What to Memorise Flashcards
Chomsky’s theory & evidence to support & any criticisms
Nativist - Children are born with the inherited ability to acquire any language. Every child has a LAD (language acquisition device) that encodes basic principles and grammar into the child’s head.
Evidence - Children never mix up subject-object order. Children use ‘virtuous errors’ which they wouldn’t have learnt through imitation, e.g. I drawed. Children across the world acquire language through similar stages.
Critics - it doesn’t give evidence children have an LAD
Skinner’s theory & evidence to support & any criticisms
Behaviourism - If behaviour is reinforced it will be strengthened, or weakened if punished. Language is just a ‘learned behaviour’ and therefore, children imitate what they hear.
Evidence - People’s accents are copied
Critics - Chomsky’s study disproves this as children make virtuous errors which they wouldn’t have learnt through imitation
Piaget’s theory & evidence to support & any criticisms
Cognitive - Cognition develops, not language. A children cannot linguistically articulate concepts they don’t understand, e.g. superlatives (understanding size order).
Evidence - Children may regress, this is due to imitation firstly but then they start to understand themselves.
Critics - Children with cognitive problems still manage to acquire language.
Bruner’s theory
Interactional - Interaction between child and caregiver is crucial in development. It helps children understand turn-taking. ‘Scaffolding’ is the adults laying the groundwork for children to build upon. CDS (child directed speech) examples; proper nouns, tone, concrete nouns, imperatives, repetition, recasting, deixis used to point attention to things, gestures. Builds upon Chomsky’s idea with the LASS (language acquisition support system).
Vygotsky’s theory
Zone of proximal development - A child learns through the interaction between others and themselves.
Lenneberg’s theory
The critical period stated that children have an age at which they can acquire language in. The age of this remains in a long-standing debate and the theory is usually criticised as being wrong.
Halliday’s functions
Instrumental - Fulfil a need
Regulatory - Influence behaviour
Interactional - social development
Personal - Express something about themselves (egocentric)
Representational - Relay or request information
Heuristic - Learn and explore the environment
Imaginative - Role play/ tell stories
Berko & Brown
The fis phenomenon
When asked what a fish is they said ‘fis’. So the adults called it a ‘fis’ but the child said no it’s a ‘fis’. Supports Chomsky as it shows they have an awareness of grammatical accuracy. Counteracts Piaget.
Brown, Cazden and Bellugi
Parents are more likely to praise a child for correct naming something rather than telling them of their grammatical inaccuracy
Kroll’s Stages of writing development
Preparation - Up to 6. Basic motor skills, orthography.
Consolidation - 7/8. Writing is similar to spoken language, colloquial.
Differentiation - 9/10. Writing separate from speech happens. Writing for an audience.
Integration - 11 +. There is voice in the writing.
Rothery’s categories of writing
Observation/comment
Recount
Report
Narrative
Jean Aitchison’s labelling
Labelling - linking words to objects
Packaging - Explores labels and may apply over/under extension
Network-building - Making connections between words
Dore’s language functions
Labelling Repeating Answering Requesting action Calling Greeting Protesting Practising
Britton’s writing categories
Expressive
Poetic
Transactional
Spelling stages
Prephonemic (scribbling)
Semi- phonetic (link shapes to sounds)
Phonetic (phonemes are represented by graphemes)
Transitional (combinations and spelling rules)
Conventional (accurate)
