Soalan: (more than 1300)

The cognitive flow approach is based on “The innateness and hypothesis” which states that the

human brain has been made naturally or genetically to speak.

You are required to produce an essay that analyses children’s language development

based on relevant cognitive development theories.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Planning and Writing Framework

a. Forms of writing in academic writing: Arial font size 11, skip 2 lines (double spacing)

b. Assignment length not less than 1300 words excluding attachments.

2. Introduction

a. Introducing the topic. You can give a brief description of the topic related to the

requirements of the question.

b. The description of the introduction should be brief and not exceeding 100 words.

3. Essay Main Section

a. Review various reference sources such as books, theses and articles related to your

topic.

b. Integrate material to determine and support specific arguments.

c. Organize the presentation with the correct answer along with the coherently processed

arguments.

4. Conclusion and References

a. Briefly summarize the information presented in the main part of the writing.

b. You should not present new arguments in the conclusion.

 Children’s language development

The innateness hypothesis enhances that children are born with knowledge of the

basic concepts of grammar. Through this theory, Chomsky asserts that this inborn wisdom

allows children, despite the difficulty of the process, to obtain their native language easily

and systematically. The learning of language is potentially the hardest phase during the

maturation period of an infant. But kids do not seem to realise how much information they

learn and process.

Humans, particularly children, have an incredible ability to learn a language. Children

will have learned many of the required concepts to have functional language within the first

year of life, although it will still take years for their abilities to fully develop. Some people are

bilingual or multilingual, and they learn two or more languages fluently throughout their lives.

To describe the development of language, and associated brain structures, in children,

several theories have been suggested.

1.1. Piaget’s theory

This hypothesis is supported by the Jean’s Piaget theory. Piaget's (1936) theory of

cognitive development explains how a child constructs a mental model of the world, (Saul

McLeod,2018). Kendra Cherry, 2020 stated that Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive

development suggests that children move through four different stages of mental

development. These are including Sensorimotor stage, Preoperational stage, Concrete

operational stage, and Formal operational stage. Kendra Cherry, 2020 also stated that his

(Piaget) theory focuses not only on understanding how children acquire knowledge, but also

on understanding the nature of intelligence. According to Piaget, children are born with a

very basic mental structure (genetically inherited and evolved) on which all subsequent

learning and knowledge are based, (Saul McLeod, 2018). Piaget claims that children play an
active role in every learning process, behaving like little scientists in experiments, making

observations, and learning about the environment. As children engage with the world around

them, they constantly incorporate new knowledge, expand on existing knowledge, and adjust

ideas previously kept to fit new information. Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development

suggests that children move through four different stages of mental development. His theory

focuses not only on understanding how children acquire knowledge, but also on

understanding the nature of intelligence.

1.2. Piaget’s Theory: Assimilation and Accommodation

The theory of language acquisition by Jean Piaget indicates that children master

language using both assimilation and accommodation. Assimilation is the process of

modifying one's atmosphere to bring data into an existing schema or concept. In

assimilation, children make sense of the world by applying what they already know. It

involves fitting reality and what they experience into their current cognitive structure. A

child's understanding of how the world works, therefore, filters and influences how they

interpret reality, (Kendra Cherry, 2020). Assimilation is when the child has seen something

before and applies to the current situation. Kendra Cherry, (2020) has stated an example of

assimilation which is when a child sees a new type of dog that they've never seen before

and immediately points to the animal and says, "Dog!". This is because he or she already

had a scheme for a dog, which is a tiny, four-legged animal in its mind. Meanwhile,

accommodation is translated as the process of modifying one's scheme to adapt to the new

world. Before language acquisition can occur, Piaget believed that children need to first

develop mentally. Children first construct conceptual constructs within the mind (schemas),

according to him, and language production arises from these schemas. An example of

accommodation is modifying child understanding of the concept of a car to include a specific

type of vehicle once you learn about trucks, (Accommodation in Psychology: Definition &

Overview,2015).
2.1. Chomsky’s Theory

In his first book, Syntactic Structures, published in 1957, the linguist Noam Chomsky

questioned old assumptions about language acquisition. He opposes the notion that each

child must relearn all words. Instead, Chomsky claims, normal kids are born with a kind of

hard-wired syntax everywhere that helps them to understand the basic workings of

language. From the available choices in the brain, the child then selects the basic grammar

and language of the world. Thus, the capacity for language is a biological inheritance and

specific languages are then activated largely through the child's interaction with the native

environment. It's as if the child's brain is a CD player already set to "play" language; when

the CD for a certain language is inserted, that is the language the child learns, (Robert

Miskimon,2018). In 1959, Chomsky strongly argued the non-learnability of language,

establishing in the field of developmental psycholinguistics the substitution of the term

“learning” for that of “acquisition”, (Susana Lopez Ornat and Pilar Gallo, 2004).

