Nativistic Theory
Key thinker: Noam Chomsky
- We are pre-programmed to learn language in a rapid and systematic manner
- Chomsky identified several problems with the behaviourist approach that prevailed during the mid-20th Century – claimed there must be a biological basis for language for three primary reasons:
- Children learn language rapidly and easily despite limited cognitive abilities
- Children do not receive punishment or reinforcement during language learning nor is the spoken language they hear “proper” language, there are no formal lessons to condition children to speak
- Generativity – infinite combinations of words are possible, and children are able to produce many statements & combinations of words they have never heard before
- Children have innate mechanisms for learning language (LAD – language Acquisition Device)
- Languages have surface structure and deep structure – transformational grammar allows us to translate surface words to reveal their deep structure and understand their meaning
- Universal LADs evolved so that children can grasp the abstract structures of language without putting heavy demands on their cognitive abilities – innate mechanisms allow children to process subject-verb-object structure
Environmental/Learning Approach
Key thinkers: Based on Bandura’s social-learning theory (instead of learning through operant conditioning, we learn through observing and imitating models and transferring understandings from similar but not identical experiences)
- Combination of cognitive and environmental factors
- Language develops through observational learning , imitation does not necessarily involve direct copying
- Contrary to what Chomsky believed, people do actually model accurate language for young children – we speak “motherese” or Infant Directed Speech (IDS). IDS is slow, precise, grammatically accurate, simple, and repetitive.
- Parents reinforce children’s speech through positive and negative feedback and instruction
Cognitive-Developmental Models
Key thinkers: Based on Piaget’s theory of cognitive developmental stages
- Language is dependent upon thought
- Young children’s language learning mirrors their knowledge about the world they live in
- Children learn language forms that they can map onto cognitive concepts
- Most language acquisition happens during late sensorimotor to early preoperational stages and corresponds to the cognitive capabilities children master at this stage – for example, children need an understanding of object permanence before they can utter things like “all gone.”
- Children analyze speech into meaning based concepts (e.g. who did what to whom)
Sociocultural Approach
Key thinker: Bruner & others
- functional basis for learning (we learn language in order to interact with the world around us)
- language is pragmatic – it is a tool that allows inherently social beings to communicate with their world
- Language Acquisition Support System (LASS) – structured opportunities for children to learn the building blocks of language – formats are common across cultures, including: sing-song, name games, reading aloud, songs with gestures, action games. Eventually adults modify the format to encourage greater contribution from the child.