Chapter 4 Review

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Oct 30, 2023

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Hannah Kalehuawehe Chapter 4 Review 1. What three questions are important to consider when examining a language development theory? Write out each question AND provide a description of the major points of all three. Question 1: What do infants bring to the task of language learning? Description: Theorists have opposing theories when it comes to infants’ language abilities. Some propose that infants are preprogrammed to learn language while others believe that infants learn language through experience. Most language-development theories assert that language develops as a result of biological, social, cognitive, and linguistic factors. Question 2: What mechanisms drive language acquisition? Description: This question relates to how language develops from infancy forward. One theory suggests that the processes that people use to learn language are domain specific. This means that the processes they are using are dedicated to the tasks of comprehending and producing language. Another theory suggests that the processes people use to learn language are domain general. This means that they use the same processes that they use in other situations like problem solving. Question 3: What types of input support the language-learning system? Description: This question relates to the kinds of input that help language development as children grow. One theory suggests that the most important ways to support language development are increasing knowledge of social conventions and a child’s desire to interact with others. Another theory suggests that when children hear more language, they use “positive evidence” that is provided by other people to help them develop their language. 2. Explain the difference between “nature-inspired” and “nurture-inspired” and present the extreme position for each perspective. Nurture-inspired, or empiricist, theories state that humans gain all knowledge through experience. The extreme empiricist position is that an infant is born with no language abilities and are considered a “blank slate”. Nature-inspired, or nativist, theories state that a lot of knowledge is innate and genetically transmitted. The extreme nativist position is an infant is born with an underlying language system and children use this system to learn rules about their native language. 3. Summarize and describe one major NURTURE-inspired theory of language development. One nurture-inspired theory is the Behaviorist Theory. This theory states that at birth, infants are considered a “blank slate” and their language develops through interactions and positive reinforcement. As children interact with their environment and adults around them, they start to develop sounds and words as it is reinforced by those things around them. For example, a screaming child will learn that they will get a faster response to their need as an adult would respond more to their words rather than their screaming. The example in the book is an eight- month-old learns how to communicate that they are hungry by saying the sound “ba” rather

than screaming at his mother. His mother gave him that positive reinforcement by responding quicker to the sound “ba” than she did when he was screaming. Eventually, that sound develops into the full word “bottle” by mimicking what his mother says. 4. Summarize and describe two major NATURE-inspired theories of language development. One nature-inspired theory is the Universal Grammar Theory. This theory describes the system of grammatical rules and constraints consistent in all languages. It states that language development depends on innate ability and a specific module that is dedicated to language. Children are born with a basic set of grammatical rules that exist in all languages and they receive input from their surroundings to match their native language. Universal Grammar suggests that children are born with linguistic competence and that any language mistakes indicate performance difficulties and not a lack of competence. Another nature-inspired theory is the Modularity Theory. This theory suggests that the cognitive infrastructure of the brain is made of up of specified modules, including modules dedicated to language processing. It states that different areas of language can develop independently of one another because these language modules operate independently to perform certain functions but can interact with one another. Different types of input drive development language forward in different areas. 5. Summarize and describe two major INTERACTIONIST theories of language development. One major interactionist theory is the intentionality model. This model suggests that children are responsible for driving their language learning forward. In this model, children learn language when their ideas differ from others because they must express themselves to share this information. Children must put forth effort to form their ideas into words and then express and act on those ideas. Another interactionist theory is the Usage-Based Theory. This theory suggests that children learn language because they have a reason to talk. Children’s knowledge of language form from their use of language. They learn patterns of form and meaning and apply those to their own language. As children become aware of other’s intentions, they start to interact more with them. In this theory, children must engage and interact with other people in order to learn those general language abilities. 6. Explain Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development. How does it relate to enrichment practices discussed at the end of the chapter? Vygotskian’s Zone of Proximal Development is the difference between a child’s actual developmental level, their independent problem-solving level, and their level of potential development, their problem-solving level in collaboration with an adult or more competent peer. The example in the book is a 4-year-old who cannot think of a word that rhymes with cat on his own, but when an adult provides three words that rhyme with cat, the child can provide a fourth word that rhymes. It relates to the enrichment practices discussed at the end because enrichment is the process in which teachers and other adults provide people with an enhanced- language learning environment that builds on existing skills and helps them develop new and advanced language abilities.

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