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Child Language Aquisition - Coggle Diagram
Child Language Aquisition
Skinner 1959 - Behaviourist
Therory : Children learn through positive and negative reinforcement
positive reinforcement = caregivers praise child for doing something right so they repeat good behaviour
negative reinforcement = caregivers tell a child they are wrong
Problems:
caregivers are more likely to correct the truth of a child's statement not the linguistic accuracy
over-correcting a child's speech can have a bad effect because there are some stages they have to go through where they start to apply grammar in order to learn naturally
Applying it to Data :
adults modelling language and children repeating/imitating or responding
children start to repair mistakes after being corrected by adults
Theorists who agree = Bruner + Vygotsky
Theorist who disagrees = Chomsky
Chomsky 1957 - Nativist
Theory : children are born with the innate ability to learn language - LAD (Language Acquisition Device)
Problems:
ignores the role of caregivers
Case study of Jim - boy born to deaf parents is placed in front of the Tv to learn language but never fully develops due to lack of interaction/correction/feedback and opportunity to experiment with language
doesn't mention CDS
doesn't expand on how children develop language only focuses on how they are hardwired to learn it
he didn't have any practical experiments to back up his theory - others had to adapt his theory
Theorist who agrees = Pinker 1994
Language instinct theory = children born with innate ability and capacity for language
language is an instinct which evolves in humans
language must - convey a message to an audience + negotiate the social relationship between the speaker and the audience
Case studies to support = Jean Berko Wug test + Berko and Brown Fis Phenomenon
wug test = 76% children aged 5-6 correctly guessed plural for made up word 'wug' is 'wugs'
child called his plastic fish a fis but wasn't satisfied until his caregiver called it by the proper name proving they understand more than they can say
Theorists who disagree = Bruner and Skinner
Piaget 1936 - Cognitive
Theory : a child must reach certain stages of their cognitive development before they can acquire language
they cannot linguistically articulate concepts they don't understand
4 stages of cognitive development :
Sensorimotor - uses senses and movements
pre-operational - use logical thought
concrete operational - use imagination
formal operational - start to consider others and use complex grammar
Problems: evidence that children with learning difficulties can still develop language far beyond their actual understanding
Theorist who disagrees = Bruner
Case study which disagrees = Fis phenomenon
Bruner 1966 - Interactionalist
Theory : LASS (Language acquisition support system) highlights the role of the caregiver
Scaffolding = caregivers encourage, question and suppport children in developing language
CDS - Child Directed Speech
higher pitch/tone
slower clearer
mitigated imperatives
questions
repetition
Theorist who agrees = Vygotsky
ZPD - Zone of proximal development which is the area between what a child already knows and what they aim to know
MKO - More knowledgable other - the caregiver in an interaction who uses their knowledge to help a child acquire language
Expands on Skinner as instead of just correcting ga child the caregiver will explain why the child is wrong
Applying it to Data : adults using features of CDS and conversation skills + pragmatic awareness being modelled/taught/learnt through interaction between a child and adult