theories Flashcards
what is B.F. Skinner’s Behaviouralist Theory
behaviour is shaped and maintained by its consequences and rewards
what did Skinner claim
children acquire language by imitating the speech of others and being rewarded for it
what is Operant Conditioning
when a child produces words successfully they receive a reward and are more likely to do it again
what is Operant Conditioning linked to
Positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement
what is negative reinforcement
told off, corrected, ignored or misunderstood
what is positive reinforcement
being praised / engagement
what is Skinner’s Behaviourist Theory in favour of
children will often copy words theyve heard parents say, children usually acquire the same pronunciation as their parents, children usually acquire pragmatic features such as politeness from parents
what does Chomsky criticise of Skinner
language used by adults when speaking to children is ‘impoverished’ and children would never learn to be adult speakers if they copied what adults said to them
what is Berko and Brown’s Fis Phenomenon
child corrects adult - cant properly correct the adult because they cant make the sound
whose theory is nativism
Noam Chomsky
what did Chomsky believe
children have an innate ability to understand grammar
what did chomsky claim is in our brains
language acquisition device (LAD)
what does the LAD enable
children can listen to language being used and extract the rules of grammar from it
what did Chomsky believe all languages share
the same deep structure
what did chomsky say all languages have
a universal grammar
what do virtuous errors support the existence of
the LAD
what do virtuous errors show
the child is attempting to apply rules they have figured out
what does the existence of an innate LAD explain
rapid speed at which children acquire language, all children acquire language at the same stages
what does Isaac Slobin claim
human anatomy is specifically adapted for speech
what does Pinker say chimpazees can learn
individual ‘words’ but not grammar
who was Jean Butlers study on
Genie
what was Genie never able to learn
to speak beyond a very basic level
what does Genie refute
children dont have an innate ability to learn
what does Genie prove the existence of
the LAD
