Theories of language

learning
Language Acquisition Device (LAD) - Key
takeaways

 The Language Acquisition Device is a hypothetical tool

in the brain that helps children understand the
fundamental rules of human language.

 The LAD was proposed by the American linguist

Noam Chomsky in the 1960s.

 Chomsky suggests that the LAD contains information

on Universal Grammar, a shared set of grammatical
structures that all human languages follow.

 The fact children show signs of understanding

grammar structures before being shown or taught
them is evidence that a LAD exists.

 Some theorists, particularly behaviourist theorists,

reject Chomsky's theory as it lacks scientific evidence.
In his Nativist Theory, linguist Noam Chomsky argues that
children are born with the innate ability to learn a
language. But how is that possible? He suggests that it is
due to a hypothetical 'tool' in the child's brain which he
calls the Language Acquisition Device (LAD).
Let's look at his theory in more detail.

The Nativist Theory

The concept of the LAD falls into a linguistic theory known
as the nativist theory, or nativism. In terms of language
acquisition, nativists believe that children are born with an
innate ability to organise and comprehend the fundamental
laws and structures of a language. Nativists believe this is
why children can learn a native language so quickly.

Innate means existing from the time a person or animal is

born. Something innate is inherent and not learned.
Whilst behaviourist theorists (such as B. F Skinner) argue
that children are born with minds that are 'blank slates'
and learn a language by imitating their caregivers, nativist
theorists argue that children are born with an inbuilt ability
to learn a language.

In the nature vs nurture debate, which has been ongoing

since 1869, nativist theorists are typically team nature.

For many years, behaviourist theorists were winning the

language acquisition debate, mainly due to a lack of
scientific evidence behind the nativist theory. However, all
that changed with the arrival of
Noam Chomsky. Chomsky is perhaps the most influential
nativist theorist and helped revolutionise the field of
linguistics in the 1950s and 60s by treating language as a
uniquely human, biologically based, cognitive ability.

Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky (1928-present), an American linguist and
cognitive scientist, is considered the pioneer of
the nativist theory. In the 1950s, Chomsky rejected the
behaviourist theory (which states that children learn a
language by imitating adults) and, instead, suggested that
children are 'hard-wired' to learn a language from birth. He
came to this conclusion after he noticed that children were
able to form syntactically correct sentences (e.g. subject
+ verb + object) despite receiving impoverished language
input (baby talk), and not being taught how to do so.

Chomsky- Language Acquisition Device

In the 1960s, Chomsky went on to propose the concept of
the language acquisition device (LAD for short), a
hypothetical 'tool' that helps children learn a language.
Chomsky suggested that the LAD gives children an innate
ability to understand the fundamental rules of language.

Language Acquisition Device

meaning
Chomsky proposed the concept of the LAD to help explain
how children are able to use the basic structures of
language, even though they rarely receive instruction on
how to speak their native language. He originally
suggested that the LAD contained specific knowledge that
is key to understanding the rules of language; however, he
went on to adapt his theory and now suggests the LAD
works more like a decoding mechanism.

Chomsky stated that the LAD is a uniquely human trait and

cannot be found in animals, which helps explain why it is
only humans that can communicate through language.
Although some apes can communicate via signs and
images, they are unable to grasp the complexities of
grammar and syntax.
Which language does the LAD contain? - You may be
thinking the LAD contains specific information about a
specific language, such as English or French. However, the
LAD is not language-specific, and instead, works more like
a mechanism to help us work out the rules of any
language. Chomsky believes that every human language
has the same basic grammar structures - he calls
this Universal Grammar.
It's important to remember that the LAD is a hypothetical
tool, and there is no physical language device in our brains!

Language Acquisition Device

characteristics
So how exactly does the LAD work? Chomsky proposed
that the Language Acquisition Device is a biologically
based hypothetical mechanism, which helps children
decode and implement the general principles of universal
grammar. As previously mentioned, the LAD isn't language-
specific. Once the child hears an adult speaking a
language, the LAD is triggered, and it will help the child
acquire that specific language.

Universal Grammar
Chomsky does not believe that a child from England is born
with the innate ability to learn English, or that a child from
Japan has a LAD containing Japanese vocabulary. Instead,
he suggests that all human languages share many of the
same common grammar principles.

