Unit 3:FREUD’S PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY

(OA-PHALAGE si Freud dahil conscious na siya sa kanyang personality!) Sigmund Shlomo Freud

Learning objectives:
a. to explain Freud’s views about child and adolescent development; and
b. to draw implications of Freud’s theory to education.

Freud-Austrian neurologist and the founder of

A. PSYCHOSEXUAL STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT

1. Oral stage (from birth to 18 months old)

Major pleasure center: oral cavity
Goal: to develop the proper amount of sucking, eating, biting, and talking, which aid in early development steps such
as beast feeding and speaking.
Drawbacks: Children who did not master this stage would develop oral fixation / oral personality that might led to
oral receptive (drinking, smoking, overeating) or oral aggressive (nail-biting or mouth-based aggressive behaviors
like use curse words or even gossip). As a result, these persons may become too dependent on others, easily fooled,
and lack leadership traits. On the other hand, they may also fight these tendencies and become pessimistic and
aggressive in relating with people.

2. Anal Stage (18 months old to 3 years old)

Major pleasure center: anal cavity
Goal: mastery of this system, usually culminates in proper toilet training; the child find satisfaction in eliminating and
retaining feces.
Note: child’s favourite word might be “NO”
Drawbacks: Children who do adequately master this stage or were harshly punished during the toilet training
process develop an anal fixation. This might lead to anal retentive (an obsession with cleanliness, perfection, and
control) or anal expulsive / exposure personalities in which one is overly tidy, and the other overly messy and
disorganized).

3. Phallic Stage (3 to 5 years old)

Major pleasure center: genital organ (genitals) in either boys or girls
Goal: to master this internal conflict and move toward more appropriate sexual desires
Thought to develop his/her first sexual desires which are directed at the closest known adult: the opposite sex
parent. Boys develop the castration anxiety, Oedipal complex (in Greek Mythology, Oedipus unintentionally killed
his father and married his mother Jocasta) with affection for their mothers while girls developed unconscious sexual
attraction / affection for their fathers, the Elektra complex.
Drawbacks: Children who struggle develop phallic fixations (sexual deviancies e.g. overindulging and avoidance and
weak or confused sexual identity) which affect their relationships with their parents adversely

4. Latency Stage (5 to 12 years old)

Major pleasure centers: dormant sexual feelings for the opposite sex; sexual urges remain repressed
Goal : The child consolidates character habits developed in the previous three stages. Successful master in each of
these stages is necessary for a mature, adult personality to develop before puberty. The children’s focus is the
acquisition of physical and academic skills.
Drawbacks: If the child does not learn to derive pleasure from external sources such as schooling, friendships,
he/she may develop neurosis or fixations on socially unacceptable activities.

5. Genital Stage (12 years old to adulthood)

Major pleasure center: the surge of sexual hormones in the body during puberty; sexual urges are once again
awakened.
Goal : Adolescents must establish successful relationships with peers in order to master this stage. Adolescents focus
their sexual urges towards the opposite sex peers.
Drawbacks: unsuccessful relationships

Note:
Major pleasure center / erogenous zone - a specific area that becomes the focus of pleasure needs. This may be the
mouth, anus and the genitals

Fixation – result from failure to satisfy the needs of a particular psychosexual stage

B. COMPONENTS OF PERSONALITY (id, ego, superego)

Freud divided the mind into three parts: id, ego, and superego. Each part of the mind is responsible for
something different. Id and superego are comparable to the angel and devil sitting on one’s shoulders telling one
right and wrong.

id – the impulsive, child-like portion of the psyche that operates on the “pleasure principle” and only takes into
account what it wants and disregards all consequences. Id is equivalent to the devil sitting on one’s shoulder.
-it focuses on the immediate gratification or satisfaction of its needs. So whatever it feels good now is what it will
pursue with no consideration for the reality, logically, or practicality of the situation.
-e.g. a baby is hungry. It’s id wants food or milk.

