HSLS 6020: Theories of Child Language Development

What are the main theories of child language development?

behaviorist theory, nativist/universal grammar, cognitive theory, social-interactionist theory

Who is the behaviorist theory associated with?

Skinner

Behaviorist theory

language is not innate but learned through operant conditioning and reinforcement

children learn language through environmental stimuli and adult reinforcement of their vocalizaitons

Who is the nativist/universal grammar theory associated with?

Chomsky

Nativist/universal grammar theory

existence of an innate language model- language acquisition device

children are born with universal grammar and linguistic competence

children use input to discover parameters of their language to satisfy the general grammatical rules of their native language

Universal grammar

a basic set of grammatical rules, universal across languages

Who is associated with the cognitive theory?

Piaget

Cognitive theory

4 stages of cognitive development

language development is the product of the child's experiencers with the physical environment and their cognitive development

active role of the child in constructing schemas

achievements in cognition lead to achievements in language development

What are the 4 stages of cognitive development?

sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete operations, formal operations

Sensorimotor stage of cognitive development

0-2 years

hallmark = object permanence

sensorimotor schemas

Preoperational stage of cognitive development

2-7 years

lacks conversation, classification, theory of mind understanding

egocentric speech

semiotic functions/representations

Concrete operations stage of cognitive development

less egocentric, conversation, classification skills effective, ToM development

Formal operations stage of cognitive development

11+ years

hypothetical deductive reasoning, abstract thinking, logical thinking

Who is associated with the social-interactionist theory?

Vygotsky

Social-interactionist theory

children learn through their experiences and social interactions

learning takes place in the child's zone of proximal development

through and speech develop independently then meet

egocentric speech helps children problem solve and organize their thoughts

learning is first external and then is internalized (external to egocentric to inner)

What is the zone of proximal development?

area between what the child can do independently/current developmental levels and the child's potential that is what the child is able to achieve with the help of adults or peers and appropriate scaffolding