Behaviorism

Behaviorism is a worldview that operates on a principle of “stimulus-response.” All behavior caused by

external stimuli (operant conditioning). All behavior can be explained without the need to consider internal
mental states or consciousness [1].

Contributors
• John B. Watson
• Ivan Pavlov
• B.F. Skinner
• E. L. Thorndike
• Albert Bandura

Key Concepts
Behaviorism is a worldview that assumes a learner is essentially passive, responding to environmental
stimuli. The learner starts off as a clean slate (i.e. tabula rasa) and behavior is shaped through positive
reinforcement or negative reinforcement[2]. Both positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement increase
the probability that the antecedent behavior will happen again. In contrast, punishment (both positive and
negative) decreases the likelihood that the antecedent behavior will happen again. Positive indicates the
application of a stimulus; Negative indicates the withholding of a stimulus. Learning is therefore defined as a
change in behavior in the learner. Lots of (early) behaviorist work was done with animals (e.g. Pavlov’s dogs)
and generalized to humans[3].
Behaviorism precedes the cognitivist worldview. It rejects structuralism and is an extension of Logical
Positivism.

Radical behaviorism
Developed by BF Skinner, Radical Behaviorism describes a particular school that emerged during the reign of
behaviorism. It is distinct from other schools of behaviorism, with major differences in the acceptance of
mediating structures, the role of emotions, etc.

References
1. Skinner, B. F. (2011). About behaviorism. Vintage.
2. Watson, J. B. (2013). Behaviorism. Read Books Ltd.
3. Pavlov, I. P., & Anrep, G. V. (2003). Conditioned reflexes. Courier Corporation.

Cognitivism

The cognitivist paradigm essentially argues that the “black box” of the mind should be opened and
understood. The learner is viewed as an information processor (like a computer).

Contributors
• Marriner David Merill (1937 – )
• Charles Reigeluth (1946 – )
• Robert Mills Gagné (1916 – 2002)
• Jerome Bruner (1915-2016)
• Roger Schank (1946 – )

Key Concepts
The cognitivist revolution replaced behaviorism in 1960s as the dominant paradigm. Cognitivism focuses on
the inner mental activities – opening the “black box” of the human mind is valuable and necessary for
understanding how people learn. Mental processes such as thinking, memory, knowing, and problem-solving
need to be explored. Knowledge can be seen as schema or symbolic mental constructions. Learning is defined
as change in a learner’s schemata[1][2].
A response to behaviorism, people are not “programmed animals” that merely respond to environmental
stimuli; people are rational beings that require active participation in order to learn, and whose actions are a
consequence of thinking. Changes in behavior are observed, but only as an indication of what is occurring in
the learner’s head. Cognitivism uses the metaphor of the mind as computer: information comes in, is being
processed, and leads to certain outcomes.

Additional Resources and References

1. Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (1993). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical
features from an instructional design perspective.Performance improvement quarterly, 6(4), 50-72.
2. Cooper, P. A. (1993). Paradigm Shifts in Designed Instruction: From Behaviorism to Cognitivism to
Constructivism. Educational technology, 33(5), 12-19.

The Nativist Perspective

The nativist perspective argues that humans are biologically programmed to gain knowledge.The main
theorist associated with this perspective is Noam Chomsky.
Chomsky proposed that all humans have a language acqusition device (LAD). The LAD contains knowledge
of grammatical rules common to all languages (Shaffer,et.al,2002).The LAD also allows children to
understand the rules of whatever language they are listening to Chomsky also developed the concepts of
transformational grammar, surface structure, and deep structure.
Transformational grammar is grammar that transforms a sentence. Surface structures are words that are
actually written. Deep structure is the underlying message or meaning of a sentence. (Matlin,2005).

Universal Grammar
However, Skinner's account was soon heavily criticized by Noam Chomsky, the world's most famous linguist
to date. In the spirit of cognitive revolution in the 1950's, Chomsky argued that children will never acquire the
tools needed for processing an infinite number of sentences if the language acquisition mechanism was
dependent on language input alone.

