child language acquisition Flashcards
what kind of theorist was Skinner
behaviourist
what was Skinner’s theory
children learn to speak by imitating the language structures that they hear
what did Skinner believe about parents
they automatically reinforce and correct children’s utterances and this forms the basis for a childs knowledge of language
what did Skinner say was positive and negative reinforcements
positive- rewards
negative- punishment
what problems are there with Skinner’s theory
although imitation is important for pronunciation and acquiring new vocabulary, children do not seem to automatically pick up ‘correct’ forms from imitation. sometimes they overextend language forms they already know. such evidence suggests that language acquisition cannot be based on imitation and reinforcement alone
what kind of theorists were Chomsky and Berko
nativists/innateness
what do Chomsky and Berko believe
that children are born with an innate capacity for language development
when the brain is exposed to speech, it will automatically begin to receive and make sense of utterances because it has been ‘programmed’ to do so
what did Chomsky 1928 suggest
that the human brain has a language acquisition device which enables children to use language around them to work out what it is, and what is not linguistically acceptable
this device also provides young children with an innate understanding of the underlying grammatical rules
what did Chomsky conclude
although some linguistic interaction with parents was necessary, there was a genetic element innate in the human brain
what kind of theorist is Piaget
cognitive
what did Piaget suggest 1896-1980
that children can only use certain linguistic structure when they understand the concept involved.
for example, children will only understand the past tense when they understand the concept of past time
as children grow, they develop an awareness of concepts from their physical experiences and they subsequently acquire the linguistic means to express these concepts
what kind of theorist us Bruner
interactive
what did Bruner suggest
adults alter the way they talk to children, giving them specific opportunities to take part in the discourse
utterances are simplified, intonation patterns are distinctive, extra info is given for clarification and questions invite direct participation
adults will often expand on a childs speech
what kind of speech is this
motherese or caretaker speech
what is Hallidays’s first fucntion of child language
instrumental
