Child Language Acquisition

Interactionalist theory

• Bruner

• Argues that adults speech acts as a scaffolding (LASS) for acquiring language

• A common feature of this in transcripts is CDS - characterised by simplified, higher pitched, repetitive speech, and added vowel sounds.

• This is a particularly convincing argument when the child responds to it positively.

Cognitive theory

• Piaget 

• Argues that children can only acquire language as fast as their cognitive development allows them, and the two are linked.

• This can be argued in the transcript when a child is unable to grasp a certain concept, especially when promoted by a topic manager.

Behaviourism theory

• Skinner

• Argues that children imitate adults, and correct imitations are rewarded and therefore remembered, while incorrect utterances receive negative reinforcement and are forgotten.

• If a child responds to any kind of positive reinforcement in the transcript this can be argued, or if the child parrots the topic manager in any way.

• Alternatively, if a CDS is trying to encourage a child to copy them, but they cannot, this can be used to disprove the theory and instead suggest something like Piaget’s Cognitive theory

• If any virtous error is present in the transcript this theory can be disproved also, and instead suggest Chomsky’s innateness. 

Innateness theory 

• Chomsky

• Argues that children have an inborn faculty for language acquisition, the process being biologically determined.

• This natural faculty is called the Language Aquisition Device (LAD) and is said to be triggered upon hearing speech.

• This theory can be argued if any kind of vitreous error is present in the transcript, including under and over extensions.

• This theory is in direct opposition to behaviourism

• self correction or other evidence that suggests that a child is aware of speech and grammar rules can be utilised to argue this theory as well.

Social Constructivist theory

• Vygotsky

• This theory argues that the ‘Zone of Proximal Development’, which is the gap between what a child can do alone and with help, is the most effective in language acquisition with CDS being used as a ‘scaffolding’ aid.

• This can be argued if a child responds well to CDS in the transcript, or with any form of self correction (an example of the child guiding themselves through connections).

• Private speech is a key example of this active thought process

• Vygotsky argues that language actively shapes thought (contrats Piaget who suggests the opposite).

Functional theory

• Halliday

• 1. instrumental: fulfilling needs to obtain goods/services

• 2. regulatory: controlling others behaviour

• 3. interactional: forming social relationships

• 4. personal: expressing feelings, opinions, and identity

• 5. representational: conveying information

• 6. heuristic: exploring and learning about the environment

• 7. imaginative: creating stories, role-playing, and expressing creativity

• If any of these features are present in the transcript it can be argued that children acquire language to convey meaning in various social contexts and for specific functions, not just rules and grammar.

Semantic Development and Hypotheses

• Eva Clark

• Common adjectives (‘nice’): acquired early

• Spatial adjectives (‘wide’: acquired later

Semantic features Hypothesis:

• argues that children extend words based on shared perceptual features (e.g. ‘cat’, for any four legged animal with a tail)

Functional similarities Hypothesis:

• argues that children extend words based on similar uses of objects (e.g. ‘spoon’ for a knife and fork because they are used to eat.

• Use these hypothesis if a over-extension is present in the transcript

Classification of early vocab

• Kathrine Nelson

• categories in order of frequency:

1. classes of objects (‘shoe’, ‘dog’) - this is the largest group and easiest to identify

2. specific objects (‘mummy’)

3. actions and events (‘give’, ‘stop’, ‘go’)

4. modifying (‘dirty’, ‘nice’, ‘all-gone’)

5. personal-social (‘hi’, ‘bye’, ‘yes’, ‘no’)

• Nelson theorises that there are two different kinds of children an:

1. Expressive child: uses an even distribution of categories with a larger number of personal-social and modifying words.

2. Referential child: vocab primarily focuses of naming objects and people