Theories in language study & communicative competency

Theories

A theory is a plausible or scientifically acceptable general principle or body of principles offered to explain phenomena.

BF SKINNER (Burrhus Frederic Skinner)

• Born on March 20, 1904

• Died on August 18, 1990

• He was an American psychologist, behaviorist, inventor, and social philosopher.

BEHAVIORISM

Language learning happens through imitation, repetition, and constant practice, where learners form habits by responding to stimuli and reinforcement

Noam Chomsky

• Born in 1928

• A renowned American linguist, philosopher, political activist, and social critic.

• He is widely considered the "father of modern linguistics" and is a leading figure in cognitive science.

• He has authored over 100 books (Syntactic Structures, Problems of Knowledge and Freedom, Aspects of the Theory of Syntax…)

NATIVISM/INNATISM

• Is a theory of language acquisition proposed by Noam Chomsky, which assumes that humans are born with an innate ability to acquire language through a biological mechanism called the Language Acquisition Device (LAD). This device contains a set of Universal Grammar (UG) rules underlying all human languages.

Jean Piaget

• (1896–1980)

• Swiss psychologist

• Widely recognised as one of the most influential theorists in the field of child development.

• was the first to make a systematic study of the acquisition of understanding in children.

• His work has significantly shaped our understanding of how children learn and develop cognitively, with lasting implications for early childhood education.

Cognitivist

• Cognitivism is a theory of learning that focuses on the internal processes of the mind—how information is received, organised, stored, and retrieved.

• Cognitivism sees learning as an active, mental process shaped by experience, memory, and prior knowledge.

• He argued that a child has to understand a concept before s/he can acquire the particular language form which expresses that concept.

Lev Vygotsky

• Born on November 7, 1896

• Died on June 11, 1934

• He was a Russian and Soviet psychologist, best known for his work on psychological development in children

INTERACTIONISM

• Language acquisition has both biological and social components which believes that there must be a good interplay between the biological and environmental factors for language acquisition to occur.

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

• The skills and knowledge a child cannot yet do alone but can achieve with help and guidance from others.

Zone of Actual Development (ZAD)

• The skills and knowledge a child can already do or use independently, without any help.

More Knowledgeable Others (MKOs)

• People (or sometimes tools/resources) who have more knowledge or skill and help the learner grow.

Communicative competence

It is the ability not only to know the rules of a language (grammar, vocabulary, sentence structure) but also to use the language correctly and appropriately in different situations.

Dell Hymes

• He first coined the term communicative competence in 1972.

Canale and Swain

Developed further and expounded by _____ into a language model composed of four components: grammatical, sociolinguistic, discourse and strategic competence.

Linguistics

• Scientific study of human language.

• Science that studies the rules, systems, and principles of human language.

• Concerned with human life, behavior, society, and so forth.

Sociolinguistics

• The ability to use language appropriately depending on the person, situation, place, and culture where communication happens.

Discourse

• It is concerned with the learner’s mastery of producing cohesion and cohesive language outputs in the modes of listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Strategic

Refers to the learner's ability to solve problems during communication. This includes their compensatory strategies in case of communication difficuties.