First Language Acquisition

Language acquisition is the process whereby children acquire their first

languages. All humans (without exceptional physical or mental
disabilities) have an innate capability to acquire language. Children may
acquire one or more first languages. For example, children who grow up
in an environment in which only English is spoken and heard will acquire
only English as their first language. However, children who grow up in an
environment in which both German and English are spoken and heard
equally will acquire both German and English as their first languages.
Acquisition occurs passively and unconsciously through implicit learning.
In other words, children do not need explicit instruction to learn their first
languages but rather seem to just "pick up" language in the same way
they learn to roll over, crawl, and walk. Language acquisition in children
just seems to happen.

Second Language Learning

Language learning, in contrast to language acquisition, is the process
whereby humans past the critical period learn second languages. All
humans have the ability to learn additional languages although, just as
with other areas of study like math or science, some people are better at
learning second languages than others. Older children and adults may
learn one or more second languages. For example, a woman who
acquired French as a child and learned English as an adult would have
one first language (French) and one second language (English).
Similarly, a man who acquired Japanese as a child and learned English
and Spanish as an adult would also have one first language (Japanese)
but two second languages (English and Spanish).

As opposed to acquisition, learning occurs actively and consciously

through explicit instruction and education. In other words, older children
and adults past the critical period need explicit teaching to learn their
second languages. Language learning requires explicit instruction in
speaking and hearing additional languages. For example, while children
who acquire English as their first language just seem unconsciously and
 without instruction to "know" that most adjectives precede nouns in
English, those same children as adults must be taught that most
adjectives follow nouns in Spanish. The brains of first language English
speakers have become "hardwired" to innately accept only an adjective-
noun pattern; in order to successfully learn Spanish as a second
language, those English speakers must consciously learn the different
pattern of noun-adjective. Or rather, second language learners must
"retrain" the brain to accept language systems outside the confines of
the first language.

Foreign language
 Language
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For possible languages of extraterrestrials, see alien language.

A foreign language is a language originally from another country than the speaker. However,
there must be a defined distinction between foreign and second language. It is also a language
not spoken in the native country of the person referred to, i.e., an English speaker living
in Spain can say that Spanish is a foreign language to him or her, or a Japanese speaker living in
the United States can say that English is a foreign language to him or her. These two
characterisations do not exhaust the possible definitions, however, and the label is occasionally
applied in ways that are variously misleading or factually inaccurate.
Some children learn more than one language from birth or from a very young age: they
are bilingual or multilingual. These children can be said to have two, three or more mother
tongues: neither language is foreign to that child, even if one language is a foreign language for
the vast majority of people in the child's birth country. For example, a child learning English
from his English father and Irish at school in Ireland can speak both English and Irish, but
neither is a foreign language to him. This is common in countries such as India, South Africa,
or Canada due to these countries having multiple official languages.
In general, it is believed that children have advantage to learning a foreign language over adults.
However, there are studies which have shown adult students are better at foreign language
learning than child students. It is because adults have pre-existing knowledge of how grammar
works,[1] and a superior ability of memorizing vocabulary.[2]
Heritage language
 Language
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A heritage language is a minority language (either immigrant or indigenous) learnt by its
speakers at home as children, but never fully developed because of insufficient input from the
social environment: in fact, the community of speakers grows up with a dominant language in
which they become more competent.[1] Polinsky & Kagan label it as a continuum that ranges
from fluent speakers to barely-speaking individuals of the home language. In some countries or
cultures in which they determine one's mother tongue by the ethnic group, a heritage language
would be linked to the native language.[2]
The term can also refer to the language of a person's family or community that the person does
not speak or understand, but identifies with culturally.[3][4]

dialect
noun [ C/U  ]

US 
 /ˈdɑɪ·əˌlekt/
 
GRAMMAR

a form of a language that is spoken in a particular part of a country or by

a particular group of people and that contains some words, grammar,
or pronunciations (= the ways in which words are said) that are different
from the forms used in other parts or by other groups
What is the difference between Learning and Acquisition?

• Acquisition of a language requires meaningful communication in the language

which is also called natural communication.

• Learning of a language is based upon less communication and more explanation of

grammar rules.

• During acquisition, a child is not aware of grammar rules and he intuitively learns
what is right or wrong as there is constant meaningful communication.

• Acquisition is subconscious while learning is conscious and deliberate.

• In acquisition, learner focuses more on text and less on form while he focuses on
form alone in the learning process of a language.

• Mother tongue is mostly acquired while second language is mostly learnt.

Language vs Speech
Language and speech are two different communicating tools. Language is the tool by
which we write, understand, etc., and speech is the tool of communication which is used
to verbally communicate with others. Let us elaborate more on both to understand the
differences.
Language
One of the dictionary meanings of language is the communication of feelings and
thoughts through a system of particular signals, like sounds, voice, written symbols, and
gestures. It is considered to be a very specialized capacity of humans where they use
complex systems for communication. The study of languages is called linguistics.
There are many languages spoken today by humans. Languages have some rules, and
they are compiled and used according to those rules for communication. Languages
can be not only written, but sometimes some languages are based on signs only. These
are called sign languages. In other cases, some particular codes are used for
computers, etc. which are called computer languages or programming.

Language has four different rules which are shared socially. First, what a word means,
the meaning of the words which is called vocabulary; second, how to make up new
words; third, how to put the words together in a sequence and, finally, how to use the
sentence in a particular situation. Does it need to be a statement, or does it need to be
interrogative, etc.

Language can be either receptive, meaning understanding of a language, and

expressive language, which means the usage of the language either orally or in writing.
If we simplify everything, language expresses an idea communicated in the message.

Speech
One of the dictionary meanings of speech is the act of expressing or the faculty of
describing feelings and thoughts or perceptions by words, something spoken or vocal
communication. It is a specifically human capacity to communicate verbally or vocally
with the use of syntactic combinations from diverse vocabularies.
Each word spoken has a phonetic combination of certain sound units. Speech is
created by vocabularies, syntax, and a set of sound units. It is the verbal way of
communicating. The following components are a part of speech:
Articulation, which means the way speech sounds are produced.
Voice, the breathing process and the vocal folds used to produce sounds.
Fluency, the rhythm required to speak without hesitation.

Simplifying the whole concept, speech expresses how a spoken message needs to be
communicated.

Summary:

1.Language is the communication of feelings and thoughts through a system of

particular signals like sounds, voice, written symbols, and gestures. However, speech is
the act of expressing or the faculty of describing feelings and thoughts or perceptions by
words, something spoken or vocal communication.
2.Languages could be human languages, sign languages, or computer languages which
use codes while speech is a single concept. It is the physical process used to verbalize
language.
3.Languages express the idea that needs to be communicated while speech is the
process which shows how the message needs to be communicated.

