Theory Assignment #2: How Do Humans Learn Language?

Julia Gleason_______
Child Development 210 Sister Eagar

Using Chapter 6 in the Berger Text, compare the three theories on how infants learn language. Bullet point each language
acquisition theory including research evidence. Use high level thinking to fit this language theory into a broader theoretical
perspective. A broad designation for language theories is not found in your book. Finally, justify why you believe that this
language theory fits under a larger theoretical umbrella in the table below. Add any outside references at the bottom.
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Language Infants Teach Themselves
Learning
Theories
 Language learning is
Summary genetically programmed to
of begin at a certain age
Language  Adults don’t need to teach
Acquisition it
Theory  Its also not a by-product
of social interaction
 It comes from a universal
genetic impulse to imitate
 Infants and toddlers
observe what they see and
then apply it according to
their own concepts and
intentions
 The language is too
complex to be mastered
merely through step-by-
step.
 Universal grammar- all
young children master
Infants Need to be Taught
 Parent are important
teachers for the baby
 The more repetition, the
better
 The better the children are
taught, the better they will
speak in the future
 It is important to respond to
the sounds the baby makes
 Use child-directed speech
 Parents should talk to
babies often
Social Impulses Foster
Infant Language Learning
 Named “social-pragmatic”
 Communication directly impacts
language acquisition
 Humans are social creature
 We learn to talk to become more
social and to survive
 Babies want to join everyone in
communication
 Children respond better to being
taught in person rather than on
screen
 basic language at about
the same time.

 Maternal responsiveness  Children that were taught on a

Evidence from  Infants babble, no shows a very likely screen did not improve their
your text to reinforcement is needed, correlation with infant’s language acquisition as much as
Support all a baby needs is time language acquisition those in person
this Theory  It is universal, all infants
learn language at about the
same time

Broader (Nativism) Evolutionary Theory- Behaviorism-B.F. Skinner Sociocultural Theory- Lev Vygotsky
Theoretical Noam Chomsky
Perspective/
Theorist

Justify why this  We have cognitive
language theory capacity for language
fits into a larger learning that is unique to
perspective. out species
 Language is innate
 We are born with the tools
needed to learn language
at universally similar time
periods
 Parents have the
responsibility to nurture
and teach their children
 The more we talk to
children, the better they
will be at language in life
 When we understand why a human
does something, we know have to
encourage more growth
 We can teach children in person
and give them plenty of quality
time and affirmation
Reference if N/A N/A N/A
outside of text