Theories of Language Development Flashcards
Nurturists
believe infants learn language through experience
Naturists
believe infants have innate capabilities that allow them to acquire language
Interactionists
believe that both nature and nurture has an influence on acquisition of language
Behaviorists
Pavlov and Skinner
Nurture- Inspired
“Blank Slate Theory”
Domain General
Contributed stimulus to response to shape correct response/behavior, normal language acquisition, imitation, prompting and cueing and the desire for infants to be rewarded or pleasured
Pavlov
formed association between stimulus and response
coined Classical Conditioning (Early 1900’s)
Skinner
developed Pavlov’s theory into behavior shaping; believed language is like any other human behavior and DOES NOT reflect any special or innate endowment
coined Operant Conditioning (1950’s), Shaping though reinforcement and punishment
believed speech happens when a child’s vocals are rewarded and shaped through imitation that gradually and systematically chains small pieces together —-NOT SATISFACTORY because of a child’s ability of novel language that was neither modeled or rewarded
Links Applied Behavior Analysis—-> used in Autism
Social Interactionist/Constructivist Theory
Vygotsky and Bruner
Nurture- inspired but leaned towards Interactionist
Contributed infants basic cognitive ability, ZPD, interaction/ social interest, Scaffolding, Joint referencing, input in respect to child’s limitations of ZPD with simple, slow speech or words in conversation
Vygotsky
Russian who died at very young age (1934)
Communism impacted his theory
DOMAIN GENERAL
Nurture- inspired but leaned towards interactionist
believed language was socially constructive and culturally influenced
developed Zone of Proximal Development
Bruner
theory was developed similarly to Vygotsky’s but made it DOMAIN SPECIFIC
developed Scaffolding, Joint Referencing
Scaffolding
cognitive support that an adult or more able peer can give to a child to aid in learning
Joint Referencing
social interaction that aids in referencing environment in both normal and atypical development
Cognitive Theory (Constructivism)
Piaget and neo-Piagetians
Interaction-inspired
Contributed relating language problems with cognitive difficulties, Adaptation, activity of the learner, stages of cognitive development, evaluation of age appropriate play for language, prelinguistic and cognitive pieces of language,
“developmental appropriateness”
What leads to talking?
Piaget Stage of Cognitive Development Theory and neo- Piagetians
believed that children actively learn from their environment and process new experiences through Adaptation and schemas (two processes: Assimilation and Accommodation)
observed a small group of children and noted how they changed
1930’s
Interactionist
“genetic epistemologist”
developed the Stages of Cognitive Development
Stages of Cognitive Development
One can not be surpassed
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Formal Operations age 11-15
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Concrete Operations age 7-11
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Pre-operational age 2-7 -------------- Sensorimotor age 0-2
Sensorimotor Stage
Piaget’s first stage of cognitive development
Infant uses senses and motor abilities to interact with objects in the environment
Object permanence
The knowledge that an object exists even when it is not in sight
Preoperartional Stage
Second stage of cognitive development
Child uses language as a means of exploring the world
Egocentrism
Inability to see the world through anyone else’s eyes
Conservation Errors
Do not understand that changing the appearance of an object does not change the object’s nature
Concrete Operations
Capable of conservation and reversible thinking
Begins to think more logically about beliefs
Concrete concepts
Are about objects, written rules, and real things
Formal Operations
Adolescent becomes capable of abstract thinking
Universal Grammar Theory
Chompsky
Nature-inspired
Contributes language acquisition device, acknowledges the importance of general linguistic input that helps language unfold, Psycholinguistic Research of NLD
Chompsky
1960’s linguist
believes in innate skills
Sign Theory
Oller’s (Dad and son)
Interactionists
“How does this happen” theory
Contributes pragmatic mapping
Icons- collection of percept; fuzzy concepts
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Index- recognition that connects icons to outside world; icons become more refined
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Sign- connection with specific conventional markers that the outside world understands
Oller’s (Dad and Son)
Early 1990’s
Biological Perspective
believe infants’ primary task is to find the boundaries of the world through sound streams/ words; to understand the physical world through acoustic signal
