Language Learning Theories

Lecture 2:
This lecture discusses

how the learners acquire their native language (L1)
major theoretical approaches to explaining first language learning
short comings in each theory
How learners acquire their native language (L1) is a very complex issue. Babies acquire sounds
of the language, arrange them in systematic way, produce words, make sentences, and make
meaning. They commit errors and also communicate successfully.
This lecture discusses three important approaches and tries to find the answer:
Behaviorism: (Repeat What I say)

Behaviorism is a psychological theory of learning behavior. It was very influential in the 1940s
and 1950s especially in the United States. This theory applies the findings of learning behavior
in psychology into first language learning.
B.F skinner experiment on learning behavior

This theory is based on the experiment of B.F skinner (1957). He made an operant conditioning
chamber (also known as the Skinner Box) and put rats in the box with two levers and if the rat
pressed the first lever, food would fall into the box and if the rat pressed the second lever, it
would get itching power thrown over it.
Similar kind of experiment was also conducted on pigeon. These both experiments confirmed
that rats and pigeons were capable of learning new behavior after they were given positive and
negative reinforcement.
Positive reinforcement is an increase in the possibility of occurrence in response to a stimulus,

due to the fact that this response being correct is rewarded.
Negative reinforcement is a decrease in the possibility of occurrence of a response to a

stimulus due to the fact that this response being wrong is punished.
From this theory of behaviorism, a theory of language learning (L1) is derived which indicates
that language learning is simply a matter of imitation and habit-formation. Children imitate the
sounds and patterns which they hear around them and receive positive reinforcement. With
encouragement of those in the environment around them, children continue to imitate and
practice these sounds and patterns until they form habits of correct language use.
Criticism on Behaviorism
Noam Chomsky rejected the theory of behaviorism and said that language is not habit
structure.
(1) Children overgeneralize rules of language such as goed and taked. It means they create on
the basis of rules they acquired not from memories and imitation.
(2) Sometimes, students do not produce the pattern of language which their parents use
frequently or even they offer correction to him. Example student use noboday dont like me. He
reproduced the same even after correction.
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Innatists: (Language lives in mind) and Nativists
Nativism is a part of Innatism. Both believe the children are born with the knowledge of
language. Language learning is an innate ability to every child like eating food or walking or
running etc. Children are not born with a "blank slate" at birth and they do not learn a language
just by imitation and reinforcement as behaviorists believe in.
Children are biologically programmed for language and that language develops in the child in
just the same way that other biological functions develop. For example, children are not taught
to walk. When they have sufficient nourishment and freedom, they start walking. Childrens
mind is not blank slates to be filled merely by imitating language they hear in the environment.
Children are born with special ability to discover underlying rules of a language system by
themselves.
Innatists and Nativists argue that children are born with a language faculty (innate ability)
which is already equipped with considerable knowledge about the form that human language
takes, and have only to be exposed to particular human languages for their mental grammar to
be fixed in appropriate way. This happens as a result that certain general principles for
discovering or structuring language automatically begin to operate when children are exposed
to this language.
Noam Chomsky has constituted all these principals in his concept of Child s language
acquisition device (LAD)
(LAD)
Language Acquisition Device (LAD) This theory of innatism was given by Noam Chomsky in
1959. He referred to this special ability of children as Language Acquisition Device (LAD). His
concept of LAD is often described as black box somewhere in the brain of a child. This box has
principals of language which are universal to all human languages. This box helps the child to
prevent from going on wrong tracks of discovering rules of the language. Once he comes in
contact to any language sample, his LAD is activated and he starts internalizing the rules of a
grammar.
Criticism
One of the criticisms on Innatism or Innnatists is that they have placed too much emphasis on
the competence of adult native speakers and not enough on the development aspects of
language acquisition.
The amount of knowledge a child has acquired from primary linguistic data is called linguistic
competence. After acquiring competence, the child uses it to produce sentences and
utterances.
It is found that when they use that knowledge of language (competence), they make errors and
trails. It means only competence is not the only guarantee of language acquisition. The child
needs an environment where he can exchange his language knowledge in social interaction.
There are a number of Operating Principles which involve in making sense of language data.
Some of them are
(1) Regular rules of language are acquired and developed before irregular ones.
(2) Active voice appears before passive voice.
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Point of views Interactionist
A third theoretical view of first language acquisition focuses on the role of the linguistic
environment in interaction with the childs innate capacities in determining language
development.
According to this view, language develops as a result of the complex interplay between the
uniquely human characteristics of the child and the environment in which the child develops.
Interactionist view shares the basic belief that child are born with innate ability of learning a
language but they give more importance to the environment than innatists do. It focuses on the
role of the linguistic environment in which a child with his innate capacities interacts with his
family members, friends and society and develops his language. It believes that language
develops entirely from social interaction.
It defines language as a symbol system which a person uses to express knowledge acquired
through interaction with the physical world. Interactinists answer how children relate form and
meaning in language, how they interact in conversation, and how they learn to use language
appropriately.
It studies how mother and father interact with their children for example they adapt language
input, speak slow, short utterances, use simple grammar, meaning, complex sentences, and less
variety of tense etc. This kind of speech enables the child to learn the rules and meaning of
language. Thus he grows with limited ability of language and interacts with higher level of
language.
Conclusion:
Here are the main theories explaining how children learn their first language.
The Behaviorist Theory: Children learn a language mainly
through repetition, imitation and habit formation.
The Innatist Theory: Children are biologically programmed for
language acquisition.
The Interactionist Theory: The environment is just as important
as children's innate predisposition to language acquisition.
All of these theories help to describe some aspects of first and second
language acquisition. Neither the behaviorist nor the innatist theories are
able to adequately encompass the complexity of language acquisition.
The most comprehensive theory we have at this point is the
interactionist viewpoint that encompasses aspects previous theories and
builds upon these aspects.

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Lecture 2:

This lecture discusses

Behaviorism: (Repeat What I say)

B.F skinner experiment on learning behavior

Positive reinforcement is an increase in the possibility of occurrence in response to a stimulus,

Negative reinforcement is a decrease in the possibility of occurrence of a response to a

Innatists: (Language lives in mind) and Nativists

Point of views Interactionist

The Behaviorist Theory: Children learn a language mainly

through repetition, imitation and habit formation.

The Innatist Theory: Children are biologically programmed for

The Interactionist Theory: The environment is just as important

as children's innate predisposition to language acquisition.

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