Child language acquisition theory chomsky, crystal,

Aitchison & piaget

Chomsky
Noam Chomsky believes that children are born with an inherited ability to learn any
human language. He claims that certain linguistic structures which children use so
accurately must be already imprinted on the childs mind. Chomsky believes that
every child has a language acquisition device or LA which encodes the ma!or
principles o" a language and its grammatical structures into the childs brain.
Children have then only to learn new vocabulary and apply the syntactic structures
"rom the LA to "orm sentences. Chomsky points out that a child could not possibly
learn a language through imitation alone because the language spoken around
them is highly irregular # adults speech is o"ten broken up and even sometimes
ungrammatical. Chomskys theory applies to all languages as they all contain
nouns$ verbs$ consonants and vowels and children appear to be hard%wired to
acquire the grammar. &very language is e'tremely comple'$ o"ten with subtle
distinctions which even native speakers are unaware o". However$ all children$
regardless o" their intellectual ability$ become "luent in their native language within
"ive or si' years.
Evidence to support Chomskys theory
Children learning to speak never make grammatical errors such as getting
their sub!ects$ verbs and ob!ects in the wrong order.
(" an adult deliberately said a grammatically incorrect sentence$ the child
would notice.
Children o"ten say things that are ungrammatical such as mama ball$ which
they cannot have learnt passively.
)istakes such as ( drawed instead o" ( drew show they are not learning
through imitation alone.
Chomsky used the sentence colourless green ideas sleep "uriously$ which is
grammatical although it doesnt make sense$ to prove his theory* he said it
shows that sentences can be grammatical without having any meaning$ that
we can tell the di""erence between a grammatical and an ungrammatical
sentence without ever having heard the sentence be"ore$ and that we can
produce and understand brand new sentences that no one has ever said
be"ore.
Evidence against Chomskys theory
Critics o" Chomskys theory say that although it is clear that children dont
learn language through imitation alone$ this does not prove that they must
have an LA # language learning could merely be through general learning
and understanding abilities and interactions with other people.
ialogue #
+arent and Child ,- years old.
+arent* /hat did you do today0
Child* )e drawed a cat. ,applies #ed su""i' rule but gets wrong.
+arent* 1ou drew a cat0
Child* 1eah. ,understands correction.
+arent* /ho did you play with at breaktime0
Child* )e played with 2arah and Helen. ,wrong pronoun # not learnt passively.
+arent* 3hat sound "un. Now what do you want "or tea0
Child* unno. /hat you having0
+arent* addy and ( are having "ish.
Child* 1ou having "ishes0 ,incorrect use o" plural noun but shows child applying
rules.
+arent* 1es. (ll do you some "ish "ingers and i" youre a good girl and eat them all
you can have a sweetie. ,applying plural noun rule.
Child* )e want two sweeties.
+arent* Alright then. Now go and watch +ostman +at while ( start the tea.
Child* /hen addy coming home0 ,gets 245 order correct all the time.
+arent* Hell be here soon.
David Crystal
David Crystals Theory On Child anguage Acquisition
+ro"essor Crystal is best known "or his two encyclopaedias 3he Cambridge
&ncyclopaedia o" Language and 3he Cambridge &ncyclopaedia o" the &nglish
Language. 2o what does this have to do with child language acquisition0
avid Crystal has the theory that children learn language in "ive stages$ which
arent clearly de"ined and some tie in with each other.
3hese stages are*
!tage One"
3his is where children say things "or three purposes*
6. 3o get something they want
7. 3o get someones attention
-. 3o draw attention to something
3hen they begin to make basic statements such as 8daddy car9
uring this stage children begin naming things with single words and then move on
to relating ob!ects with other things$ places and people$ "or e'ample$ 8there
mummy9. 3hey also relate ob!ects with events$ "or e'ample$ 8bird gone9.
