Child Language Development theorists

Noam Chomsky

·         Chomsky's nativist theory suggests that children are born with a Language Acquisition Device (LAD) which gives them the ability to acquire language.

·         This theory could suggest why children make virtuous errors such as overgeneralisation.

·         To further support Chomsky's theory is recent research known as Fox P-2.  It is a gene which plays a major role in how we learn language and shows that we are born with the ability to learn how to talk without interaction with people.

·         Provides an alternative view to Skinner.

Jean Berko-Gleason

·         Berko-Gleason uses her idea the Wug Test to see if children are able to learn a language that doesn`t exist.

·         She presents the children with a creature that looks like a bird called a "Wug", she then showed them a picture of two Wugs and questioned "two..?" The children who said "two Wugs"means that they understand how to make a word plural.

B.F Skinner

·         Skinner`s behaviourist theory states that children are born a "blank slate" and have to learn language through interaction and imitation of caregivers.

·         His idea of Operant conditioning is to modify behaviour through positive and negative reinforcement. This will help the child correct their errors or do the same again if they`ve said it correctly.

Jerome Bruner

·         Bruner’s theory suggests that every child needs a Language Acquisition Support System (LASS). This highlights that children need to be encouraged to use language and help them become an active participant in the conversation.

Deb Roy

·         His Speech Home Project was created to film his son’s language from the day his was born until he was 3 years old. They particularly focused on how he used the sound "ga ga" to ask for "water". He knew that this would get him a drink which emphasises the point that children know more than they can say.

Vygotsky

·         Part of his theory is known as Zone of proximal development which states that you need caregivers support to help them acquire language.

·         Children need scaffolding to help them is social and cultural situations on their own.

Piaget

·         His Cognitive theory says that he believes that children construct an understanding of the world around them. He looked at how children develop intellectually throughout the course of childhood through biological maturation and interaction with the environment. 
https://aggslanguage.wordpress.com/chomsky/

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