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Overview of Theories On Language Study: Behaviorist Theory

This document summarizes four major theories of language acquisition: 1. Behaviorist Theory proposes that language is learned through reinforcement and imitation of models. 2. Cognitivist Theory views language as organized mental representations and focuses on internal learning processes rather than observable behavior. 3. Innatist/Nativist Theory argues that humans are born with an innate language acquisition device that facilitates grammar learning. 4. Social Interactionist/Socio-cultural Theory emphasizes that language emerges from social interaction and communication between children and linguistically knowledgeable adults in their environment.

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552 views

Overview of Theories On Language Study: Behaviorist Theory

This document summarizes four major theories of language acquisition: 1. Behaviorist Theory proposes that language is learned through reinforcement and imitation of models. 2. Cognitivist Theory views language as organized mental representations and focuses on internal learning processes rather than observable behavior. 3. Innatist/Nativist Theory argues that humans are born with an innate language acquisition device that facilitates grammar learning. 4. Social Interactionist/Socio-cultural Theory emphasizes that language emerges from social interaction and communication between children and linguistically knowledgeable adults in their environment.

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Clifford Mantle
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OVERVIEW OF THEORIES ON

LANGUAGE STUDY
ENG ED 1: INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTICS

Behaviorist Theory
Proponent: B.F. Skinner

The external observable aspects of language


 The child’s brain is a blank slate (tabula rasa) and must learn language from
scratch.
 Children acquire language through imitating models.
 The child is conditioned to produce language by receiving reinforcement (reward
or punishment) for his/her utterances.
 Models will not reinforce language that has errors until it is corrected.
 Children learn language based on behaviorist reinforcement principles by
associating words with meanings. Correct utterances are positively reinforced
when the child realizes the communicative value of words and phrases.

Cognitivist Theory
Proponent: Jean Piaget
 Language is organized into mental representations.
 Cognitivism is a learning theory that focuses on the processes involved in learning
rather than on the observed behavior.
 As opposed to behaviorists, cognitivists do not require an outward exhibition of
learning, but focus more on the internal processes and connections that take
place during learning.
 Cognitivists contends that “the black box” of the mind should be opened and
understood.
 The role of the learner – viewed as an information processor; they are active
participants in the learning process. They use various strategies to process and
construct their personal understanding of the content to which they are exposed.
Students are not considered anymore as recipients that teachers fill with
knowledge, but as active participants in the learning.
 Knowledge can be seen as schema or symbolic mental constructions and learning
is defined as change in a learner’s schemata.
 An individual‘s cognition plays a significant and primary role in the development
and maintenance of emotional and behavioural responses to life situation
(Prendes & Resko). In other words, cognitivist theory as the study of mental
processes could impact or influence the individual’s emotion and behavioural
responses because it is a process in determining on how person thinks,
understands, and knows.
 Principles of Cognitivism –sensation, perception, attention, encoding, and
memory

Innatist/Nativist Theory
Proponent: Noam Chomsky
 The most well-known theory about language acquisition.
 View language acquisition as fundamentally different from other types of learning
 Children are naturally wired and equipped with a device to learn the language –
Language Acquisition Device (LAD)
 Proposed the theory of Universal Grammar
 Universal Grammar – basic blueprint that all languages are following part of the
biologically endowed human language faculty; an idea of innate, biological
grammatical categories, such as a noun category and a verb category that
facilitate the entire language development in children and overall language
processing in adults.
 In his book, Chomsky (2002) provided analysis of syntax that supports his innatist
theory. He claimed that infants had innate universal grammar. Universal grammar
was the template possessed by the children since they were born. As they grew,
they would face language functions. It was when they were exposed to the
language that grammar was gradually constructed. Children tried to make
hypothesis instead of imitating the language. The rule of plural nouns, for
example, would make the students learn that -s ending was necessary for plural
nouns. However, as they experienced the language, they would revise their
hypothesis by not using -s ending to all nouns in creating plural nouns. It was
when they used the rule from their hypothesis instead of just repeating others.

Social Interactionist Theory/Socio-cultural Theory


Proponent: Lev Vgyotsky
 Social interactionist theory (SIT) is an explanation of language development
emphasizing the role of social interaction between the developing child and
linguistically knowledgeable adults. It is based largely on the socio-cultural
theories of Soviet psychologist, Lev Vygotsky.
 Children learn turn taking and pragmatic functions of language through
interacting with others.
 Nature and Nurture is involved in the language acquisition.
 The interactionist approach (sociocultural theory) combines ideas from sociology
and biology to explain how language is developed. According to this theory,
children learn language out of a desire to communicate with the world around
them. Language emerges from, and is dependent upon, social interaction. The
Interactionist approach claims that if our language ability develops out of a desire
to communicate, then language is dependent upon whom we want to
communicate with. This means the environment you grow up in will heavily affect
how well and how quickly you learn to talk. For example, infants being raised by
only their mother are more likely to learn the word “mama”, and less likely to
develop “dada”. Among the first words we learn are ways to demand attention or
food. If you’ve ever tried to learn a new language, you may recognize this theory’s
influence. Language classes often teach commonly used vocabulary and phrases
first, and then focus on building conversations rather than simple rote
memorization. Even when we expand our vocabularies in our native language, we
remember the words we use the most.
References:

https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat/processing-the-environment/language/a/theories-of-
the-early-stages-of-language-acquisition
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_interactionist_theory

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