Children learn to speak through imitation and either receive negative or positive reinforcement or are punished. This is classical conditioning.
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Positives of theory
Children can be seen to acquire accent and dialect. Phonological development happens first. Learn pragmatics from parents. Lexical knowledge gained before anything else.
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Negatives of theory
Children don't always respond to correction. They overgeneralise and use incorrect tenses that they don't hear from adults. They can use sentences they've never heard. They can imitate but doesn't mean they understand.
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What to look for in data
Adults modelling language and children responding. Children imitating or repeating adults. Children repairing language after correction.
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Assumptions of theory - Noam Chimsky
Humans are born pre-programmed to acquire language. They have an innate knowledge which speeds up language acquisition.
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LAD
Language Acquisition Device - All humans have ability to acquire language and this explains why all children learn at around the same speed, across the world. This is Universal Grammar.
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Positives of theory
It's a fact all children learn at similar rate. There's an agreed critical period (2-7). Children overgeneralise naturally. Supported by Wug study, Berko.
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Negatives of theory
It underestimates use of language for social interaction. Doesn't account for imitation of accent, dialect and slang.
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What to look for in data
Natural overgeneralisation. Resistance of correction from adults. Children making up names for things. Construction of new utterances they have never heard before.
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Assumptions of theory - Piaget
Language development goes together with cognitive development. Child has to acquire concepts in order to use words relating to it. Children learn complex language when they are cognitively ready.
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4 stages
Sensorimotor - classifying experience through sensory/physical. Tend to just be lexical terms up to 18 months. Pre-operational - language is egocentric. Concrete operational - think logically. Formal operational - abstract reasoning.
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Positives of theory
General increase in vocab after 18 months. Children cannot grasp something until ready. Utterances gradually increase in complexity.
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Negatives of theory
Children with cognitive difficulties still can use language fluently. Can still acquire language without understanding. "Fis" phenomenon.
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What to look for in data
Children talking to themselves while doing something. Children failing to use language because they don't understand the concept.
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Assumptions of theory - Bruner
For language to develop there has to be linguistic interaction. Children initially learn language to get what they want. Language is then developed and enriched by social interaction.
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LASS
Language Acquisition Support System - the support of caregivers in social interaction. Caregivers set out clear patterns of interaction during the day. If children are deprived of language interaction early then they won't be able to learn.
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Feral children
Lenneburg created the critical period hypothesis. If children don't learn language before 5/6 then acquisition after is not possible. This can be seen in the case of feral children eg. Genie.
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What to look for in data
Children enjoying interaction. Caregivers responding positively to attempts to speak. Caregivers using Child Directed Speech. Politeness or pragmatics being modelled by others.
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Other cards in this set
Card 2
Front
Positives of theory
Back
Children can be seen to acquire accent and dialect. Phonological development happens first. Learn pragmatics from parents. Lexical knowledge gained before anything else.
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