PRINCIPLES AND THEORIES OF LANGUAGE Elbert & Hawk, 2003

➢ It is believed that the usual outcome of language acquisition is fluency,

ACQUISITION AND LEARNING which is by no means guaranteed in language learning.
Characteristics of Human Language NATURE OF LEARNING
1. A language is a social tool. 1. Learning is a process.
2. Language must be learned. 2. Learning involves the experiences and training of an individual which helps
3. The relationship between the sound of a language and its meaning is to change his/her behavior.
arbitrary and dual. 3. Learning to prepare the individual to adjust and adapt to the situation.
4. Language has rules. 4. All learning is purposeful and goal oriented.
5. Language allows humans to be creative. 5. Learning is Universal and Continuous
6. It is a continuous process and never-ending process that goes from womb
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION LANGUAGE LEARNING to tomb.

• 7 PRINCIPLES IN LEARNING (DUMONT ET. AL. 2010)

• Similar to the Child's first Formal Knowledge of Language
language acquisition • "Knowing about" a language 1. Learners at the center
• "Picking up" a language • Conscious 2. The social nature of learning
• Subconscious 3. Emotions are integral to learning
4. Recognizing individual difference
5. Stretching all Students
Baker, 2000
6. Assessment for learning
➢ Language is about communication and identity. 7. Building Horizontal Connections

Bowen, 1998 Rosetti, 2001

➢ Said that Language is called the Symbolization of thought. ➢ The expected cry of a newborn baby is the first sign of human
communication. the language acquisition process can be seen running
Richards et. al. 1992 parallel throughout a child's life every day.
➢ The system of human communication which consists of the structures and Baker, 2000
arrangements of sounds (or their written presentation) into larger units.
➢ Bilingualism symbolizes the essential humanity of building bridges between
Rice, Bruehler & Specker, 2004 people of different color, creed, culture and language.
In language Acquisition, the focus is on the Communication or reception of a
message as opposed to syntax and grammar as is the language learning
 THE PRINCIPLE OF BEHAVIORIST THEORY ➢ According to B. F. Skinner's theory of learning, our behaviors are developed
or conditioned through reinforcements. He referred to this process as
Behaviorism operant conditioning, with operant referring to any behavior that acts on
➢ a learning theory that studies observable and measurable behavioral the environment and leads to consequences.
changes, which result from stimulus-response associations made by the OPERANT CONDITIONING
learner.
➢ focuses on the idea that all behaviors are learned through interaction with
the environment
➢ This learning theory states that behaviors are learned from the
environment, and says that innate or inherited factors have very little
influence on behavior.
HISTORY OF BEHAVIORISM
Ivan Petrovich Pavlov
➢ born on September 14, 1849, and died on February 27, 1936, was a Russian
physiologist known for his development of the concept of the conditioned
reflex.
➢ In a now-classic experiment, he trained a hungry dog to salivate at the
THE BACKGROUND OF BEHAVIORIST THEORY
sound of a bell, which was previously associated with the sight of food.
➢ The behaviorist theory believes that “infants learn oral language from other
PAVLOVIAN CONDITIONING
human role models through a process involving imitation, rewards, and
practice. Human role models in an infant’s environment provide the stimuli
and rewards,” (Cooter & Reutzel, 2004).
STAGES OF LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

Burrhus Frederic Skinner

B. F. Skinner (1904-1990) was an American psychologist known for his impact on
behaviorism. In a 2002 survey of psychologists, he was identified as the most
influential psychologist of the 20th century.
Cognitive Theory THE FUNCTIONAL APPROACHES
➢ The way people behave is a product of the information they gather Functional Approach
externally and the way they interpret that information internally.
➢ Generally, we can break cognitive learning theory into two main ➢ A functional approach looks at how language enables us to do things: to
subsections: social cognitive theory and cognitive behavioral theory. share information, to enquire, to express attitudes, to entertain, to argue,
to reflect, to construct ideas, to order our experiences and make sense of
Jean Piaget (1896-1980) the world.
➢ was a Swiss psychologist and genetic epistemologist. Piaget believed that Instrumental Function
the way children think is fundamentally different from how adults think. This
theory was pretty ground-breaking at the time as, before Piaget, people ➢ explain that language can help us accomplish tasks, language that is used
often thought of children as 'mini adults'. to fulfill a need.

Social Cognitive Theory Regulatory Function

➢ explores how social interaction affects learning cognition… it aims to ➢ Language used to influence the behaviour of others. Concerned with
modify the learner's environment to influence inner thought processes. persuading / commanding / requesting other people to do things you want.

