovered by a social worker at the age of 13. Despite the rehabilitation work for her language acquisition, Genie was permanently stuck in her limited stage of verbal communication. She appeared to be incapable of applying grammatical rules and using language in a broader way. Thus, Genie was eventually no longer capable of learning and utilising language in a fully functional manner as she missed the critical period for her language acquisition. |
interactionist perspective
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A number of factors, such as physical, linguistic, cognitive and social interactions influence the interactionist perspective of language acquisition. Basically, it studies how individuals cooperate in society. This theory suggests that children acquire language in desire to communicate with the others. Interactionists add that “children are born with a powerful brain that matures slowly and predisposes them to acquire new understandings that they are motivated to share with others.”
The main theorist known is a psychologist named Lev Vygotsky. He theorised that children learn the best by interacting with others when solving a problem. Hence, he is saying that a child first observes those around them and develops their ability for communication. Then, the child becomes more capable of solving problems own its own. Another supporter is a clinical psychologist named Jean Piaget. He had an interest in knowledge of how children grow up understanding the world around them. At last, he discovered that children, who interact with abundant number of people every day, think and reason differently at different periods of their lives. |
nativism |
The nativist perspective is a theory based on biology. It suggests that humans are pre-programmed with the innate ability to develop language. This inherited aptitude also enables children to learn any human language.
Noam Chomsky is the major theorist who claimed that every child already has certain linguistic structures imprinted on their minds and that they are born with a “Language Acquisition Device (LAD)”, which is a ‘language organ’ that is switched on when a child is exposed to language. This device allows children to understand the ‘Universal Grammar’, the grammar rules used in all human languages. Chomsky also points out that a child cannot possibly learn a language through imitation alone as the language spoken around them are highly irregular. Therefore, the suggested strategy for child language acquisition based on this particular theory is to use the most proper grammar around the child. |