Language and Cognition

Leonid Perlovsky and Kuniyoshi L. Sakai
Additional article information

Interaction between language and cognition remains an unsolved scientific

problem. What are the differences in neural mechanisms of language and
cognition? Why do children acquire language by the age of six, while taking a
lifetime to acquire cognition? What is the role of language and cognition in
thinking? Is abstract cognition possible without language? Is language just a
communication device, or is it fundamental in developing thoughts? Why are there
no animals with human thinking but without human language? Combinations even
among 100 words and 100 objects (multiple words can represent multiple objects)
exceed the number of all the particles in the Universe, and it seems that no amount
of experience would suffice to learn these associations. How does human brain
overcome this difficulty?
Since the nineteenth century we know about involvement of Broca's and
Wernicke's areas in language. What new knowledge about the brain regions
responsible for language and cognition has been found with fMRI and other brain
imaging methods? Every year we know more about their anatomical and
functional/effective connectivity. What can be inferred about their interactions and
functions in language and cognition? Why does the human brain show hemispheric
(i.e., left or right) dominance for some specific linguistic and cognitive processes?
Is linguistic and cognitive comprehension processed in the same or different
regions? Do the syntactic processes affect the structure of our conceptual world?
Such issues regarding brain functions and mind have been increasingly drawing
attention from various fields in recent years, and investigations that go beyond the
boundaries of previous fields of study are becoming necessary. The need for study
spanning the brain and the mind has given birth to a new discipline, such as
cognitive neuroscience, neurolinguistics, biolinguistics, etc. We assume that mind
is a part of brain function, and we tentatively define the mind as a combination of
three main cognitive factors: perception, memory, and consciousness. Language is
created by mind, yet, once uttered, words return to the mind, where they are
understood. The cycle from the mind to the language and then from the language to
the mind, is recursive, in that the language produced by the mind comes back to
the mind once again. This recursiveness is important when considering the
relationship between language and mind.
When viewed language and mind as a whole system, it is evident that the functions
of language are part of the brain system at the same time as being involved in the
workings of the mind. Moreover, information is exchanged between language and
each of perception, memory, and consciousness in both directions. Namely,
language is involved in both reciprocal and recursive information exchange with
each element of the mind. Since language is tightly linked to the mind, it would be
more natural to assume that language is a part of the mind than to think it is an
entity which exits outside the mind. The study of language is, in essence, to
understand a part of the “human” mind. The more we study the language used by
humans, the more we will understand the structure of the mind.
Chomsky has suggested that language is separable from cognition (Berwick et
al., 2013), and this notion has been well supported by functional imaging
experiments in neuroscience (Sakai, 2005). On the opposite, cognitive and
construction linguistics emphasized a single mechanism of both. Neither has led to
a computational theory so far, but language is learned early in life with only
limited cognitive understanding of the world (Perlovsky, 2009). Evolutionary
linguistics has emphasized evolution leading to a mechanism of language
acquisition, yet proposed approaches also lead to incomputable complexity. Papers
in this volume report new knowledge on interacting language and cognition, still
there remains more questions than answers.
In animals, emotional and conceptual contents of voice sounds are fused. Evolution
of human language has demanded splitting of emotional and conceptual contents,
as well as of their mechanisms, although language prosody still carries emotional
content. Is it a dying-off remnant, or is it fundamental for interaction between
language and cognition? If language and cognitive mechanisms differ, unifying
these two contents requires motivation, hence emotions. What are these emotions?
Can they be measured? If tonal languages use pitch contours for semantic contents,
are there differences in language-cognition interaction among tonal and atonal
languages? Are emotional differences among cultures exclusively cultural, or also
depend on languages?
This volume introduces a broad range of research addressing these topics,
including three opinion articles, one hypothesis and theory article, eight original
research articles, and a pair of an opinion article and a general commentary article.
Their summaries are as follows.
First, Perlovsky (2013) introduces joint acquisition, dual hierarchy, and emotional
prosody of language and cognition, such that emotional prosody may perform a
fundamental function in connecting sounds and meanings of words. Vicario (2013)
discusses about FOXP2 gene and language development, which might inform us
about the origin of language. Perry and Lupyan (2013) explain that language and
thought are different but strongly interacting abilities, based on the online
manipulation of linguistic activity.
Next, Ohta et al. (2013) propose computational principles of syntax in the regions
specialized for language, thereby integrating theoretical linguistics and functional
neuroimaging. Nagels et al. (2013b) present an fMRI study on the neural substrates
of figurative language during natural speech perception. De La Cruz et al. (2013)
show that finger counting helps cognitive robots to learn words. Straube et al.
(2013) suggest that abstract information conveyed by speech and gesture may be
processed independent of modality. Tilles and Fontanari (2013) examine
reinforcement and inference in cross-situational word learning. Nagels et al.
(2013a) indicate the role of semantic abstractness and perceptual category in
processing speech accompanied by gestures. Zhong et al. (2013) study a self-
organizing pre-symbolic neural model representing sensorimotor information.
Shuai and Gong (2013) analyze temporal relationships between top-down and
bottom-up processing in lexical tone perception. Vicario and Rumiati (2013)
demonstrate how notions of left and right affect processing of trading verbs.
We end the volume with a highly-popular discussion on the role of open access
publications in linguistics, contributed by Haspelmath (2013) and Bragazzi

A Little History Behind Language Acquisition Theory

As with most of history, it all begins with some philosophers in ancient societies who were
interested in how humans were able to develop language. Using “armchair psychology” (sitting
and thinking about the problem), the large conclusion from these philosophers was that we were
able to learn languages as we do due to the subset of a human’s ability to gain knowledge and
learn concepts. Easier said they found that language was an innate ability that we were born with.
Plato felt that word-meaning mapping was also innate in one way or another. Grammarians who
studied Sanskrit debated over 12 centuries on whether or not a humans ability to recognize and
use the correct meaning of words in Sanskrit (an ancient Indian language that is over 3,000 years
old) was something passed down by generations and learned from pre-established conventions
(for example, a child learns the word for horse because he hears older speakers talking about
horses) or whether it was innate (“God-given”).

A while later, philosophers such as John Locke and Thomas Hobbes got in on the language party
and argued that knowledge (and language, in Locke’s case) come from abstracted sense
impressions. What does that mean? They argue that language comes from a sensory
experience.

Behaviorists, people who believe that everything is acquired through conditioning, argued that
language is learned through operant conditioning- a form of conditioning that happens through
rewards and punishments which makes someone associate between a particular behavior and its
consequence. A child learns that a specific combination of words or sounds stands for a specific
thing/idea through successfully repeated associations. For example, a child would learn that their
house animal, Whiskers, is a cat while their other house animal, Fido, is a dog. He would do so
because when the child would call Whiskers his dog, his parents would say that no, Whiskers is
a cat, not a dog.  The “big face” for this language acquisition theory is B.F. Skinner and he went
on to publish this theory.

However, Noam Chomsky, one of the world’s greatest linguists to date strongly criticised
Skinner’s theory. Chomsky argued that kids often ignore their parents’ corrections and would not
likely learn that actual, proper use of the word or phrase and end up using it incorrectly, by
means of Skinner’s conditioning theory. Chomsky’s language acquisition theory involved a more
mathematical approach to language development based on a syntax (the meaning of a word)
study.

To get some more details on the history of language acquisition theory, check out this Stanford
article!

Language acquisition theories

Language acquisition theory: The Nativist Theory
Being the most well-known and one of the most scientifically accurate theories yet, the Nativist
Theory suggests that we are born with genes that allow us to learn language. This language
acquisition theory argues that there is a theoretical device known as the language acquisition
device (LAD) that is somewhere in our brain. This “device” is in charge of our learning a
language the same way the hypothalamus, for example, is in charge of regulating our body
temperature. The language acquisition theory also suggests that there is a universal
grammar (a theory by Noam Chomsky) that is shared across every language in the world
because universal grammar is part of our genetic makeup. Essentially, almost all languages
around the world all have nouns and verbs and similar ways to structure thoughts. All languages
have a finite amount of rules that apply to all languages from which we can build an infinite
amount of phrases. The core and basic ideas from these finite rules are built into our brains
(according to Universal Grammar and the Nativist Theory).

This language acquisition theory explains well how humans seem to have a far more complicated
and complex set of communication patterns than any other species in the world. It also is a
working theory for how children are able to learn so quickly complicated ideas. This language
acquisition theory is comparable to how we think of numbers- everyone in the world knows what
4 apples look like regardless if we say that there are four, cuatro, vier, or dört apples.