ego – the organized, realistic portion on the psyche that acts according to the “reality principle” and seeks to please
the id’s drive in realistic ways that will benefit in the long term rather than bringing grief. Ego is equivalent to one’s
conscience.
-deciding agent of personality
-it always takes into account the reality of the situation.

superego – plays the critical and moralizing role in the psyche, aims for protection, includes ego’s ideals, and
punishes misbehaviour with feelings of guilt. Super-ego is equivalent to the angel on one’s shoulder.
-develops near the end of the preschool years, or the end of the phallic stage
-embodies a person’s moral aspect; linked to conscience because it exerts influence on what considers one right
and wrong

Note: One has strong ego, who can help satisfy the needs of the id without going against the superego while
maintaining the person’s sense of what is logical, practical, and real.

C. LEVEL OF AWARENESS

i. unconscious – most of what influence us through our lives, emotions, beliefs, feelings, and impulses deep within
-The Oedipus and Electra Complex were both buried down into the unconscious, out of our awareness
due to the extreme anxiety they caused.

ii. conscious – we are aware of what is stored; only comprises a very small part of who we are
-most of what we are is hidden and out of reach

iii. subconscious / preconscious – This is the part of us that we can reach if prompted, but is not in our active
conscious. Its right below the surface, but still “hidden” somewhat unless we search for it.
-e.g information such as telephone number, some childhood memories, or the name of your best
childhood friend
 Because the unconscious is so huge, and because we are only aware of the very small conscious at any given
time, Freud used the analogy of the iceberg to illustrate it. A big part of the iceberg is hidden beneath the water’s
surface.
The water may represent all that we are not aware of, have not experienced, and that has not been made
part of our personalities, referred to as the nonconscious.

Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory of Development

Learning Objectives:

1. to explain the 8 stages of Life to someone you care about;

2. to write a short story of your life using Erikson’s stages as framework; and
3. to suggest at least 6 ways on how Erikson’s theory can be useful for you as teacher.

(Write your own life story using the stages of psychosocial development as framework. Go through each of the
stages that apply to you <most probably, stages 1-5 or 6>. Ask information from your parents and other significant
persons in your life. Look at old baby books and photo albums. Also, include the results of your questionnaire in
the activity section. Write a narrative for each stage.

Erikson believes that development results from social aims or conflicts arising from feelings, parent-child
interactions and social relationships.
He said there are 8 major crises or conflicts need to be faced during a lifetime; each stage is marked by a
struggle between two opposing tendencies, both of which are experienced by the individual.

Stage Age Psychosocial Maladaptation Malignancy Virtue Task Significant

Crisis (too much (too much others
(two positive) negative)
opposing
emotional
forces)
Infancy 1 year – Trust vs Sensory Withdrawal Hope Achieve basic Mother,
1.5 years Mistrust maladjustment trust in mother primary
figure caregiver
Toddlers 1.5 years Autonomy vs Impulsive Compulsive Determina Achieve sense of parent
– 3 or 4 Shame and tion/ Will control and
years Doubt independence
Pre- ¾ - 5 or Initiative vs Ruthlessness Inhibition Courage / Manage conflict family
schoolers 6 years Guilt Purpose and anxiety and
direct own
 activities
School age 6 – 12 Industry vs Narrow Inertia Competen Take pleasure Teacher,
years Inferiority Virtuosity cy / self- and gaining in peer,
worth accomplishment classmate
s
Adolescen 18 or 20 Ego identity Fanaticism Repudiation Fidelity Sense of self and Opposite
ce years vs Role belongingness sex
Confusion
Young 18 – Intimacy vs Promiscuity Exclusion Love Form adult
adulthood about 30 Isolation loving
years relationship and
commitment
Middle Middle Generativity Overextension Rejectivity Care Being creative
adulthood 20’s and vs and productive;
late 50s Stagnation achieves life
goals and
consider guiding-
future
generations
Late Around Ego Integrity Presumption Disdain Wisdom Accepting
adulthood 60 vs Despair responsibility for
one’s self and
life; life review
with meaning
from both
positives and
negatives
Other points to REMEMBER:

