First Language Acquisition: Language Development Theories Dr. Ansa Hameed

Previously…. Language Development in Children How little children acquire language Stages: cooing, babbling, Vocabulary, Sentence Formation Errors in language of Children

Today’s Lecture First Language Acquisition: Theories about Language Development in Children

“The capacity to learn language is deeply ingrained in us as a species, just as the capacity to walk, to grasp objects, to recognize faces. We don’t find any serious difference in children growing up in congested urban slums, in isolated mountain villages, or in privileged suburban villas” Dan Slobin, The Human Language Series 2 (1994)

“ We are designed to walk. That we are taught to walk is impossible “ We are designed to walk.. That we are taught to walk is impossible. And pretty much the same is true of language. Nobody is taught language. In fact you can’t prevent a child from learning it” Chomsky 1994

What is meant by First Language? Definition of “first language” (L1): The language(s) that an individual learns first. Other terms for “first language”- Native language or mother tongue

Questions on First Language Acquisition How do children acquire such a complex system so quickly and effortlessly? Does a child decide to consciously pursue certain skills? (e.g., walking) Do babies make a conscious decision to start learning a language? We correct children’s errors sometimes. Does it Help? (To answer these questions, there are different theories)

Theories on First Language Acquisition Behaviourism Nativism Cognitive Approach Interaction Approach

Behaviourism Proponent: B. F. Skinner Popular in 1950’s and 60’s Principle: Say what I say “Language Learning is a kind of behavior similar to other human behavior. Language is learnt in much the same way as anything else is learnt.”

B. F. Skinner: language behavior is the production of correct responses to stimuli through reinforcement. Language learning is the result of 1) imitation (word-for- word repetition), 2) practice (repetitive manipulation of form), 3) feedback on success (positive reinforcement), and 4) habit formation. The quality and quantity of the language that the child hears, as well as the consistency of the reinforcement offered by others in the environment, would shape the child’s language behavior.

Children imitate language stimulus → organism → response ↓ ↓ ↓ lg input the learner imitation e.g. ‘This is a pencil → ‘This is a pencil’.

Four steps for a child to acquire his/her L1: imitation→reinforcement→repetition→habituation positive negative good habit bad habit positive reinforcement: praise or reward negative reinforcement: corrections good habit: correct performance bad habit: errors

Criticism on Behaviourism overemphasize the external factors like of parents to provide a model of imitation ignore the internal factor, i.e. the role of learner himself in language learning process  overemphasize the role of imitation children do use language creatively, not just repeat what they have heard.

2. Nativism Proponent: Noam Chomsky 1959 Principle: It’s all in your mind “We are born with a Language Acquisition Device (LAD) and access to Universal Grammar (UG)”

Chomsky Children are biologically programmed for language and language develops in the child in just the same way that other biological functions develop. The environment makes only a basic contribution, that is, the availability of people who speak to the child. Therefore, the child’s biological endowment (LAD) will do the rest. Children are born with a specific innate ability to discover for themselves the underlying rules of a language system on the basis of the samples of a natural language they are exposed to.

Chomsky against Behaviourism: Chomsky argues that behaviorism cannot provide sufficient explanations for children’s language acquisition for the following reasons: Children come to know more about the structure of their language than they could be expected to learn on the basis of the samples of language they hear. The language children are exposed to includes false starts, incomplete sentences and slips of the tongue, and yet they learn to distinguish between grammatical and ungrammatical sentences. Children are by no means systematically corrected or instructed on language by parents.

Children’s ability to learn a language is innate. Universal grammar (UG): Chomsky’s term for the abstract principles that comprise a child’s innate knowledge of language and that guide LA

LAD (an imaginary “black box” existing somewhere in the brain) LAD contains the principles which are universal to all human languages (i.e.. Universal Grammar – UG). For the LAD to work, children need access only to samples of a natural language, which serve as a trigger to activate the device. Once the LAD is activated, children are able to discover the structure of the language to be learned by matching the innate knowledge of basic grammatical principles (UG) to the structures of the particular language in the environment.

Evidence used to support Chomsky’s innatist position: Virtually all children successfully learn their native language at a time in life when they would not be expected to learn anything else so complicated (i.e. biologically programmed). Language is separate from other aspects of cognitive developments (e.g., creativity and social grace) and may be located in a different “module" of the brain. The language children are exposed to does not contain examples of all the linguistic rules and patterns. Animals cannot learn to manipulate a symbol system as complicated as the natural language of a 3- or 4-year-old child. Children acquire grammatical rules without getting explicit instruction. Therefore, children’s acquisition of grammatical rules is probably guided by principle of an innate UG which could apply to all languages.

