Language Development Theories

Introduction

• Language development is one of the most amazing feats achieved by human beings.
• Babies can identify words, breaks between words, and grammatical rules without formal training.

Nativist (Innatist) Perspective

• Theory: Children are born with the ability to learn language.
• Key Proponent: Noam Chomsky
  • Proposed the concept of a Language Acquisition Device (LAD) in the brain.
  • Believed in the existence of a universal grammar shared across all languages (e.g., nouns, verbs).
• Critical (Sensitive) Period: From birth until age 8-9; the optimal time for language learning.
  • Post this period, it becomes harder, but not impossible, to learn a language.
  • Chomsky suggested the LAD operates primarily during this period and then specializes to a specific language.

Learning Theory

• Theory: Children learn language through reinforcement.
• Mechanism: Children receive positive reinforcement (e.g., smiles, hugs) when they produce sounds resembling words (e.g., "mama").
• Limitations: Does not fully explain how children can produce novel words or sentences never heard before.

Interactionist (Social Interactionist) Approach

• Theory: Language learning is driven by the interaction of biological and social factors.
• Key Proponent: Vygotsky
  • Emphasized the importance of social interaction in child development.
• Mechanism: Desire to communicate with others motivates language learning.

Conclusion

• All three theories—Nativist, Learning, and Interactionist—have significantly contributed to our understanding of language development.
• Remark: Babies work incredibly hard in their language learning journey.