Trust vs Mistrust – infant develops a sense whether the world can be trusted
-child learns to depend on satisfaction that is derived from this care and when the need is met, trust
develops

Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt –child develops first or as sense of self as independent or as shameful and doubtful
-the struggle of holding on or letting go
-an internal struggle for self-identity
-the child learns self-control and beginning of independence

Initiative vs Guilt – child learns ability to try new things and learns how to handle failure
-period of intensive activity, play and consuming fantasies where child interjects parent’s social
consciousness
-child learns assertiveness and one’s ability to affect interpersonal environment

Industry vs Inferiority – child learns how to make things with other and strives to achieve success
-child learns self-confidence by cooperation (school age) and competition

Identity vs Role Confusion or Role Diffusion – adolescent determines own sense of self

Intimacy vs Isolation – person makes commitment to another person

-moves from relative security of self-identity to the relative insecurity involved in establishing
intimacy with another
-isolation and self-absorption occur if unsuccessful
Generativity vs Stagnation –persons seeks to guide the next generation or risks feelings of personal incompleteness
-person contributes to society

Ego Integrity vs Despair – seeks a sense of personal accomplishment

-adopts to triumphs and disappointments with a certain ego integrity and accepts death or is
satisfied with one’s life or maybe fall into despair.

JEAN PIAGET’S STAGES OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Learning Objectives:
1. to describe Piaget’s stages in your own words;
2. conduct a simple Piagetian task interview with children; and
3. match learning activities to the learner’s cognitive stage.

Introduction:
-This theory is truly a classic in the field of educational psychology. It fuelled other researchers and theories
of development and learning. Its focus is on how individuals construct knowledge.
-concerns the emergence and construction of schemata (plural of schema) – schemes of how one perceives
the world – “developmental stages”, times when children are acquiring new ways of mentally representing
information.

Abstraction:
-Piagetian tasks –involved through observing a small number of individuals as they responded to cognitive
tasks that Jean Piaget designed.
-Piaget called his general theoretical framework “genetic epistemology” because he was interested in how
knowledge developed in human organisms.
 -the implications of this theory is not only of cognition but also to intelligence and moral development.

Basic Concepts:
*Schema – refers to the mental framework for organizing concepts and information. It refers to the cognitive
structures by which individuals intellectually adapt to and organize their environment. It is the individual’s way to
understand or create meaning about a thing or experience.
-it is like the mind has a filing cabinet and each drawer has folders that contain files of things he has had an
experience with.
-.e.g. if a child sees a dog for the first time, he creates his own schema of what a dog is.
*Assimilation –process of making sense of experiences and perceptions by fitting them into previously established
cognitive structures (schemata)
-e.g. if the child sees another dog, this time a little smaller one, he would make sense of what he is seeing by
adding this new information (a different looking dog)
*Accommodation –process of creating new schemata.
-e.g. if the same child now sees another animal that looks a little bit like a dog….a funny looking dog - GOAT
*Equilibrium / Equilibration – achieving a proper balance between assimilation and accommodation. Piaget believed
that people have the natural need to understand how the world works and to find order, structure, and
predictability.
*Cognitive disequilibrium –a discrepancy between what is perceived and what is understood.
Note: Other constructivists – Bruner and Vygotsky

FOUR STAGES OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT:

Stage Ages Characteristics Examples

1. Sensorimotor Birth to 18 -24 *Piaget’s first stage of Focuses on the prominence of
months intellectual; developmental the senses and muscle
in which the child moves movement through which the
from reflexive activities infant comes to learn about
(reading, grasping and himself/herself around the
sucking). world.
*Object permanence – this
is Piaget’s term for Teachers should aim to
children’s understanding provide a rich and stimulating
that objects continue to environment with appropriate
exist even when they are objects to play with
out of sight.
2. Pre-operational 2 – 7 years old *Intelligence at this stage is
A drawing, a written word, or
intuitive in nature a spoken word comes to be
understood as representing a
*The child can now make real object like a real MRT
mental representations train
and is able to pretend, the *2 year old – may pretend
child is now closer to that she is drinking from a
symbols glass which is really empty
*Symbolic Function – this *around 4 years of age – after
is the child’s ability to pretending to drink from an
represent objects and empty glass, turns the glass
events. into a rocket ship or a
telephone
*age of 6 or 7 –can pretend
with objects that exist only in
his mind.
*6 – can do a whole ninja
turtle routine without any