At this early stage they dont have much vocabulary so they use intonation to ask a
question. Children use words like* 8there$ want and allgone9 to e'press a "ull
sentence. 3his could be said that part o" this stage is holophrastic.
!tage T#o"
3his is when children usually ask questions$ 8where9 questions come "irst. 3heir
questions o"ten begin with interrogative pronouns ,what$ where. "ollowed by a noun
or verb such as 8where gone09
Children become concerned with naming and classi"ying things by "requently asking
8/assat09 3hey may also begin to talk about the characteristics o" things "or
e'ample* big:small. Children are taught to learn things in opposite pairs such as
up:down and hot:cold.
!tage Three"
;y now children would be asking lots o" di""erent questions but o"ten signalling that
they are questions with intonation alone$ "or e'ample* 82ally play in garden
mummy09 3his is made into a question by varying the tone o" voice.
Children soon begin to e'press more comple' wants by using more grammatically
correct language$ "or e'ample* 8( want mummy to take it work9 meaning 8( want
mummy to take it to work9
4erbs such as 8listen9 and 8know9 are also used. Children re"er to events in the past
and less o"ten in the "uture. 3hey usually talk about continuing action "or e'amples*
8she still in bed9 and ask about the state o" actions ,whether something is "inished
or not.
3he basic sentence structure has e'panded such as* <sub!ect=><verb=><ob!ect=>
<adverb or any other element used= 2entences like* 81ou dry hands9 and 8A man
dig down there9 begin to appear and au'iliary verbs are used in sentences such as
8( am going9 and phrases like 8on the table9 <preposition=><article=><noun=
!tage $our"
3his is when children use increasingly comple' sentence structures and begin to*
&'plain things
Ask "or e'planations using the word* 8why09
)aking a wide range o" requests* 8shall ( do it09
Now they are able to use comple' sentence structures they have "le'ible language
tools "or e'pressing a wide range o" meanings. +robably the most remarkable
development is their comprehension o" language and use o" abstract verbs "or
e'ample 8know9 to e'press mental operations. 3hey begin to communicate
meaning indirectly by replacing imperatives such as 8give me9 with questions? 8can
( have09
As well as saying what they mean they now have pragmatic understanding and suit
their utterances to conte't or situation. Children also use negation
,denial:contradiction. "or e'ample* 8he doesnt want one@9 3hey dont rely on
intonation and signals anymore as they e'plain more "ully.
3hey are now able to use au'iliary verbs and may duplicate modal verbs 8please$
can ($ may (9 3his could be showing that 8may9 is required "or courtesy whilst 8can9
indicates being able to do something.
!tage $ive"
;y this stage children regularly use language to do all the things that they need it
"or. 3hey give in"ormation$ asking and answering questions$ requesting directly and
indirectly$ suggesting$ o""ering$ stating and e'pressing.
Children are now able to talk about things hypothetically and conditionally "or
e'ample 8(" ( were you$ ( wouldA9
3hey are now able to e'plain conditions required "or something to happen? 81ouve
got turn the tap on "irst in order to wash your hands9
As well as making general re"erences to past and "uture$ children now talk about
particular times such as* 8a"ter tea9 and 8be"ore bedtime9
;y this stage children are very com"ortable with all questions beginning with words
like* 8/hat09 and 8/hen09 where the sub!ect and verb are reversed such as 8what
does that mean09
2cripts
2tage 6*
Child* Allgone@
)other* 1es$ the milk is all gone.
Child* )ummy$ here.
)other* )ummys here.
Child* /ant more@
)other* 3hats enough milk now.
Child* No$ more.
)other* Look at dolly$ shes sleeping.
Child* olly$ there0
)other* 1es$ dolly is in the bed.
Child* olly bye%bye.
2tage 7*
Child* /heres addy0
)other* 5utside$ look0
Child* 5utside hot.
)other* 1es its sunny.
Child* /assat0
)other* (ts a book.
Child* ;ig book.
)other* Bood girl.
