The cognitive theory of language acquisition is based on the aspect

that a child develops language as he develops intellect. The

foundations of the cognitive theory of language acquisition were set by
Jean Piaget, a French developmental psychologist.

His theory was that language acquisition was based on the

development of the brain. Piaget believed that children must be
allowed to explore the world by themselves, allowing a first-hand
experience. This exposure to the world allows the cognitive mind to
develop, therefore, allowing language to develop into a more
sophisticated manner.

The cognitive language acquisition theory uses the idea that children
are born with very little cognitive abilities, meaning that they are not
able to recognize and process very much information. At birth, infants
are limited to a very small scope of mental processes that must be
developed over time. As the infant grows to become a toddler, the
cognitive processes of the child develop through the various
experiences that the child goes through.
Cognitive theory is grounded in the idea that individuals must first understand a concept before
they can use language to express it.

Characteristics of cognitive learning theory

The main principle of cognitive theory is the idea that children are born with a limited cognitive
ability that must develop over time. As the baby grows into a toddler, then a child, then a
teenager, their cognitive ability also increases due to their life experiences. Cognitive theorists
believe that with the development of cognitive ability comes the development of language.

What is Cognitive ability? The core skills your brain uses to think, read, learn, remember,
reason, and pay attention.
In 1936, Piaget introduced his cognitive development theory and broke the developmental
process down into four stages:

 The Sensorimotor Stage

 The Preoperational Stage
 The Concrete Operational Stage
 The Formal Operational Stage
As children develop from one stage to the next, they expand their knowledge. It is helpful to
think of this process in terms of building blocks. Children develop, or build, a mental image of
their world block by block. Piaget referred to these 'blocks of knowledge' as schemas.

Piaget refers to the building blocks of knowledge as 'schemas.'

Piaget's original cognitive development theory has been criticized for being outdated and too
culturally bound (valid only within a particular culture).
Vygotsky, whose theories are grounded in the cognitive approach, built upon Piaget's work to
develop his sociocultural cognitive theory. This theory recognized and examined the influence of
social and cultural aspects on a child's cognitive development.

Let's begin by taking a closer look at Piaget and his contributions to cognitive theory.

Piaget and the Cognitive Development Theory

Piaget's theory was very influential in the field of language acquisition and helped directly link
language learning with intellectual development. Piaget suggested that language and cognitive
skills are directly related and that stronger cognitive skills lead to stronger language skills.

Schemas

Piaget believed that knowledge could not simply emerge from an experience; instead, an existing
structure is necessary to help make sense of the world. He believed that children are born with a
primary mental structure upon which all new knowledge can be built. He suggested that
cognitive mental growth is achieved by integrating simpler concepts of knowledge into higher-
level concepts at each stage of development. Piaget named these concepts of
knowledge schemas.
It is helpful to think of schemas as building blocks that children use to build their mental
representation of the world. Piaget saw children as constantly creating and recreating their model
of reality based on these schemas.

Concerning language acquisition, Piaget suggested that children can only use specific linguistic
structures once they have already understood the concepts involved.

For example, Piaget argued that a child cannot use the past tense until they have understood the
concept of the past.

The four stages of cognitive development

Piaget's theory of cognitive development revolves around the central idea that intelligence
develops as children grow. Piaget believed that cognitive development occurs as a child's
mind evolves through a series of set stages until they reach adulthood. Piaget named these
'the four stages of cognitive development'.

Piaget's four stages of cognitive development are laid out in the table below:

Stage Age range Goal

Sensorimotor stage Birth to 18-24 months Object permanence
Preoperational stage 2 to 7 years Symbolic thought
Concrete operational stage 7 to 11 years Logical thought
Formal operational stage Ages 12 and up Scientific reasoning
Let's take a look at each of these stages in a little more detail:

Sensorimotor stage (Birth to 18-24 months)

At this stage, children will learn predominantly through sensory experiences and
manipulating objects. Piaget suggested that children are born with basic 'action schemas', such
as suckling and gripping, and they use their action schemas to comprehend new information
about the world. A child's language functions in two different ways:

 Egocentric (self-centered) - At this stage, children are able to use language but don't
necessarily understand its social function. Language is based on children's own experiences
and they struggle to understand the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of others.
 Socialized - Children begin to use language as a tool to communicate with others (this
function however is very limited).