*The child’s thinking is
egocentric. Egocentrism is
the tendency of the child to
only see his point of view
and to assume that
everyone also has his same
point of view. The child
cannot take the
perspective of others.
*Centration –this refers to
the tendency of the child to
only focus on one aspect of
a thing or event and
exclude other aspects.
*Irreversibility –this is the
child’s inability to reverse
their thinking
*Animism –this is the
tendency of children to
attribute human traits or
characteristics to inanimate
objects.
*Transductive Reasoning –
this refers to the child’s
type of reasoning that is
neither inductive nor
deductive
3. Concrete -Operational 7 – 11 years old *The child is able to think
logically but only in terms
of concrete objects.
*Decentering –refers to
the child’s ability to
perceive the different
features of objects and
situations.
*Reversibility –the child’s
ability to follow certain
operations that can be
done in reverse
*Conservation –the ability
to know that certain
properties of objects like
number, mass, volume or
area do not change even if
there is a change in
appearance.
*Seriation – ability to order
costume nor “props”
*7 –can pretend to host an
elaborate princess ball only in
her mind
*5 year-old boy–buys a toy
truck for his mother’s birthday
* 3 year-old girl – who cannot
understand why her cousins
call her daddy “uncle” and not
daddy
*there is more water in the
taller glass (The child only
centered or focused on the
height of the glass).
*2+3=5 but cannot
understand that 5-3 is 2
*When at night, the child is
asked, where the sun is, she
will reply, “Mr. Sun is asleep.”
*if A causes B, then B causes
A. e.g. since her mommy
comes home everyday around
6 in the evening, when asked
why it is already night, the
child will say, “because my
mom is already home.”
*No longer is the child
focused or limited to one
aspect or dimension. This
allows the child to be more
logical when dealing with
concrete objects and
situations.
*2+3=5 ; 5-3=2
*A 50 mL-water in a narrower
container has the same
volume when transferred to a
taller container.
*weight, volume or size
 or arrange things in series
based on one dimension
4. Formal-Operational *This provides the ability to
reason and construct logic
useful for all types of
problems
*Hypothetical reasoning – *”what if” questions
the ability to come up with This can be done in the
different hypothesis about a absence of concrete objects.
problem and to gather and
weigh data in order to make
final decision or judgment.
*Analogical reasoning –the *if UK is to Europe, then
ability to perceive the Philippines is to Asia.
relationship in one instance
and then use that
relationship to narrow down
possible answers in another
similar situation or problem.
*Deductive reasoning –the *All countries near the North
ability to think logically by pole have cold temperatures.
applying a general rule to a Greenland is near the North
particular instance or pole. Therefore, Greenland
situation. has cold temperature.

From Piaget’s findings and comprehensive theory, we can derive the following principles:

1. Children will provide different explanations of reality at different stages of cognitive development.
2. Cognitive development is facilitated by providing activities or situations that engage leaRners and require
adaptation (i.e., assimilation and discussion).
3. Learning materials and activities should involve the appropriate level of motor or mental operations for a child of
given age; avoid asking students to perform tasks that are beyond their current cognitive capabilities.
4. Use teaching methods that actively involve students and present challenges.
VYGOTSKY’S THEORY OF THOUGHT DEVELOPMENT and THE IMPLICATIONS FOR INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGISTS

Thought Development
-can be determined by language

*Stages to develop children’s’ thinking skill(s):

 Thinking in complexes or concrete groupings of objects connected by facts.
 Concept formation
*Classifications of concept:

 Scientific- concepts which are taught in school

-can be learned “downward” through written symbols to examples

 Spontaneous- non-conscious concepts

-can be learned “upward” from sensory experience to generalization

Implications for Instructional Technologists

Lev Vygotsky developed the concept of the zone of proximal development which later developed the use of
scaffolding.

