4B. Theories of language: learning including Skinner; nativist including Chomsky's language acquisition device (LAD); interactionist including Vygotsky

Vygotsky’s language development

• Vygotsky → developed a sociocultural theory of cognitive development → with significant emphasis on language

  • Believed → language plays fundamental role → in cognitive development + learning is deeply social/cultural in nature

• Language = social concept → developed through social interactions

• Vygotsky’s influential ZPD → asserts that teachers should consider → child’s perspective learning power → before trying to expand → child’s group of language

Experiences + signals

• Vygotsky’s theory of language → based on constructivist learning theory → contends children acquire knowledge → as a result → of engaging in social experiences

• Vygotsky’s idea of signals → in primary + secondary way → actions, concepts and abstractions → enter the language zeitgeist → through more sophisticated “secondary” method

Cognition

• Child’s intellectual development = crucial to language development → by interacting with environment → develops ability to develop private inner speech

  • Inner speech → thinking in pure meaning → link between second signal system → of social world + thought of indiv.

• Development of inner speech → children straddle divide → between thought + language → eventually expressing thoughts coherently

Development

• Language learning process → occurs as result of give + take → parents + teacher → usher a child → through process of guided discovery → addressing their learning potential → eventually children internalize language skills

• Young learners → experience language development → they can reflect better on their own thinking + behaviour → reach greater levels of control → over their behaviour

Primitive stage

• Baby makes noise + does not think in terms of words

• @ Primitive stage → children cannot acquire language alone → needs social interaction with mothers (MKOs) → who can provide feedback + correct errors + model appropriate language use

Naive stage

• Child learns words → before meaning + function

• @ Naive stage → children are typically unable to use language rules → on their own → needs an MKO → e.g. parents, caregivers, teachers → to scaffold their learning

  • Helps them bridge the gap → between what they can do independently + what they can do with support

  • Scaffolding might include → helping children with word choices + correcting grammatical errors + expanding on their simple phrases + introducing more complex vocabulary

Ingrowth stage

• Child enters the last stage of development → mental process can be completed internally → without the need for verbalization → e.g. counting objects mentally → rather than saying it out loud

• @ Ingrowth stage → children continue to benefit from scaffolding → provided by adults/more competent peers → within ZPD

  • MKO helps child → move from social use of language → i.e. speaking aloud with others → to internal use → e.g. thinking and regulating behaviour silently

Strength → case of Genie

• Genie’s lack of language skills → when discovered @ age 13 + failure to acquire fluent language = supports idea → interaction with caregiver = vital in language acquisition

Weakness → low generalizability

• Data collected → from studies supporting Interactionist theory = over-representative of middle class + white + western families

• Data may not be as applicable → to parent-child interactions in other cultures → who may speak to children differently → still acquire fluent speech

Weakness → separation of language + thought

• Many psychologists argue → language + thought develop together → not separately

• E.g. child can identify ball → before they can say the word “ball”

  • Contradicts Vygotsky’s idea → that language comes before concept