Language Acquisition Theories: Behaviorism

Language Acquisition Theories

Theory 1: Behaviorism

• Developed by B.F. Skinner, an American psychologist
• Language learning is a process of imitation and copying, similar to other learned behaviors
• Children learn language through positive and negative reinforcement
• Children are born with a "tabula rasa" (blank slate), with no innate knowledge of language
• Evaluation limitations:
  • Children often don't simply repeat adult language
  • Children make creative generalizations and overgeneralizations ("virtuous errors")
  • Children tend to go through predictable stages of language development regardless of input
  • Children rarely receive explicit grammatical corrections

Theory 2: Nativism (Innateness)

• Developed by Noam Chomsky and supported by Stephen Pinker
• Language acquisition is facilitated by an innate "language acquisition device" (LAD)
• Children are born with a universal grammar and an innate capacity to learn language
• Evidence from "virtuous errors" supports the idea of an LAD
• Evaluation limitations:
  • Counterarguments from Isaac Slavkin, suggesting a more general process-based approach
  • Lack of consideration for social interaction and motivation
  • Limited empirical evidence, e.g., the case of Jim, a hearing child of deaf parents

Theory 3: Cognitive Theory

• Developed by Jean Piaget
• Language development is closely tied to cognitive development
• Children progress through stages of cognitive development, each characterized by distinct language features
• Stages include:
  • Sensory-motor (0-2 years): language is tied to concrete objects and actions
  • Pre-operational (2-7 years): language is more symbolic, but still egocentric
  • Concrete operational (7-11 years): language becomes more logical and organized
  • Formal operational (11+ years): language is more abstract and formal
• Evaluation:
  • Links between cognitive development and language development are not always clear-cut
  • Some children may learn language quickly despite lower cognitive abilities

Theory 4: Social Interactionism

• Developed by Jerome Bruner
• Language acquisition is facilitated by social interaction and caregiver support
• Caregivers use "child-directed speech" to support language development, including:
  • Simplification of sentence structure
  • Repetition of key words
  • Over-articulation of phonemes
• Evaluation:
  • Cross-cultural research suggests that social interaction is not the only factor in language development
  • Some cultures, like the Kaluli tribe, do not use child-directed speech, yet children still develop language

Theory 5: Structuralist Approach

• Language development follows predictable stages, regardless of language or culture
• Stages include:
  • Pre-verbal (0-1 year): crying, cooing, babbling
  • Holophrastic (1-2 years): one-word utterances
  • Two-word stage (2-3 years): early grammar and syntax emerge
  • Telegraphic stage (2-3 years): omission of grammatical words, use of lexical words
  • Post-telegraphic stage (3+ years): more complex language emerges

Theory 6: Functional Approach

• Developed by Michael Halliday
• Language development is driven by functions and purposes, rather than structures
• Seven functions of language:
  • Instrumental (expressing needs)
  • Regulatory (directing others)
  • Interactional (establishing relationships)
  • Personal (expressing tastes and opinions)
  • Heuristic (asking questions)
  • Imaginative (playing with language)
  • Representational (communicating information)

Theory 7: Scaffolding

• Developed by Lev Vygotsky
• Language learning is an active, proactive process supported by caregivers ("more knowledgeable others")
• Caregivers provide scaffolding through language to move the child through the zone of proximal development (ZPD)

Theory 8: Critical Period Hypothesis

• Developed by Eric Lenneberg

• Children have a critical period for language acquisition, after which it becomes more difficult to learn language### Language Acquisition Theories

• Behaviorism: Language acquisition through imitation and reinforcement.

• Nativism: Innate language acquisition device, proposed by Noam Chomsky.

• Cognitive Theory: Language acquisition as a cognitive process, influenced by social interaction and environment.

• Social Interactionism: Language acquisition through social interaction, proposed by Jerome Bruner.

• Structuralism: Language as a system of rules and structures, proposed by Michael Halliday.

• Functional Theory: Language as a means of communication, proposed by John Doe.

Language Development

• Critical Period Hypothesis: Language acquisition is easiest during childhood, proposed by Eric Lenneberg.
• Work Task: Children's ability to understand linguistic morphology, researched by Jean Berko Gleason.
• IRF Structure: Initiation, Response, and Feedback in language acquisition, proposed by Sinclair and Coulthard.

Early Language Development

• Early Words: First words used by children are often concrete objects, researched by Catherine Nelson.
• Semantic Development: Children's ability to attribute meaning to lexical choices, researched by Eve Clark.
• Overextension: Using a word to refer to several related things, and Underextension: Using a word to refer to a narrow category.
• Lexical Development: Three stages of children's lexical development, proposed by Gene Aitchison: Labeling, Packaging, and Network Building.

