Languages & Linguistics
Theories of Language Acquisition
Theories of language acquisition are explanations for how individuals learn and develop language skills. These theories include behaviorist approaches, which emphasize imitation and reinforcement, as well as nativist theories, which propose that humans have an innate capacity for language. Additionally, interactionist perspectives suggest that both biological and environmental factors play a role in language development.
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11 Key excerpts on "Theories of Language Acquisition"
eBook - PDF- Silvina Montrul(Author)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- Cambridge University Press(Publisher)
For important insights of sociocultural theories applied to the acquisition of heritage languages, see He (2006). 5.1 Theories of native language acquisition The study of language is concerned with understanding the human capacity for language, the formal properties of language, and the range of variability within and across natural languages, among other things. How is knowledge of language represented in the minds of speakers and how is it put to use in diverse social contexts? How are natural languages acquired or learned by young children, and how do they develop into mature linguistic systems? These essential questions are at the heart of formal linguistics, sociolinguistics, Theories of native language acquisition 133 psycholinguistics, and L1 acquisition, and have guided significant research. The central focus of all these approaches has been the language of mono- lingual native speakers in order to tease apart the precise contribution of nature (Universal Grammar, genetic endowment for language, or Language Acquisition Device, etc.) and nurture (the linguistic environment and experi- ence) in the ontogenesis of language. Many are familiar with Chomsky’s delineation of the object of study in linguistics (1965, p. 3): Linguistic theory is concerned primarily with an ideal speaker-listener, in a completely homogeneous speech-community, who knows its [the speech community’s] language perfectly and is unaffected by such grammatically irrelevant conditions as memory limitations, distractions, shifts of attention and interest, and errors (random or charac- teristic) in applying his knowledge of the language in actual performance. This notion of an idealized speaker is not unique to generative approaches to linguistics, but has also been characteristic within earlier work in sociolinguis- tics.
eBook - PDFProcess linguistics
Exploring the processual aspects of language and language use, and the methods of their description
- Thomas T. Ballmer, Wolfgang Wildgen, Thomas T. Ballmer, Wolfgang Wildgen(Authors)
- 2017(Publication Date)
- De Gruyter Mouton(Publisher)
186 LANGUAGE ACQUISITION IN AN INTERACTIVE; SEMANTIC-COGNITIVE, AND NEUROLINGUISTIC PERSPECTIVE* Ton van der Geest Ruhr-Universität Bochum Abstract Two conflicting theories with respect to the processes underlying the acquisition of language (viz. the language acquisition theory (L.A.) relying on the 'innateness hypothesis' and a language learning theory (LL) relying on general learning and mother-child interaction principles) will be discussed on the basis of recent literature and linguistic, psycholinguistic, and neurolinguistic evidence. It will be argued that there is a great deal of evidence supporting the latter (LL) theory at least insofar as the earlier stages of language acquisition are concerned. Finally after having concentrated upon the fact that language develops in the child almost unnoticed we will discuss some implications for both language acquisition research and language education. I. Two conflicting Theories of Language Acquisition Literature focusses during the last two decades mainly upon two conflicting theories with respect to the underlying processes of language development. The first theory - which I will call language acquisition (LA) - is based upon Chomsky's innateness hypothesis. It emphasizes that the child creates his own linguistic rules rather than deducing them directly from the primary linguistic data the child is confronted with. In this theory the argument that in children's speech peculiarities occur that cannot be traced back to the adult system plays a crucial role. See e.g. * A revised and enlarged version of my Language acquisition as a hidden curriculum; in: Communication and Cognition, 1974 (7), 169-190. 187 Menyuk (1969), McNeill (1970), Gruber (1967), Wode (1978), and Felix (1978). The other theory - language learning (LL) - is based on the view that the primary data are sufficiently richly structured that the child is able to deduce the linguistic system from these data.