2.2. Chomsky: Language Acquisition Device

The theory of Noam Chomsky explores the biological basis for language and argues

that children have intrinsic language learning abilities. Chomsky calls this inherent skill the

"language learning device." Without any formal training, he claims children acquire language

instinctively. He also believes that children have a natural need to use words, and that

children can build a communication mechanism to fulfil their needs in the absence of formal

language. He mentioned that, regardless of the language they are taught, all kids make the

same sort of language mistakes. Chomsky also believes in the existence of "universal

grammar," which asserts that all human languages share such grammatical laws. His
research, however, does not define brain areas or a genetic basis that allows the inherent

capacity of human beings to speak.

3.1. Skinner’s Theory

BF Skinner was the pioneer of hypotheses of language learning, more or less. The

first and most commonly known language learning theory of the late 1950s and 1960s was

his theory that language was learned under the principles of reinforcement. Skinner argued

that, under the concepts of encouragement, children learned vocabulary, that they linked

words with meanings.

3.2. Skinner: Operant Conditioning

B. F. Skinner stated that children obtain "rewards" for using language in a practical

way. He claimed that children learn language by operational conditioning. For instance,

when she is thirsty, a child learns to say the word "food," she gets something to eat, which

improves her use of the word to get a food, and then she can continue to do so. This follows

the four-term contingency that Skinner claimed was the basis of motivational behaviours,

discriminatory stimulus, reaction, and reinforcement stimuli for language growth. Skinner

also suggested that through imitation of others, urging, and shaping, kids learn language.

4.1. Vygotsky’s Theory

In a social context, Vygotsky tried to understand how people learn and developed a

special social learning theory. He determined that in an instructional environment, teachers

have the capacity to monitor several variables, including activities, attitudes, and responses.

As a result, to foster cognitive development, he promoted more engaging practises, such as

fruitful conversations, positive feedback, and cooperation with others.

4.2. Vygotsky: Zone of Proximal Development

The language development theory of Lev Vygotsky is based on social learning and the

proximal development zone (ZPD). The ZPD is a level of growth attained as children

participate in social interactions with others, it is the difference between the cognitive ability

of a child and the actual learning that takes place. The theory of Vygotsky also showed that

the significance of social experiences in language learning was underestimated by Piaget.

As an example, children who have yet to learn intelligible speech think in their "baby"

language, which may take the form of emotions, forms and images awaiting naming after the

development of their speech, not words.

As a conclusion, all of the theories which are Piaget, Chomsky, Skinner and Vygotsky had

emphasized the children’s language development specifically.

(1258 words)
References

1. Putnam, H., (1967). The ‘Innateness Hypothesis’ and Explanatory Models in

Linguistics. In: Cohen R.S., Wartofsky M.W. (eds) Proceedings of the Boston

Colloquium for the Philosophy of Science 1964/1966. Boston Studies in the

Philosophy of Science, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-

010-3508-8_5

2. McLeod, S. A., (2018). Jean Piaget's Theory and Stages of Cognitive Development.

Simply Psychology: Developmental Psychology: Piaget. Retrieved from

https://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html

3. Cherry, K., (2020). The 4 Stages of Cognitive Development: Background and Key

Concepts of Piaget's Theory. Verywell mind. Retrieved from

https://www.verywellmind.com/piagets-stages-of-cognitive-development-2795457

4. Human Language Development. Boundless Psychology. Boundless, (2016).

Retrieved from https://www.boundless.com/psychology/textbooks/boundless-

psychology-textbook/language-10/human-language-408/human-language-

development-235-12770/

5. Accommodation in Psychology: Definition & Overview. (2015, December 31).

Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/accommodation-in-psychology-

definition-lesson-quiz.html.
6. Miskimon, R., (2018). Chomsky's Theory on Children's Language Development.

Hello motherhood. Retrieved from https://www.hellomotherhood.com/chomskys-

theory-on-childrens-language-development-5721474.html