theories of child lang

what is behaviourism? - B.F Skinner

• children learn language through imitation and operant learning

• Operant conditioning shapes behaviour

behaviourism - arguments in favour

• children tend to pick up colloquialisms

• During school life, their use of language will become more accurate, and more complex bc of teachers

• Aspects of language like accents r learned

behaviourism - arguments against

• children produce novel sentences they haven’t heard

• Overgeneralisation errors (e.g. runned) not explained by imitation

• Doesn’t explain innate ability

what is nativism - chompsky

• LAD language acquisition device is innate

• Universal grammar : all languages share a common structure

nativism - arguments for

• children acquire language effortlessly and rapidly

• Similar stages of development across languages

• Can understand grammar beyond what they hear

nativism - arguments against

• Underestimates the role of social interaction

• No physical evidence of LAD

• Ignores variation in development due to environment

what is social interactionism?

• Bruner and Vygotsky

• Language develops through social interaction

• Importance of caregivers and scaffolding

• Language is part of cognitive development

social interactionism - arguments against

• may overemphasis social input

• Doesn’t fully explain how grammar is acquired

• Some children learn language with limited interaction

Vygotsky's theory of proximal development

• emphasised that children need a more knowledgeable other to develop their knowledge and skills.

scaffolding Bruner

• caregivers provide the same kind of support for children. They provide support (referred to as the 'Language Acquisition Support System' (LASS) and this is gradually removed as the child learns and develops by themselves.

genie case study

• shows how a lack of interaction in early life negatively affects language learning. Genie was kept locked in a room and deprived of contact for her first 13 years of life. This early stage is believed to be the critical period of language acquisition

cognitive learning theory

• language learning is closely linked to the maturation and development of the human brain.

• Children must understand concepts before learning words (e.g. object permanence)

Arguments in favour - cognitive

• links between stages of cognitive and linguistic development

• Concept acquisition influences vocabulary growth

Arguments against - cognitive

• children can learn words before fully understanding the concept

• Underestimates language as a driver of cognition

Jim - case study

• Jim was a hearing child who had deaf parents that used sign language

• He had minimal spoken interaction until later

• His language was delayed

Jim - relevance to theories

• challenges behaviourism and nativism

• Supports social interactionism , without interaction, language development was hindered

Genie - case study

• severely neglected and isolated with no language exposure

• After rescue, learned some words but struggled with grammar

Genie - relevance to theories

• supports critical period hypothesis (nativism)

• Shows language input and timings are crucial

• Challenged idea of purely innate mechanisms (Chomsky)