Language acquisition theory: The Sociocultural Theory

The sociocultural theory, also known as the interactionist approach, takes ideas from both
biology and sociology to interpret our language acquisition. This language acquisition theory
states that children are able to learn language out of a desire to communicate with their
surrounding environment and world. Language thus is dependent upon and emerges from social
interaction. The theory argues that due to our language developing out of a desire to
communicate, our language is dependent upon whom we hang around and with whom we want
to communicate. Essentially, the theory says that our environment when we grow up has
a heavy influence on how quickly and how well we learn to talk. For example, an infant who is
raised by a single dad will develop the word “dada” or “baba” before developing “mama”.

Language acquisition theory: The Learning Theory

The learning theory is a language acquisition theory that looks at language learning as learning a
new skill and that we learn language much in the same way that we learn how to count or how to
tie shoes via repetition and reinforcement. When babies babble, adults coo and praise them for
“talking” (and also because it’s pretty adorable). When the kids grow older, they often are
praised for speaking properly and corrected when they don’t. From this correction and praise
comes the learning theory that language comes from stimulus and stimulus-response. However,
this language acquisition theory, logical as it may be, fails to explain how new phrases and new
words form since it’s all about repeating and mimicking what people hear from others.

Stages of language acquisition theory

The first few years of a child’s life are critical for language learning. Between 10-18 months, a
child will say their first words and before they reach two-years-old, they will be able to say some
simple, short phrases (“water, please”). Studies have shown that an 18-month old can actually
tell the difference between correct verbs and incorrect verb pairs. For example, they should know
that “is jumping” is correct while “will jumping” isn’t. Between the ages of four and seven, kids
become more and more able to tell understandable stories. Normally, everyone goes through five
stages of acquiring a language.
Language Acquisition Theory- Studies have shown that an 18-month old can actually tell the difference
between correct verbs and incorrect verb pairs

Stage 1- Pre-production
This first stage is also known as the silent period. Although a child may have up to 500 words in
their receptive vocabulary (words they’ve learned from watching and listening as babies do),
they aren’t able to speak yet. Some kids try to mimic and “parrot you” by repeating everything
you say. However, they aren’t producing any real words yet. This is the stage when kids listen
attentively and they respond to visual and auditory things. They are able to understand and
duplicate movements and gestures in order to show their comprehension. However, at this stage,
repetition is critical for their phonemic awareness.

Stage 2- Early Production

Stage 2 can last up to six months. Within this stage, kids will develop a vocabulary of about
1,000 words and can say one or two phrases. They use short bits of language that they have
memorized, but these bits might not be used correctly.

Stage 3- Speech Emergence

In this stage, kids have about a 3,000-word vocabulary and can use simple sentences and phrases.
They should be able to sound out stories phonetically and match vocabulary words to definitions.
Kids are also able to ask simple questions such as “may I go to bathroom?”- the grammar may
not always be 100% correct.

Stage 4- Intermediate Fluency

Kids in Stage 4 have roughly 6,000 active words in their vocabulary. They are able to start using
more complex sentences and should be able to express relatively well their thoughts and opinions
(both in speaking and writing). For English as a Second Language learners, this is the stage when
the child begins to use strategies from their native language to learn content in English and may
also translate assignments from their native language.

Stage 5- Advanced Fluency

It can take 4-10 years to achieve academic cognitive fluency for a second language learner. It
also means that all language learners (native or not) are fluent (for their age) in this stage.

Language acquisition theory and the brain

There are as many as 50 regions in the brain that are involved in language from translating the
vibrations in the air into neural activity so our brain can hear it to controlling the complex and
complicated physical movements needed to produce speech and communicate to manipulating
and using symbols to help make up ideas and thoughts.

While President Lincoln was giving his Gettysburg Address speech, the French neurologist,
Pierre Paul Broca, found what is now called today as Broca’s Area– an area in the brain that
handles language processing, speech production, comprehension, and controls facial functions.
It’s located in the posterior frontal gyrus. When damage occurs in Broca’s Area, the person
will probably experience Broca’s Aphasia and have language issues. Pierre Paul Broca was the
first person to associate the left brain hemisphere with language. The majority of us control our
language via the left hemisphere except for 30% of left-handers and 10% of right-handers.
Behind Broca’s area is the Pars Triangularis which is involved in the semantics of a language.
It’s used when you stop to think about what someone said- such as a complex sentence.

A few years after Broca, a German neurologist, Carl Wernicke, found the counterpart of Broca’s
Area in the superior posterior temporal lobe– a place now known as Wernicke’s Area. This
area handles the language that we hear and the process known as receptive language. Wernicke
was the first person to map out the language process in the brain- cognition-to-speech, writing-
to-reading, and speech-to-comprehension. It was later adopted by Norman Geschwind and is
now a map known as the Wernicke-Geschwind model. However, it’s rather outdated by now.

The same man, Norman Geschwind, found in the 1960s that the inferior parietal lobule is
important in language processing. This is the part of the brain that is all about language
development and acquisition as well as the abstract use of language. It’s the place in the brain
where we collect and consider written and spoken words, phrases, and ideas. It’s such a complex
area and process that it’s where we not only are able to understand the meaning of a word but
also how they sound and their function in grammar. The inferior parietal lobule is where the
brain classifies and orders our sensory, visual, and auditory intake which is why it’s thought that
kids who don’t learn to read or write until they are around age five is due to a late maturation of
the lobule.

Still within the frontal lobe is the fusiform gyrus, a part of the brain that helps us classify and
recognize words into categories. For example, “cat” and “dog” are both classified as nouns and
are both animals whereas “jump” and “sit” are both action verbs.

Language Acquisition Theory- The majority of us control our language via the left hemisphere
except for 30% of left-handers and 10% of right-handers.

Second language acquisition theory

When learning a second language (an additional language to your native language), the
development of meaning is one of, if not the, most important part. There are many types of
meaning such as grammatical (morphology of a word, tenses, possession, etc.), semantic (word
meaning), lexical (meaning that comes from our mental lexicon), and pragmatic (meaning that
depends on context). A mastery of each of these in necessary when acquiring a second language.
The stages of second-language acquisition are much like those of a first-language acquisition.
However, people and kids learning a second language will take longer than they did with their
first-language to come to full fluency in their second language. Kids who grow up bilingual have
been proven to usually take longer to begin speaking because their brains are trying to sort out
the grammar between the two (or more) language systems. 

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Sign language acquisition theory

When the child begins to learn sign language as a native speaker from birth, they do so in the
same way that a child who can hear learns languages. Signed languages and spoken languages
are different in the most basic manner- spoken relies on auditory/oral skills, while signed relies
on visual/manual abilities. As a result, it could be thought that sign language acquisition differs
from spoken language acquisition theory. However, there really aren’t any extreme or
noteworthy differences between acquiring the two because they are both parts of the natural
(human) language group.

Roughly 10% of deaf signers are born into already signing families which make it easier to learn
since the who family signs and the child from birth lives and breathes sign language. Parents
who communicate with their kids (whether or not the kid can hear) by way of sign language help
the child naturally acquire sign language in the same way that non-deaf parents teach their
children their native language (check out the study here). Both hearing and deaf children use
gestures and physical symbolizing to show something when they’re young. However, in deaf
children, these gestures appear around the same time that a hearing child produces their first
spoken words (study here).

According to this research paper, “deaf children move from prelinguistic gesturing to performing
manual syllabic babbling which occurs at 7-10 months of age. This is an activity which differs
from other hand activity of the child because it “possess (1.) a restricted set of phonetic units
(unique to signed languages), (2.) syllabic organization, and it was (3.) used without meaning or
reference”

Language Acquisition Theory- Artificial Intelligence has two languages coded into it- the natural
(human) language, and languages created by scratch by programmers.

