Question

Post an explanation of the degree to which and how biology and the environment contributed to your personal language learning through age 6. Which language development theory best aligns with your explanation and why? Be specific and provide examples.

Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources. Use proper APA format and citations.

Answer 1

Language is defined in different ways. It is mainly defined as a collection of arbitrary symbols and rules used by members of a community to communicate an infinite variety of messages. Language is also looked at as a cognitive function that allows humans to learn, produce and understand complex utterances. It is also viewed as a sophisticated biological system that distinguishes humans from other creatures.

The nativist theory, also known as the biological theory, holds that language is innately derived from a series of genetically programmed structures. A key assumption of this theory is that children are born with certain innate language acquisition structures. Noam Chomsky is a major theorist in this perspective. According to Chomsky, human beings are born with a blueprint for language and the process of learning language consists of developing this endowment into a grammar. Chomsky proposed that all children have an innate language acquisition device[LAD] which enables children to access the basic rules governing all human languages. It is this apparatus which enables them to develop the grammar and vocabulary for the first language they are exposed to. Biological factors can affect a child’s language and communication, these factors are commonly in the forms of any type of hearing impairment, which can be permanent or temporary, along with sight impairments. These factors will affect the ways in which the child responds to sound and also their ability to be aware of others around them along with recognising the modulation of speech. These impairment may affect the ways in which the child socialises or in some cases not socialise. Children who are born with these factors are more likely to find learning more difficult as children can learn from one another along with visualising pictures and being able to put words to the picture, children with sight difficulty are not able to put sounds and words too pictures in order to learn from them and be able to pronounce how the word is said out loud.

Environmental factors are when the child is not born with this factor it’s when the environment and people you are surrounded by whilst growing up can affect your development. Language and culture can easily affect a child’s communication and language development. In addition to this if a child isn’t getting the needed language input at home from an adult or positive role model then the child may develop a learning disability as they have not been interacted with, stimulated or learnt the patterns of language. This may result in the child missing the critical period during which the subtleties of language, such as grammar, develop. Emotional factors can also play a large part in a child’s language and communication development, as the child can become shy, have a low self-esteem and a lack of confidence.