For example, most languages:

 Differentiate between verbs and nouns

 Have a way of talking about the past and present
tense
  Have a way of asking questions
 Have a counting system
According to Universal Grammar theory, the basic
grammatical structures of language are already encoded in
the human brain at birth. It is a child’s environment
that will determine which language they will learn.

So, let's break down how the LAD supposedly works:

1. The child hears adult speech, which triggers the LAD.

2. The child automatically applies universal grammar to
speech.
3. The child learns new vocabulary and applies the
appropriate grammar rules.
4. The child is able to use the new language.

According to Universal Grammar theory, the basic

grammatical structures of language are already encoded in
the human brain at birth. (Pixabay)

Evidence for the LAD

Theorists need evidence to support their theories. Let's
look at the two key pieces of evidence for the LAD.

Virtuous errors
When children are first learning a language, they will, of
course, make mistakes. These mistakes can give us
information as to how children learn. For example, children
have an unconscious ability to recognise the past
tense and will begin to associate words ending with a /d/ /t/
or /id/ sound with the past. Chomsky suggests this is why
children make ‘virtuous errors’ such as, ‘I goed’ rather
than ‘I went’ when first learning a language. Nobody taught
them to say ‘I goed’; they figured that out for themselves.
To Chomsky, these virtuous errors suggest that children
are born with the subconscious ability to work out the
grammatical rules of language.

The Poverty of Stimulus

In the 1960s, Chomsky rejected the behaviourist theory
because children receive ‘impoverished language input’
(baby talk) when growing up. He questioned how children
could demonstrate signs of learning grammar before being
exposed to sufficient linguistic input from their caregivers.

The poverty of stimulus argument states that children are

not exposed to enough linguistic data in their environment
to learn every feature of the language. Chomsky suggested
that the human brain must have evolved to contain certain
linguistic information from birth, which helps children figure
out the basic structures of language.

Criticisms of the LAD

It is important to understand that other linguists hold
opposing views of the LAD. Criticism of LAD mainly comes
from linguists who believe in the behaviourist
theory. Behaviourist theorists are unlike nativist theorists
as they argue that children learn language through
imitating the adults around them. This theory supports
nurture over nature.

Behavioural Theory - Key Takeaways

 BF Skinner proposed that language acquisition was a

result of imitation and operant conditioning.

 This theory suggests that operant conditioning is

responsible for a child's progress through the stages
of language acquisition.
  According to the theory, a child will seek positive
reinforcement and wish to avoid negative
reinforcement, consequently amending their use of
language in response.

 The fact that children imitate accents

and colloquialisms, alter their use of language when
entering school, and associate some sounds/phrases
with positive outcomes, may be evidence for Skinner's
theory.

 Skinner's theory is limited. It can't account for

the critical period, comparative developmental
milestones regardless of language background, and
the complexities of language.
Language acquisition refers to the way humans are able to
develop the ability to understand and use
language. Burrhus Frederic Skinner's theory is centred
around behaviourism. Behaviourism is the idea that we can
explain phenomena such as language through the lens of
conditioning.

Skinners Theory Of
Behaviourism
B F Skinner was a psychologist who specialised in
behaviour. He was credited with popularising the idea of
'radical behaviourism', which took the ideas of
behaviourism further by suggesting that our idea of 'free
will' is entirely determined by situational factors. For
example, someone's decision to break the law is influenced
by situational determining factors and has little to do with
individual morals or disposition.

Behaviourism Learning
Theory
Skinner's imitation theory proposes that language develops
as a result of children trying to imitate their caregivers or
those around them. The theory assumes that children have
no innate ability to learn language and rely on operant
conditioning to form and improve their understanding and
use of it. Behavioural theory believes that children are born
'tabula rasa' - as a 'blank slate'.

Behavioural Theory Definition

To summarise:

The behaviourist theory suggests that language is learned

from the environment and through conditioning.

What is operant conditioning?

Operant conditioning is the idea that actions are
reinforced. There are two types of reinforcement that are
vital to this theory: positive
reinforcement and negative reinforcement. In
Skinner's theory, children alter their use of language in
response to this reinforcement.
For example, a child may correctly ask for food, (eg. saying
something like 'mama, dinner') then receive positive
reinforcement by receiving the food they'd asked for, or
being told they're clever by their caregiver. Alternatively, if
a child uses language incorrectly, they may simply be
ignored, or may be corrected by the caregiver, which would
be negative reinforcement.

