hamburger

Chomsky’s Theory of Language Acquisition- English Study Notes, Material

By BYJU'S Exam Prep

Updated on: September 25th, 2023

In this article, we should read related to Chomsky’s Theory of Language Acquisition, Important for the CTET Paper-1 & 2

English Language Pedagogy is very important in the TET exam. Approximate 12 to 15 questions ask from the Language Pedagogy Section. In this article, we will discuss Chomsky’s Theory of Language Acquisition for English Language Teaching.

Language is a medium through which one can express one’s ideas, thoughts, feelings, and messages. Language teaching is somehow a difficult task as it is basically conditioned by the nature of the subjects. Language teaching also helps in the acquisition of the language.

Language Acquisition:

The process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language, as well as to produce and use words and sentences to communicate is known as Language Acquisition. Non-humans do not communicate by using language therefore, it is one of the quintessential human traits. It usually refers to a first-language acquisition. This is distinguished from second-language acquisition, which deals with the acquisition (in both children and adults) of additional languages. In addition to speech, reading and writing a language with an entirely different script compounds the complexities of true foreign language literacy.

General Approaches to Language Acquisition:

The general approaches to language acquisition are given below:

Social Interactionist Theory:

It is also known as social interactionism. It is an explanation of language development emphasizing the role of social interaction between the developing child and linguistically knowledgeable adults. It is based largely on the socio-cultural theories of the Soviet psychologist, Lev Vygotsky. According to him, social interaction plays an important role in the learning process and proposed the zone of proximal development (ZPD) where learners construct the new language through socially mediated interaction. The approaches to language acquisition emphasise that children are conditioned to learn language by a stimulus-response pattern with which it is sometimes confused, the social interactionist approaches rest on the premises of a social-cognitive model, emphasizing the child’s construction of a social world which then serves as the context of language development.

Relational Frame Theory:

Relational frame theory (RFT) is a psychological theory of human language. It was developed originally by Steven C. Hayes of the University of Nevada, Reno and has been extended in research notably by Dermot Barnes-Holmes of Ghent University. This theory argues that the building block of human language and higher cognition is relating, i.e. the human ability to create bidirectional links between things. This theory argues that natural human language typically specifies not just the strength of a link between stimuli but also the type of relationship as well as the dimension along which they are to be related. It focuses on how humans learn a language (i.e., communication) through interactions with the environment and is based on a philosophical approach referred to as functional contextualism.

Emergentism:

Emergentism believes in emergence i.e., the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, meaning the whole has properties its parts do not have. A property of a system is said to be emergent if it is a new outcome of some other properties of the system and their interaction, while it is itself different from them. These properties are not identical with, reducible to, or deducible from the other properties. John Stuart Mill outlined his version of emergentism in System of Logic. According to Mill, emergent properties are not subject to this law, but instead, amount to more than the sums of the properties of their parts.

Language Acquisition Device:

The Language Acquisition Device (LAD) is a hypothetical module of the human mind posited to account for children’s innate predisposition for language acquisition. It was first proposed by Noam Chomsky. He was an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, and social critic. He is also known as he father of modern linguistics. He is also a major figure in analytic philosophy and one of the founders of the field of cognitive science.

The LAD concept is an instinctive mental capacity that enables an infant to acquire and produce language. This theory asserts that humans are born with the instinct or innate facility for acquiring language. It is a component of the nativist theory of language.
Nativist theory is the view that certain skills or abilities are
ative or hard-wired into the brain at birth. This is in contrast to empiricism, the lank slate or tabula rasa view, which states that the brain has inborn capabilities for learning from the environment but does not contain content such as innate beliefs.

Important questions related to Chomsky’s Theory of Language Acquisition:

 1. Who proposed the Relational frame theory of Language Acquisition?

Ans. Relational frame theory is a psychological theory of human language. It was developed originally by Steven C. Hayes. Relational frame theory argues that the building block of human language and higher cognition is ‘relating’, i.e. the human ability to create bidirectional links between things.

2. According to language acquisition theory, when there is a lack of sufficient information in the language input, there is a universal grammar that applies to which languages?

Ans. A universal grammar that applies to all human languages.

3. What do you mean by language acquisition?

Ans. Language acquisition is the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language, as well as to produce and use words and sentences to communicate. 

4. What does language acquisition refer to?

Ans. Language acquisition refers to the process of learning a native or a second language because of the innate capacity of the human brain. 

5. When does language acquisition occur?

Ans. Language acquisition occurs only when the child has exposure to the language.

This article tends to be beneficial for the following exams – REET, UPTET, CTET, Super TETDSSSBKVS, etc.

Suggested Read Books:

Serial No. Book Name Author Name
1. CTET & TETs English Language & Pedagogy Paper I & II  Arihant Experts 
2.  CTET English Language Paper I & II (Class 1-5 & 6-8) TextBook For Exam 2021 Agrawal Examcart

Thanks!

Chomsky’s Theory of Language Acquisition- English Study Notes, Material

Our Apps Playstore
POPULAR EXAMS
SSC and Bank
Other Exams
GradeStack Learning Pvt. Ltd.Windsor IT Park, Tower - A, 2nd Floor, Sector 125, Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201303 help@byjusexamprep.com
Home Practice Test Series Premium