Criticism on Nativism The nativists/ innatists placed too much emphasis on the “final state” (i.e. the linguistic competence of adult native speakers), but not enough on the developmental aspects of language acquisition. Language acquisition is an example of children’s ability to learn from experience. What children need to know is essentially available in the language they are exposed to.

Criticism on Nativism Developmental psychologists attribute more importance to the environment than the innatists, though they also recognize a powerful learning mechanism in the human brain. They see language acquisition as similar to and influenced by the acquisition of other kinds of skill and knowledge, rather than as something that is largely independent of the child’s experience and cognitive development.

3. Cognitive Approach Proponent: Jean Piaget 1952 Principle: Language Learning is part of a child’s cognitive development “Children’s language development relies on their understanding of the world or cognition.”

Piaget: Language is dependent upon and springs from cognitive development. That is, children’s cognitive development determines their language development. (e.g., the use of words as “bigger” or “more” depends on children’s understanding of the concepts they represent.) He argued that the developing cognitive understanding is built on the interaction between the child and the things which can be observed, touched, and manipulated. For him, language was one of a number of symbol systems developed in childhood, rather than a separate module of the mind. Language can be used to represent knowledge that children have acquired through physical interaction with the environment.

Piaget stages of cognitive Development

Sensory Motor Stage During the early stages, infants are only aware of what is immediately in front of them. Because they don't yet know how things react, they're constantly experimenting with activities such as shaking or throwing things, putting things in their mouths, and learning about the world through trial and error. At about age 7 to 9 months, infants begin to realize that an object exists even if it can no longer be seen. This important milestone -- known as object permanence -- is a sign that memory is developing.  After infants start crawling, standing, and walking, their increased physical mobility leads to increased cognitive development. Near the end of the sensorimotor stage, infants reach another important milestone -- early language development, a sign that they are developing some symbolic abilities.

Preoperational Stage During this stage, young children are able to think about things symbolically. Their language use becomes more mature. They also develop memory and imagination, which allows them to understand the difference between past and future, and engage in make-believe. But their thinking is based on intuition and still not completely logical. They cannot yet grasp more complex concepts such as cause and effect, time, and comparison.

Concrete Operational Stage At this time, elementary-age and preadolescent children demonstrate logical, concrete reasoning.  Children's thinking becomes less egocentric and they are increasingly aware of external events. They begin to realize that one's own thoughts and feelings are unique and may not be shared by others or may not even be part of reality. Children also develop operational thinking -- the ability to perform reversible mental actions. During this stage, however, most children still can't tackle a problem with several variables in a systematic way.

Formal Operational Stage Adolescents who reach this fourth stage of intellectual development are able to logically use symbols related to abstract concepts, such as algebra and science. They can think about multiple variables in systematic ways, formulate hypotheses, and consider possibilities. They also can ponder abstract relationships and concepts such as justice.

4. Interactionist Approach Focus on interaction Proponent: Bruner, Vygotsky “Interactionist theories are concerned with the interplay between environmental & biological factors in the process of acquiring language.”

Bruner: Interactionist Bruner (1983) argues parents provide their children a language acquisition support system or LASS. The LASS is a collection of strategies that parents employ to facilitate their children’s acquisition of language. One of these strategies is scaffolding, the deliberate use of language at a level that is slightly beyond what children can comprehend.

Vygotsky: sociocultural theory of human mental processing. He argued that language develops primarily from social interaction. Zone of proximal development (ZPD): a level that a child is able to do when there is support from interaction with a more advanced interlocutor. That is, a supportive interactive environment enables children to advance to a higher level of knowledge and performance than s/he would be able to do independently. He observed the importance of conversations which children have with adults and with other children and saw in these conversations the origins of both language and thought.

Criticism on Interactionist Theories deVilliers & deVilliers (1992) suggest that parents rarely offer their children direct feedback on the appropriateness of their grammar. Linguistic & social practices vary widely across cultures. Some cultures do not use anything like the practices described by interactionists and yet, their children still learn language at a similar rate to Western children.

Conclusion Each of the three theoretical perspective adds something to the study of human language.

Recap First Language Acquisition Theories Behaviourism Nativism Cognitive Approach Interaction Approach

References Levine, Laura E. and Joyce Munsch. (2010). Child Development. Sage Publications. (Chapter 9. Language and Communication.) http://www.sagepub.com/upm- data/36720_Levine_final_PDF_09.pdf