2tage -*
Child* addy is sleeping0
)other* Chuh addys sleeping on the couch isnt he0
Child* Him wake up@
)other* No because he is sleeping. 3hat wouldnt be very nice would it0
Child* ( want addy.
2tage D*
)other* /hat would you like "or lunch0 2andwiches0 +asta0
Child* +lease$ may$ can ( have ham0
)other* 5n sandwiches0
Child* EnodsE
)other* /hats the magic word0
Child* +lease@
)other* o you want a cup o" orange !uice0
Child* Eshakes headE Not that one. Can ( have apple !uice0
2tage F*
)other* id you have a good day at school today0
Child* 1eah$ ( played aeroplanes with Gake. ( want to be an aeroplane driver when
(m older.
)other* A pilot0
Child* 1eah and "ly to the moon.
)other* No thats an astronaut. o you want to be a pilot or and astronaut0
Child* ( would like to be an astra%$ astra%
)other* %naut.


2cripts
2tage 6*
Child* Allgone@ Holophrase to e'press a "ull sentence. 3hey are operators
when manipulating language this way.
)other* 1es$ the milk is all gone.
Child* )ummy$ here. 5nly a statement as they dont have much vocab or language
"orms that they can control.
)other* )ummys here.
Child* /ant more@
)other* 3hats enough milk now.
Child* No$ more. irect imperative.
)other* Look at dolly$ shes sleeping.
Child* olly$ there0 (ntonation to ask question.
)other* 1es$ dolly is in the bed.
Child* olly bye%bye.
2tage 7*
Contraction H passively
Child* /heres addy0 ;egin to ask questions usually beginning with where #
interrogative pronoun.
)other* 5utside$ look0
Child* 5utside hot. Able to describe characteristics.
)other* 1es its sunny.
Child* /assat0 Holophrase.
)other* (ts a book.
Child* ;ig book. Able to describe concrete nouns with descriptive ad!ectives.
)other* Bood girl.
2tage -*
Child* addy is sleeping0 (ntonation H passively. sleeping%able to use and
understand continuous action.
)other* Chuh addys sleeping on the couch isnt he0 +arentese.
Child* Him wake up@ )ore comple' command but words mi'ed up.
)other* No because he is sleeping. 3hat wouldnt be very nice would it0
Child* ( want addy. Comple' want structured correctly H 2ub!ect > 4erb > 5b!ect.
2tage D*
)other uses more comple' sentences as child can understand them.
)other* /hat would you like "or lunch0 2andwiches0 +asta0 +rompting.
Child* +lease$ may$ can ( have ham0 uplicate modal verbs. (ndirect as replaces
imperative with question as learning manners:rules o" general conversation.
)other* 5n sandwiches0
Child* EnodsE
)other* /hats the magic word0 +ragmatic.
Child* +lease@
)other* o you want a cup o" orange !uice0
Child* Eshakes headE Not that one. Can ( have apple !uice0
Able to use gestures:signals. Negation.
2tage F*
)other* id you have a good day at school today0 Able to give in"ormation about
his:her day. Inows time phrase "or "uture.
Child* 1eah$ ( played aeroplanes with Gake. ( want to be an aeroplane driver when
(m older.
)other* A pilot0
Child* 1eah and "ly to the moon. &'pressing e'actly and has knowledge i.e. actually
knows about the moon.
)other* No thats an astronaut. o you want to be a pilot or and astronaut0
Child* ( would like to be an astra%$ astra% Able to use conditional tense. 3rying to
pronounce as it is a di""icult word.
)other* %naut.



evelopment o" Brammar
3he learning o" grammar is an unnoticeable process and it happens very quickly.
5ver three or "our years$ children master the grammar o" the language. /hen they
attend their "irst school$ they give the impression o" having assimilated at least -:D
o" all grammar there is to learn.