Cognitive Behavioral Theory Interactional Approach

➢ examines how our thoughts influence our behavior and feelings… a person’s ➢ Language used to develop social relationships and ease the process of
thoughts, feelings, and actions impact how they learn. In other words, their interaction.
thought patterns and mindset affect how they pick up and retain Personal Function
information.
➢ Language used to express the personal preferences and identity of the
Nature speaker. Sometimes referred to as the ‘Here I am!’ function – announcing
➢ is what people think of as pre-wiring and is influenced by genetic oneself to the world.
inheritance and other biological factors. Representational Informative Function
Nurture ➢ Language used to exchange information. Concerned with relaying or
➢ is generally taken as the influence of external factors after conception e.g. requesting information
the product of exposure, experience and learning on an individual. Heuristic Function
The principal goal of education in the schools should be creating (men and women) ➢ Language used to learn and explore the environment. Child uses language
who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations to learn; this may be questions and answers, or the kind of running
have done. (Jean Piaget, The Origins of Intelligence in Children, 1953) commentary that frequently accompanies children’s play.
Imaginative Function Locke’s Tabula Rasa
➢ Language used to explore the imagination. May also accompany play as ➢ This is the idea that all knowledge comes from outside ourselves through
children create imaginary worlds, or may arise from storytelling. sensory experience rather than through innat knowledge that we have at
birth.
HALLIDAY'S FUCTION OF LANGUAGE
Skinner's theory of Behaviorism
FUNCTION EXAMPLES CLASSROOM EXPERIENCES
➢ According to behaviorism, a radical variant was put forward to skinner, all
Instrumental “I want to…” Problem solving, gathering behavior is no more than a response to external stimuli and there ' s no
materials innate programming within a human being to learn a language at birth.
Personal “Here I am…” Making feelings public and
interacting with others Chomsky's Universal Grammar
Interactional “You and me…” Dialogues, discussions, and
➢ The theory that Chomsky proposed would be called Universal Grammar and
talking in groups
it would assert nearly the exact opposite of what Skinner had offered in
Regulatory “Do as I tell you…” Making rules in games and
making instructions his theory.
Representational “I’ll tell you” Conveying messages and Schumann's Acculturation Model
telling about the real world.
Heuristic “Tell me why…” Question and answer, ➢ Language learning is not an abstract subject like physics that can be
routines, inquiry and research learned out of a book regardless of the world around you.
Imaginative “Let’s pretend…” Stories and dramatizations,
“I went to my grandma’s last rhymes, poems, and riddles Krashen's Monitor Model
night.” ➢ "Communicate correctly and not just convey meaning”
Idealism
Plato’s Problem
➢ is a school of philosophy that emphasizes that “ideas or concepts are the
➢ "How comes it that human beings, whose contacts with the world are brief essence of all that is worth knowing”
and personal and limited, are nevertheless able to know as much as they ➢ Furthermore, idealists look for, and value, universal or absolute truths and
do know?" ideas. Consequently, idealists believe that ideas should remain constant
Cartesian Problem by Descartes throughout the centuries.

➢ This "Cartesian " Movement, according to Chomsky, Noted the creativity Key Proponents
involved in everyday language and presented the idea that there were ➢ Socrates and Plato
universal principle behind every language.
Socratic Questioning ➢ It is the product of practical experiences of life Pragmatism means action,
from which the words practical and practice have come.
➢ Socratic questioning involves a disciplined and thoughtful dialogue between
two or more people. It is widely used in teaching and counseling to expose Existentialism
and unravel deeply held values and beliefs that frame and support what we
➢ Existence is always particular and individual —always my existence, your
think and say.
existence, his existence, her existence.
“I know you won’t believe me, but the highest form of human excellence is to
question oneself and others.” – Socrates
STAGES OF EDUCATION

• Age 7 to 18: study general mathematic, music, astronomy and so on,

• Age 18 to 20: considers best physical training,
• Age 20 to 30: study of logic, knight hood and mathematics,
• Age 30 to 35: study of dialectics;
• Age 35 to 50: practice of dialectics in various official affairs in the state,
50years onwards; a person can become a philosopher or king as his tern comes.
Realism
➢ The viewpoint which accords to things which are known or perceived an
existence or nature which is independent of whether anyone is thinking
about or perceiving them.
➢ is the doctrine that is associated with the study of the world we live in. It
is a philosophy away from the world of ideas or spiritual things. In Realism
the word' real' denotes actual or the existing. It indicates those things or
events which exist in the world in its own right.
“Be a free thinker and don’t accept everything you hear as truth. Be critical and
evaluate what you believe in. – Aristotle
Pragmatism
➢ The word Pragmatism is a Greek origin (pragma, matos = deed, from prassein
= to do).
➢ But it is a typical American school of philosophy. It is intimately related with
the American life and mind.