Originally believed that language
acquisition was based on the
same general learning principles
of operant condition. Noam
Chomsky then argued that
language is an innate mechanism
that matures according to a
biological timetable.
Universal grammar-
a set of abstract,
unconscious rules
that all human
languages are based
on
Language acquisition device
(LAD)- an innate mechanism that
helps children to understand and
reproduce the rules in any given
language that is activated when
the child hears speech
Module- a linguistic or
cognitive system that is
designed for a specific
purpose and which
functions independently
from other cognitive
systems
Cognitive Developmental Approaches
Emphases the interaction between
cognition and language. In order to learn
the meanings of words and sentences,
children first needs to have a concept of
the thing being referred to.
Some of the basic concepts
acquired during infancy also
shows a close correspondence
with some of the first
words/phrases that children
produce
Envrionmental-Interactionist Approaches
Three main
approaches have
been proposed
1. kind of language
interactions
between a child
and their parents.
2. the social
and
communicative
functions of
language.
this functionalist approach maintains
that children's basic motivation for
learning language is to understand those
around them and to communicate their
own thoughts/feelings
3. a statistical
learning
approach that
assumes all
languages
contain certain
statistical
regularities, that
certain kinds of
sounds, words
and word
combinations
occur with more
frequency than
others