Theories of the First language acquisition

Different names: First language/ native language/ mother tongue/ L1

Chomsky:

1. Children are born with special language abilities

2. They don't have to be taught language or corrected for mistakes

3. They learn language by being exposed to

4. Linguistic rules develop unconsciously

Basic facts:

1. All children acquire their native language fluently

2. All children acquire languages `naturally' without special instruction

BASIC THEORIES ARE: BEHAVIOURISM, NATIVISM/INNATISM, SOCIAL INTERACTIONISM

Behaviorism:

Started in psychology in 1920 - explaining human behavior
It was made by observing reactions to stimuli
Based on idea of conditioning where you can train an animal to do nearly everything
He trained the dog to salivate

(the food, the dish, sight of person, sound of footsteps)

Watson and Rayner deliberately established a rat phobia in an 11 moth boy

3 stage procedure: Stimulus - organism response - reinforcement

The human being is an organism capable of a wide repertoire of behaviors
It depends on stimulus which serves to elicit behavior
Reinforcement is crucial

Language is a fundamental part of total human behaviorism

Skinner (Verbal Behavior) Language learning is a result of:

1. Imitation

2. Practice

3. Feedback on success

4. Habit formation
   

Tabelka kartka

Innatism/Nativism

Chomsky criticized Skinner:

1. Language develops in children like biological functions (e.g. walking)

2. The language that child is exposed to is full of confusing information (incomplete sentences, slips of the tongue)

3. Children are no systematically corrected by their parents

4. Children are born with a special ability to discover underlying rules of language sys

5. Learning takes place through logical thinking and abstract thinking thanks to our ability to associate and interpret things.

6. Language cannot be analyzed in terms of observable stimuli and responses because:

=We are able to form sentences that we haven't heard before.

=Using language is creative and innovative

=it is a competence that a child acquires and it is a language competence that allows child to be creative in language use

LANGUAGE ACQUISITION DEVICE (LAD) - each person is born with a built-in device that predisposes us to the language acquisition

1. It gives us an ability to distinguish sounds

2. The constant evolution of developing system

3. The classification of words into different groups

Functional (interactionist) Approaches:

They move deeper into the essence of language

What children learn is the result of interaction with the world

Meaning and functions of the language were new in this approach

COMPREHENSION AD PRODUCTION:

They are aspects of Competence and performance (children know and understand more that they can produce)

Production is more observable

IMITATION:

1. Children are good observers and imitators

2. Echoing is a particularly salient strategy in early language learning

3. Important aspect in phonological acquisition

PRACTICE:

1. Usually thought of speaking only

2. It can be also comprehension practice

INPUT:

1. It is a language that you hear

2. Its role is undeniably crucial

3. Adult and peer input are important

DISCOURSE:

1. In order for the successful F.L. acquisition

2. Interaction is required because children acquire language in the context of being spoken to

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