Theoretical Perspective

1. Interactionist

1.1. Nurture

1.2. Vygotsky is the theorist associated with the interactionist perspective

1.3. contends that children acquire language through attempts to communicate with the world around them

2. behaviorist

2.1. Nurture

2.2. B.F. Skinner is the theorist associated with this perspective

2.3. a child is considered a blank slate

3. Nativist

3.1. Nature

3.2. Noam Chomsky is the theorist associated with the Nativist perspective.

3.3. describing the rules of language

3.4. grammatical aspects of language

4. Cognitive developmentalist

4.1. Nature

4.2. Jean Piaget is the theorist associated with the Cognitive development theory.

4.3. assumes that cognitive development is a “prerequisite and foundation for language learning”