The theory suggests that when receiving positive

reinforcement, the child realises which use of language
gets them the reward, and will continue to use language in
that way in the future. In the case of negative
reinforcement, the child alters their use of language to
match a correction given by the caregiver, or may
independently try something different.

Behavioural Theory Evidence

and Limitations
When looking at a theory, it is important to consider its
strengths and weaknesses. This can help us to evaluate the
theory as a whole and be critical (analytical) in our
thinking.

Evidence for Skinner's theory

While Skinner's language acquisition theory itself has
limited academic support compared to nativist and
cognitive theories, operant conditioning is well understood
and supported as a behaviourist explanation for many
things, and there may be some ways that it can be applied
to language development. For example, children may still
be able to learn that certain sounds or phrases get certain
results, even if this doesn't contribute to their language
development as a whole.
Children also tend to pick up on the accents
and colloquialisms of those around them, which suggests
that imitation may play some role in language
acquisition. During school life, their use of language will
become more accurate, and more complex. This can be
partly attributed to the fact that teachers play a more
active role than caregivers in correcting the mistakes
children make while speaking. A further criticism, made by
academics like Jeanne Aitchison, is that parents and care
givers don't tend to correct language use
but truthfulness. If a child says something which is
grammatically wrong but truthful the care giver is likely to
praise the child. But if the child says something which is
grammatically accurate but untrue, the care giver is likely
to respond negatively. For a care giver, truth is more
important than language accuracy. This goes against
Skinner's theory. Language use is not corrected as often as
Skinner thinks. Let's look at some more limitations of the.
theory.

Limitations of Skinner's theory

Skinner's theory has numerous limitations and some of its
assumptions have been disproven or questioned by other
theorists and researchers. Let's take a look at some
notable limitations.

Developmental Milestones
Contrary to Skinner's theory, research has shown that
children go through a series of developmental milestones
at around the same age. This suggests that there may be
more than just simple imitation and conditioning taking
place, and that children may actually have an internal
mechanism that facilitates language development.
This was later described as the 'language
acquisition device' (LAD) by Noam Chomsky. According
to Chomsky, the language acquisition device is the part of
the brain that encodes language, just as certain parts of
the brain encode sound.
The critical period of language acquisition
Age 7 is thought to be the end of the critical period for
language acquisition. If a child has not developed language
by this point, they will never be able to fully grasp it. This
suggests that there might be something universal among
human beings that governs language development, as this
would explain why the critical period is the same for
everyone regardless of their first language background.

Genie (as studied by Curtiss et al., 1974)¹ is perhaps the

most notable example of someone who has failed to
develop language by the critical period. Genie was a young
girl who was raised in complete isolation and never given a
chance to develop language due to her solitude and poor
living conditions. When she was discovered in 1970, she
was twelve years old. She had missed the critical period
and was therefore unable to become fluent in English
despite extensive attempts to teach and rehabilitate her.

The complicated nature of language

It has also been argued that language and its development
are simply too complicated to be taught sufficiently
through reinforcement alone. Children learn grammatical
rules and patterns seemingly independently of positive or
negative reinforcement, as evidenced in the tendency
among children to over- or under-apply linguistic rules. For
example, calling every four-legged animal a 'dog' if they
learned the word for dog before the names of other
animals, or saying words like 'goed' instead of went'. There
are so many combinations of words, grammatical
structures and sentences that it seems impossible that this
could all be a consequence of imitation and conditioning
alone. This is called the 'poverty of stimulus' argument. For
more information, see our articles on Chomsky and
Innatism.
Behaviourists argue that there is not enough scientific
evidence to support the existence of a language
acquisition device. For example, we do not know where the
LAD is located in the brain. For this reason, many linguists
reject this theory.

Importance of the Language

Acquisition Device- The Language Acquisition Device is
important within the theories of language acquisition as it
helps to develop a hypothesis for how children learn
language. Even if the theory is not correct or true, it is still
important in the study of child language acquisition and
can help others to develop their own theories.

Interactionist Theory - Key takeaways

 The interactionist theory emphasises the importance

of interaction and social environment in acquiring
language, whilst also recognising that language
is innate.
 It suggests that children develop language as they
have a desire to communicate with the world.