Grammatical Development

• Predictable Stages: Children learn to use inflections in a predictable order, researched by Roger Brown.
• Stages of Grammar: Children's grammatical development, including the use of ing endings, possessive s, articles, and past tense forms.

Pronoun, Negative, and Interrogative Development

• Pronoun Development: Three stages of children's pronoun development, researched by Ursula Bellucci.
• Negative Sentence Construction: Three stages of children's negative sentence development, researched by Ursula Bellucci.
• Interrogative Development: Three stages of children's question formation, researched by Ursula Bellucci.

Key Research and Theorists

• Genie: A case study of a child who was isolated and lacked language acquisition, supporting Eric Lenneberg's Critical Period Hypothesis.
• Jean Berko Gleason: Researched children's ability to understand linguistic morphology.
• Catherine Nelson: Researched early language development and the characteristics of first words.
• Eve Clark: Researched semantic development and children's ability to attribute meaning to lexical choices.
• Gene Aitchison: Proposed three stages of children's lexical development.
• Roger Brown: Researched children's grammatical development and the predictable stages of inflectional endings.
• Ursula Bellucci: Researched children's development of pronouns, negatives, and interrogatives.

Language Acquisition Theories

Behaviorism

• Developed by B.F. Skinner, an American psychologist
• Language learning is a process of imitation and copying, similar to other learned behaviors
• Children learn language through positive and negative reinforcement
• Children are born with a "tabula rasa" (blank slate), with no innate knowledge of language
• Limitations:
  • Children often don't simply repeat adult language
  • Children make creative generalizations and overgeneralizations ("virtuous errors")
  • Children tend to go through predictable stages of language development regardless of input
  • Children rarely receive explicit grammatical corrections

Nativism (Innateness)

• Developed by Noam Chomsky and supported by Stephen Pinker
• Language acquisition is facilitated by an innate "language acquisition device" (LAD)
• Children are born with a universal grammar and an innate capacity to learn language
• Evidence from "virtuous errors" supports the idea of an LAD
• Limitations:
  • Counterarguments from Isaac Slavkin, suggesting a more general process-based approach
  • Lack of consideration for social interaction and motivation
  • Limited empirical evidence, e.g., the case of Jim, a hearing child of deaf parents

Cognitive Theory

• Developed by Jean Piaget
• Language development is closely tied to cognitive development
• Children progress through stages of cognitive development, each characterized by distinct language features
• Stages include:
  • Sensory-motor (0-2 years): language is tied to concrete objects and actions
  • Pre-operational (2-7 years): language is more symbolic, but still egocentric
  • Concrete operational (7-11 years): language becomes more logical and organized
  • Formal operational (11+ years): language is more abstract and formal
• Evaluation:
  • Links between cognitive development and language development are not always clear-cut
  • Some children may learn language quickly despite lower cognitive abilities

Social Interactionism

• Developed by Jerome Bruner
• Language acquisition is facilitated by social interaction and caregiver support
• Caregivers use "child-directed speech" to support language development, including:
  • Simplification of sentence structure
  • Repetition of key words
  • Over-articulation of phonemes
• Evaluation:
  • Cross-cultural research suggests that social interaction is not the only factor in language development
  • Some cultures, like the Kaluli tribe, do not use child-directed speech, yet children still develop language

Structuralist Approach

• Language development follows predictable stages, regardless of language or culture
• Stages include:
  • Pre-verbal (0-1 year): crying, cooing, babbling
  • Holophrastic (1-2 years): one-word utterances
  • Two-word stage (2-3 years): early grammar and syntax emerge
  • Telegraphic stage (2-3 years): omission of grammatical words, use of lexical words
  • Post-telegraphic stage (3+ years): more complex language emerges

Functional Approach

• Developed by Michael Halliday
• Language development is driven by functions and purposes, rather than structures
• Seven functions of language:
  • Instrumental (expressing needs)
  • Regulatory (directing others)
  • Interactional (establishing relationships)
  • Personal (expressing tastes and opinions)
  • Heuristic (asking questions)
  • Imaginative (playing with language)
  • Representational (communicating information)

Scaffolding

• Developed by Lev Vygotsky
• Language learning is an active, proactive process supported by caregivers ("more knowledgeable others")
• Caregivers provide scaffolding through language to move the child through the zone of proximal development (ZPD)

Critical Period Hypothesis

• Developed by Eric Lenneberg
• Children have a critical period for language acquisition, after which it becomes more difficult to learn language