During the sensorimotor stage, children's language is very egocentric and they communicate for
themselves.

During this stage the infant focuses on physical sensations and on learning to co-ordinate his body.

Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes:

The infants learn about the world through their senses and through their actions (moving around and
exploring the environment).

During the sensorimotor stage a range of cognitive abilities develop. These include: object permanence;
self-recognition (the child realizes that other people are separate from them), deferred imitation.
At about 8 months the infant will understand the permanence of objects and that they will still exist
even if they can’t see them and the infant will search for them when they disappear.

The main achievement during this stage is object permanence - knowing that an object still exists, even
if it is hidden. It requires the ability to form a mental representation (i.e., a schema) of the object.

Language starts to appear because they realize that words can be used to represent objects and
feelings.

The child begins to be able to store information that he knows about the world, recall it and label it.

Preoperational stage (2 to 7 years)

Children begin to develop symbolic thought and can create an internal representation of the
world via language and mental imagery. This means they are able to talk about things beyond
the 'here and now', such as the past, the future, and others' feelings.

Piaget noted that, during this stage, children's language makes rapid progress and the
development of their mental schemas allows them to pick up many new words quickly. Children
will also begin to form basic sentences, moving away from one-word utterances.

Instead of saying 'out', a child may begin to say 'mummy go out'. Children cannot yet think
logically and still have a very egocentric view of the world.

At the beginning of this stage the child does not use operations, so the thinking is influenced by the way
things appear rather than logical reasoning. Furthermore, the child is egocentric; he assumes that other
people see the world as he does.

Toddlers and young children acquire the ability to internally represent the world through language and
mental imagery

Concrete operational stage (7 to 11 years)

Children begin to think more logically about concrete events and solve problems; however,
thinking is still very limited. According to Piaget, children's language development at this stage
highlights a change in thinking from illogical to logical and egocentric to socialize.

Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes:

During this stage, children begin to think logically about concrete events.

Children begin to understand the concept of conservation understanding that, although things may
change in appearance, certain properties remain the same.

During this stage, children also become less egocentric and begin to think about how other people might
think and feel.

The stage is called concrete because children can think logically much more successfully by manipulating
real (concrete) materials or pictures of them.

Piaget considered the concrete stage a major turning point in the child's cognitive development because
it marks the beginning of logical or operational thought. This means the child can work things out
internally in their head.

Conservation is the understanding that something stays the same in quantity and number even though
its appearance changes.

But during operational stage the child show efficiency only if asked to reason about materials that are
physically present. Children at this stage will tend to make mistakes or be overwhelmed when asked to
reason about abstract or hypothetical problems.

Formal operational stage (Ages 12 and up)

The final stage of cognitive development involves increased logical thought and the beginning
of the ability to understand more abstract and theoretical concepts. Teenagers begin to think
more about philosophical, ethical, and political ideas that require a deeper theoretical
understanding.

Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes:

Concrete operations are carried out on things whereas formal operations are carried out on ideas.
During this stage, adolescents can deal with abstract ideas (e.g. no longer needing to think about slicing
up cakes or sharing sweets to understand division and fractions).

They can follow the form of an argument without having to think in terms of specific examples.

Adolescents can deal with hypothetical problems with many possible solutions. E.g. if asked ‘What
would happen if money were abolished in one hour’s time? They could speculate about many possible
consequences.

From about 12 years children can follow the form of a logical argument without reference to its content.
During this time, people develop the ability to think about abstract concepts, and logically test
hypotheses.

This stage sees emergence of scientific thinking, formulating abstract theories and hypotheses when
faced with a problem.

Piaget stated that no stage can be missed out during cognitive development. However, the rate at
which children develop may vary, and some individuals never reach the final stage.
For example, Dasen (1994) stated that only one in three adults ever reach the final stage. Other
psychologists, such as Margaret Donaldson (1978), have argued that the age range of each
of Piaget's stages is not so 'clear cut' and progress should be seen as a continuous process rather
than divided into stages.