The document discusses several theories of first language acquisition:
- Behaviorism views language learning as habit formation through reinforcement, but cannot explain how children learn despite variable input or produce novel utterances.
- Universal Grammar posits an innate language acquisition device that guides rule formation even with variability, but does not fully account for vocabulary or social aspects of language.
- Cognitive development theory links language learning to cognitive stages and categorization, explaining vocabulary but less so grammar.
- The functional theory emphasizes learning through social interaction, but cannot alone explain consistency across learners or initial rule-forming.
Overall, the document concludes that no single theory is sufficient and that aspects of each may contribute to explaining language acquisition.
2. Questions
• Why do children learn their first language in a
short time?
• Why do children learn their first language in
sequences and stages?
• How do children learn the rules of their first
language when what is heard is variable?
• Why do children produce language that they
have never heard?
2
4. Behaviorism in language learning
• Language learning is also habit
formation
• Successful performance of a behavior
• Good pronunciation
• Grammatically correct sentences
• New words
• Leads to reward from parents
• Finally, behavior becomes automatic
4
5. Evaluation of behaviorism 1
• Habit formation takes a long time
• The same process must be repeated over
and over again for each grammar feature and
word
• Habit formation would result in variation
• What each child hears is unique so what she
learns should be unique.
• However, we observe sequences and stages
5
6. Evaluation of behaviorism 2
• Habit formation requires uniform language
to be successful
• Language is not uniform; it is variable
• Children only imitate what they hear
• Children, however, produce unique words
and sentences
6
7. Evaluation of behaviorism 3
• Behaviorism doesn’t answer our four
questions
• Thus, behaviorism doesn’t seem to be a
good explanation of how children learn
languages
7
8. Universal Grammar
• Language Acquisition Device (LAD) is an
internal innate ability to process
languages
• LAD is like a computer
• There is no LAD in the brain; it’s an idea to
explain the theory
8
9. Universal Grammar
• UG is a set of principles that are
common to all languages
• Not a set of grammar rules
• For example, UG tells us that all languages
use word order and hearing the language tells
children which word order to use
• UG is like software for a computer
9
10. Evaluation of Universal Grammar 1
• UG makes it simple for children to
discover rules
• Thus, language learning doesn’t take a lot of
time
• UG is an innate set of principles
• Because UG is the same for everyone,
sequences and stages are likely
10
11. Evaluation of Universal Grammar 2
• UG operates like a computer program and
tells children what is possible and not
possible
• Children can still construct rules even though
language is variable
• UG helps children create rules
• Rules allow children to be creative and make
words they’ve never heard before
11
12. Evaluation of Universal Grammar 3
• UG is a powerful explanation of how
children learn grammar
• UG doesn’t explain how children learn
words or how to use language socially
12
14. Cognitive Development &
Language learning
• Children learn language by making
connections between what they hear and
objects, events and situations
• Children put the connections that they
make in categories and make
generalizations
14
15. Cognitive Theory
• Language learning is part of a
child’s cognitive development
• Language ability and cognitive
development are not separate
• How much language children can
understand depends on their cognitive
development.
15
16. Evaluation of the Cognitive Theory 1
• Cognitive abilities develop quickly, and so
do language abilities
• Cognitive abilities develop in stages, and
so do language abilities
• Making categories and generalizations
lets children overcome variability
• Making generalizations leads to new
language
16
17. Evaluation of the Cognitive Theory 2
• The cognitive theory is a good explanation
of how children learn vocabulary
• The cognitive theory is less satisfactory in
explaining how children learn grammar
• Grammatical features with several meanings
• I’m writing now.
• I’m living in Paris, but I usually live in London.
• I’m playing tennis tomorrow.
17
18. Functional Theory 1
• Learning occurs by listening to
people and speaking with people
18
19. Functional Theory 2
• Listening is a chance to understand what
is heard
• Speaking is a chance to
• Send a message
• Check one’s understanding
• Learn how to express messages
grammatically
19
20. Evaluation of the Functional Theory 1
• Not all parents talk a lot; some more than
others
• All children learn to speak in about the same
time
• Conversations with children are all unique
• Because they are unique, it is difficult to
explain sequences and stages
20
21. Evaluation of the Functional Theory 2
• Language is variable
• Checks for comprehension by both parents
and children help make rules clear
• The functional theory provides no
explanation for why children produce
words they’ve never heard
21
22. Conclusion 1
• Language is complicated
• Difficult for one theory to explain how we
learn all aspects of language
• Each of the theories explains some
aspects of language
22
23. Conclusion 2
• Behaviorism – sociolinguistic knowledge
• Many aspects of being polite are learned
habits.
• When to say please and thank you.
• Universal Grammar – grammatical
knowledge
• An innate computer program perhaps best
explains how we master grammar
23
24. Conclusion 3
• Cognitive – Vocabulary
• When we look at the world, we tend to
categorize and generalize about what we see
and this is the same thing that we do with
new words.
• Functional – How to talk
• Babies talking with their parents learn
conversation rules.
• They learn to talk by talking
24
Notas do Editor
Here the habit has been learned. The rat knows that to obtain food, it has to press the lever. If you have ever trained a dog or any other pet to do a trick, you have probably used habit formation.
2 – It would not lead to sequences
LAD is not a real device and it is not one place in the brain. It is an idea to help describe the theory. Analogy – computer = LAD and software = UG
Distinguish sounds Tell what is possible Able to discover grammatical relationships Construct simplest grammar rules
Show Cognitive Development video clip of Piaget Stage 2
the present progressive tense, be doing , is used to describe an action that is taking place at the moment of speaking ( I'm writing now ), to describe a present situation that is temporary ( I'm living in Paris, but I usually live in London ) and to describe future plans ( I'm playing tennis tomorrow ).