Read about the theories (perspective) of language acquisition.
Draft a summary of the theories using the
matrix below. Work with your groupmates. Deadline of submission is on March 18, 2024.
You may use books, eBooks, and internet sources for your reference.
Theory/Perspectives Proponent/s Assumptions/Central Ideas
Behaviorist 1. John B Watson •Behavior is the result of
environmental factors. Watson
believe that all behavior,
including complex human
behavior, is the result of
environmental factors such as
reinforcement, punishment
and conditioning.
• Mind and consciousness is
not relevant to psychology. He
argued that behaviorism
should focus only on
observable behavior and avoid
speculation about mental
processes.
• Animal behavior can be used
to understand human
behavior; Watson believed that
animal behavior could provide
insights into human behavior,
as both are shaped by the
same environmental factors.
•Radical Behaviourism
Limitations/Criticism
• It oversimplifies human
behavior. Behaviorism reduces
complex human behavior to
simple-stimulus response
associations, ignoring the
complex cognitive processed
that underlie behavior.
• It ignores the role of genetics
and biology in shaping
behavior. While behaviorist
acknowledge the importance
of the environment in shaping
the behavior, they largely
ignore the role of biology in
determining behavior.
• It fails to account for the
complexity of human
motivation. While behaviorism
asserts that behavior is the
result of reinforcement and
punishment, it fails to
acknowledge the complex
motivation that drive human
behavior.
• Some critics argue that
behaviorism overly
deterministic, failing to
acknowledge the role of free
will in human behavior.
•The critical period of
language acquisition is in
the age of 7. If a child has
not developed language by
 Internal processes, like
observable behavior, can be
controlled by environmental
variables and thus can be
2. Burrhus
analyzed scientifically. The idea
Frederick Skinner
of "free will" is entirely
determined by situational
factors.
•"Skinner's Imitation Theory"
proposes that language
develops as a result of children
trying to imitate their
caregivers or those around
them. The theory assumes that
children have no innate ability
to learn the language and rely
on operant conditioning to
form and improve their
understanding and use of it.
The behavioural theory
believes that children are born
'tabula rasa' - as a 'blank slate'.
Nativist
Cognitive Jean Piaget • Piaget emphasized the role of
active exploration and
interaction with the
environment in shaping
cognitive development,
highlighting the importance
of assimilation and
accommodation in constructing
mental schemas.
• Children do not think like
this point, they will never
be able to fully grasp it.
• The complicated nature of
language. it has also been
argued that language and
its development are simply
too complicated to be
taught sufficiently through
reinforcement alone.
Children learn grammatical
rules and patterns
seemingly independently of
positive or negative
reinforcement, as
evidenced in the tendency
among children to over- or
under-apply linguistic rules.
• He overestimated the ability
of adolescents and
underestimated the capacity
of infants
• Piaget neglected the
influence of cultural and social
interaction factors on
children's cognition and
thinking ability
 adults and so before they can • His theory had some ethical
begin to develop language they and bias problems as he
must first actively construct studied his own children.
their own understanding of the
world through their
interactions with the
environment. A child has to
understand a concept before
they can acquire the particular
language which expresses that
concept.

• Cognitive development
results from the interplay
between innate capabilities
(nature) and environmental
influences (nurture).

• Children progress through

four distinct stages, each
representing varying cognitive
abilities and world
comprehension; 1.)
Sensorimotor stage (birth to 2
years) Infants knows the world
through their movements and
sensations.

2.) Preoperational stage (2 to 7

years) Children begin to think
symbolically and learn to use
words and pictures to
represent objects.

3.) Concrete operational stage

(7 to 11 years)–Children begin
to think logically about
concrete events.

4.) Formal operational stage

(11 years and beyond)–The
adolescent or young adult
begins to think abstractly and
reason about hypothetical
problems.

Interaction 1.) George The Interactionist approach Children in many cultures

claims that if our language progress through the same
 Herbert Mead ability develops out of a desire
to communicate, then
2.) Lev Vygotsky language is dependent upon
whom we want to
3.) Max Weber
communicate with. This means
4.) Herbert the environment you grow up
Blumer in will heavily affect how well
and how quickly you learn to
talk.
stages of language acquisition
regardless of the behaviors of
their caregivers.This means
that the data may not be as
applicable to parent-child
interactions in other classes or
cultures who may speak to
their children differently but
still acquire fluent speech.

Reference :

https://philonotes.com/2023/03/watsons-theory-of-behaviorism-key-concepts

https://www.firstdiscoverers.co.uk/child-development-theories-john-watson/#:~:text=Watson's
%20'manifesto'%20stated%20a%20number,and%20situations%20within%20the%20environment.

https://www.studysmarter.co.uk/explanations/english/language-acquisition/behavioral-theory/

www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html

https://typeset.io/questions/what-are-the-limitations-of-piaget-s-theory-of-cognitive-4y207yc06o

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.studysmarter.co.uk/
explanations/english/language-acquisition/interactionist-theory/%23:~:text%3DLimitations%2520of%2520Interactionist
%2520Theory,-There%2520are%2520some%26text%3DThis%2520means%2520that%2520the%2520data,but%2520still
%2520acquire%2520fluent
%2520speech.&ved=2ahUKEwjho8TRtviEAxU1bfUHHbySCN8QFnoECBQQBQ&usg=AOvVaw1jSdf0C-VsoN2jUuR5D2jd