AQA English Language Child Language Development 2

H.Benedict Rate of Semantic Development

Recorded it took 4-8 months for the 8 children in the language study to get from 10 to 50 words.

Reasoned this equated to 10 words per month or 22 new words in terms of comprehension.

BF Skinner

Suggested speech is a set of symbols which can be acquired by imitation and reinforcement.

Noam Chomsky

Challenged imitation. Pointed out children could produce novel sentences not heard before. Suggested idea of LAD (Language Acquisition Device) and idea of nativism.

Bruner

Developed Chomsky’s theory

LASS - Language Acquisition Support System

Suggested child’s development and acquisition of language could be seen through 3 models:

Enactive - Babies learn and communicate through repeated actions.

Iconic - Child is able to build up a mental image of things experienced

Symbolic - Language here influences thought, the child begins to think abstractly

Bruner regards pragmatic awareness of the crux of language acquisition, they scaffold learning.

Piaget

Cognitive theory

Argued language follows cognition. Believed children learn firstly through action and only then are able to talk about what they understand intellectually.

Limitations of Piaget

Difficult to demonstrate link between behaviours and linguistic knowledge.

There are aspects of language development separate from cognitive development. Children may understand words in one context, but not another.

Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development

The ZPD is the range of tasks a person can’t complete independently but can accomplish with support. Thus, “proximal” refers to skills the learner is “close” to mastering. ZPD is the zone where instruction is the most beneficial, as it is when the task is just beyond the individual’s capabilities.

Features of Motherese

• high pitch

• simpler vocabulary

• sentence structure

• slower tempo

• exaggerated intonation

Jean Aitchinson (1987) Acquisition of Vocabulary

Identified 3 processes which occur as a child acquires and expands their vocab

Labelling - Baby or child makes link between sounds of particular words and objects they to which they refer

Packaging - Words’ range of meaning extended. Children may underextend or overextend. Under-extension might know the family dog as a ‘dog’ but not consider other dogs as ‘dog’. Over-extension may be using the word cup for any vessel.

Network building - Involves child grasping connections between words. By 5 yrs they have learnt most basic grammar rules.