theories of first language learning
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Theories of First Language Learning
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Questions
• Why do children learn their first language in a short time?
• Why do children learn their first language in sequences and stages?
• How do children learn the rules of their first language when what is heard is variable?
• Why do children produce language that they have never heard?
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Behaviorism in general
• Learning is habit formation
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Behaviorism in language learning
• Language learning is also habit formation
• Successful performance of a behavior • Good pronunciation• Grammatically correct sentences• New words
• Leads to reward from parents• Finally, behavior becomes automatic
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Evaluation of behaviorism 1
• Habit formation takes a long time• The same process must be repeated over
and over again for each grammar feature and word
• Habit formation would result in variation• What each child hears is unique so what she
learns should be unique.• However, we observe sequences and stages
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Evaluation of behaviorism 2
• Habit formation requires uniform language to be successful• Language is not uniform; it is variable
• Children only imitate what they hear• Children, however, produce unique
words and sentences
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Evaluation of behaviorism 3
• Behaviorism doesn’t answer our four questions
• Thus, behaviorism doesn’t seem to be a good explanation of how children learn languages
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Universal Grammar
• Language Acquisition Device (LAD) is an internal innate ability to process languages
• LAD is like a computer• There is no LAD in the brain; it’s an
idea to explain the theory
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Universal Grammar
• UG is a set of principles that are common to all languages• Not a set of grammar rules• For example, UG tells us that all
languages use word order and hearing the language tells children which word order to use
• UG is like software for a computer
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Evaluation of Universal Grammar 1
• UG makes it simple for children to discover rules• Thus, language learning doesn’t take a
lot of time
• UG is an innate set of principles• Because UG is the same for everyone,
sequences and stages are likely
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Evaluation of Universal Grammar 2
• UG operates like a computer program and tells children what is possible and not possible• Children can still construct rules even
though language is variable
• UG helps children create rules• Rules allow children to be creative and
make words they’ve never heard before
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Evaluation of Universal Grammar 3
• UG is a powerful explanation of how children learn grammar
• UG doesn’t explain how children learn words or how to use language socially
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Cognitive Development
• The way the we see and understand the world develops in stages.
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Cognitive Development & Language learning
• Children learn language by making connections between what they hear and objects, events and situations
• Children put the connections that they make in categories and make generalizations
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Cognitive Theory
• Language learning is part of a child’s cognitive development
• Language ability and cognitive development are not separate
• How much language children can understand depends on their cognitive development.
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Evaluation of the Cognitive Theory 1
• Cognitive abilities develop quickly, and so do language abilities
• Cognitive abilities develop in stages, and so do language abilities
• Making categories and generalizations lets children overcome variability
• Making generalizations leads to new language
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Evaluation of the Cognitive Theory 2
• The cognitive theory is a good explanation of how children learn vocabulary
• The cognitive theory is less satisfactory in explaining how children learn grammar• Grammatical features with several meanings
• I’m writing now.• I’m living in Paris, but I usually live in London.• I’m playing tennis tomorrow.
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Functional Theory 1
• Learning occurs by listening to people and speaking with people
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Functional Theory 2
• Listening is a chance to understand what is heard
• Speaking is a chance to • Send a message• Check one’s understanding• Learn how to express messages
grammatically
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Evaluation of the Functional Theory 1
• Not all parents talk a lot; some more than others• All children learn to speak in about the
same time
• Conversations with children are all unique• Because they are unique, it is difficult to
explain sequences and stages
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Evaluation of the Functional Theory 2
• Language is variable• Checks for comprehension by both
parents and children help make rules clear
• The functional theory provides no explanation for why children produce words they’ve never heard
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Conclusion 1
• Language is complicated• Difficult for one theory to explain
how we learn all aspects of language• Each of the theories explains some
aspects of language
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Conclusion 2
• Behaviorism – sociolinguistic knowledge• Many aspects of being polite are learned
habits.• When to say please and thank you.
• Universal Grammar – grammatical knowledge• An innate computer program perhaps best
explains how we master grammar
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Conclusion 3
• Cognitive – Vocabulary• When we look at the world, we tend to
categorize and generalize about what we see and this is the same thing that we do with new words.
• Functional – How to talk • Babies talking with their parents learn
conversation rules.• They learn to talk by talking
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