Consequently, he proposed the theory of Universal Grammar: an idea of innate, biological grammatical
categories, such as a noun category and a verb category that facilitate the entire language development in
children and overall language processing in adults.

Universal Grammar is considered to contain all the grammatical information needed to combine these
categories, e.g. noun and verb, into phrases. The child’s task is just to learn the words of her language
(Ambridge & Lieven). For example, according to the Universal Grammar account, children instinctively know
how to combine a noun (e.g. a boy) and a verb (to eat) into a meaningful, correct phrase (A boy eats).

This Chomskian (1965) approach to language acquisition has inspired hundreds of scholars to investigate the
nature of these assumed grammatical categories and the research is still ongoing.

Interactionist Theory
Interactionists argue that language development is both biological and social. Interactionists argue that
language learning is influenced by the desire of children to communicate with others.
The Interactionists argue that "children are born with a powerful brain that matures slowly and predisposes
them to acquire new understandings that they are motivated to share with others"
( Bates,1993;Tomasello,1995, as cited in Shaffer et al.,2002,p.362).
The main theorist associated with interactionist theory is Lev Vygotsky. Interactionists focus on Vygotsky's
model of collaborative learning ( Shaffer et al.,2002). Collaborative learning is the idea that conversations with
older people can help children both cognitively and linguistically ( Shaffer,et.al,2002).
Language Learning at an Early Age
From birth, children are surrounded by others who talk to them or with them. This communication plays a
part in how the baby learns to speak his or her native language. Some argue that "nature" is entirely
responsible for how a baby learns a language, while others argue that "nurture" is responsible for how a baby
picks up his or her mother tongue. Social interactionists argue that the way a baby learns a language is both
biological and social.
Everyone loves to coo at babies, and this "baby talk" is exposing the child to language, whether we realize it
or not. Interactionists believe that children are born with brains that predispose them to the ability to pick up
languages as well as with a desire to communicate. Some Interactionists even argue that babies and children
cue their parents and other adults into giving them the linguistic exposure they need to learn a language. The
Interactionist Theory posits that children can only learn language from someone who wants to communicate
with them.
Perhaps two of the biggest names in the Interactionist Theory of language acquisition are Lev Vygotsky and
Jerome Bruner.

Vygotsky and Bruner

Vygotsky, a Russian psychologist, created a model of human development now called the sociocultural
model. He believed that all cultural development in children is visible in two stages. First, the child observes
the interaction between other people and then the behavior develops inside the child. This means that the
child first observes the adults around him communicating amongst themselves and then later develops the
ability himself to communicate. Vygotsky also theorized that a child learns best when interacting with those
around him to solve a problem. At first, the adult interacting with the child is responsible for leading the
child, and eventually, the child becomes more capable of problem solving on his own. This is true with
language, as the adult first talks at the child and eventually the child learns to respond in turn. The child
moves from gurgling to baby talk to more complete and correct sentences.
Bruner, best known for his discovery learning theory, believes that learners, whether they are adults or
children, learn best when they discover knowledge for themselves. He believes that students retain
knowledge best when it is something they have discovered on their own. Bruner argues that an adult and an
infant have conversations despite the child being unable to speak. The interaction between the two, such as
games and non-verbal communication, build the structure of language long before the child is able to
communicate verbally.

Interactionist Theory and ESL

How does the Interactionist Theory fit in with ESL in a classroom? When faced with learning English as a
second language, the student is essentially an infant. They cannot communicate with the teacher except
through non-verbal communication. Therefore, it is up to the teacher to act as the adult in the infant-adult
relationship. He or she is responsible for leading all interaction at first, and as the student becomes more
familiar with the English language and able to communicate, the control of the interaction can be relinquished
a bit and the students can take more control of their own language learning. Also, if students are encouraged
to experiment with the language and learn that it is okay to make mistakes, they will be able to discover for
themselves how to combine words and phrases to form full sentences and dialogues.

