1. Theories of Language Acquisition: Child Language Acquisition

Behavioral Theory

Describe the key principles and assumptions of the behavioral theory of language acquisition.
  • Children learn language through a process of imitation, repetition, and reinforcement.
  • also called “conditioning”
  • Suggest that language development is a gradual process.
    • associate sounds with meaning
    • words to phrases to sentences
Analyze how behaviorist principles, such as operant conditioning and reinforcement, can be used to explain how children acquire language.
  1. Suggest that behavior is shaped through reinforcement or punishment.
    • children associate sounds and words with +ve or -ve outcomes
      • praise or correction
  2. Positive reinforcement
    • Give rewards or praise when the child uses new words correctly
  3. Negative reinforcement
    • Reduce negative feedback when they are making mistake
    • Correct them
    • feel motivated
Apply the principles of behavioral theory to design effective language learning activities and strategies for young learners in the classroom.
  • Reward charts
    • stars
    • incentive
  • shaping techniques
    • break down complex language concept into smaller, manageable steps
  • Repetition and practice
    • drills
    • games
  • Constructive feedback
    • praise

Nativistic Theory

Describe the key principles and assumptions of the nativistic theory of language acquisition.
  • Innate ability to learn the language
  • Have LAD: learn effortlessly
  • Universal grammar
  • Critical period
    • begins at birth, and ends around puberty
    • most receptive to language input
    • able to acquire language rapidly
  • Language acquisition is separate from general cognitive ability
Analyze how nativistic principles, can be used to explain how children acquire language.
  1. Children are born with universal grammar
  2. LAD uses universal grammar to help children understand the rules of language
    • identify common underlying structures and language rules
  3. No need for explicit instruction
Apply the principles of nativistic theory to design effective language learning activities and strategies for young learners in the classroom.
  • Opportunities for varied language input
    • authentic language use
    • storytelling
    • reading aloud
    • conversation
  • Meaningful communication
    • make communication purposeful
    • discussion and debate on the topic of interests
  • Language use in context
  • Multimodal activities
  • Language-rich environment.

Semantic-Cognitive Theory

Describe the key principles and assumptions of the Semantic-Cognitive theory of language acquisition.
  • Concept understanding
    • child needs to understand the concept before she can acquire the language
    • needs to form mental concepts of words and their meanings
  • Engagement
    • Child learns language better when they are actively engaged in the process
    • relate prior knowledge and experience
  • LASS ( aLanguage acquisition support system)
Analyze how Semantic-Cognitive principles can be used to explain how children acquire language.
  1. Child acquires the concept of a thing by object permanence.
  2. Only if the object and the concept come into sight, will they exist
  3. Concept of Size (learning of labels for object)
Apply the principles of Semantic-Cognitive theory to design effective language learning activities and strategies for young learners in the classroom.
  1. Authentic language use
  2. meaningful and contextually relevant language
  3. active engagement
  4. Multimodal
    • mental concepts of words
  5. Scaffolded learning
    • gradually increase the complexity of language

Social Interactionist Theory

Describe the key principles and assumptions of the Social Interactionist theory of language acquisition.
  • driven by social interaction and communication
    • between children and caregivers
  • occurs through the use of scaffolding
    • caregivers adjust the language to meet the child’s understanding
    • gradually increase the complexity of the language
  • Language is learned in meaningful contexts and situations
  • LASS ( aLanguage acquisition support system)
Analyze how Social Interactionist principles can be used to explain how children acquire language.
  1. Interaction between the child and the caregivers occurs
  2. Child receives feedback from caregivers on the language use
  3. They will refine their language skills as they have been scaffolded
  4. Caregivers use strategies to expand children’s language
    • asking open-ended questions
    • using joint-attention
Apply the principles of Social Interactionist theory to design effective language learning activities and strategies for young learners in the classroom.
  • Meaningful and contextually relevant communication
  • Collaborative learning
  • Feedback
  • Technology
    • video conferencing
    • online discussion board