2tages o" Brammatical Browth*
J 3he earliest stage is hardly like grammar at all$ as it consists o" utterances o"
only one word long$ "or e'ample dada or hi. Appro'imately KLM o" these
words have a naming "unction and 7LM e'press and action. )ost children o"
around 67%6N months go through this stage$ known as the holophrastic
stage as they put the equivalent o" a whole sentence into a single word.
J 3his ne't stage is more like real grammar "rom 6N months to 7 years. (t is
known as the two%word stage as the children put 7 words together to make
one sentence structure. Oor e'ample$ cat !ump which is sub!ect > verb$ or
shut door which is verb > ob!ect. ;y the end o" this stage we are le"t with
the impression that children have learned several basic lessons about
&nglish word order.
J 3his ne't stage is "illing simple sentence patterns by adding e'tra elements o"
clause structure and making the elements more comple'. - elements "or
e'ample addy got car and then D elements you go bed now$ show this
progress. 5r the children start to ask questions like where addy put car0.
3his takes up much o" the third year and is known as the telegraphic stage
as simple words like determiners e.g. the$ are le"t out but the sentence is
still understood.
J At - years$ sentences become much longer as the children string clauses
together to e'press more comple' thoughts and to tell simple stories.
Children at this stage commonly use and or other linking words such as
because$ so$ then etc.
J At D years$ the children are sorting out their grammar. Oor e'ample most
children at the age o" - P might say him gived the cheese to the mouses.
However at D P years they would say he gave the cheese to the mice. 3his
e'plains that they have learnt the "orms o" the irregular noun mice and the
verb gave$ and the pronoun he.
J A"ter D P years$ there are still "eatures o" grammar to be used such as
sentence%connecting "eatures. 3his process will continue until early teens
when the learning o" grammar becomes more indistinguishable.
Active with +assive
Crystal carried out an e'periment testing whether children at certain ages used
active or passive sentences. His study shows that at around - years old$ none o"
the children produced a passive sentence. However as he tested older children they
were beginning to use more passive sentences. At Q years$ the ability to use
passives dramatically increased.
Ooundation 1ear
Crystal believes that language acquisition is not !ust about producing sounds$ but
also about being able to perceive sounds and understand the meaning o" utterances
that people make.
J He says that babies respond to di""erent types o" sounds by being able to
distinguish between di""erent voices. ;e"ore the babies are 6 day old they
can tell which is their mothers voice to someone elses voice. As well as
contrasts in intonation and rhythm.
J 3he babies also show signs o" comprehension between 7 and D months. 3hey
do this by responding to di""erent adult tones o" voice such as angry or
soothing.
;etween K and R months$ the child learns to recognise di""erent utterances in
situations "or e'ample clap hands or say bye%bye.
3owards the end o" the "irst years$ the children show a sign o" verbal learning
whether it is names o" people or ob!ects. 3here"ore knowing the meaning o" at
least 7L words by the end o" the "irst year be"ore even uttering a word.
5verall Crystals theory was that children learn in amorphous stages by trial and
error to success"ully learn the language. 3hey learn in stages o" grammar$
di""erent types o" questioning e.g. intonation and recognising the rhythms o"
voices.
%ean Aitchison
Gean Aitchison is a Supert )urdoch +ro"essor o" Language and Communication in
the Oaculty o" English Language and Literature at the Cniversity o" 5'"ord.
(dea that &language has a 'iologically organi(ed schedule).
Children everywhere "ollow a similar pattern. (n their "irst "ew weeks$ babies mostly
cry. As Sonald Ino' once said* A loud noise at one end$ and no sense o"
responsibility at the other. Crying e'ercises the lungs and vocal cords. ;ut crying
may once have had a "urther evolutionary purpose. 1elling babies may have
reminded parents that their o""spring e'ist* dea" ringdoves "orget about their
e'isting brood$ and go o"" and start another.
(n 1987$ she identi"ied three stages that occur during a childs acquisition o"
vocabulary* labeling, packaging and network building.
