MODULE: EDE311

EDUCATION STUDIES 4
(EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY)

UKZN INSPIRING GREATNESS

THE HUMAN BRAIN AND LEARNING:

LANGUAGE AND INTELLIGENCE

UKZN INSPIRING GREATNESS

 Theories behind Language development
• Noam Chomsky is one of the most influential linguists of the twentieth
century and still today he dominates the scene of theoretical linguistics.
• He has revolutionized the discipline of linguistics with his much-talked-
about theory of Nativism- nativist approach
• Language is an innate faculty which humans are biologically prepared to
develop in contrast to other species. Smith (2018)
• Naturalistic accounts of language acquisition, such as Chomsky’s linguistic
nativism, claim that our capacity for producing and understanding verbal
correspondence is coded into our brains from birth. Smith (2018)
 Theories behind Language development
• Chomsky believed that children’s brain contains a Language
Acquisition Device ( LAD ) which holds the grammatical universals.
• The LAD is an innate pre-programmed ability for humans to
genetically learn language. An idea Chomsky calls the ‘Language
Organ’ ‘a chip’
• Chomsky believes that the LAD helps children decipher the
grammatical structures of their native language(s).
• According to Chomsky, children possess a natural ability to acquire
language effortlessly, starting from birth and continuing until the age
of 12.
 The role of language
• South Africa is a country with over 11 official languages
• Language is the most common barrier in implementing inclusive
education;
• Therefore understanding the development of language serves the
purpose of identifying barriers in language as well as assisting in
offering the appropriate psychological intervention to address the
barriers in language.
 Language in Education Policy
• The South African language in education policy (LiEP)
promotes ‘additive bilingualism’
• This concept implies that the language of learning and teaching
should be mother tongue and a second language to be added
(First additional language).
• This requires a strong teaching of an additional language by
well trained and skilled teachers
 What is intelligence?
• The idea that people vary in intelligence is widely accepted.
• Nearly all of us can name some individuals whom we consider to be smart, or
more intelligent, as well as individuals whom we consider to be less intelligent.
• However, it is difficult to find agreement on just what is meant by "intelligent”
• Some people suggest that both the math student and the popular student are
intelligent, just in different ways. Even experts are not immune to
disagreements about what constitutes intelligence.

• DO YOU THINK SOCIETY DEEMS A SCIENCE STUDENT

INTELLIGENT OVER AN ARTISTIC STUDENT? IS THIS FAIR?
 Understanding differences in intelligence
• Much of the modern study of intelligence can be traced back to the work of the Frenchman
Alfred Binet (1857- 1911). In 1904, the French minister of public instruction formed a
commission to develop ways of determining which children should be placed in special classes
because they were unable to learn at the average pace or level in classes offered in ordinary
schools.
• To answer the need of the French schools, Binet and a colleague, Theodore Simon, created the
first intelligence test. Today many psychologists use an updated version of the test originally
developed by Binet and Simon.
• This test produces a numerical score, known now as an intelligence quotient (IQ) that
compares the performance of each student on the test with an average, or standard,
performance. Items on this test were originally chosen by Binet and Simon to predict
performance in school.
 Intelligence
• In 1921 and again in 1986, two groups of experts were asked to define intelligence
"intelligence and its measurement”.
• Both groups of experts generated many different definitions. Some common themes did
emerge, however. Both sets of experts defined intelligence in terms of:
• The ability to learn from experience, and
• The ability to adapt to the surrounding environment.
• Experts also emphasized metacognition-people's understanding and control of their own
thinking processes. For example, knowing your strengths and weaknesses would be an
important part of metacognition.
• Although the experts did not fully agree with one another, based on their areas of agreement
we define intelligence here as goal-directed, adaptive behaviour.
 Psychometric approaches to intelligence
• Psychometric theories of intelligence are based on statistical analyses of conventional tests
of intelligence. These tests require students to show basic vocabulary, mathematical ability,
and reasoning as well as other skills.
• The idea of multiple abilities is clear in the writings of intelligence-testing pioneer Alfred
Binet. Binet and Simon (1916) defined intelligence in terms of judgment skills. They
believed that intelligent people had better judgment than less intelligent ones.
• They suggested three main elements of intelligence
• Direction - knowing what has to be done and how to do it
• Adaptation - figuring out how to perform a task and then monitoring the strategy you
come up with while you are actually doing the task
• Criticism - the ability to critique your own thoughts and actions
 Multiple intelligences
• Howard Gardner has proposed a theory of multiple
intelligences, which proposes that eight distinct and relatively
independent intelligences exist.

• Each is a separate system of functioning, although the various

systems can interact to produce overall intelligent performance

• Gardner defines intelligence as a “biopsychological potential to

process information that can be activated in a cultural setting to
solve problems or create products that are of value in a culture”
(Gardner, 2000, p.28).
 Multiple intelligences
o Linguistic intelligence - used in reading a novel, writing an essay or a poem, speaking coherently, and
understanding lectures.
o Logical-mathematical intelligence - used in solving mathematical word or computation problems, balancing a
check book, and doing a mathematical or logical proof.
o Spatial intelligence - used in walking or driving from one place to another, reading a map, packing suitcases in the
trunk of a car so they will all fit, and deciding whether you can fit your automobile into a small parking space.
o Musical intelligence - used in singing a song, playing the violin, composing a concerto, and understanding and
appreciating the structure of a symphony.
o Bodily-kinaesthetic intelligence - used in playing football, dancing, running a race, bowling, or shooting baskets.
o Interpersonal intelligence - used in understanding why other people behave as they do, deciding how to react to a
person's comments in an appropriate way, and making a good impression during a job interview.
o Intrapersonal intelligence - used in understanding ourselves-why we think, feel, and act the ways we do - and
knowing our strengths and our limitations.
o Naturalist intelligence - used in discerning patterns in nature, such as how different species are related or what
kinds of weather we might expect on different days.