Theoretical Perspectives
by KRistin Blackburn
1. Interactionist Perspective
1.1. Theorists: Vygotsky, Bruner, and Halliday. Emphasizes the role of "nurture". Encourages teachers to focus on providing many social interactions in which oral and written language are used.
2. Behaviorist Perspective
2.1. Theorist: Skinner. Emphasizes the role of “nurture” and considers learning to occur based on the stimuli, responses, and reinforcements that occur in the environment.
3. Nativist Perspective
3.1. Theorist: Chomsky. Encourages teachers to use a curriculum that will provide extensive opportunities for children to explore language and engage in hypothesis testing of their developing knowledge of language. Emphasizes the inborn languge mechanism. Emphasizes the contributions of “nature”.
4. Cognitive Developmentalist Perspective
4.1. Theorist: Piaget. Emphasizes the contributions of “nature”. Language development is influenced by the nature and sequence of cognitive development. It focuses on the development of schemata and the manipulation of symbols, it contributes to our understanding of how semantic, syntactic, and morphemic knowledge are acquired.
