Approaches Flashcards
(20 cards)
what is behaviourism
language learnt through conditioning
what is operant conditioning?
behavior learnt through positive and negative reinforcement
golinkoff’s critique of behaviourism
excessive corrections of child speech prevents it from developing as it leads to unwillingness to learn new language
strength of behaviourism
children imitate the language of their caregivers
what is nativism?
children are innately able to understand and produce language
chomsky, LAD theory
in every child’s brain, there is a language acquisition device which looks like a box of switches, and once language surrounding the child is input the child can begin to understand language
critique of lad theory
does not account for pragmatic or semantic understanding
lenneburg, critical age theory
suggests that up until the age of 5, children are the most receptive to learning language, and that this is the critical period for gaining fluency.
jakobson, structuralist theory
all children universally share points of phonological development. this can be seen by majority of children being able to talk fluently around the same age
halliday, functionalist theory
children learn language as a tool to output one of the 7 functions of language
name behaviourist theorists:
skinner, tomasello, weisleder, vgotsky
name nativist theorists:
chomsky, lennenburg, berko, jakobson
weisleder
the more children are exposed to language, the faster they develop their own
bf skinner
children learn language via imitation of caregivers
tomasello
children acquire and understand language based on its relevance and usage
berko: wug test
wug test: all children can universally recognise grammar structures without knowing the language
vgotsky
children learn language through social interactions as it provides language to imitate and supports development
tripp on imaginative play
argues that imaginative play is crucial for cognitive and linguistic development
bloom
when exposed to more contexts of language, children grasp a wider understanding of polysemy
support of lenneburg, critical age theory
feral children who do not interact with language throughout their childhood fail to acquire fluency. eg wild boy of aveyron or genie
