FIRST LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

Dr. Comfort PrattAssociate Professor

Bilingual Education and Secondary EducationCollege of Education, Texas Tech University

THEORIES OF FIRST LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

How do children learn their first language? L1 Theories attempt to answer the

question.

BEHAVIORISM

1940s and 50s Burrhus Frederic Skinner Children imitate the language used by

those around them, and when they receive praise for their effort, they continue to imitate and practice, and eventually, they learn to use the language appropriately.

The child’s environment plays a very important role.

THE CRUX OF SKINNER’S MODEL

The relationship between man and his environment - CONTINGENCY OF REINFORCEMENT (dependent on reinforcement), that is, an IF THEN RELATIONSHIP

- Response and consequence

2 key processes in language learning: Operant conditioning Reinforcement

OPERANT CONDITIONINGAND REINFORCEMENT

When a child is born, her mind is a clean slate (tabula rasa)

Child hears a word in her environment Operant conditioning - conditioning in

which the child produces the utterance. Child imitates the word The utterance - OPERANT REINFORCEMENT (positive verbal or

nonverbal feedback from another person) OPERANT is learned.

SKINNER’S MODEL OF LANGUAGE BEHAVIOR

SKINNER’S PIGEONS

Skinner developed his theory based on numerous experiments with animals such as pigeons and rats.

Watch Skinner’s pigeons See video – How Skinner used these

processes to train pigeons to play ping pong

SKINNER’S BOX

SKINNER’S PIGEONS & RATS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGazyH6fQQ4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-d6jypCsUw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhvaSEJtOV8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpSxJw0BFZs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-DgV2vixSo

HUMANS

Skinner compared this learning with the way children learn to talk -- they are rewarded for making a sound that is sort of like a word until in fact they can say the word. Skinner believed other complicated tasks could be broken down in this way and taught.

.

KEY PRINCIPLES

Relied on these key principles: Effective language behavior is defined

as correct responses to stimuli Language learning is a result of

repeatedly reinforced behavior Language learning is a stream of

associations – imitation, practice, feedback on success, and habit formation

CHALLENGES TO THE BEHAVIORAL APPROACH

SOME EXPERIMENTS

PETER, CINDY AND KATHRYN About 24 months old. Recorded as they played with a visiting

adult. Showed that children do not simply repeat

what they have heard

EXAMPLES They learn patterns Randall (36 months) Michel (2 yrs. 10 months) David (5 yrs. 1 month) Randall (2 yrs. 9 months) Randall (3 yrs. 5 months)

EXAMPLES Imitation and practice alone cannot

explain these children’s behavior. They rather pick up patterns and

generalize them to new contexts.

CHALLENGES

1. Behaviorism can explain the early stages of acquisition but not the more complex stages.2. Could not adequately explain abstract aspects of language and meaning. Eg. DEEP STRUCTURE was not addressed.

Focus was on SURFACE STRUCTURE.3. Operant conditioning means the child has to be exposed to a language unit before she can produce it (imitate it). Research has proved that is not the case. They produce novel sentences in many cases. It cannot explain the creativity of children.

CONCLUSION Behaviorism offers an explanation of

routine aspects of language, but falls short in explaining complex grammatical structures, selective imitation and overgeneralization.

INNATIST OR NATIVIST APPROACH

Proposed by Noam Chomsky in the 1950s.

Basic structural rules that govern language that all humans know without having to learn them - Universal Grammar.

The brain is already primed to understand certain sentence structures.

LAD – language acquisition device. Functions as a congenital device in

language acquisition.

INNATIST APPROACH, CONT.

Children are biologically programmed for language.

The environment makes only a basic contribution.

Children’s minds are not blank slates. Children are born with an innate ability to

acquire language. Principles and parameters. Children with limited cognitive ability

develop complex language systems.

INNATIST APPROACH (CONT.)

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=VIDEO+ON+NOAM+CHOMSKY+ON+LANGUAGE+DEVELOPMENT&view=detail&mid=41E7585CB90D9214BC6D41E7585CB90D9214BC6D&first=0

THE RESEARCH

Chomsky simply based it on observations of a human baby and a kitten

The human child will always acquire the ability to understand and produce language.

The kitten will never acquire either ability. LAD

CHALLENGES

Does not address the presence of corrective feedback.

Predicts that children will learn and develop normal language regardless of the quality of the language heard to activate the LAD.

Where is the LAD located?

THE LAD

CRITICAL PERIOD HYPOTHESIS Lenneberg Some experiments: Victor Genie

CONCLUSION

Able to provide reason why children are able to learn what they haven’t heard, but has not been able to explain the process of language development.

INTERACTIONIST THEORY

Reaction to Behaviorist and Nativist Theories Combination of both The human body is suited for learning

language (nature) The experiences of a child learning the rules

of language (nurture) are important. Language development occurs in the context

of social interaction between the developing child and knowledgeable adults.

INTERACTIONIST

Adults model language usage and "scaffold" the child's attempts to master language.

Strongly influenced by the socio-cultural theories of the Soviet psychologist Lev Vygotsky.

INTERACTIONIST

Research focused on three areas Jean Piaget MacWhinney and Bates Vygotsky

INTERACTIONIST

Lev Vygotsky Psychologist and social constructivist Laid the foundation for the interactionists

view of language acquisition. According to Vygotsky, social interaction

plays an important role in the learning process.

Proposed the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) where learners construct the new language through socially mediated interaction.

ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT

INTERACTIONISM

Jean PIAGET (Swiss Psychologist) Observed infants and children Children’s language is built on their

cognitive development. They use language to express knowledge

they have acquired through physical interaction with the environment.

INTERACTIONISM

The Competition Model

CONNECTIONISM

The focus is on 3 things: Organization Connections Networks

CONNECTIONISM

Proponents – Jeffrey Elman et. al. Language learning can be explained in

terms of learning in general Knowledge is stored in neural

networks. One element activates other elements. Learners develop increasingly stronger

connections between elements through experience (and learning).

Learners develop more integrated networks.

CONNECTIONISM

Children acquire links or connections between words and phrases and the situations in which they occur as well as with the other words and phrases that occur with them.

Made possible by the child’s general ability to develop associations between things that occur together.

They continuously build links between language and meaning.

CONNECTIONISM, CONT.

The connections made help with recall. Accounts for developmental sequence

patterns eg. acquisition of regular and irregular past tense verbs

CONNECTIONISM

CONNECTIONISM

THE END