Language acquisition theory and Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence (A.I.) can now create their own language, use language, and evolve that
language- just like humans! Researchers have noted that A.I. has the ability to exchange a set of
symbols that are capable of serving as signs in a generated language. The A.I. languages can
either begin from a human language, known as a natural language or be created from scratch by
programmers and code.

When A.I. translates between two languages, it can create its own language known as
an interlingua language. Essentially, it can create its own creole or “Spanglish”, if you will.
Google Translate decided in 2016 to take an A.I. designed specifically to translate between 103
human languages, including languages that had never before been translated between each other,
and they found that the A.I. was able to encode semantics (the meaning of a word, phrase, idea)
within its structures while translating. The researchers concluded that a new interlingua that
evolved from human languages exists within the Google Translate network. You can look at
their study here.

As some may know, in 2017, Facebook’s A.I. created its own language. Scary as it may be, it’s
important to ask, “how did that happen?” Facebook researchers trained chatbots (A.I. that has a
conversation via text or audio in order to “chat”) using a series of English text conversations that
involved humans playing trading games between hats, balls, and books. The chatbots were
programmed to use English to communicate and given tasks to trade the aforementioned items.
However, the chatbots developed a reworked version of English in order to solve their task
 better. Many of the exchanges in the reworked English were nonsensical and didn’t make much
sense to the average reader. For example:

“Bob: “I can can I I everything else.”

Alice: “Balls have zero to me to me to me to me to me to me to me to me to.”

You can check out more details here!    

Neurocognitive research on language acquisition theory

The process of language acquisition theory or acquiring more than one language, the younger the
better, helps fight against neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s. However, there is a
multitude of reasons and numerous research found that shows how healthy for our brain it is to
be bilingual.  

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Scientists have found brain mechanisms that assist in early language development. Phonemic

awareness (one’s ability to understand sound in language such as the difference between “bed”
and “bad”) is essential to language development. The study found that infant’s brain responses to
phonetic stimuli (such as hearing someone talking) reflect their language ability, as well as their
pre-reading abilities, is a predictor as to how well they will be able to read and speak at age three
and age five.

Adults who learn a second language later in life have more to offer to their language
development, although they may be slower than a child at learning it. Being able to maintain
your first language (as an adult) after having learned a second language is determined by being
able to informally use both the first and second language in daily life, as well as education levels,
according to this study.

Music plays a huge role in language development! Whether it’s in the womb, as a child,
or learning a second language as an adult, music is useful for learning any and all languages. The
music incorporates speech, writing (if you’re reading lyrics, for example), and rhythms. Music
learning actually matches the speed and effort put into language acquisition.

Language Acquisition Theory- in countries such as Ghana where over 250 languages are spoken,
people grow up native in multiple (more than two or three) native languages which is proven to help
fight neurodegenerative diseases! 

How to grow your child’s language acquisition

 Delayed Speech. If your child is learning a second language or having lots of trouble with the
first/native language, a speech pathologist may be able to help straighten out some of the underlying
issues that are going on cognitively with the child’s brain.
 Read! It’s never too early to begin reading to a baby- science has proven that babies can learn
words while in the womb!  Even starting with simple picture books (and describing what’s going on on
the page) can help a baby or child.
 Talk! Just like reading, talking to a baby, whether it’s in the womb or not, can help them develop
language. Narrate the day. For instance, “We are going to cook dinner. Do you like the Macaroni &
Cheese we are going to have? Let’s wash our hands and sit down to eat.” You can even prep a baby
for second-language and foreign language learning in the womb!
 Tell stories! Like talking, telling stories (especially elaborate ones) can help a child develop
vocabulary.
 Listen to music! Music has been proven by a multitude of sources, such as this one,  that it aides in
language learning. A simple song such as Old McDonald Had a Farm helps a child learn rhythm,
vocabulary, and reinforces happy learning.
 Use the television but at a minimal level. Many people around the world have learned foreign
languages by watching TV. Have your child watch cartoons in a foreign language for a small amount of
time daily to help aid their foreign learning development.
 Try using a program, such as Cognifit’s, to help your child ramp up his language skills!
 Go on field trips to fun places such as an interactive or interesting museum (for kids), the aquarium,
or the zoo and help them learn the names of their surroundings (animals, plants, and how the world
works).

Let us know what you think about Language acquisition theory in the comments below!

Anna Bohren
Anna is a freelance writer who is passionate about translation, psychology, and how the world works.

Categories: Did you know..?, Dyslexia, Health

Tags: language, Language acquisition, Language acquisition theory

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THEORIES   
BEHAVIORAL PSYCHOLOGY

What Is Operant Conditioning and How Does It Work?

How Reinforcement and Punishment Modify Behavior
By 

Kendra Cherry 

 Medically reviewed by 

Steven Gans, MD 

Updated on September 05, 2019

In This Article 





Operant conditioning (sometimes referred to as instrumental conditioning) is a method of
learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior. Through operant
conditioning, an association is made between a behavior and a consequence for that behavior.1

For example, when a lab rat presses a blue button, he receives a food pellet as a reward, but when
he presses the red button he receives a mild electric shock. As a result, he learns to press the blue
button but avoid the red button.

But operant conditioning is not just something that takes place in experimental settings while
training lab animals; it also plays a powerful role in everyday learning. Reinforcement and
punishment take place almost every day in natural settings as well as in more structured settings
such as the classroom or therapy sessions.

Let's take a closer look at how operant conditioning was discovered, the impact it had on
psychology, and how it is used to change old behaviors and teach new ones.

Verywell / Joshua Seong

The History of Operant Conditioning

Operant conditioning was coined by behaviorist B.F. Skinner, which is why you may
occasionally hear it referred to as Skinnerian conditioning.1 As a behaviorist, Skinner believed
that it was not really necessary to look at internal thoughts and motivations in order to explain
behavior. Instead, he suggested, we should look only at the external, observable causes of human
behavior.
Through the first part of the 20th-century, behaviorism had become a major force within
psychology. The ideas of John B. Watson dominated this school of thought early on. Watson
focused on the principles of classical conditioning, once famously suggesting that he could take
any person regardless of their background and train them to be anything he chose.2
Where the early behaviorists had focused their interests on associative learning, Skinner was
more interested in how the consequences of people's actions influenced their behavior.
Skinner used the term operant to refer to any "active behavior that operates upon the
environment to generate consequences." In other words, Skinner's theory explained how we
acquire the range of learned behaviors we exhibit each and every day.
His theory was heavily influenced by the work of psychologist Edward Thorndike, who had
proposed what he called the law of effect.3 According to this principle, actions that are followed
by desirable outcomes are more likely to be repeated while those followed by undesirable
outcomes are less likely to be repeated.

Operant conditioning relies on a fairly simple premise - actions that are followed by
reinforcement will be strengthened and more likely to occur again in the future. If you tell a
funny story in class and everybody laughs, you will probably be more likely to tell that story
again in the future. If you raise your hand to ask a question and your teacher praises your polite
behavior, you will be more likely to raise your hand the next time you have a question or
comment. Because the behavior was followed by reinforcement, or a desirable outcome, the
preceding actions are strengthened.

Conversely, actions that result in punishment or undesirable consequences will be weakened and
less likely to occur again in the future. If you tell the same story again in another class but
nobody laughs this time, you will be less likely to repeat the story again in the future. If you
shout out an answer in class and your teacher scolds you, then you might be less likely to
interrupt the class again.