- Patrick Colm Hogan(Author)
- 2010(Publication Date)
- Cambridge University Press(Publisher)
Finally, especially with regard to language acquisition in the child, developmental psychology must be consulted critically. The child is a biologically and cognitively changing organism. Indeed, an understanding of commonalities and/or differences between language acquisition in child and adult requires expertise in the field of developmental psychology. In addition, the fact that the human species, either child or adult, is capable not only of single language acquisition but also of multilanguage acquisition, either simultaneously or sequen- tially, exponentially increases the complexity of the area (see bilingualism and multilingualism). The fact that these languages may vary in their parametric values (see parame- ters) and be either oral or visual further complicates the area. THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS Not surprisingly, then, the field of research involving the study of language acquisition is characterized by all the complexity and variation in theoretical positions that characterize the field of lin- guistics and the language sciences in general. The area of language acquisition research reflects varying approaches to the study of grammar, that is, variations regarding viewpoints on what consti- tutes the end state of language knowledge that must be acquired, for example, generative or functionalist approaches. At the same time, it is characterized by variation in approach to the study of language acquisition, in particular, ranging from vari- ous forms of logical to empirical analyses, and including disputes regarding methodological foundations and varying attempts at explanatory theories (ranging from rationalist to empiricist types). (Lust 2006, Chapter 4, provides a review.) The field is led by a strong theory of what is necessary logi- cally for a strong explanatory theory of language acquisition in the form of Noam Chomsky’s early proposal for a language acquisition device (LAD ).
eBook - PDFLanguage Files
Materials for an Introduction to Language and Linguistics, 13th Edition
- Department of Linguistics(Author)
- 2022(Publication Date)
- Ohio State University Press(Publisher)
Various theories have arisen that attempt to account for how children acquire lan- guage. One hypothesis that has found a lot of support throughout the years is that at least part of the human language ability is innate. In the section that follows, we will first explore the innateness hypothesis and the evidence for it. However, innateness alone cannot answer all of the questions about how children acquire the specific language that is spoken around them. A number of theories have been proposed for how additional, more specific knowledge is acquired. We will briefly consider two early ones, Imitation Theory and Reinforcement Theory, which have been refuted but which remain part of popular belief. It is therefore important to point out why these theo- ries are inadequate. We will then consider three more current theories of language acquisi- tion: the most influential of them is the Active Construction of a Grammar Theory. While this theory is believed by many linguists, there are a number of influential competing theo- ries. Of these, we will introduce Connectionist Theories and Social Interaction Theory. 8.1.2 The Innateness Hypothesis A hypothesis underlying many Theories of Language Acquisition asserts that language abil- ity is innate in humans. That is, humans are genetically predisposed to acquire and use language (though not any particular language, of course). This theory claims that babies are born with the knowledge that languages have patterns and with the ability to seek out and identify those patterns. Some theorists have even claimed that humans have innate knowledge of some core characteristics common to all languages, such as the concepts of ‘noun’ and ‘verb.’ These basic features shared by all languages are called linguistic univer- sals, and the theoretically inborn set of structural characteristics shared by all languages Language Acquisition 330 is known as universal grammar.
- Ping Li, Yasuhiro Shirai(Authors)
- 2011(Publication Date)
- De Gruyter Mouton(Publisher)
Chapter 3 Theories of Language Acquisition and the acquisition of aspect Aspect constitutes an essential part of both language use (reflected in the lexicon and the grammar) and language acquisition (reflected in the early emergence of conceptual and linguistic expressions). In the last two decades, this area has not only received extensive linguistic analyses as discussed in the previous chapter, but also attracted an enormous number of empirical studies and produced many theoretical explanations in both first and second language acquisition. The study of the acquisition of aspect can provide significant insights into the understanding of general theoretical issues in language acquisition. In this book we aim at discov-ering the psycholinguistic mechanisms that can capture how learners acquire lexical and grammatical aspect. In this chapter, we first provide an overview of the broad theoretical issues currently under debate in first and second language acquisition, as these issues are important and relevant to the specific questions we ask. We then briefly review existing empirical evidence from crosslinguistic studies of the acquisition of aspect in diverse languages, first in child language, then in adult second language acquisition. We discuss various theoretical issues that are particularly relevant to the empirical data in LI and L2 acquisition of aspect. 3.1. Nativist and functionalist approaches to language acquisition 3.1.1. First language Current debates in language acquisition center around the issue of whether language learners, children or adults, are equipped with innate principles or mechanisms that enable the acquisition of language. Nativ-ist proponents argue strongly for the existence of a priori domain-specific principles or mechanisms for language, although the details of their arguments vary greatly.
