Models of Language Acquisition and Development

By ElizabethL, eHow Contributor
updated: February 22, 2011

How children learn to speak is the subject of much study.
Understanding how we learn language is an interesting and useful topic to study. There are many theories about how we acquire language, each with different strengths and weaknesses; some complement each other. The behaviorist, innateness, cognitive and social constructivist theories are four of the oldest and most widely discussed of the many available theories of language acquisition.

Behaviorist Theory
The behaviorist theory was developed by American psychologist B.F. Skinner (1904-1990), who studied the effects of punishment and reinforcement on behavior. His theory is simple: Babies begin babbling and cooing, and when they make noises that sound like words, the adults around them give them praise and attention, thus reinforcing the behavior and encouraging the child to make more noises that sound like words. This model, however, does not explain how or why older children rapidly acquire a large vocabulary and develop complex grammar skills. Although pure behaviorism has declined in recent times, the principles of the theory are still studied and have an impact on current behavioral theories.

Innateness Theory
The innateness theory was developed by the well-known American philosopher, linguist and political activist Noam Chomsky (b. 1928). It states that the ability to acquire language is innate in children. This is accomplished through a device called the language acquisition device (LAD) although what exactly this device might be is unknown. There is some evidence to support this theory in that there are universal features found in every language, such as nouns and verbs. The ability of children to acquire language rapidly, most being competent with creating complex sentences by the age of five or six, is one of the strongest supports for the theory. However, there are many other factors that influence language acquisition, such as feedback from others and environmental influences.

Cognitive Theory
The cognitive theory was developed by the Swiss developmental psychologist Jean Piaget (1896-1980). It blends aspects of the behaviorist and innateness theories. Cognitive theory argues that children must experience a concept before they are able to link a word to it. As an example, a child must see and watch a cat before they are able to associate the word "cat" with the cat. This also explains why milestones for a child, such as first words and first steps, often coincide since the child must be able to move about and experience concepts before they are able to discuss them. This theory is well-regarded but has some flaws, including the inability to test the theory and the fact that paralyzed children or children with intellectual impairments still acquire language.

Social Constructiveness Theory
The social constructiveness theory, or social interactionist theory, was greatly influenced by the work of Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934). This theory argues that a child develops language because it is necessary for communicating wants and needs; a baby is able to communicate through crying, laughing, facial expressions and other physical displays but can't communicate complex thoughts. This theory is supported by the fact that adults change their vocabulary, pitch and speed of speech when talking to infants and young children--called baby talk--and children prefer listening to baby talk than the normal language used by adults. This indicates that language requires a teaching aspect. Social interaction is considered essential to language development in this theory.

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