Types of Behaviors

Skinner distinguished between two different types of behaviors

  Respondent behaviors are those that occur automatically and reflexively, such as pulling your
hand back from a hot stove or jerking your leg when the doctor taps on your knee. You don't
have to learn these behaviors, they simply occur automatically and involuntarily.
 Operant behaviors, on the other hand, are those under our conscious control. Some may occur
spontaneously and others purposely, but it is the consequences of these actions that then
influence whether or not they occur again in the future. Our actions on the environment and the
consequences of that action make up an important part of the learning process.

While classical conditioning could account for respondent behaviors, Skinner realized that it
could not account for a great deal of learning. Instead, Skinner suggested that operant
conditioning held far greater importance.

Skinner invented different devices during his boyhood and he put these skills to work during his
studies on operant conditioning.

He created a device known as an operant conditioning chamber, most often referred to today as
a Skinner box. The chamber was essentially a box that could hold a small animal such as a rat or
pigeon. The box also contained a bar or key that the animal could press in order to receive a
reward.

In order to track responses, Skinner also developed a device known as a cumulative recorder.
The device recorded responses as an upward movement of a line so that response rates could be
read by looking at the slope of the line.

Components of Operant Conditioning

There are several key concepts in operant conditioning.

Reinforcement in Operant Conditioning

Reinforcement is any event that strengthens or increases the behavior it follows. There are two
kinds of reinforcers:

1. Positive reinforcers are favorable events or outcomes that are presented after the behavior. In
situations that reflect positive reinforcement, a response or behavior is strengthened by the
 addition of something, such as praise or a direct reward. For example, if you do a good job at
work and your manager gives you a bonus.
2. Negative reinforcers involve the removal of an unfavorable events or outcomes after the display
of a behavior. In these situations, a response is strengthened by the removal of something
considered unpleasant. For example, if your child starts to scream in the middle of the grocery
store, but stops once you hand him a treat, you will be more likely to hand him a treat the next
time he starts to scream. Your action led to the removal of the unpleasant condition (the child
screaming), negatively reinforcing your behavior.

In both of these cases of reinforcement, the behavior increases.

Reinforcement in Conditioning Behavior

Punishment in Operant Conditioning

Punishment is the presentation of an adverse event or outcome that causes a decrease in the
behavior it follows. There are two kinds of punishment:

1. Positive punishment, sometimes referred to as punishment by application, presents an

unfavorable event or outcome in order to weaken the response it follows. Spanking for
misbehavior is an example of punishment by application.
2. Negative punishment, also known as punishment by removal, occurs when a favorable event or
outcome is removed after a behavior occurs. Taking away a child's video game following
misbehavior is an example of negative punishment.

In both of these cases of punishment, the behavior decreases.

Punishment and its Influence on Behavior

Reinforcement Schedules
Reinforcement is not necessarily a straightforward process and there are a number of factors that
can influence how quickly and how well new things are learned. Skinner found
that when and how often behaviors were reinforced played a role in the speed and strength
of acquisition. In other words, the timing and frequency of reinforcement influenced how new
behaviors were learned and how old behaviors were modified.
Skinner identified several different schedules of reinforcement that impact the operant
conditioning process:4

1. Continuous reinforcement involves delivering a reinforcement every time a response occurs.

Learning tends to occur relatively quickly, yet the response rate is quite low. Extinction also
occurs very quickly once reinforcement is halted.
2. Fixed-ratio schedules are a type of partial reinforcement. Responses are reinforced only after a
specific number of responses have occurred. This typically leads to a fairly steady response rate.
3. Fixed-interval schedules are another form of partial reinforcement. Reinforcement occurs only
after a certain interval of time has elapsed. Response rates remain fairly steady and start to
increase as the reinforcement time draws near, but slow immediately after the reinforcement
has been delivered.
4. Variable-ratio schedules are also a type of partial reinforcement that involve reinforcing
behavior after a varied number of responses. This leads to both a high response rate and slow
extinction rates.
5. Variable-interval schedules are the final form of partial reinforcement Skinner described. This
schedule involves delivering reinforcement after a variable amount of time has elapsed. This
also tends to lead to a fast response rate and slow extinction rate.

Reinforcement Schedules and How They Work

Examples of Operant Conditioning

We can find examples of operant conditioning at work all around us. Consider the case of
children completing homework to earn a reward from a parent or teacher, or employees finishing
projects to receive praise or promotions.

Some more examples of operant conditioning in action:

 If your child acts out during a shopping trip, you might give him a treat to get him to be quiet.
Because you have positively reinforced the misbehavior, he will probably be more likely to act
out again in the future in order to receive another treat.
 After performing in a community theater play, you receive applause from the audience. This acts
as a positive reinforcer inspiring you to try out for more performance roles.
  You train your dog to fetch by offering him praise and a pat on the head whenever he performs
the behavior correctly.
 A professor tells students that if they have perfect attendance all semester, then they do not
have to take the final comprehensive exam. By removing an unpleasant stimulus (the final test)
students are negatively reinforced to attend class regularly.
 If you fail to hand in a project on time, your boss becomes angry and berates your performance
in front of your co-workers. This acts as a positive punisher making it less likely that you will
finish projects late in the future.
 A teen girl does not clean up her room as she was asked, so her parents take away her phone for
the rest of the day. This is an example of a negative punishment in which a positive stimulus is
taken away.

In some of these examples, the promise or possibility of rewards causes an increase in behavior,
but operant conditioning can also be used to decrease a behavior. The removal of a desirable
outcome or negative outcome application can be used to decrease or prevent undesirable
behaviors. For example, a child may be told they will lose recess privileges if they talk out of
turn in class. This potential for punishment may lead to a decrease in disruptive behaviors.

A Word From Verywell

While behaviorism may have lost much of the dominance it held during the early part of the
20th-century, operant conditioning remains an important and often utilized tool in the learning
and behavior modification process. Sometimes natural consequences lead to changes in our
behavior. In other instances, rewards and punishments may be consciously doled out in order to
create a change.

Operant conditioning is something you may immediately recognize in your own life, whether it
is in your approach to teaching your children good behavior or in training the family dog to stop
chewing on your favorite slippers. The important thing to remember is that with any type of
learning, it can sometimes take time. Consider the type of reinforcement or punishment that may
work best for your unique situation and assess which type of reinforcement schedule might lead
to the best results.

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Constructivism as a theory for teaching and
learning
By Saul McLeod, published 2019

What is constructivism?
Constructivism is ‘an approach to learning that holds that people actively
construct or make their own knowledge and that reality is determined by
the experiences of the learner’ (Elliott et al., 2000:256).
In elaborating constructivists’ ideas Arends (1998) states that constructivism
believes in personal construction of meaning by the learner through
experience, and that meaning is influenced by the interaction of prior
knowledge and new events.

Constructivist Theories

Jean Piaget Lev VygotksyThe Zone of Proximal DevelopmentJerome

Bruner

What are the principles of

constructivism?
Knowledge is constructed, rather than innate, or
passively absorbed
Constructivism's central idea is that human learning is constructed, that
learners build new knowledge upon the foundation of previous learning.

This prior knowledge influences what new or modified knowledge an

individual will construct from new learning experiences (Phillips, 1995).

Learning is an active process

The second notion is that learning is an active rather than a passive process.

The passive view of teaching views the learner as ‘an empty vessel’ to be filled
with knowledge, whereas constructivism states that learners construct
meaning only through active engagement with the world (such as experiments
or real-world problem solving).

Information may be passively received, but understanding cannot be, for it

must come from making meaningful connections between prior knowledge,
new knowledge, and the processes involved in learning.