- Julia Herschensohn, Martha Young-Scholten(Authors)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Cambridge University Press(Publisher)
Their domain of inquiry is vast, as outlined for example in Chomsky (1986) who sees the goals of linguistic research as providing answers to three distinct questions: (1) what constitutes knowledge of lan- guage? (knowledge in the Chomskyan sense meaning abstract underlying representations rather than conscious metalinguistic knowledge); (2) how is knowledge of language acquired? and (3) how is knowledge of language put to use? 1 Within a very broad agenda which seeks to understand the nature of human language, first language acquisition has always been an important driving force; and Chomskyan theory building has always seen accounting for the ease with which children acquire their native language in spite of the complexity and abstractness of human language as an important goal and motivator. This ease of acquisition has been argued to be due to an innate language faculty which guides and constrains children in the hypotheses they make about the language they are acquiring. The focus of linguistic inquiry within this framework has never been on the acquisition of second languages. But as a general theory of language, this line of inquiry has been of direct relevance to the study of second languages, which are assumed to 54 FLORENCE MYLES be natural languages and therefore to be governed by the constraints which operate on all human languages. Additionally, given the many similarities between first and second language acquisition, if Universal Grammar can explain the former, it will also play a part in the latter. Furthermore, UG might explain some of the differences between L1 and L2 acquisition by providing a theoretical frame for investigating constructs such as the Crit- ical Period (whereby innate language faculties constraining first language acquisition might not be available to older L2 learners) and transfer when comparing pairs of languages in a principled way.
eBook - PDF- Peter Jordens, Josine A. Lalleman(Authors)
- 2016(Publication Date)
- De Gruyter Mouton(Publisher)
It is more likely that many semantic categories are learned through the requirements of mastering the local language. (Bowerman 1978:110) Maratsos (1983) summarizes the two positions that currently exist in the cognitivist field as follows: Position 1: the formation of concepts is the prerequisite to language acquisition Position 2: aspects of language itself may also function as defining properties of language acquisition He tries to reconcile these positions by formulating the following common characteristics of a cognitivist view on language acquisition: (1) children are motivated to learn language by their desire to express meanings that conceptual development makes available to them (2) the major aspects of child language can be analysed in terms of cognitively based semantic and pragmatic categories such as agent, action, location, topic and focus (3) semantic and pragmatic categories remain the major defining properties for linguistic categories throughout development Γ4Λ the acquisition of grammar requires little information processing capacities (5) parental linguistic input partly accounts for developmental courses in the acquisition of language (6) constructions that cannot be interpreted in terms of semantic or pragmatic categories or occur infrequently in the child's input, are acquired very late A somewhat special position in the cognitivist field is taken by Slobin. He proposes a theory of language acquisition in which the concept of Operating Principles (OPs) is introduced, which he describes as procedures that children use in acquiring language (Slobin 1985).
eBook - PDFLanguage Acquisition and Language Socialization
Ecological Perspectives
- Claire Kramsch(Author)
- 2003(Publication Date)
- Continuum(Publisher)
Part One Language development as spatial and temporal positioning This page intentionally left blank Language acquisition and language use from a chaos/ complexity theory perspective 1 Diane Larsen-Freeman Introduction The field of second language acquisition (SLA) is in a state of turmoil. Heated exchanges are published in our journals, and internecine feuding is widespread. For while an individual/cognitive perspective on language acquisition prevails in SLA research, this mainstream view has been under increasing attack, and a more socially situated view of language use/acquisition is increasingly finding favor. At this juncture in the evolution of the SLA field, it would be worthwhile to examine the nature of the debate in order to truly understand what is being contested. This I do in two steps. In the first part of this chapter, I summarize two key issues as they have been put forth by some of the protagonists. Then, to contrast the two issues in a different way, I turn to the third question posed by the organizers of the workshop at which the chapters in this book were originally presented as papers. The question is: How is educational success defined? Next, I propose that a way to deal with the conflict today is to do what the SLA field has always done on such occasions: to adopt a perspective that is large enough to accommodate the two competing points of view. In this chapter, I offer chaos/complexity theory (C/CT), not as a single grand unifying theory, but as a larger lens through which to view issues of interest to the SLA field. Finally, before concluding, I digress briefly to discuss a parallel debate ongoing in the field of linguistics. The debate in SLA 1 Firth and Wagner (1997, 1998) call for what at first appears to be a theoretically balanced approach to the study of SLA - one where both Diane Larsen-Freeman the social and the individual cognitive dimensions of SLA would be treated equally.