References:
http://www.learning-theories.com/vygotskys-social-learning-theory.html
http://www.learning-theories.com/discovery-learning-bruner.html
 Theories of Language Development in Children

Contents

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Statement of the Problem

1.2 General Objective

1.3 Significance

1.4 Background about theories

2.0 Theories of Language Development

2.1 Behavioral Theory

2.2 Nativist Linguistic Theories

2.3 Social Interactionist theory

2.4 Cognitive Theory of language development

3.0 Conclusion

1.0 Introduction

There is no simple answer that explains where words come from. So, as parents and teachers help children to
talk, they should understand that there is no clear theory that explains how children learn the language they
need to become skillful in reading and communication. However, there are some key theories that have been
developed to explain language learning: behavioral, linguistic, and interactional. Looking at the theories and
the history of language theory development helps us think about language development from different points
of view. The shortcomings of these theories illustrate that language is not easily explained.

1.1 Statement of the Problem

A major concern in understanding language acquisition is how these capacities are picked up by infants from
what appears to be very little input. A range of theories of language acquisition has been created in order to
explain this apparent problem. These theories differ but they form the basis of the mystery behind language
development among children. Thus, this paper examined the major language development theories in children.

1.2 General Objective

The general objective that guided this paper was to examine various language development theories in
children.

1.3 Significance

Language acquisition forms a critical stage in development of children. Thus, an examination of various
theories that are used to explain language development among children remain of great importance not only to
teachers but also to parents and caretakers. These theories can unveil, though not wholly, the mysteries
surrounding language development.

1.4 Background about theories

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.

that imitation alone cannot explain how children become talkers.

2.0 Theories of Language Development

There are various language development theories that have been propagated by various proponents. This
section briefly examines four main theories. These include Behavioral Theory, Nativist linguistic theories,
social interactionist theory and cognitive theory

2.1 Behavioral Theory

Behaviorists believe language is something that can be observed and measured. The need to use language is
stimulated and language is uttered in response to stimuli. To the behaviorist, competence in the rules of
language is not as important as the ability to speak it; speaking is what makes language real. Knowledge is a
mental state and the structure of a language doesn’t make it a language; it is the function of speaking words
that makes a language a language.
B.F. Skinner is perhaps the best known behaviorist who posited that children are conditioned by their
environment to respond to certain stimuli with language. When children speak the language of their parents
they are rewarded and become more skillful. They grow in their ability to respond in a manner that responds to
the environmental stimuli given by his parents. This shapes a child’s language more than knowledge of rules.
(Gleason and Ratner 2009).

While most would agree that a language-rich environment helps children achieve success in communication,
experts haven’t been able to prove this with experiments outside the lab. The behaviorists approach has been
criticized for not taking into account the many and varied influences on a child’s language learning.

2.2 Nativist Linguistic Theories

The manner in which a child acquires language is a matter long debated by linguists and child psychologists
alike. The father of most nativist theories of language acquisition is Noam Chomsky, who brought greater
attention to the innate capacity of children for learning language, which had widely been considered a purely
cultural phenomenon based on imitation.

Nativist linguistic theories hold that children learn through their natural ability to organize the laws of
language, but cannot fully utilize this talent without the presence of other humans. This does not mean,
however, that the child requires formal tutelage of any sort. Chomsky claims that children are born with a hard-
wired Language Acquisition Device (LAD) in their brains. They are born with the major principles of language
in place, but with many parameters to set (such as whether sentences in the language(s) they are to acquire
must have explicit subjects). According to nativist theory, when the young child is exposed to a language, their
LAD makes it possible for them to set the parameters and deduce the grammatical principles, because the
principles are innate. (Bigge and Shermis, 1998).

