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May 1, 2018 · An MIT study suggests children remain skilled at learning language much longer than expected — up to the age of 17 or 18. However, scientists also found it nearly impossible for people to achieve proficiency similar to that of a native speaker unless they start learning a language by the age of 10.
- Behaviorist Theory of Language Acquisition
- Chomsky Theory of Language Development
- Universal Grammar
- Contemporary Research
- Conclusion
- References
- Further Reading
One of the earliest scientific explanations of language acquisition was provided by Skinner (1957). As one of the pioneers of behaviorism, he accounted for language development using environmental influence, through imitation, reinforcement, and conditioning. In this view, children learn words and grammar primarily by mimicking the speech they hear...
However, Skinner’s account was soon heavily criticized by Noam Chomsky, the world’s most famous linguist to date. In the spirit of the cognitive revolutionin the 1950s, Chomsky argued that children would never acquire the tools needed for processing an infinite number of sentences if the language acquisition mechanism was dependent on language inpu...
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 contains all the grammatical information needed to combine these catego...
A decade or two later, some psycho-linguists began to question the existence of Universal Grammar. They argued that categories like nouns and verbs are biologically, evolutionarily, and psychologically implausible and that the field called for an account that can explain the acquisition process without innate categories. Researchers started to sugg...
However, finding a solid answer to the problem of language acquisition is far from being over. Our current understanding of the developmental process is still immature. Investigators of Universal Grammar are still trying to convince that language is a task too demanding to acquire without specific innate equipment, whereas constructivist researcher...
Ambridge, B., & Lieven, E.V.M. (2011).Language Acquisition: Contrasting theoretical approaches. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Chomsky, N. (1965). Aspects of the Theory of Syntax. MIT Press. Pine, J.M., Conti-Ramsden, G., Joseph, K.L., Lieven, E.V.M., & Serratrice, L. (2008). Tense over time: testing the Agreement/Tense Omission Model as an...
An excellent article by Steven Pinker on Language Acquisition Pinker, S. (1995). The New Science of Language and Mind. Penguin. Tomasello, M. (2005). Constructing A Language: A Usage-Based Theory of Language Acquisition. Harvard University Press.
Feb 21, 2024 · Systematic data collection disaggregated by learners’ first or home language is a pivotal step to understanding linguistic barriers and gaps in foundational learning as it ensures teachers are well-informed about the languages present in their classrooms, including varying proficiencies, and how such factors ultimately influence teaching and learning practices.
Ferdinand de Saussure (1857–1913) was a Swiss linguist. His theories were fundamental in defining the study of language as a science. Saussure’s work led to the twentieth-century development of the important linguistic subfield of semiotics, or the study of signs. We’ll explore the field of semiotics in Chapter 7.
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Developmental Science, 1–17. Language is a structured form of communication that is unique to humans. Within the first few years of life, typically developing children can understand and produce full sentences in their native language or languages. For centuries, philosophers, psychologists, and linguists have debated how we acquire language ...
Jun 9, 2010 · Children thus learn first to comprehend and produce whole utterances they have heard other people using, although they may do this initially in child-like form (e.g., they may learn just one part of the adult's utterance to express the entire communicative intention—a so-called holophrase). Over time, children then learn to extract from these utterances words and other functionally ...
People also ask
What is language acquisition?
Why do children learn language so quickly?
Why is first language acquisition so important?
When can children learn a language?
Braine (1971) First language acquisition is remarkable for the speed with which it takes place. Long before a child starts school, he or she has become an extremely sophisticated language-user, operating a system for self-expression and communication that no other creature, or computer, comes close to matching.
