is associated with Chomsky's theory

SPCD 582 Instructor: Prof. Julia Scherba de Valenzuela Spring 2018

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Announcements1.The first major assignment is not due

until March 8th. However, you are already working on it via your readings reviews – make sure that you carefully review the Key Concept paper assignment description ASAP, so that you can gear your readings reviews toward completion of that assignment.

2.Make an appointment to go over upcoming assignments in advance.

3.Come to Writing Workshops, Fridays, 4:30-6:00!

4.OneNote notebook available for class participants.


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library3.Individual

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Whatever high- or low- tech means you use, take

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Quick questions or quandaries?


Today’s Topic:Introducing theories of language

development


What is a theory?• “A theory is a formal idea or set of

ideas that is intended to explain something.” (collinsdictionary.com)

• “An idea that is suggested or presented as possibly true but that is not known or proven to be true” (learnersdictionary.com)

• “A set of principles on which the practice of an activity is based” (oxforddictionaries.com)


Theory defined, cont.• “A scientific theory is the framework

for observations and facts. Theories may change, or the way that they are interpreted may change, but the facts themselves don't change.”

• ”Theories can be improved or modified as more information is gathered so that the accuracy of the prediction becomes greater over time.”https://www.livescience.com/21491-what-is-a-scientific-theory-definition-of-theory.html


Theory defined, cont.“in common usage, the word theory means just a hunch, but in science, a theory is a powerful explanation for a broad set of observations. To be accepted by the scientific community, a theory (in the scientific sense of the word) must be strongly supported by many different lines of evidence.”

https://undsci.berkeley.edu/article/howscienceworks_19


NOTE!As of yet, there is no one theory of language development which: o Is universally accepted as the

explanation for first language development, or

o Explains all aspects of language development: syntax, morphology, semantics, phonology, and pragmatics.


Main Points:1. Behaviorism is universally not

accepted as an adequate theoretical explanation for the development of complex cognitive systems, such as language.

2. The nativist explanation of language development, as acquired not learned, is diametrically opposed to behavioral theories. It also is not universally accepted as the mechanism underlying language development.


3. It is possible that different theoretical explanations might account for the development of different aspects of language and/or communication.

4. Behavioral theory, like all current theories, is subject to criticism and revision.

Main Points, cont.:


Ways to contrast approaches to language

development: “Nature” is the major influence on language development

“Nurture” is the major

influence on language

development


Chomskyan Nativism

“The child’s language ‘grows in the mind’ as the visual system develops the capacity for binocular vision, or as the child undergoes puberty at a certain stage of maturation. Language acquisition is something that happens to a child placed in a certain environment, not something the child does.”

(Chomsky, as cited in Cowie, 1999, p. 153)



development:

Language is separate from cognition

Language is a subset

of cognition



development:

Focus on competence

Focus on performance


Competence is “the speaker-hearer’s knowledge of his language” and performance is “the actual use of language in concrete situations.”

Chomsky, 1965, Aspects of the theory of syntax, p. 4)


Important dates in the history of language development theory:• 1957: Skinner published “Verbal behavior” – a behaviorist explanation for language development

• 1959: Chomsky published a negative review of “Verbal behavior” in Language.

• 1965: Chomsky published “Aspects of the theory of syntax” (a nativist explanation of language development).


Famous Behavior Theorists:• Pavlov • Watson• Skinner• Hewett• Lovaas


Classical Conditioning


What is learning?According to behaviorists, “learning occurs as a result of the consequences of behavior.”

Alberto & Troutman, 2003, p. 18


What is learning?According to behaviorists, “learning occurs as a result of the consequences of behavior.”

Alberto & Troutman, 2003, p. 18


The A, B, C’s of behaviorism:

• Antecendent• Behavior• Consequence


Operant Conditioning:

positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement,

and punishment

I will bring my homework to school every day.I will bring my homework to school every day.I will bring my homework to school every day.I will bring my homework to school every...


Negative reinforcement

http://www.educateautism.com/behavioural-principles/negative-reinforcement.html


Two other mechanisms for learning:

Shaping:• Reinforcement of “subsequent

approximations” of the target behavior.

Modeling:• Learning by watching and

imitating.


Quick WriteWhat understandings about theories of language development did you take away from today’s readings?


Verbal Behavior• Social Behavior• Behavior that is reinforced indirectly,

by other’s actions:o Ex.: I request an apple – someone gives

it to me.• “A behavior that acquires its effect

through the mediation of a listener’s behavior, the listener having been taught such that her behavior precisely functions as reinforcing for the behavior of the speaker” (Törneke, 2010, p. 29).


Misconception Alert!• “Verbal behavior” does not need to

be “verbal,” in the sense of talking.• Verbal behavior does not need to

be linguistic, or even symbolic.• Verbal behavior might not even be

intentional.


Verbal Operants (functions):

• Echoics• Tact• Mand• Intraverbal


Echoic• Imitation – important step in learningo Teacher: This is a frog. Say

frog.o Student: Frog


Tact• Labeling, naming, describing,

telling.• Includes commenting – provide

lots of opportunities and reinforce tacts in natural contexts

Example of tacting:oTeacher asks: “What is this?oStudent: “Book”


Mand• A directive, request, or question • Think “command” or “demand”• Important to set up environment so

students have may opportunities to make requests (e.g., transparent boxes).Example:oTeacher: What do you want?oStudent: Want car.


Intraverbal• Conversational response• Asking question• Continuing other’s response• Early intraverbals – routine

responses, songs with patterned responses Example:o How are you?o What are you doing?


Criticisms of a behavioral theory of language

development: Overly simplistic explanation. Overlooks learner contributions Untestable. Ignores un-reinforceable

development (e.g. phonological knowledge) and unreinforced productions – does not explain the acquisition of underlying rules.


Contrary evidenceYoung infants learn are born with the ability to discriminate between a variety of sounds that are not in their own language. However, by 6-9 months, they lose the ability to differentiate between similar sounds that are not distinct phonemes in their language (e.g. /l/ and /r/ for Japanese speakers). But children at that age are not yet using words.

How do they learn this without behavioral reinforcement?


Other arguments against verbal

behavior:“He brunged his lunch”


Hypothesis Testing• Formulaic speech (i.e.

went)• Rule formation (i.e. –ed)• Over-extension (i.e. goed)• Exceptional to the rule (i.e.

went)


Example of grammatical over-extension and resistance to correction:

• Child: he falled down

• Mom: no Timmy, he fell down

• Child: yeah, he falled down


Brown’s First 14 Morphemes: present

progressive -ing (without auxiliary)

‘in’ ‘on’ regular plural -s irregular past possessive -s uncontractible

copula (to be as main verb)

articles regular past -ed regular 3rd person

-s irregular 3rd

person uncontractible

auxiliary contractible

copula contractible

auxiliary

See http://firstyears.org/c1/u5/brown.htm for examples

http://firstyears.org/c1/u5/brown.htm




Note:• These are criticisms of behaviorism

as a theory of language development.

• It is not a criticism of applied behavior analysis as a method of teaching discrete behaviors.

• Many behaviorists recognize the limitations of verbal behavior, as proposed in 1957.

• Relational Frame Theory has been proposed as a modification.


Please take a minute for the minute paper.

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is associated with Chomsky's theory