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Theories in Language Study
Education (Pangasinan State University)
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Hannah Sophia G. Jimenez
BSEd English I-2
Views and Overview on Theories in Language Study
o Behaviorist
Behaviorist theory is a psychological theory in its essence founded by J.B.
Watson supported by Leonard Bloomfield, O.N. Mowrer, B.F. Skinner, and
A.W. Staats.
It is originally a theory of native language learning, evolved in a part as a
reaction to traditional grammar.
Infants learn oral language from other humans through a process that includes
imitation, rewards, and practice. Humans in an infant’s environment provides
the stimuli and rewards (Cooter & Reutzel, 2004).
The characteristics of behaviorism include imitation, practice, reinforcement,
and habit formation.
The key principle of the behaviorist theory stands on the analysis of human
behavior in the discernible stimulus-response interaction and the association
between them. The motivating operations, discriminative stimuli, response,
and reinforcing stimuli were the contingencies that Skinner believed to be the
foundation of language development.
Children imitate adults. Their proper utterances are reinforced when they are
praised and received a reward.
According to Pavlov’s experiment, the babies obtain native language habits
through babblings which resemble the appropriate words repeated by a person
which indicates that stimulus and response work together.
Behaviorist theory dwells on spoken language. The primary medium of
language is oral because there are many languages without written forms since
we learn to speak first before we learn to read and write.
It emphasizes conditioning and building from the simplest conditioned
responses to more complex behaviors (Palermo, 1978).
All learning is the establishment of habits as the result of reinforcement and
reward (Operant Conditioning).
Learning can be the same for each individual if the conditions in which
learning takes place are the same for each person.
o Innatist/Nativist
The nativist approach was proposed by Noam Chomsky.
Humans are pre-programmed with the innate capability to establish language.
Children's brains contain a Language Acquisition Device (LAD) which holds
the set of rules about language in our heads called “Universal Grammar”.
One idea crucial to the Chomskian view is the idea of Universal Grammar,
which suggests that all languages have the same basic underlying structure,
and that specific languages have rules that transform these underlying
structures into the specific patterns found in given languages.
When the young child is subjected to a language, their LAD makes it possible
for them to set parameters and infer the grammatical principles from the input
around them, because the principles are innate.
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All human languages share common principles. (For example, they all have
words for nouns and verbs.) It is the child's task to establish how the specific
language s/he hears expresses these underlying principles.
o Cognitivist
Language is just one part of a child’s whole intellectual development.
The foundations of Cognitive Theory were set by the Swiss psychologist Jean
Piaget, placed within the context of a child's mental or cognitive development.
A child must understand a concept before s/he can acquire the particular
language form.
Language acquisition was solely centered on the maturation of the brain.
Piaget believed that children must be allowed to discover the world by
themselves, to have a first-hand experience. This exposure allows the mind
with little cognitive ability to develop, therefore, allowing language to develop
in a more sophisticated manner.
Jerome Bruner (1996) theorized that as a child articulates language in his
brain; His/her cognitive skills will grow, thereby, supplementing the
development of more sophisticated language.
o Interactionist
Input, Interactionist Theory or Sociocultural Theory
This theory emphasizes the communication between children and their
caregivers.
Language merely occurs for communication. Children learn a language to
communicate with the world around them. Language emerges from and is
dependent upon, social interaction or whom we want to communicate with.
Jerome Bruner suggests that the language behavior of adults when talking to
children is specifically adapted to support the attainment process. This kind of
support is often described as scaffolding for the child's language learning.
The environment where a child grew up will heavily affect how well and how
quickly s/he learns to talk.
References:
Behaviorist theory on language acquisition. (n.d.). Retrieved October 4, 2021, from
https://currikicdn.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/resourcedocs/55c33aaf3db04.pdf.
Cognitivism theory of language teaching and learning. mydreamarea. (2013, January 5).
Retrieved October 5, 2021, from
https://mydreamarea.wordpress.com/2013/01/05/cognitivism-theory-of-language-
teaching-and-learning/.
Download » dergipark. (n.d.). Retrieved October 5, 2021, from
https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/88422.
English language summer work - montsaye academy. (n.d.). Retrieved October 5, 2021, from
https://www.montsaye.northants.sch.uk/assets/Uploads/English-Language-Summer-
Work-2.pdf.
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Khan Academy. (n.d.). Theories of the early stages of language acquisition (article). Khan
Academy. Retrieved October 5, 2021, from https://www.khanacademy.org/test-
prep/mcat/processing-the-environment/language/a/theories-of-the-early-stages-of-
language-acquisition.
Nativist theories of language acquisition. Psychology Wiki. (n.d.). Retrieved October 5,
2021, from
https://psychology.wikia.org/wiki/Nativist_theories_of_language_acquisition.
Paris, Ricardo, Raymond, & Johnson. (n.d.). Theories of Language Development. 11.10:
Theories of Language Development. Retrieved October 5, 2021, from
https://ccconlineed.instructure.com/courses/4696/modules/items/256975.
SAA - language acquisition: Inherent, cognitive, or sociocultural. Cliffside Malibu. (2021,
June 29). Retrieved October 5, 2021, from
https://www.cliffsidemalibu.com/blog/language-acquisition/.
The essay of behaviorism theory of language teaching and learning. (2012, October 11).
Retrieved October 4, 2021, from https://mydreamarea.wordpress.com/2012/10/11/the-
essay-of-behaviorism-theory-of-language-teaching-and-learning/.
What is the nativist approach in terms of child language acquisition?. (n.d.). Retrieved
October 5, 2021, from https://www.mytutor.co.uk/answers/871/A-Level/English-
Language/What-is-the-nativist-approach-in-terms-of-Child-Language-Acquisition/.