6. a'eling # 3he "irst stage and involves making the link between the sounds o"
particular words and the objects to which they re"er e.g. understanding that
8mummy9 re"ers to the childs mother. (n other words$ associating a name with
something.
7. *ackaging # 3his entails understanding a words range of meaning. 3his is when
5ver e'tension and Cnder e'tension become a hurdle in the development o" the
language.
-. +et#ork ,uilding # 3his involves grasping the connections between words?
understanding that some words are opposite in meaning.Aitchison argued that
there are no &TAC3 dates to which a child reaches a certain stage o" learning
language # some children learn "aster than others. 2he believed that the speed o"
learning is in"luenced by both innate a'ilities and environment. Language is
partly learned by imitation$ so parents and brothers:sisters play a role in the
acceleration o" learning the language. ,a'y talk whilst learning to speak could
hinder the child in learning to speak later on- !peech timeta'le created "rom birth
to ten years old.
Dialogues".-/ According to Aitchesons Timeta'le o0 !peech, children grasp
the use o0 single #ords at month .1-
2" )mm@ isnt that nice0
C" )ore.
2" 5kay@ Here comes the aero plane@
C" 1eh. 1-/
,y the age o0 1, the understanding o0 #ord endings 'egins to appear-
3o#ever, its a 'it complicated at times 0or the child to al#ays get it right,
as some past tense ver's require no ending and it is placed 'y the child
any#ay- This is an e4ample o0 them learning actively-
D" Are you going to tell )ummy what you did today0
C" ( roded on a horsie@@
5-/ During the age o0 1 is #hen Aitchison 'elieves negatives are 0ormed
and the a'ility to ask questions is developed"
2" Catch@ Ethrows ballE
C" Emisses6 /hy didnt ( caught it0
2" (ts alright$ smile dont sulk@
C" ( not crying.
7-/ At 8 years the child is a'le to speak using comple4 constructions and
rarely 0aults"
C" Can ( go to Goes "or tea0 /e are going to play "ootball in the park like last week.
2" (" you stay clean
C" /hatever@
3his is the process o" language acquisition. Naturally$ children will vary individually
when they reach each stage but there is little variation in the sentence o" language
learning. ;y the end$ a childs language is in place and ,s.he has a basic le'icon o"
several thousand words. Orom now on$ what is learned is retained and increasingly
dependant upon e'periences and environment # on opportunities to use language
and hear it used$ "or a wide range o" purposes and audiences in a wide range o"
conte'ts.
Humans mop up words like sponges.
UGean Aitchison$ ;ritish linguist$ The Language Web$ 6RRQ
*iaget
!ensori9motor !tage :; 1 years/
;aby can di""erenciate "rom sel" and ob!ects
+arent* /heres the ball0
Child* Epoints to ballE ;all@
+* 1ess@ And now wheres 3ommy0
C* Epoints to sel"E
+* 1esss@
*re9operational !tage :1 < years/
Can classi"y ob!ects as a single "eature
+* 3ommy$ can you make a pile o" all the yellow bricks0
C* 1es mummy look@
+* /ell done@
2till thinks egocentrically
C6* olly is sad
C7* No@ olly is happy@
C6* No@
C7* 1es@
C6* No@
Concrete operational !tage :< .. years/
Can think logically about ob!ects and events and achieve conservation o" number
C* 3omorrow ( start ballet$ and then ( will go every week
3eacher* 5ooh@ 3hats lovely@ How old are youy now0
C* Q@
3* Now # please can you put these in order "or me0
C* 1ep@ Egets it rightE
$ormal operational !tage :.. years =/
;ecomes concerned with the hypothetical$ the "uture$ and ideological problems
C* /hen ( grow up ( want to be a doctor
+* And how will you achieve that0
C* (m going to work really$ really hard at school and then get lots and lots o"
money and then get married$ and have children$ and live happily ever a"ter@