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WKLASSGN_shanks_L.pptxLanguage Development- The Movers and the Shakers Lua Shanks 06-07-2021
Jean Piaget
The principle of assimilation
The Principle of accommodation
Piaget also believed that as children learn, they strike a balance between the use of assimilation and accommodation.
Assimilation is the process of altering an individual’s environment so that new information can fit into a schema that is already in place. On the other hand, accommodation involves changing already-existing ideas to fit a new environment. According to Piaget, children cannot attain language acquisition before mental development occurs (McLeod, 2018). Language development for children relies on the creation of schemas within children’s minds.
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Contributions (Cont.)
Developed the stages of child development and learning
Emphasized the relevance of social interactions to intellectual development
Piaget asserted the presence of developmental stages and these include; the preoperational stage, the sensorimotor stage, and the concrete operational stage (McLeod, 2018). The understanding of these stages allows educators to understand the extent to which children can grasp information within specific developmental stages. Piaget also saw social interaction as the solution to the complexity of the symbols children construct as individuals. He allowed experts in the field to understand that the development of thinking does not result from language but rather proceeds from it.
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Lev Vygotsky
Social Learning
Zone of Proximal Development
Vygotsky held that there is a social origin to language (Gomez, 2020). A child engages continually in social interaction from the moment he is born. These interactions enhance the development of higher cognitive functions for the child and these include language and thought. According to Vygotsky, the ZPD is the relationship between the potential to learn and the actual learning that occurs for a child. This relationship determined the level of development reached when a child engages in social interactions.
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Contributions (Cont.)
Emphasized the need for social interactions
Emphasized the role of a teacher in learning
Vygotsky contributed to the field of language acquisition and development by delving deeper into the relevance of social interactions for learners (Gomez, 2020). His principles allowed for attention to be put into social interaction to allow children to move from using language superficially to having it be the structure of their thinking. Vygotsky also allowed for more recognition and appreciation of the role played by teachers in language acquisition and development. He demonstrated the impact of a teacher in provoking learners to move forward in thinking.
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B.F. Skinner
Behaviorist concept of language
Operant conditioning
Skinner held that the basis of language acquisition is the environment and that language arose from a more social necessity (Hopkins, 2017). According to him, language acquisition is the same as the acquisition of any new skill and the factors involved in it are observation, imitation, repetition, errors, rewards, and punishment. Skinner theorized that children learn language through operant conditioning and he described the basis of language development using the four-term contingency- motivating, operating, discriminative stimuli, response, and reinforcing stimuli.
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Contributions (Cont.)
Offered a new perspective to language acquisition and development
Reinforced the impact of the social environment
Skinner allowed for the approach to language acquisition and development from a behavioral perspective. His principles gave an insight into the impact of the environment on language learning and development (Hopkins, 2017). Furthermore, he reinforced the impact of social interactions on language acquisition and development by suggesting that children learn language by imitating others. In this case, children not only imitate language used by others in their environment, but they also imitate the behavior of others in using language to attain rewards.
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Noam Chomsky
Transformational-generative grammar theory
Language Acquisition Device
Chomsky indicated that sentences have deep structures and surface structures, where the former refers to the ideas and meanings that an individual wish to express while the latter refers to the words, symbols, and sounds used in the attempt to express the ideas. The use of surface structures changes and improves over time; however, the deeper structure remains the same. Chomsky also described language acquisition devices as the innate ability among children to grasp language (Alshalan, 2019). This ability allows children to learn language without the need for formal instruction.
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Contributions (Cont.)
Emphasized the complexity of language
Appreciated the creative nature of human language
Chomsky enabled professionals to know that there is an outward and a deeper structure to language. Such knowledge allows educators to understand the use of language by children to gauge their level of language acquisition and development (Dao, 2019). On the other hand, he allowed for the appreciation of the creativeness of human language that allows educators to know that learners can adapt despite the complexity of language.
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Relevance of Information to Educators
Explain the background to language acquisition and development
Allow educators to enhance language acquisition and development among learners
The information shared by the theorists is vital to early childhood educators as it allows them to understand and appreciate the background of language acquisition and development. The information allows educators to observe the behavior of children’s use of language, understand it, and act accordingly (Carter, 2020). Educators can enhance language acquisition and development for children when they have related theories in mind.
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Application of Information to Practice
Identification of developmental issues in learners
Development of contemporary language acquisition and development principles
Early childhood educators can use the information to identify development issues in learners. For instance, if none of the theories explain a child’s poor level of language acquisition and development, the educator will see this as a signal for potential developmental issues (Carter, 2020). Furthermore, educators can use the information to come up with modern theories related to language acquisition and development that can be used now and in the future.
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References
Alshalan, K. (2019). Theories of Language Learning. American Journal of Humanities and Social Research (AJHSSR), 3(8), 69-72.
Carter, R. (2020). Knowledge about language in the curriculum (pp. 246-258). Routledge.
Dao, T. T. (2019). Child Language Acquisition & Bilingualism-Some of the best practices.
(Cont.)
Gomez, L. (2020). Theories Of Language Acquisition.
Hopkins, D. B. (2017, July). An Outline of Nativist and Behaviorist Theories of Language Acquisition. In International Conference on Literature, History, Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies,(Bangkok: Thailand (pp. 46-48).
McLeod, S. (2018). Piaget’s Theory and Stages of Cognitive Development. Developmental Psychology, Simply Psychology.
