7 - Theories of Language Acquisition

Question 1

Behaviourism

Answer 1

• Pioneered by Skinner, psychologist
• All learning, verbal or otherwise, takes place by means of the same underlying process - forming habits
• Knowledge is the product of interaction with the environment through ST-RE conditioning (think Pavlov)

Question 2

According to Skinner, how is language acquired?

Answer 2

• Language is acquired through forming habits by Imitation, Repetition, and Practice
• There is no innate knowledge of language
• If learners receive positive reinforcement from speakers in their environment, they will learn relatively easily

Question 3

Innatism

Answer 3

• Pioneered by Chomsky, also known as Universal Grammar (UG)
• claims that humans are biologically equipped with UG (set of rules for all languages) which is part of one’s Language Acquisition Device (LAD)
• Humans have a unique genetic endowment that ables them to learn language
• Social interaction alone is not enough to explain language acquisition

Question 4

What are the main arguments for Innatism?

Answer 4

1. Success-at-same-time: developmental stages across all normal children generally progress at the same ages
2. Same-success-different-conditions: No matter the conditions (social, economic, or otherwise), all normal children are able to develop language
3. Logical problem and poverty of stimulus arguments
4. Active Participation Argument: Children do not learn all of their language through learning; they develop a creative system on their own

Question 5

Interactionist Model

Answer 5

• Pioneered by Piaget
• Language is no different than general human learning
• There is no domain-specific built-in human knowledge
• Language is developed entirely through social interaction