Theoretical Perspective to Curriculum Content

1. Cognitive Developmentalist- Jean Piaget

1.1. "The emphasis of this perspective is that language is acquired as maturation occurs and cognitive competencies develop" and they assume "that cognitive development is a "prerequisite and foundation for language learning" (Otto, 2010, p. 30).

2. Interactionist- Lev Vygotsky

2.1. "The interactionist perspective focuses on the primary role of sociocultural interactions in children's develpment of lanugage knowledge" and they contend " that children acquire language through their attempts to communicate with the world around them" (Otto, 2010, p. 33).

3. Yvonne Gonzales

4. Behaviorist- Burrhus Frederic Skinner

4.1. "The behaviorist perspective emphasizes teh role of "nurture" and considers learning to occur based on the stimuli, responses, and reinforcements that occur in the environment", that children are a "blank slate", and that language is "taught" through the situations and associations with others (Otto, 2010, p. 31)

5. Nativist- Linguist Noam Chomsky

5.1. "The nativist perspective emphasizes inborn or innate human capabilities (nature) as being responsible for languagae development" and one of the "major focus is on the acquistion of syntactic knowledge" (Otto, 2010, p. 28).