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4 Theories of acquisition - Coggle Diagram
4 Theories of acquisition
Cognitivism - Jean Piaget
Criticisms
It means that language learning ability is not innate, however babies communicate from birth
Cognition occurs inside the 'black box' of the brain so this is purely theoretical
It's difficult to make precise connections between cognitive development and language development
The idea that cognitive development must precede linguistic development
Language reflects thought processes
Cognition plays a primary role in the development of emotional and behavioural responses
Behaviourism - B. F Skinner
Language learning is 'stimulus and response'
Imitation is learnt through external stimulus
Proven by caregivers providing new vocabulary
Criticisms
Response does not always match
Children don't automatically pick up 'correct' forms of imitation
Grammatical structures don't seem to be assimilated by imitation
Doesn't explain how children can produce structures they haven't heard before
Social interaction theory - Aitchison, Bruner and Vygotsky
Children signal the want to learn language
Children observe others interacting and learn best during problem solving
Interaction with adults builds structure of language (even before production)
Suggests children learn best when they acquire knowledge for themselves, as well as parents 'correcting' their language
Criticisms
If only 'baby talk register' is used, then the child won't learn language beyond that
Can't identify precise links between language structures used by parents and then by their children
Aitchison suggests that caregiver speech is often non-standard, so it may hinder acquisition of teenager higher speech
Innateness - Noam Chomsky
Suggests children are born with an in-built capacity for language development
Theorised that the LAD (Language Acquisition Device) is a part of the brain biologically programmed for speech
LAD provides the innate ability to discover grammatical rules (universal grammar (UG)) that underpin language
Criticisms
This is purely theoretical
Arguably no knowledge can be acquired with 'poverty of stimulus' as this theory suggests
Virtuous errors are proof that children are attempting to apply the grammar rules that they innately know