Theories Of Language Acquisition - UK Essays.
An Essay on Different Theories of Language Acquisition This essay is going to discuss what language is defined as and critically discuss different theories of language acquisition, which are the behaviourist approach, the biological approach and the Interactionalist approach.Chomsky and Skinner and Theories Of Language Development Many psychologists have studied and researched into how we acquire language. Some have concluded that the ability to learn language is a genetically inherited skill. Others believe that language is learned following birth and is due to environmental factors.This essay will deal with three theories of language acquisition: the linguistic theory, behaviourist theory and social interactionist theory. Each theory will include an explanation of the theory, a look at whether it is nativist or empirical, whether the evidence is more focused on competence or performance.
Chomsky’s Theories. Noam Chomsky has been studying and developing his theories since the 1950s. In his book “Aspects of the Theory of Syntax” published in 1965, he has pushed forward the fundamental observation that there are deep structures and surface structures in every sentence, no matter what language.THEORIES OF LANGUAGE ACQUISITION Over the last fifty years, several theories have been put forward to explain the process by which children learn to understand and speak a language. They can be summarised as follows: Theory Central Idea Individual with theory Behaviourist Children imitate adults. Their correct utterances are reinforced.
Theories about Language Development The earliest theory about language development assumed that children acquire language through imitation. While research has shown that children who imitate the actions of those around them during their first year of life are generally those who also learn to talk more quickly, there is also evidence.