The zone of proximal development (ZPD)

-emphasize that learning is fundamentally a socially mediated activity. Thinking and problem solving, according to
Vygotsky can be placed in three category.

can perform independently

cannot perform even with help of others
can perform with help from others

-if a child uses these cognitive processes with the help of others such as teachers, parents and other students, they
will become skills and abilities that can be independently practiced. As Vygotsky puts it, “What the child is able to do
in collaboration today he will be able to do independently tomorrow.”
-in reading instruction, the terms independent level, instructional level and frustration level correspond to
Vygotsky’s zones.

Scaffolding- an instructional process in which the teacher adjusts the amount and type of support offered to the
child to suit his/her abilities.

Language plays an important role in Vygotskian theories. As children begin to use the speeches, they learn to
communicate and to form thoughts and regulate intellectual functions.

Four Basic Principle Underlying The Vygotskian framework

1.Language plays a CENTRAL ROLE in mental development.
2.Development cannot be separated from its social content.
3.Learning can lead to DEVELOPMENT.
4.Children construct their KNOWLEDGE.

Key Terms:
 ACTIVITY THEORY
 MEDIATION
 INTERNALIZATION
 INNER SPEECH
 ZPD

THREE UNDERLYING THEMES THAT UNIFY VYGOTSKIAN’S COMPLEX AND FAR-REACHING THEORY
 The Importance of Culture
 The Central Role of Language
 The Zone of Proximal development
-distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the
level of potential.

Stages of Speech

 Social Speech(external speech)

-the child uses speech to control behavior of others.
-child uses speech to express simple thoughts and emotions.
 Egocentric Speech
-child often talk to themselves, regardless of someone listening to them.
 Inner speech
-It allows to direct our thinking and behavior.

Vygotsky’s Socio-cultural Perspective on Learning and Language

-it is stated that culture and society give the student the cognitive tools needed for development. The type and
quality of those tools determine the pattern and rate of development. Adults such as parents and teachers are
conduits for the tools for the culture; a cultural history, a social context and language.

-Technology, Reading and Language Arts

by Willis, et al. (1996)

Vygotsky’s Approach
1. Learning and development are social, collaborative activities.

-this suggests that using technology to enhance communication, contact and interaction would be beneficial.
-according to constructivists, you cannot really teach anyone anything. Students must construct understanding and
knowledge in their own minds. However, that process is facilitated by collaboration and teacher guidance.

2. The zone of proximal development can serve as a guide for curricular and lesson planning.
-children do not simply know something or not know it. They may arrive at a particular learning experience without
knowing something but be ready to master the tasks if they have appropriate support.

3. School learning should occur in a meaningful context.

-constructivists instructional models emphasize the need to provide learning experiences within a meaningful
context- often the context in which the knowledge is to be applied.

4. Relate out-of-school experiences to the child’s school experiences.

-for example, a 5th grade class studying family history, could create a multimedia presentation about the stories of
their families, enhanced with scanned photographs, audio recordings, old maps, and excerpts from newspaper
clippings.

Lawrence Kohlberg’s 6 Stages of Moral Development

Learning Objectives:

1. to explain the stages of moral development;

2. to analyze a person’s level of moral reasoning based on his responses to moral dilemmas; and
3. cite how the theory of moral development can be applied to your work as teacher later on

Level 1 Stage 1 – Obedience The earliest stage of moral development is especially common in
(Pre conventional and Punishment young children, but adults are also capable of expressing this type of
Morality) reasoning. At this stage, children see rules as fixed and absolute.
-moral reasoning is Obeying the rules is important because it means to avoid
based on the punishment.
consequence/resul
t of the act, not on One is motivated by fear of punishment. He will act in order to avoid
the whether the act punishment.
itself is good or bad.