 The theory was first suggested

by Jerome Bruner in 1983 and derives from Vygotsky's
socio-cultural theory which emphasises
the importance of culture and social context in
language learning. This includes support from a more
knowledgeable other.

 The sociocultural theory highlights the importance

of social-pragmatic cues (e.g., body language, tone of
voice) that are taught to a child alongside language in
relation to the context of a situation.

 Scaffolding, first inspired by Vygotsky's 'Zone of

Proximal Development', refers to the assistance
provided by a more knowledgeable caregiver that
helps a child to develop their language.

 Bruner refers to the support of caregivers as

the Language Acquisition Support System
(LASS). They provide support in interactions such as
adjusting or simplifying their language and providing
feedback.

 Studies such as Carpenter et al. (1998) and Kuhl

(2003) support the importance of interaction in
language learning.
  A limitation of the theory is that some linguists believe
the data supporting the theory is over-
representative of middle class, Western families.
The social-interactionist theory in child language
acquisition recognises both our genetic predisposition for
learning language (like the Nativist Theory) and the
importance of our social environment in developing
language (like the Behavioral Theory). So, you could see
the interactionist theory as a compromise between the
two! It also emphasises the importance of interaction with
other people in acquiring and developing language skills.

Interactionist Theory
The theory was first suggested
by Jerome Bruner in 1983 who believed that, although
children do have an innate ability to learn language, they
also require plenty of direct contact and interaction with
others to achieve full language fluency. This means that
they can't learn to speak just by watching TV or listening to
conversations; they have to fully engage with others and
understand the contexts in which language is used.
Caregivers tend to provide the linguistic support that helps
a child learn to speak. They correct mistakes, simplify their
own speech and build the scaffolding that helps a child to
develop language. This support from caregivers can also be
referred to as the 'Language Acquisition Support System'
(LASS).

The interactionist approach looks at both social and

biological perspectives to explain how children develop
language. It moves away from
Noam Chomsky's Nativist Theory which failed to recognise
the importance of the social environment in language
acquisition.
The interactionist theory also suggests that:

 Children learn language as they have the desire to

communicate with the world around them (i.e., it is a
communication tool to do things like interact with
others, ask for food, and demand attention!)
 Language develops depending on social
interactions. This includes the people with whom a
child may interact and the overall experience of the
interaction.
 The social environment a child grows up in greatly
affects how well and how quickly they develop their
language skills.

Interactionist Theory
meaning
Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) first laid the foundations for
the interactionist point of view when he developed the
sociocultural theory of language development. Vygotsky
suggested that children acquire their cultural values and
beliefs through interacting and collaborating with more
knowledgeable people in their community (conveniently
called the 'more knowledgeable other'). He also
emphasised the importance of the cultural and social
context in language learning, arguing that social learning
often comes before language development. In other words,
we pay a lot of attention to the world, the culture, and the
people around us!

Interactionist Theory example

Think about how different cultures have different cultural
norms that affect the language they use, e.g., Brits may
have a better understanding of sarcasm, which is common
in the British language. Vygotsky argued that these social
understandings are learned through social interaction,
especially with caregivers in early development.
Vygotsky developed key concepts such as:

 Cultural-specific tools - these are 'tools' specific to

a certain culture. This includes technical tools such as
books and media as well as psychological tools such
as language, signs, and symbols.

 Private speech - this is basically talking out loud to

yourself, for example, if a child is trying to figure out a
maths question they may talk themselves through
it. After this stage, children's private speech will
become internalised monologues (i.e., the inner
speech in your own head) - although we all do talk to
ourselves sometimes!

 The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) - This is

the zone of potential development in which a child can
develop skills that require the support of a more
knowledgeable teacher. This teacher can provide
scaffolding, encouraging the child and helping them to
master skills and gain more knowledge.

The Zone of Proximal Development is the zone in which

children can develop with support (StudySmarter Original)

Characteristics of
Interactionist Theory
Let's have a look at some of the key concepts within the
interactionist theory such as scaffolding, the Language
Acquisition Support System, and Child-Directed Speech.

What is scaffolding?
Bruner used the concept of 'scaffolding' to explain the role
of caregivers in child language development. He first
developed the idea from Vygotsky's theory of proximal
development which emphasised that children need a more
knowledgeable other to develop their knowledge and skills.

