CLA - nativist theory Flashcards
theorist behind the nativist theory
Noam Chomsky
what is the basis of Chomskys nativist theory
that children have an innate capacity and ability to learn language
what did Chomsky believe that every human being has
a Language acquisition device (LAD) that triggers into action when a child hears language
what does a Language acquisition device (LAD) provide every child with and what does this help them to do
with the basic rules of language so they can
- extract the rules underlying language use from the words they hear spoken to them
- begin to learn this rules through trial and error
what does Chomsky believe about the deep structure of language
that all languages share the same deep structure and that all children are born with an awareness of this deep structure that explains why they acquire language so quickly
what age do the majority of children speak their first word by
by the age of one
what does the nativist theory undermine
the role of interaction with others in language development and doesn’t pay sufficient attention to input
what is a case study that criticises the nativist theory
Bard and Sachs
brief summary of Bard and Sachs
Jim was the son of death parents. He listened to the radio and the TV to learn language but wasn’t interacting with other speakers. As a result, his speech development was seriously retarded until he began attending sessions with a speech therapist.
what was the findings of Bard and Sachs
Jim needed human contact with the speech therapist to become a competent speaker
what doesn’t the nativist theory account for in regards to particular situations
the way in which children learn about the appropriateness of using particular language in particular situations
what doesn’t the theory take enough account for
language as a social phenomenon