This is still a very controversial view, and many linguists and psychologists do not believe language is as
innate as Chomsky argues. There are important arguments both for and against Chomsky's view of
development. One idea central to the Chomskian view is the idea of Universal Grammar, which posits that all
languages have the same basic underlying structure, and that specific languages have rules that transform these
underlying structures into the specific patterns found in given languages. Another argument is that without a
propensity for language, human infants would be unable to learn such complete speech patterns in a natural
human environment where complete sentences are the exception
More recently, researchers have shown that parents react differently to children’s grammatically correct and
incorrect utterances. This shapes the child’s behavior and therefore challenges the belief that language is
innate.

2.3 Social Interactionist theory

This theory is an approach to language acquisition that stresses the environment and the context in which the
language is being learned. It focuses on the pragmatics of language rather than grammar, which should come
later. In this approach, the beginning speaker and the experienced speaker--be they child and adult or second-
language learner and fluent speaker--exist in a negotiated arrangement where feedback is always possible. The
basic appeal of this approach is the importance it places on the home and the cultural environment in early-
childhood language acquisition. Language, according to this theory, is not an innate ability. Rather, it develops
in negotiating your environment. Hence, vocabulary is bound by context or, alternatively, by the culture within
which speech is necessary and understandable.

This approach to language acquisition is based on culture and environment. Thus, it is not universal in scope.
In fact, the theory holds that language is never universal, but always context- and time-bound. On one hand,
this means that language seems to be provincial, but also utilitarian, because it develops in the environment
where it is most needed and most likely to be understood. On the other hand, it keeps the level of basic
comprehension solely on the level of the initial environment. Transitions to other environments, at least on the
surface, seem to be a problem. (Lewis, 2010).

The primary reason to support interactionism is based largely on the idea that utterances make sense if the
teacher is aware of the context. This is the primary feature of the interactionist view. In this case, thought does
not make objects; it reflects them and the context in which they are found. Comprehensibility, rather than
grammar, is the primary concern of early-childhood language acquisition. On the other hand, the mere
absorption of words, in Chomsky's view, leads to nonsense phrases that must be corrected through the teaching
of structure and grammar. One view stresses the relation between learner and culture; the other, between
learner and arbitrary utterances of experienced speakers.

2.4 Cognitive Theory of language development

This theory was proposed by Jean Piaget. He theorized that language is made up of symbols and structures, but
exhibits itself as a child’s mental abilities mature. In addition, language is only one of many human mental or
cognitive activities.
Piaget’s view of how children's minds work and develop has been enormously influential, particularly in
educational theory. His particular insight was the role of maturation (simply growing up) in children's
increasing capacity to understand their world: they cannot undertake certain tasks until they are
psychologically mature enough to do so. His research has spawned a great deal more, much of which has
undermined the detail of his own, but like many other original investigators, his importance comes from his
overall vision. (Wood, 1998).

Piaget proposed that children's thinking does not develop entirely smoothly: instead, there are certain points at
which it "takes off" and moves into completely new areas and capabilities. He saw these transitions as taking
place at about 18 months, 7 years and 11 or 12 years. This has been taken to mean that before these ages
children are not capable (no matter how bright) of understanding things in certain ways, and has been used as
the basis for scheduling the school curriculum. (Satterly, 1987).

3.0 Conclusion

Language development is a complex and a unique human quality that no theory is as yet able to completely
explain. Newer theories will probably develop from what has already been explored. This could be taken from
cognitive to interactionist approach where the relationship of psychology and the environment needs to be
explored in greater depth.
References

Bigge, M. and Shermis, S. (1998). Learning Theories for Teachers. London: Longman

Gleason, J.B. and Ratner, N.B. (2009). The Development of Language, 7th Edition

Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Lewis, S.E. (2010). How Do Children Learn Language. London: Routledge

Satterly, D. (1987). Piaget and Education" in R.L Gregory (ed.) The Oxford Companion

to the Mind Oxford, Oxford University Press.

Wood, D. (1998). How Children Think and Learn (2nd edition) Oxford: Blackwell

Publishing.

Wyse, D. (2001). Teaching English, Language and Literacy. London: Ro

(I have discussed these theories as well google them for details)