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Trask's theory therefore is that children learn language by acquiring and experimenting with grammatical patterns, the statistical language acquisition theory. [ 72 ] The two most accepted theories in language development are psychological and functional .
Central to this theory is the use of negative and positive reinforcement to achieve desired results. This is commonly observed in classrooms, where teachers utilize consequence or reward systems to motivate a student to succeed. Skinner (1957) believed that this form of nurture justified language development in children. [3]
The theory has often been extended to a critical period for second-language acquisition (SLA). David Singleton states that in learning a second language, "younger = better in the long run", but points out that there are many exceptions, noting that five percent of adult bilinguals master a second language even though they begin learning it when they are well into adulthood—long after any ...
Social interactionist theory (SIT) 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 Soviet psychologist, Lev Vygotsky.
Vocabulary development during the school years builds upon what the child already knows, and the child uses this knowledge to broaden their vocabulary. Once children have gained a level of vocabulary knowledge, new words are learned through explanations using familiar, or "old" words.
According to him, a child before the age of two will not sufficiently acquire language, while development of full native competence in a language must occur before the onset of puberty. [16] This suggests that language is innate and occurs through development instead of through feedback from the environment. [ 17 ]
Vygotsky, a Russian theorist, proposed the sociocultural theory of child development. During the 1920s–1930s, while Piaget was developing his own theory, Vygotsky was an active scholar and at that time his theory was said to be "recent" because it was translated out of Russian and began influencing Western thinking. [9]
Language acquisition is the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language.In other words, it is how human beings gain the ability to be aware of language, to understand it, and to produce and use words and sentences to communicate.