Stage 2 – Mutual The child conforms to gain rewards. The child reciprocity and
benefit sharing, but this reciprocity is manipulative and self-serving rather
than based on a true sense of justice.

One is motivated to act by the benefit that one may obtain later.
You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.
Level 2 Stage 3 – Social Often referred to as the “good boy – good girl” orientation, this
(Conventional Approach stage of moral development is focused on living up to social
Morality) expectations and roles. There is an emphasis on conformity, being
-moral reasoning is “nice” and consideration of how choices influence relationships.
based on the
conventions or One is motivated by what others expect in behavior – good boy,
“norms” of society. good girl. The person acts because he/she values how he/she will
This may include appear to others. He/she gives more importance on what people
approval of others, will think or say.
law and order.
Stage 4 – Law and At this stage of Moral Development, people begin to consider
Order society as a whole when making judgements. The focus on
maintaining law and order by the following the rules, doing one’s
duty and respecting authority.

One is motivated to act in order to uphold law and order. The

person will follow the law because it is the law.
Level 3 (Post Stage 5 – Social At this stage, people begin to account for the differing values,
conventional Contract opinion and beliefs of other people. Rules of law are important for
Morality) maintaining society, but members of the society should agree upon
-moral reasoning is these standards.
based on enduring
or consistent Laws that are wrong can be changed. One will act based on social
principles. It is not justice and the common good.
just recognizing the
law, but the
principles behind
the law.
Stage 6 – Universal Kohlberg’s final level of reasoning is based upon universal ethical
Principles principles and abstract reasoning. At this stage, people follow these
internalized principles of justice, even if they conflict with laws and
rules.

This is associated with the development of one’s conscience. Having

a set of standards that drives one to possess moral responsibility to
make societal changes regardless of consequences to oneself.
Examples of persons are Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr.
Read the moral dilemma below:

Ryan, 17, has been saving up money to buy ticket for this concert of rock band. His parents have discouraged
him from going as the concert will surely be with a rowdy crowd. The band is notorious for having out-of-control
audience who somehow manages to get drunk and stoned during the concert. Ryan agreed not to watch anymore.
But a day before the concert, Nic, 15-year-old brother of Ryan, saw a corner of what appeared to be a concert ticket
showing in the pocket of Ryan’s bag. Nic examined it and confirmed it was indeed a ticket. Looking at Ryan’s bag, Nic
also found an extra shirt and 2 sticks of marijuana. So he figured Ryan will go to the concert after all. That night, Ryan
told his parents that he was spending tomorrow night at a classmate’s house for a school requirement. Then later
that evening, he told Nic of his plan to go to the concert. Nic did not say anything, but he found it difficult to sleep
that night, thinking whether to tell their parents or not.

1. If you were Nic, what would you do?

2. Why would you choose to do that? What were the things you considered in deciding what to do?
3. In what level of moral development did your response to the dilemma fall? Reflect about what this indicates about
your moral reasoning in this moral dilemma.

Stage 1 – “Yes I will tell our parents. Because if they found out later that I knew; for sure they will get angry and most
likely punish me.”
No, I will not tell because Ryan will make my life difficult and also punish me for telling.”

Stage 2 - “Yes. I will tell my parents because they will reward me for it. I will subtly ask for that new I Pod that I’m
wishing to have.”
“No. I will not tell. Ryan will surely grant me a lot of favors for not telling. He’ll not also squeal me.”
Stage 3 – “Yes. I will tell my parents so they’ll think I am such an honest boy.
“ No I will not tell. Ryan will think of me as a real cool brother!”

Stage 4 – “Yes I will tell because we should follow the rules that our parents say.
No. because it’s been our rule to keep each others’ secrets.”

Stage 5 – “Yes. I will tell because he might be hurt or get in trouble and his welfare is top most priority.
“No. because he is big enough to question my parents decision not to let him go.”