All knowledge is socially constructed

Learning is a social activity - it is something we do together, in interaction
with each other, rather than an abstract concept (Dewey, 1938).

For example, Vygotsky (1978), believed that community plays a central role in
the process of "making meaning." For Vygotsky, the environment in which
children grow up will influence how they think and what they think about.

Thus, all teaching and learning is a matter of sharing and negotiating socially
constituted knowledge.

For example, Vygotsky (1978) states cognitive development stems from social
interactions from guided learning within the zone of proximal development as
children and their partner's co-construct knowledge.

All knowledge is personal

Each individual learner has a distinctive point of view, based on existing
knowledge and values.

This means that same lesson, teaching or activity may result in different
learning by each pupil, as their subjective interpretations differ.

This principle appears to contradict the view the knowledge is socially

constructed.

Fox (2001, p. 30) argues (a) that although individuals have their own
personal history of learning, nevertheless they can share in common
knowledge, and (b) that although education is a social process, powerfully
influenced by cultural factors, nevertheless cultures are made up of sub-
cultures, even to the point of being composed of sub-cultures of one.
Cultures and their knowledge-base are constantly in a process of change
and the knowledge stored by individuals is not a rigid copy of some socially
constructed template. In learning a culture, each child changes that culture.

Learning exists in the mind

The constructivist theory posits that knowledge can only exist within the
human mind, and that it does not have to match any real world reality
(Driscoll, 2000) .

Learners will be constantly trying to develop their own individual mental

model of the real world from their perceptions of that world.

As they perceive each new experience, learners will continually update their
own mental models to reflect the new information, and will, therefore,
construct their own interpretation of reality.
What are the three main types of
constructivism?
Typically, this continuum is divided into three broad categories: Cognitive
constructivism based on the work of Jean Piaget, social constructivism based
on the work of Lev Vygotsky, and radical constructivism.

According to the GSI Teaching and Resource Center (2015, p.5):

Cognitive constructivism states knowledge is something that is actively

constructed by learners based on their existing cognitive structures.
Therefore, learning is relative to their stage of cognitive development.

Cognitivist teaching methods aim to assist students in assimilating new

information to existing knowledge, and enabling them to make the
appropriate modifications to their existing intellectual framework to
accommodate that information.
According to social constructivism learning is a collaborative process, and
knowledge develops from individuals' interactions with their culture and
society. Social constructivism was developed by Lev Vygotsky (1978, p. 57)
who suggested that,

Every function in the child's cultural development appears twice: first, on

the social level and, later on, on the individual level; first, between people
(interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological).

The notion of radical constructivism was developed by Ernst von Glasersfeld

(1974) and states that all knowledge is constructed rather than perceived
through senses.

Learners construct new knowledge on the foundations of their existing

knowledge. However, radical constructivism states that the knowledge
individuals create tells us nothing about reality, and only helps us to function
in your environment. Thus, knowledge is invented not discovered.

The humanly constructed reality is all the time being modified and
interacting to fit ontological reality, although it can never give a ‘true
picture’ of it. (Ernest, 1994, p. 8)

Constructivist teaching
Constructivist learning theory underpins a variety of student-centered
teaching methods and techniques which contrast with traditional
education, whereby knowledge is simply passively transmitted by teachers
to students.

What is the role of the teacher in a

constructivist classroom?
The primary responsibility of the teacher is to create a collaborative problem-
solving environment where students become active participants in their own
learning.

From this perspective, a teacher acts as a facilitator of learning rather than an

instructor.

The teacher makes sure he/she understands the students' preexisting

conceptions, and guides the activity to address them and then build on them
(Oliver, 2000).

Scaffolding is a key feature of effective teaching, where the adult continually

adjusts the level of his or her help in response to the learner's level of
performance.

In the classroom, scaffolding can include modeling a skill, providing hints or

cues, and adapting material or activity (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009).

What are the features of a constructivist

classroom?
Tam (2000) lists the following four basic characteristics of constructivist
learning environments, which must be considered when implementing
constructivist teaching strategies:

1) Knowledge will be shared between teachers and students.

2) Teachers and students will share authority.

3) The teacher's role is one of a facilitator or guide.

4) Learning groups will consist of small numbers of heterogeneous

students.
Traditional Classroom Constructivist Classroom

Strict adherence to a fixed Pursuit of student

curriculum is highly questions and interests is
valued. valued.

Learning is based on Learning is interactive,

repetition. building on what the
student already knows.

Teacher-centered. Student-centered.

Teachers disseminate Teachers have a dialogue

information to students; with students, helping
Traditional Classroom Constructivist Classroom

students are recipients of students construct their

knowledge (passive own knowledge (active
learning). learning).

Teacher's role is directive, Teacher's role is interactive,

rooted in authority. rooted in negotiation.

Students work primarily Students work primarily in

alone (competitive). groups (cooperative).

What are the pedagogical (i.e. teaching) goals of

constructivist classrooms?
Honebein (1996) summarizes the seven pedagogical goals of constructivist
learning environments:

1) To provide experience with the knowledge construction process (students

determine how they will learn).

2) To provide experience in and appreciation for multiple perspectives

(evaluation of alternative solutions).

3) To embed learning in realistic contexts (authentic tasks).

4) To encourage ownership and a voice in the learning process (student

centered learning).

5) To embed learning in social experience (collaboration).

6) To encourage the use of multiple modes of representation, (video, audio

text, etc.)
7) To encourage awareness of the knowledge construction process
(reflection, metacognition).

Brooks and Brooks (1993) list twelve

descriptors of constructivist teaching
behaviours:
 1. Encourage and accept student autonomy and initiative. (p. 103)

 2. Use raw data and primary sources, along with manipulative,

interactive, and physical materials. (p. 104)

 3. When framing tasks, use cognitive terminology such as “classify,"

analyze," “predict," and “create." (p. 104)

 4. Allow student responses to drive lessons, shift instructional strategies,

and alter content. (p. 105)

 5. Inquire about students’ understandings of the concepts before sharing

[your] own understandings of those concepts. (p. 107)

 6. Encourage students to engage in dialogue, both with the teacher and

with one another. (p. 108)

 7. Encourage student inquiry by asking thoughtful, open-ended

questions and encouraging students to ask questions of each other. (p.
110)

 8. Seek elaboration of students’ initial responses. (p. 111)

 9. Engage students in experiences that might engender contradictions to

their initial hypotheses and then encourage discussion. (p. 112)
  10. Allow wait time after posing questions. (p. 114)

 11. Provide time for students to construct relationships and create

metaphors. (p. 115)

 12. Nurture students’ natural curiosity through frequent use of the

learning cycle model. (p. 116)

Critical Evaluation
Strengths
Constructivism promotes a sense of personal agency as students have
ownership of their learning and assessment.

Limitations
The biggest disadvantage is its lack of structure. Some students require highly
structured learning environments to be able to reach their potential.

It also removes grading in the traditional way and instead places more value
on students evaluating their own progress, which may lead to students falling
behind, as without standardized grading teachers may not know which
students are struggling.

APA Style References

Copple, C., & Bredekamp, S. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice
in early childhood programs. Washington, DC: National Association for the
Education of Young Children.

Dewey, J. (1938) Experience and Education. New York: Collier Books.

Driscoll, M. (2000). Psychology of Learning for Instruction. Boston: Allyn&

Bacon

Elliott, S.N., Kratochwill, T.R., Littlefield Cook, J. & Travers, J.

(2000). Educational psychology: Effective teaching, effective learning (3rd
ed.) . Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill College.

Fox, R. (2001). Constructivism examined. Oxford review of education, 27(1),

23-35.

