A Critical Evaluation of Two of the Theories of Language Acquisition.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title page – – – – – – – – – – i
Certification – – – – – – – – – ii
Dedication – – – – – – – – – – iii
Acknowledgements – – – – – – – – iv
Table of contents – – – – – – – – –
CHAPTER ONE Introduction
1.1 Background Statement – – – – – – 1
1.2 The purpose of study – – – – – – – 4
1.3 The objectives of the study – – – – – – 5
1.4 The delimitation/Scope of the study – – – – 5
1.5 Methodology applied – – – – – – – 6
CHAPTER TWO Literature review
2.1 The theories of language acquisition – – – – 7
2.2 Jean Piaget’s view on language acquisition and cognitive development in children – 8
2.3 Social Interactionist theory – – – – – – 10
2.4 Input Hypothesis or Monitor model – – – – 11
2.5 Behaviourism Mentalism – – – – – – 12
2.5.1 Behaviourism – – – – – – – – 12
2.5.2 Mentalism – – – – – – – – – 15
2.6 Hypothesie making Device – – – – – – 17
2.7 Linguistic universals – – – – – – – 17
2.8 Evaluation procedure – – – – – – – 18
CHAPTER THREE Methodology
3.0 Introduction – – – – – – – – 21
3.1 Study population – – – – – – – 22
3.2 Sample – – – – – – – – – 22
3.3 Sampling technique – – – – – – – 23
3.4 Method of data collection – – – – – – 23
3.5 Method of data analysis – – – – – – 24
3.6 Conclusion – – – – – – – – – 24
CHAPTER FOUR Presentation and Analysis of Data
4.0 Introduction – – – – – – – – 25
4.1 Observation of utterances of 3½ years old – – – 25
4.2 Observation of utterances of 2½ years old – – – 31
4.3 Morphology level of the child’s language process – – – 33
4.4 Syntax level of the child’s language – – – – 33
4.5 Semantic level of the child’s language – – – – 34
4.6 Phonological level of the child’s language – – – 35
4.7 The difference between the utterance of 3½ – years old and 2½ years old – – 36
4.8 A critical review of the theories of language acquisition – 37
CHAPTER FIVE
Summary of Findings and Conclusion – – – – – 37
Bibliography – – – – – – – – – 40
INTRODUCTION
Background Statement
Language forms the fundamental function of communication. As social beings, we use it as our medium of communication to help us communicate with people that live both within and beyond our regional/geographical locations just as it is the case that other people from within and outside our environment do communicate with us.
Language occurs almost wherever we come into contact with other people and will be different according to the nature of the contact. It is noted that our lives take us through a succession of activities requiring the use of language.
The activities are very diverse and, what ever dialect we speak, have specific feature of language associated with them. Many activities are connected with our jobs.
One may be an engineer giving instructions to a draughtsman; a lawyer advising a client; a trade union official discussing fringe benefits; a bus conductor collecting transport.Fares; A sergeant instructing a soldier; or a scientist reading a technical report.
Other activities are part of our leisure. We may be playing tennis, football, or 10 volley ball. Or relating to our home life, we may be acting as a mother, a father, a husband, a wife, a son or a daughter.
To acquire language in the actual sense seems to depend on the linguistic atmosphere in which the child is brought up. Skinner (1957) stresses that language is not a mental phenomenon but a behavioral one.
Alllen and Burren (1971:135) hold the view that language is essentially an adventitious construct, taught by conditioning or drill and explicit explanation,, or by built-up elementary data processing procedures. “language acquisition is controlled by the condition under which it takes place and that as long as individuals are subject to the same conditions they will learn the same way”, (Wilkins, 1972:169-4).
This might be the reason why a child raised in Hausa speaking community will acquire Hausa language. One brought up in China acquires Chinese and vice verse incase that happens to take place.
It is worth to note that there are linguists that do not give much emphasis to the linguistic atmosphere that language learner/acquirer finds himself; but rather stress much emphasis on a learners’/acquirer’s innate language learning/acquiring capacity.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Adesanoye, F.l (1979), “Patterns of Deviations in Written English in Nigeria” Journal or language Arts and communication. 1:1.
Adjemian, C. (1976) On the Nature of Inter language Systems; language learning. 101
Aleen J. P.B. (1971).And Bureen Van P. (Eds): Selected Reading (London, Oxford University Press,
Bloomfield, L. (1931).Language New York: Henry Holt
Chomsky, N. Review of skinner, B.F(1959) “Verbal behaviour (Language 35).
Crystal, D.(1987) Child Language, Learning and Linguistics. An over view for the Teaching Therapeutic Professions, (Second edition).
Dennis, (1977) Reading in Psychology for the Teacher. London: Holt, Rinchart and Winston.
Hatoh, EV (ed) (1978) Second Language Acquisition, Raw lay Mass.
Ingrams, D. (1975) If and When Transformations are Acquired by Chidden; monograph series on Language and Linguistics. George town University.
Jakobavits,L.A ‘I (1968).implications of Recent Psycholinguistics Development for the Teachings of Second Language” Language learning 18,
McNiel, (1966) Mother Child Dialogue, the theories of second language learning
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