nature or nurture.ppt

8/10/2019 nature or nurture.ppt

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NATURE OR NURTURE?

UNIVERSIDAD DE EL SALVADOR

FACULTAD MULTIDISCIPLINARIA ORIENTAL

DEPARTAMENTO DE CIENCIAS Y HUMANIDADES

SECCION DE IDIOMAS


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How is Language Acquired?

The concept of speaking a language seems simple but it is uncertain

as to how we are capable of acquiring it. The earliest form of man

communicated through physical gestures such as hand movements

and physical motions. However as man developed, the ability to

communicate developed as well. Roughly 350,000 years ago was

when man was able to use language to communicate. But how didwe develop this ability?

There are conflicting theories. Some believe that language is an

innate ability that with time our brains can grasp language and then

develop it from that point on.


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This theory states that our brains are "hard-wired" to develop the

ability to speak a language. On the contrary, there are beliefs that

language acquisition correlates with usage and experience. In other

words when we are constantly exposed to language we gradually

learn the patterns and sounds that escalate into speaking.

Siding with the first theory, it seems reasonable that our brains are

advanced enough to be able to acquire language naturally. After allwe have had roughly 2 million years to evolve. So essentially this

theory argues that children are able to pick up language because

their brains are programmed to allow them to do so. But this theory

does not go without its flaws. For instance a child's ability to speak

advances at a higher rate then what the child is exposed to


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After all it only takes an average child between 18-24 months to be

able to form full sentences. Does the brain really have the potential

to be able to allow a child to form sentences in such a short period

of time? As of now scientists are uncertain. he conflicting theory brings up different points. This theory puts

greater emphasis on practice and repetition of language rather then

relying on a built-in ability to learn language. This theory places

more importance on the parent or adult that teaches a child how to

speak. It is believed that when a child is exposed to constantrepetition of a language the child is able to learn words. And with

more practice the better the child becomes at speaking. This seems

like a feasible explanation that I originally believed when I started

researching this topic. However there are also flaws in this theory.

Why is it that with practice, somebody can just magically pick up

language? There has to be some underlying factor involved.


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Although there is a big gray area with this issue there is one thing

that is certain: language acquisition is easier at a younger age.

Children are able to absorb information at a much higher rate then

adults. This is because when we get older, the time and experiencewe go through alters and wears the brain so that it becomes

increasingly difficult to absorb and understand new information.


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Genie is a prime example of this phenomenon. Genie shocked the

world when her story was revealed in 1970. Genie was isolated from

human contact for 13 years. Her parents kept her locked in a room

for her entire childhood up until she was 13 years old. More of herstory can be found here. The result of doing this was tragic. Since

she was never exposed to any human contact she never learned

how to speak. After she was taken out of her home, Genie was sent

to a rehabilitation center where scientists and researchers tried to

put her life back together. The results were astonishing. Although

she was able to learn words, she was not able to put them together.

Even throughout years of cognitive rehabilitation Genie was never

able to develop grammar.


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Language Acquisition as a Result of Nurture

Behaviourists propose that a childs environment is themost important factor in first language acquisition, and if

a child is exposed to rich language, then good habit

formation, and proper language development will occur.

It is possible that first language acquisition includes

speech imitation, but:

Children do not imitate everything they hear; they appear

to be very selective and only reproduce unassimilated

language chunks. Therefore, their replications seem to

be controlled by an internal language-monitoringprocess.


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Children learn the basic rules of language at

around the age of five; the behaviourist theory

cannot account for the speed that first languageis acquired.

Children say things that are not adult imitations;

in particular they use inflectional

overgeneralisations such as goed, putted,mouses, and sheeps.

Children produce language structures that do

not exist; you often hear, Where I am? instead

of Where am I?


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Children produce many more sound-combinations than

they hear, and understand many more than they can

produce.

Children are exposed to language performance and notto language competence. Often they are exposed to

debilitated language, yet, they manage to extract the

language rules from these utterances and speak

correctly. Children that acquire language from habit formation

seem to memorize certain structures prematurely. These

phrases become lodged in their minds as unassimilated

chunks of information that they cannot incorporate intotheir own verbal expressions.

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nature or nurture.ppt