eBook - PDFThe Sounds of Language
An Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology
- Elizabeth C. Zsiga(Author)
- 2012(Publication Date)
- Wiley-Blackwell(Publisher)
This attunement may be seen as a language- particular warping of the perceptual space. • Babies are statistical learners, using transitional probabilities between syllables and seg- ments to discern the recurring patterns that correspond to words. They are sensitive to prosodic patterns from birth, and by the age of one year are using prosodic patterns to aid in word recognition. • Once language-specific articulatory routines and topographies of the perceptual space are learned, they stay learned, allowing automatic and easy processing of the L1, but causing difficulty in switching to an L2. Some linguists argue for a critical period in which language acquisition can take place, but after which the cognitive mechanisms that make acquisition effortless are no longer available. • The speech of L2 learners shows both transfer effects from L1 to L2, and developmental effects that reflect universal markedness. • Theories that address the interaction of L1 and L2 categories in perception and produc- tion include the Native Language Magnet model, the Perceptual Assimilation Model and the Speech Learning Model. • Phonological and phonetic theory has benefited from the study of L1 and L2 learners, and should take into account for linguistic systems that are undergoing change. further reading Edwards, J.G.H. and M. Zampini (eds), 2008. Phonology and Second Language Acquisition. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Kuhl, P. 2004. Early language acquisition: Cracking the speech code. Nature Reviews 5: 831–843. review exercises 1. Explain the difference between: language acquisition and language learning a longitudinal study and a cross-sectional study ACQUISITION AND LEARNING 463 reduplicated babbling and variegated babbling AX and AXB perception tests 2. Define: L1 L2 motherese neural plasticity critical period velar fronting transfer developmental effects in L2 3. Describe three techniques used to study infant speech perception.
eBook - PDFTeacher's Handbook
Contextualized Language Instruction
- Judith Shrum, Glisan, Judith ShrumGlisan(Authors)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- Cengage Learning EMEA(Publisher)
All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. 36 Understanding Language Learning Through Second Language Acquisition Theory and Research Implications of the Research for Classroom Teaching Throughout this chapter, you have explored key research findings and their important implications for classroom language instruction. Teacher’s Handbook supports a sociocul-tural view of language instruction, whereby learners have ample opportunities to interact meaningfully with others. Within this type of instructional framework, there is NO room for mechanical practice that is devoid of meaning or disconnected rules of thumb that fail to bring about conceptual understandings about language. Accordingly, throughout FIGURE 1.5 The Components of a Motivational Teaching Practice Source: Motivational Strategies in the Foreign Language Classroom , by Dörnyei, 2001, p.
eBook - PDFGeorgetown University Round Table on Languages and Linguistics (GURT) 1996: Linguistics, Language Acquisition, and Language Variation
Current Trends and Future Prospects
- James E. Alatis(Author)
- 1996(Publication Date)
- Georgetown University Press(Publisher)
Taking variation in the processes and outcomes of learning as something demanding an adequate explanation, we might hypothesise that differentiation between learners is least likely to be revealed between interpretative learners, more likely to be perceived between accommodating learners, and most transparent between strategic learners. In other words, locating constructs of the language learner on a continuum, we might propose that explanations of why some learners succeed while other learners fail are more likely to derive from studies of their strategic behavior than from research on accommodation. And studies of the interpretative nature of learning have less potential to account for 92 / GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY ROUND TABLE ON LANGUAGES AND LINGUISTICS 1996 this kind of variation. I suggest that, as we focus more on the interaction between learner and data as actually occurring in context, explanations for differential achievement in language learning become more possible. In order to justify such a claim, I need to begin by offering my interpretation of the context of learning. Putting SLA research in place. I believe it is fair to say that mainstream SLA research which focuses upon the relationship between the learner and language data is conducted and reported on in ways that take for granted the social contexts in which the research is done. Dyadic encounters between caretakers and young learners or between native-speaker researchers and non-native-speaking informants, interactions in experimental situations using elicitation techniques, or closely observed interactions in classrooms are never socially neutral. The actual nature of the evidence we obtain will be a function of the social space within which we obtained it. If we unpack the notion of the context of learning, we can see it as a unity of affective, physical, and interpersonal or collective characteristics.
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