Stage 6 – “Yes, I will tell because lying is always wrong and I want to be true to what I believe in.
“No. because I believe brothers watch out for each other. If he trusted me with this, I should stay true to him
and not say anything.”

Application: Identify the stage of moral development shown in the following:

1. Joy allows her classmates to copy her homework so that they will think she is kind and will like her to be their
friend. – social approach
2. Ricky does everything to get passing grades because his Mom will take his play station away if he gets bad grades.
– punishment or obedience
3. A civic action group protests the use of pills for family planning, saying that although the government allows this, it
is actually murder because the pills are abortifacients (causes abortion). – law and order
4. Jinky lets Hannah copy during their math test because Hannah agreed to let her copy during their sibika test. –
mutual benefit
5. Karen decides to return the wallet she found in the canteen so that people will praise her honesty and think she’s
such a nice girl. – social approach
6. John decides to return the wallet he found in the canteen because he believes it’s the right thing to do. – universal
principles
7. Lyka wears her ID inside the campus because she likes to follow the school the school rules and regulations. – law
and order
8. A jeepney driver looks if there’s a policeman around before he turns in a no u-turn spot. – punishment and
obedience
9. Liza volunteers to tutor children at-risk children in her community for free so they will learn to love school and
stay in school. – social contract
10. Little Riel behaves so well to get a star stamp from her teacher. – mutual benefit

Language Acquisition Device theory of Chomsky

(Noam Chomsky’s Psycholinguistics Biological Predisposition to Language)

Psycholinguistics – is a field of study that combines psychology and linguistics to study how people process language
and how language use is related to mental processes.

-American linguist
-Believes that the ability to produce an endless variety of sentences cannot be explained by any theory involving
learning by experience and observation
-He holds that such as ability relies on inborn knowledge of the linguistic rules for sentence formation.

Sentence has ‘surface’ and ‘deep’ structures.

Surface structures – vary widely, and can, for instance, expressed in the active or passive voice.
Deep structure- captures the functional relationships, such as that between the subject and the object, and specifies
all the information needed to allow the correct interpretation of the sentence.
Believes that the understanding of deep structures is an inherent human capacity, and asserts that certain very
general principles governing all human languages( a universal grammar) are built into the human brain, regardless of
nationality or intelligence.
Observes that the complexity of children’s early language, and the speed with which this complexity increases, were
beyond anything that could be explained by their experience of the language use of adults around them.

Language Acquisition Device

LAD- is what prepares the child to make sense of language, to discover the structure and the meaning, making
potential of language.

The characteristics of English learners at each of these stages are described below:

Stage 1-Pre-Production
Stage 2-Early Production
Stage 3- Speech Emergence
Stage 4- Intermediate Fluency
Stage 5-Advanced Fluency

STAGE 1- PRE-PRODUCTION

* try to make sense out of messages

* gain familiarity
*show limited comprehension of “chunks” or gist of language
*attend to shared readings
*respond non-verbally

STAGE 2- EARLY PRODUCTION

*demonstrate increased confidence

*listen with greater understanding
*identify people, places and objects
*use routine expressions independently
*repeat, recite memorable language
STAGE 3- SPEECH EMERGENCE

*speak with less hesitation and demonstrate increasing understanding

*produce longer phrases or sentences with grammatical accuracy
*use newly acquired, receptive vocabulary to experiment and form messages in English
*participate more fully in discussions
*explain, describe, compare and retell in response to Literature
*study “big ideas” and key concepts in content areas, engage in independent reading based on oral fluency and prior
experiences with print use writing for a variety of purposes

STAGE 4- INTERMEDIATE FLUENCY

Produce connected discourse and narrative

Use more extensive vocabulary
Demonstrate increased levels of accuracy and correctness
Demonstrate use of higher-order language
Read a wider range of texts with increasing comprehension
Explore concepts in greater depth
Write using more standard forms

STAGE 5- ADVANCED FLUENCY

At this stage, children will produce language with varied grammatical structures and vocabulary, comparable to
native English speakers of the same age.