B.

Language and Literacy

Development
Watson’s Behaviorist Theory
 John B. Watson (1878-1958)
- American psychologist who popularized the theory of
behaviorism.
- Father of behaviorism
- Studied how a certain stimuli led organisms to make
responses.
 Watson’s Behaviorist Theory
-all behaviors are learned through interaction with the environment.

Behaviorism:
- is the scientific study of human behavior.
 Principles of Learning from behaviorist theory

Principle of frequency/exercise:
- states that the more frequently a given response is made to a given stimulus, the more
will likely the response to that stimulus will be repeated.
Principle of recency:
-states that the more recently a given response to a particular stimulus is made, the
more likely it will be repeated.
Principles of effect:
 positive and negative reinforces
Chomsky’s Nativist Theory
 Noam Chomsky (Dec. 7, 1928)
- An American linguist, cognitive scientist,
Philosopher historian, political activist, and social
critic.
- Known as the “father of linguistics”.
- Achieved Bachelors Degree in Linguistic in 1941.
- Masters Degree in 1951 and Doctorate Degree
1955
- He has been described as a prominent cultural
figure and was voted as one of the top public
intellectuals in 2005.
 Chomsky’s Nativist Theory
- is a biologically based theory that argues that humans are pre-
programmed with the innate ability to develop language.
 children are biologically programmed for language acquisition.
 stating the children’s brain contain a Language Acquisition Device which
holds the grammatical universal.
LAD –it’s a brain mechanism that is specialized in detecting and learning
the rules of language.
-the term universal grammar has been used to describe the knowledge
contained in the LAD
Universal Grammar- a basic shared grammar rules that all human languages
share.
Cooley and Mead’s Interactionism
Theory
 Charles Horton Cooley (1864-1929)

- Also thought to be a founder of symbolic

interactionism.
- An American sociologist who developed
the concept of the looking glass-self (1902)
 - individuals develop their concept of self by
observing how they are perceived by others.
Looking-glass self:
- the development of self occurs through interactions with others,
based on our understanding of how others perceive us.

Threefold process for this development

1) we see how others react to us.
2) we interpret that reaction.
3) we develop a sense of self based on those interpretations.
 George Herbert Mead (1863-1931)

- Father of “Symbolic Interactionism”

- Philosophy professor at the University of
Chicago.
- Called his approach “Social Behaviourism”
- “I” – self –conception
- “Me” – views of others
 Symbolic interactionism
- a theoretical perspective through which scholars examine the relationship of
individuals within their society by studying their communication (language and
symbols).

Symbol
-are interpreted in the same way by all members of society, as they have a shared social
meaning.
 Mead and the Development of the Self
Three stages:
1. Preparatory stage - is the period in children’s lives when they simply imitate
the family members around them.
2. Play stage - children already understand the basic symbols of society, and they start
using them and pretending to be other people.
3. Game stage - children can differentiate between social situations and relationships.

This understanding lead to the development of (I) and (Me)

Me –is how we believe how others see us.
I –thinks about what those things mean.
Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological systems
theory
 Eurie Bronfenbrenner (1917-2005)

-a Russian-born American developmental

psychologist who is most known for his ecological
system theory of child development.
- saw the process of human development as being
shaped by the interaction between an individual
and his/her environment.
- founded the Ecological systems theory published in
1979.
Ecological systems theory – this theory looks at a child’s development within the
context of the system of relationships that form him/her environment.
 Microsystem
-the layer nearest to the child.
-the child is influenced by people that he/she has direct contact with like family,
peers, teacher, and caregiver. Relationship in the microsystem is bi-directional.

Mesosystem
- the child is influenced by the experiences he/she has with the people in the
microsystem.

Exosystem
- the child is influenced by actions or people that don’t have an active in his/her
life.
 Macrosystem
-this layer maybe considered the outermost layer in the child’s environment. The
child is influenced by his/her own cultural values and traditions, socioeconomic
status and the laws.

Chronosystem
- the child is influenced by growing older of shifts in one’s lifespan like
divorce of parents or death of a close family member.
Donald Holdaway’s Literacy development theory
 Donald Holdaway (1930-2004)

-Father of the big book and founder of “Shared

Reading”.
-Developer of the Natural Learning Model.
 Literacy development theory
- his theory is the Natural Learning Model. He believes that all children can learn
how to read by experiencing the text over and over. He believes that his model is not only
siblical but also recursive.
The four processes:
Demonstration –child watching or listening to a more knowledgeable other while s/he
reads a book or a story to him/her.
Participation –child is watching and listening to a more knowledgeable other while
interacting with his/her reader making sure not to skip or omit their favorite parts of the
story being read to them.
Role play/Practice –at this phase, the child is practicing what s/he has
experienced from the more knowledgeable other on their own imitating them.

Performance –after practicing the skill for quite sometime, the child then shows off their
skill to an audience.

Shared reading
-is an interactive reading experience where students are guided and
supported by a teacher reading a big book or any text with enlarged print and
illustrations.
Vigotsky’s social interactionist theory
 Lev S. Vygotsky (1896-1934)

-was a Russian psychologist and teacher who developed a theory

about how our social interactions influence our cognitive
development.
This is known as Lev Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory of
Cognitive Development.
 Vigotsky’s social interactionist theory
- asserts that a child's cognitive development and learning ability can be guided and
mediated by their social interactions.
Major themes on this theory:
 Role of Social Interaction in Cognitive Development
 More knowledgeable other (MKO)
 Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)
 Scaffolding
 Role of Social Interaction in Cognitive Development – Language
Vygotsky viewed language as an essential tool for communication and that
culture and behavior was understood through language.

Three forms of language:

• Social speech - communication between children and others (usually from the age of 2)
• Private speech - private speech that is directed to the self but has not yet been internalised
(usually from the age of 3)
• Silent inner speech - a child's internal monologue (usually from the age of 7)

More knowledgeable other (MKO)

- is any person who has a higher level of ability or understanding than the learner in certain
topic.
 Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)
-is the area of learning that a more knowledgeable other (MKO) assist the
student in developing a higher level of learning.
-the goal is to be less involved as the student develops the necessary skills.

Scaffolding
-Instructional scaffolding is a method of guided learning that helps a student
learn by pairing them with an educator.
Thank You!