Honebein, P. C. (1996). Seven goals for the design of constructivist learning

environments. Constructivist learning environments: Case studies in
instructional design, 11-24.

Oliver, K. M. (2000). Methods for developing constructivism learning on the

web. Educational Technology, 40 (6)

Tam, M. (2000). Constructivism, Instructional Design, and Technology:

Implications for Transforming Distance Learning. Educational Technology
and Society, 3 (2).

Teaching Guide for GSIs. Learning: Theory and Research (2016). Retrieved
from http://gsi.berkeley.edu/media/Learning.pdf

von Glasersfeld, E. V. (1974). Piaget and the radical constructivist

epistemology. Epistemology and education, 1-24.

von Glasersfeld, E. (1994). A radical constructivist view of basic mathematical

concepts. Constructing mathematical knowledge: Epistemology and
mathematics education, 5-7.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher
psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Further Information

Jean Piaget Lev VygotksyThe Zone of Proximal DevelopmentJerome

BrunerConstructivist Teaching Methods"Constructivism Learning

Theory: A Paradigm for Teaching and Learning  Strategies Which Can be

Implemented by Teachers When Planning Constructivist Opportunities in the

Classroom 

How to reference this article:

McLeod, S. A. (2019, July 17). Constructivism as a theory for teaching and
learning. Simply psychology:
https://www.simplypsychology.org/constructivism.html

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 Social constructivism
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Not to be confused with Social constructionism.

Learn more

This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline
citations.

Social constructivism is a sociological theory of knowledge according to which human

development is socially situated and knowledge is constructed through interaction with others.[1]
Social constructivismEdit
Like social constructionism, social constructivism states that people work together to
construct artifacts. While social constructionism focuses on the artifacts that are created through
the social interactions of a group, social constructivism focuses on an individual's learning that
takes place because of his or her interactions in a group.
A very simple example is an object like a cup. The object can be used for many things, but its
shape does suggest some 'knowledge' about carrying liquids (see also Affordance). A more
complex example is an online course—not only do the 'shapes' of the software tools indicate
certain things about the way online courses should work, but the activities and texts produced
within the group as a whole will help shape how each person behaves within that group. A
person's cognitive development will also be influenced by the culture that he or she is involved
in, such as the language, history and social context.
For a philosophical account of one possible social-constructionist ontology, see the 'Criticism'
section of Representative realism.[2]
PhilosophyEdit
Strong social constructivism as a philosophical approach tends to suggest that "the natural world
has a small or non-existent role in the construction of scientific knowledge".[3] According
to Maarten Boudry and Filip Buekens, Freudian psychoanalysis is a good example of this
approach in action.[4]
However, Boudry and Buekens do not claim that 'bona fide' science is completely immune from
all socialisation and paradigm shifts,[5] merely that the strong social constructivist claim
that all scientific knowledge is constructed ignores the reality of scientific success.[4]
One characteristic of social constructivism is that it rejects the role of superhuman necessity in
either the invention/discovery of knowledge or its justification. In the field of invention it looks
to contingency as playing an important part in the origin of knowledge, with historical interests
and resourcing swaying the direction of mathematical and scientific knowledge growth. In the
area of justification while acknowledging the role of logic and reason in testing, it also accepts
that the criteria for acceptance vary and change over time. Thus mathematical proofs follow
different standards in the present and throughout different periods in the past, as Paul Ernest
argues.[6]
 Psychology and religion

Critical period hypothesis

3
.57143

Average: 3.6 (7 votes)

  3429

The critical period hypothesis says that there is a period of growth in which full native
competence is possible when acquiring a language. This period is from early childhood
to adolescence. The critical period hypothesis has implications for teachers and learning
programmes, but it is not universally accepted. Acquisition theories say that adults do
not acquire languages as well as children because of external and internal factors, not
because of a lack of ability.

Example
Older learners rarely achieve a near-native accent. Many people suggest this is due to
them being beyond the critical period.

In the classroom
A problem arising from the differences between younger learners and adults is that
adults believe that they cannot learn languages well. Teachers can help learners with
this belief in various ways, for example, by talking about the learning process and
learning styles, helping set realistic goals, choosing suitable methodologies, and
addressing the emotional needs of the adult learner.

Innateness hypothesis
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The innateness hypothesis is an expression coined by Hilary Putnam to refer to a linguistic
theory of language acquisition which holds that at least some knowledge about language exists in
humans at birth.[1][2] Putnam used the expression "the innateness hypothesis" to target linguistic
nativism and specifically the views of Noam Chomsky. Facts about the complexity of human
language systems, the universality of language acquisition, the facility that children demonstrate
in acquiring these systems, and the comparative performance of adults in attempting the same
task are all commonly invoked in support. However, the validity of Chomsky's approach is still
debated. Empiricists advocate that language is entirely learned. Some have criticized Chomsky's
work, pinpointing problems with his theories while others have proposed new theories to account
for language acquisition (with specific differences in terms of language acquisition per se
compared to second language acquisition[3]).
The interactionist approach (sociocultural theory) combines ideas from
sociology and biology to explain how language is developed. According to
this theory, children learn language out of a desire to communicate with the
world around them. Language emerges from, and is dependent upon, social

interaction Foreign Language Immersion Online

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by ALEX BREEDEN

The Search for a Unified Theory of Language

Learning
Language. It’s all around us. It’s vital for our everyday existence.

And yet many of us find it challenging to pick up a new one.X

The problem, we tell ourselves, is that we’re thinking too hard.

The solution, we say, is to be more like those kids that we once were when we learned our first
language. Simply absorbing things the way kids do without really thinking about the language must
surely be our best bet, we convince ourselves.X

But here’s the thing. We’re not kids anymore and we never will be again.
We’re not going to have the same opportunities as we did in our native language where we were in
constant contact with mothers, fathers and siblings who corrected our every mistake (though a girlfriend
or boyfriend might compensate). Nor do most of us want to spend 18 years of our lives studying a
language just to achieve high school level fluency.X
We don’t need to abandon the lessons we’ve taken from childhood language learning, but we must surely
temper them with something else. And that thing is theory.X

Theory, that most highly condensed form of thought based on principles and evidence, can help us as
adults to excel in language learning in ways that would otherwise not be possible.
Of course, learning about language learning theory in no way needs to occupy the bulk of your time. By
devoting just a fraction of your time to theory right now, you’ll reap benefits far beyond getting in an
extra 10 minutes of studying. So without further ado, let’s start at the beginning.
 
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take
anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)X

7 Great Theories About Language Learning by Brilliant

Thinkers
Theories of language learning have been bandied about since about as far back as one would care to look.
It may be surprising to know that the problems that philosophers in Ancient Greece and 16th century
France were concerned about are largely still relevant today.
To get a quick rundown of early language learning theory, let’s take a quick look at the ideas of three
brilliant philosophers who you’ve probably already heard of.
1. Plato’s Problem
The writings of Plato stretch all the way back to the beginnings of Western philosophical thought, but
Plato was already posing problems critical to modern linguistic discourse.
In the nature versus nurture debate, Plato tended to side with nature, believing that knowledge was innate.
This was his answer to what has become known as Plato’s Problem, or as Bertrand Russell summarizes it:
“How comes it that human beings, whose contacts with the world are brief and personal and limited, are
nevertheless able to know as much as they do know?” Being born with this knowledge from the get-go
would naturally solve this little quandary and consequently he viewed language as innate.X

2. Cartesian Linguistics, by Descartes

Centuries later, the French philosopher Descartes took a crack at linguistic philosophy. In his opinion,
language acquisition was a simple and easy process, barely worthy of his attention. Like Plato he believed
in the innateness of language because he thought it reflected the general rationality of human beings.X

