Introduction to Theories of Language Development
One topic that many scientists over the years have discussed is the process of mankind's development of language skills. All humans are able to communicate in some form, but how exactly do we go from nonverbal infants to arguing toddlers and beyond? There have been many theories over the years trying to pinpoint how this development occurs, each with their own band of critics in the background denouncing their validity. The three that are discussed here are the behaviorist, interactionist, and nativist theories. Each of these theories discusses how language development is achieved with little agreement between them.
There is a vast amount of growth accomplished in the first years of life. During the first 4 years of life the average child gains a vocabulary of over 10,000 words (Schacter, Gilbert, Wegner, & Nock, 2014.). The big question is, how exactly is this accomplished?
Behaviorist Theory Behaviorist believe language is something that can be observed an measured. The behaviorist theory relies on stimulus-response interactions that encourage a child to fine-tune their abilities to hone in the speech of their community(Demirezen, 1988).
According to Jones Hubbard Jones and Thornton Wheeler in, A Training Course of TEFL, "human and animal learning is a process of habit formation. A highly complex learning task, according to this theory may be learned by being broken down into small habits. These are formed correct or incorrect responses, are rewarded or punished, respectively." B.F. Skinner described language learning as equal to the way we learn how to develop any other skill, through reinforcement, shaping, extinction, and the other basic principles of operant conditioning (Schacter, Gilbert, Wegner, & Nock, 2014.) |
Interactionist TheoryThe Interactionist theory focuses on how parents modify the way they communicate with their children through simplification and annunciation (Schacter, Gilbert, Wegner, & Nock, 2014). This theory pays more attention to the 'how' of language development. The interactionist theory approaches language development with the idea in mind that language is developed through influences from both the environment, biology, as well as the context in which language is learned.
Nativist TheoryThe Nativist Theory is based on Noam Chomsky's theory that the brain has a specialized device that does the processing and utilization of language. Chomsky terms this device the language acquisition device.
This theory is dependent on the argument that children are already pre-wired for language (Schacter, Gilbert, Wegner, & Nock, 2014). This theory holds that children learn through their natural ability to organize the laws of language, but cannot fully utilize this talent without the presence of other humans. (KENPRO, 2010) |
The image below gives a brief description of how each theory relates and how each theory differs.
(Golsby, 2009)
Short video discussing the behaviorist theory:
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Short video discussing the interactionist theory:
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Bibliography
Demirezen, M. (1988). Behaviorist Theory and Language Learning. Hacettepe Universitesi Egitim Fakultesi Dergisi, 3(3)
Golsby, K. (2009). 694.20x mod 4. Retrieved November 14, 2016, from https://kellygolsby.wordpress.com/694-20x-child-dev/694-20x-mod-4/
Jones, H, Thornton W. (1983). A Training Course for TEFL. Oxford University Press.
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M. (2014). Psychology (Third Ed.), Language and Thought, (pp. 359-362). New York, NY: Worth
Publishers.
Theories of language development in children - KENPRO. (2010). Retrieved November 15, 2016, from
http://www.kenpro.org/papers/theories-of-language-development-in-children.htm
Demirezen, M. (1988). Behaviorist Theory and Language Learning. Hacettepe Universitesi Egitim Fakultesi Dergisi, 3(3)
Golsby, K. (2009). 694.20x mod 4. Retrieved November 14, 2016, from https://kellygolsby.wordpress.com/694-20x-child-dev/694-20x-mod-4/
Jones, H, Thornton W. (1983). A Training Course for TEFL. Oxford University Press.
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M. (2014). Psychology (Third Ed.), Language and Thought, (pp. 359-362). New York, NY: Worth
Publishers.
Theories of language development in children - KENPRO. (2010). Retrieved November 15, 2016, from
http://www.kenpro.org/papers/theories-of-language-development-in-children.htm