Think of scaffolding on a building - it is there to support the

building whilst the bricks and windows are being put into
place before it is then gradually removed once the building
is finished and stable.

Bruner argued that caregivers provide the same kind of

support for children. They provide support (referred to as
the 'Language Acquisition Support System' (LASS) and this
is gradually removed as the child learns and develops by
themselves.

What is the Language

Acquisition Support System
(LASS)?
LASS is a term used to describe the support from
caregivers/parents/teachers in a child's early language
development. They provide active support in social
interactions such as:

 Adjusting language to suit the child. This is

sometimes referred to as 'motherese', 'caregiver
speech', 'baby talk', or 'Child-Directed Speech (CDS)'.
 Collaborative learning such as joint reading. This
can involve an adult looking at picture books with a
child and pointing out key vocabulary, for example, by
saying 'this is a banana' as they point to a picture of a
banana.
 Encouraging the child and providing feedback
through interactions. For example, the adult may
 smile when the child talks and say 'yes, good, that's a
banana!'
 Providing examples for the child to imitate. This
includes using certain vocabulary in certain social
situations, for example, by encouraging the child to
'say hi!' or 'say thank you!'
 Games such as 'peek-a-boo' that practice the turn-
taking that is necessary for interactions

Bruner developed the concept of the LASS in response to

Noam Chomsky's Language Acquisition Device (LAD). Both
concepts of the LASS and LAD argue that we are born with
an innate ability to acquire language, however, the LASS
takes this one step further, arguing that we also require
interaction with others to learn.

What is Child-Directed
Speech (CDS)
Child-directed speech (CDS for short) refers to the way in
which caregivers and adults typically speak to
children. It is thought to enhance
communication between child and caregiver by helping
the child to identify sounds, syllables, and words in
sentences. The slow and melodic speech is also thought to
hold the attention of toddlers.

What are examples of Child-Directed

Speech?
 Simplified language - generally, adults will use
straightforward language when talking to children so
that they are more easily understood, e.g., by using a
more limited vocabulary and grammatically simplified
sentences.
 Repetitive questioning - e.g., 'what is it? what's
this?'
  Repetitive language - e.g., 'it's a cat. Look, it's a
cat'
 Slowed speech
 Higher and more melodic pitch - i.e., by making
their voice go up and down
 More frequent and longer pauses

Evidence for Interactionist

Theory
The interactionist theory is supported by some studies that
emphasise the importance of interaction in language
learning. This includes the following:

 A study by Carpenter, Nagell, Tomasello,

Butterworth, and Moore
(1998) showed the importance of parent-
child social interaction when learning to
speak. They studied factors such as joint attentional
engagement (e.g., reading a book together), gaze and
point following, gestures, and
understanding/producing language. The results
showed a correlation between parent-child social
interactions (e.g., joint attention) and language skills,
suggesting that interaction is important in a child's
development of language.

 The importance of joint attention in language

learning is also shown in Kuhl's (2003) study. Joint
attention helped children to recognise speech
boundaries (i.e., where one word ends and another
begins).

 The Genie Case Study about Genie the 'feral' child'

(1970) shows how a lack of interaction in early life
negatively affects language learning. Genie was
kept locked in a room and deprived of contact for her
first 13 years of life. This early stage is believed to be
the critical period of language acquisition (i.e., the key
 timeframe in which a child acquires language). When
she was discovered, Genie lacked basic language
skills, however, she had a strong desire to
communicate. Over the next few years, although she
did learn to acquire plenty of new words, she never
managed to apply grammatical rules and speak
language fluently. Genie's lack of language skills
and failure to acquire fluent language can
therefore support the idea that interaction with
a caregiver is vital in language acquisition.

Limitations of Interactionist
Theory
There are some limitations to the interactionist theory:

 Researchers such as Elinor Ochs and Bambi B.

Schieffelin have suggested that the data collected
from studies supporting the Interactionist
theory are actually over-representative of
middle-class, white, western families. This means
that the data may not be as applicable to parent-child
interactions in other classes or cultures who may
speak to their children differently but still acquire
fluent speech.

 It has been noted that children from cultures

where Child-Directed Speech isn't used as
frequently (e.g., Papua New Guinea) still develop
fluent language and pass through the same
stages when acquiring language. This suggests
that Child-Directed Speech isn't essential in language
acquisition.