But rather than Descartes himself, it was the rationalist movement that he symbolized and that was
thriving in the time period when he lived that was most important for linguistics. This “Cartesian”
movement, according to Chomsky (who we’ll get to later), noted the creativity involved in everyday
language and presented the idea that there were universal principles behind every language.X

3. Locke’s Tabula Rasa
Most people familiar with Locke’s philosophy have heard of his concept of tabula rasa, or the blank slate.
To state it briefly and in a simplified manner, this is the idea that all knowledge comes from outside
ourselves through sensory experience rather than through innate knowledge that we have at birth. This
naturally carried over to language theory with Locke rejecting the idea that there was an innate logic
behind language.X

Obviously these theories don’t touch too much on the practical, everyday level of language learning.
They’re far less detailed and more philosophical than the modern scientific theories we’re used to. But
they have important implications. If Plato and the Cartesians are right, then the emphasis in language
learning must lie on what we already know, using our innate abilities to come to an understanding of the
particularities of a specific language. If Locke is right, then we must focus our attention on sensory input,
gaining as much external input as possible.
In the practical, everyday world, all of this can easily be done with FluentU. FluentU takes real-world
videos with familiar formats—like movie trailers, music videos, news and inspiring talks—and turns them
into personalized language lessons.X

4. Skinner’s Theory of Behaviorism

In the middle of the 20th century, B.F. Skinner took Locke’s ideas of sensory input and ran with them.X

According to behaviorism, a radical variant of which was put forward by Skinner, all behavior is no more
than a response to external stimuli and there’s no innate programming within a human being to learn a
language at birth.
What differentiates Skinner from those who came before him is the level of detail he went into when
connecting behaviorism and language learning. In his concept of what he called “operant
conditioning,” language learning grew out of a process of reinforcement and punishment whereby
individuals are conditioned into saying the right thing. For instance, if you’re hungry and you’re able to
say “Mommy, I’m hungry,” you may be rewarded with food and your behavior will thereby be reinforced
since you got what you wanted.X

To put it another way, Skinner described a mechanism for language learning that hadn’t existed before on
the tabula rasa side of the language acquisition debate. What this means for us as language learners,
should his theory be even partially true, is that a process of conditioning must be achieved for us to
succeed. When we say the right thing, we must be rewarded. When we say something incorrectly, that too
must be made clear. In other words, we need feedback to succeed as language learners.

5. Chomsky’s Universal Grammar

Around the same time as Skinner there came another linguistic powerhouse who would leave a lasting
impression on the field of linguistics. Namely, Noam Chomsky.
The theory that Chomsky proposed would be called Universal Grammar and it would assert nearly the
exact opposite of what Skinner had offered in his theory. Where Skinner saw all learning coming from
external stimuli, Chomsky saw an innate device for language acquisition. What Skinner understood to be
conditioning according to particular events Chomsky, understood to be the result of the universal
elements that structure all languages.X

In fact, one of Chomsky’s major bones to pick with Skinner’s theory had to do with Plato’s problem, as
described above. After all, if Skinner is right, how is it that children can learn a language so quickly,
creating and understanding sentences they have never heard before?
Universal Grammar has been around for roughly a half a century by now, so it’s hardly the last word on
the subject. It has also received plenty of criticism. One critique that particularly concerns us is that it
may have little to do with learning a second language, even if it’s how we learn a first language. There are
certainly theories about applying this concept to organize syllabi for language learning, but this seems
unnecessarily complex for the average, independent learner.X

In short, while Chomsky’s theory may be still be important in the linguistics field as part of an ongoing
discussion, it offers little help for learning a second language other than to provide you with the
confidence that the grammar for all languages is already inside your head. You just need to fill in the
particulars.
Over the past half century or so, a slew of other language learning theories have cropped up to try to deal
with the perceived flaws in Chomsky’s theory and to fill in the cracks for more specific areas of language
learning (i.e. areas of particular interest to us).
Next up are two theories that, while not the philosophical bombshells like the ones listed above,
arguably have more of a practical edge.

6. Schumann’s Acculturation Model

John Schumann’s Acculturation Model describes the process by which immigrants pick up a new
language while being completely immersed in that language.X
 This theory doesn’t deal with the process of language learning as we normally think of it (such as how we
acquire grammar or listening skills), but rather focuses on social and psychological aspects that influence
our success.X

For instance, an immigrant is more likely to acquire their new target language if their language and the
target language are socially equal, if the group of immigrants is small and not cohesive and if there is a
higher degree of similarity between the immigrant’s culture and that of their new area of residence.
The obvious takeaway is that language learning is not an abstract subject like physics that can be learned
out of a book regardless of the world around you. There are sociological factors at play, and the more we
do to connect with the culture on the other end of our second language, the faster and easier it will be for
us to learn that language.

7. Krashen’s Monitor Model

Stephen Krashen’s Monitor Model in fact consists of several distinct hypotheses which make up what is
probably the most cited theory in second language acquisition. There’s so much to take away from
Krashen’s theory that I’ll just let you peruse the link given for details and give a rundown of the
highlights here.X

 Language acquisition is subconscious and results from informal, natural communication.

 Language learning is conscious and driven by error correction (more formal).

 Grammar structures are acquired in a predictable order.

 Language acquisition occurs with comprehensible input (i.e. hearing or reading things that are just
slightly above our current language level).

 A monitor is anything that corrects your language performance and pressures one to “communicate
correctly and not just convey meaning” (such as a language teacher who corrects you when you make a
grammatical mistake).
It should be noted that this is just Krashen’s theory. While this theory is quite popular, there has been
criticism and direct contradiction of certain parts of it (particularly his idea about the predictable order of
grammar structures). Still, it’s useful to get ideas for language learning.
This theory suggests that we should both strive to increase our second language inputs (like by watching
video clips on FluentU and going through books for reading) and make sure we receive proper error
correction in one form or another.X

 
As this selection of important theories should make clear, the subset of linguistics which deals with
language learning is both wide and deep.
Some of it is highly theoretical and complex and is most relevant to scholars of the field. Other parts are
extremely zoomed in and tell us highly specific details about how to learn a language.
Regardless, it’s all connected.
By understanding more bits and pieces of it all, you’ll gradually begin to understand yourself and your
own language learning process better than ever before.
 
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take
anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)X

And One More Thing…

Here’s another credible theory: Learning languages with fun videos can make the journey to fluency
faster and more enjoyable.
FluentU makes it possible to learn languages from music videos, commercials, news and inspiring
talks.X

With FluentU, you learn real languages—the same way that natives speak them. FluentU has a wide
variety of videos like movie trailers, funny commercials and web series, as you can see here:
FluentU App Browse Screen.X

FluentU has interactive captions that let you tap on any word to see an image, definition, audio and useful
examples. Now native language content is within reach with interactive transcripts.
Didn’t catch something? Go back and listen again. Missed a word? Hover your mouse over the subtitles
to instantly view definitions.
Interactive transcript for Carlos Baute song.X

You can learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentU’s “learn mode.” Swipe left or right to
see more examples for the word you’re learning.
FluentU Has Quizzes for Every VideoX

And FluentU always keeps track of vocabulary that you’re learning. It uses that vocab to give you a 100%
personalized experience by recommending videos and examples.
Start using FluentU on the website with your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app
from the iTunes store or Google Play store.X

If you liked this post, something tells me that you'll love FluentU, the best way to learn languages with
real-world videos.

Sign up for free!X

 How to Speak Many Different Languages (Without Losing Your Mind)
10 Ways for Savvy Language Learners to Make Money on the Side (While Keeping the 9-to-5) 

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