language science & theory

theory

• descriptive statements or principles devised to explain a group of facts or a phenomena

• repeated, tested w/ scientific method

science

generating & testing theories

theories of child development

• behaviorist theory

• nativist / universal grammar

• social - interactionist theory

• cognitive theory

nativist/universal grammar

• noam chomsky

• existence of an innate language module, a Language Acquisition Device

• children are born with Universal Grammar

• children are born with linguistic competence, they don’t have to acquire a certain level of cognition to be able to talk

• children use input to discover parameters of their language and then slowly figure out how to satisfy the general grammatical rules of their native language

  • narrow down universal, innate languages to their specific language

universal grammar

• a basic set of grammatical rules, universal across languages

• Chomsky believes children are born with this

Language Acquisition Device

an innate language model Chomsky thought children were born with

behaviorist theory

• B.F. Skinner

• learning through operant conditioning and reinforcement

  • reinforced behaviors are strengthened and punished behaviors are suppressed

• language, like all other behaviors, is learned through operant conditioning

  • child is positively reinforced after making a sound, leading to a desire to continue that behavior

• Skinner believes language is NOT innate - nothing in the brain makes us predisposed to learn language

  • children learn language through environmental stimuli and adult reinforcement of their vocalizations

social-interactionist theory

• Lev Vygotsky

• used in classrooms and by SLPs to provide language support & help children achieve skills

• children learn through their experiences and social interactions

• learning takes place in the zone of proximal development

• thought and speech develop independently

  • speech helps development of cognition, as those thoughts can then be expressed through speech

• learning is innately a social phenomenon

• scaffolding is structured support

zone of proximal development

difference between a children’s actual and potential development - the difference between what a learner can learn independently and what they gain / learn through guidance with the help of adults or peers & appropriate scaffolding

cognitive theory

• Jean Piaget

• language development is the product of the child’s experiences with the physical environment and their cognitive development

  • acquiring more cognitive skills means children need more language skills to express their thoughts

• children construct their knowledge of the world through schemas

• children have an active role in constructing schemas

• achievements in cognition lead to achievements in language development (interaction)

• language is acquired through imitation

schemas

children’s views, their cognitive thought process on how things happen

4 stages of cognitive development

1. sensorimotor (0-2 years) - object permanence, developing some cognitive skills

2. preoperational (2-7 years) - lacks conservation, classification, theory of mind understanding; egocentric speech, gaining understanding of world & language

3. concrete operations (7-11 years) - less egocentric, conservation, classification skills effective

4. formal operations (11 years+) - perform higher level cognitive skills through hypotheticals, verbal reasoning

behaviorist theory main points

• Skinner

• operant conditioning & reinforcement

• language is NOT innate

• adult reinforcement of child vocalizations

nativist/universal grammar main points

• Chomsky

• Language Acquisition Device (LAD)

• Universal Grammar

cognitive theory main points

• Piaget

• 4 stages of cognitive development

• schemas

• cognition precedes language, language supports higher-level thought

social constructivist theory main points

• Vygotsky

• zone of proximal development

• scaffolding

• language learning through social interaction, supports cognitive abilities

linkage of theory to practice

• people let their experience about phenomena guide their practices - depending on what you believe, it will fuel the way you practice

• “practitioners must make every effort to understand the theories that guide particular practices”

evidence based practice

• new ideas are driven by theory, which support science

• research and treatment methods must be supported with research

• ASHA says to integrate: high quality research, client preference, and their own experience as practitioners

how do we use theories?

• prevention: attempt to keep language difficulties from arising

  • particularly important for children who are considered at-risk

• intervention & remediation: creation and use of treatment programs to help individuals with language difficulties

  • applicable to providing services to individuals across the lifespan

• enrichment: provision of enriching language-learning experiences to improve and learn new skills

  • educating teachers on ways to promote children’s language in the pre-k classroom

interdisciplinary

• the study of language is an _______ science

• SLPs, speech language scientists, developmental & cognitive psychologists, linguists, anthropologists, sociologists, educators all involved

types of research

• basic (theoretical): generating or refining existing knowledge base

  • ways children learn word meanings, acquire grammatical structures, ages at which they produce certain sounds

• applied: testing different approaches or practices relevant to real-world knowledge

  • experimental research design to examine the relationship of an approach and the outcome (test certain therapy treatments and how it helped the patient)