Language+acquisition+theories.

**__ LANGUAGE ACQUISITION PROCESS AND THEORIES. __**  Teachers must be aware of what and how children learn. That’s why we study different theories, ways and strategies to achieve a satisfactory knowledge. To help us in our lesson designs we are going to rely in the following theories: **__ VYGOSTKY'S THEORY __** Vygotsky's interests in the fields of __ developmental psychology, child development , and education __ were extremely diverse. In his works he includes interpretations about the cognitive role of the tools of mediation, introduced the notion ** “ **** zone of proximal development, **** ” ** and his work covered such diverse topics as the relation between learning and human development, language and thought.

- ** Cultural mediation **. Vygotsky investigated child development and how this was guided by the role of culture and interpersonal communication. Through these interactions, a child came to learn the habits of mind of her/his culture, including speech patterns, written language, and other symbolic knowledge through which the child derived meaning and which affected a child's construction of her/his knowledge. - Internalization can be understood in one respect as ** “knowing how” **. The mastery of these skills occurs through the activity of the child within society. A further aspect of internalization is appropriation, in which the child takes a tool and makes it their own, perhaps using it in a way unique to themselves. - ** Guided participation **, which takes place when creative thinkers interact with a knowledgeable person. **- Psychology of play ****. ** Through play, the child develops abstract meaning separate from the objects in the world, which is a critical feature in the development of higher mental functions. Another aspect of play that Vygotsky referred to was the development of social rules and adopts the different roles. **- Thought and Language /** Thinking and Speaking ** Concerns between inter-relationship of language development and thought ** This concept establishes the explicit and profound connection between speech (both silent inner speech and oral language), and the development of mental concepts and cognitive awareness. An infant learns the meaning of signs through interaction with its main care-givers, e.g., pointing, cries, and gurgles can express what is wanted. How verbal sounds can be used to conduct social interaction is learned through this activity, and the child begins to utilize, build, and develop this faculty, e.g., using names for objects, etc. Language starts as a tool external to the child used for social interaction. Gradually self-talk is used more as a tool for self-directed and self-regulating behaviour. Self-talk is no longer present around the time the child starts school. In the end, it becomes inner speech". Speaking has thus developed along two lines, the line of social communication and the line of inner speech, by which the child mediates and regulates their activity through their thoughts which in turn are mediated by the semiotics (the meaningful signs) of inner speech. This is not to say that thinking cannot take place without language  Inner speech is not comparable in form to external speech. External speech is the process of turning thought into words. Inner speech is the opposite; it is the conversion of speech into inward thought.  - ** " **** Zone of proximal development **** " (ZPD) ** is Vygotsky’s term for the range of tasks that a child can complete independently and those completed with the guidance and assistance of adults or more-skilled children. The lower limit of ZPD is the level of skill reached by the child working independently. The upper limit is the level of additional responsibility the child can accept with the assistance of an able instructor. The ZPD captures the child’s cognitive skills that are in the process of maturing and can be accomplished only with the assistance of a more-skilled person. Scaffolding is a concept closely related to the idea of ZPD. Dialogue is an important tool of this process in the zone of proximal development. In a dialog, a child's unsystematic, disorganized, and spontaneous concepts are met with the more systematic, logical and rational concepts of the skilled helper.

**- Child-in-Activity-in-Cultural-Context. **Vygotsky focused on the child-in-context acting in a situation or event as the smallest unit of study. The child is continually involved in social interactions with. Vygotsky argued that looking at child development without cultural context distorts our view of development. Culture is communicated through home and societal routines. Culture as, “shared beliefs, values, knowledge, skills, structured relationships, ways of doing things (customs), socialization practices, and symbol systems (such as spoken and written language)” ** Video 1. **
 * SCAFFOLDING SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING IN THE PRIMARY GRADES (DAVIDSON FILMS)**

This video provides examples of how learning can be structured so children are active learners while teachers use their superior knowledge base to meaningfully guide learning. Three essential elements of scaffolding are explained and demonstrated as children in urban classrooms become literate and ever more responsible for their weekly learning plans. media type="youtube" key="pXl7PP3bBKE" width="425" height="350" align="center"

** Video 2. ** **VYGOTSKY'S DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY: AN INTRODUCTION (DAVIDSON FILMS)** This video introduces the life, vocabulary and concepts of Vygotsky. The video illustrates four basic concepts integral to his work: how children construct knowledge, how learning can lead development, how development cannot be separated from its social context and how language plays a central role in cognitive development. Elena Bodrova brings an easy familiarity to these concepts. The commentary and lively classroom examples enable students, teachers in training, and classroom teachers to incorporate these concepts into their understanding of child development. media type="youtube" key="hx84h-i3w8U" width="424" height="350" align="center"

** Video 3. ** **PIAGET & VYGOTSKY.** Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky proposed the classical constructivist theories of cognitive development. Although often compared, the concepts differ significantly. Piagetian theory marginalizes the social contribution to intellectual development and that, consequently, the Vygotskian approach offers a more accurate and comprehensive analysis.

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** Video 4. ** **HOW CHILDREN LEARN (Davidson Films, Inc.)** Using animation and jargon-free narration, the film summarizes what is currently known about learning from brain research, cognitive development research and contemporary educational practice. Designed to be used as an introduction to discussion of school and teaching practices, this film also serves as an introduction to the study of learning in introductory education and psychology classes. Animation depicts the firing of synapses, the growth of dendrites and the concept of the brain plasticity, making the point that learning is as basic a human activity as breathing or eating. Factors that lead to school success are presented in a model that reflects the work of Erik Erikson, Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky without mentioning them by name. This video can thus serve as a starting point for a range of audiences interested in educational matters but leery of jargon-filled expositions.

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Gardner’s learning theory is a model of intelligence that differentiates intelligence into various specific (primarily sensory) modalities, rather than seeing it as dominated by a single general ability. Howard Gardner viewed intelligence as 'the capacity to solve problems or to fashion products that are valued in one or more cultural setting' (Gardner & Hatch, 1989). Gardner claimed that the seven intelligences rarely operate independently. They are used at the same time and tend to complement each other as people develop skills or solve problems. The intelligences provided 'a new definition of human nature, cognitively speaking'. All seven intelligences are needed to live life well. Teachers, therefore, need to attend (through the deep understanding', performance, exploration and creativity) to all intelligences, not just the first two that have been their tradition concern. He initially formulated a list of seven intelligences. His listing was provisional. The first two have been typically valued in schools; the next three are usually associated with the arts; and the final two are what Howard Gardner called 'personal intelligences' (Gardner 1999: 41-43). ** Linguistic intelligence ** involves sensitivity to spoken and written language, the ability to learn languages, and the capacity to use language to accomplish certain goals. This intelligence includes the ability to effectively use language to express oneself rhetorically or poetically; and language as a means to remember information. Writers, poets, lawyers and speakers are among those that Howard Gardner sees as having high linguistic intelligence. ** Logical-mathematical intelligence ** consists of the capacity to analyze problems logically, carry out mathematical operations, and investigate issues scientifically. In Howard Gardner's words, it entails the ability to detect patterns, reason deductively and think logically. This intelligence is most often associated with scientific and mathematical thinking. ** Musical intelligence ** involves skill in the performance, composition, and appreciation of musical patterns. It encompasses the capacity to recognize and compose musical pitches, tones, and rhythms. According to Howard Gardner musical intelligence runs in an almost structural parallel to linguistic intelligence. ** Bodily-kinaesthetic intelligence ** entails the potential of using one's whole body or parts of the body to solve problems. It is the ability to use mental abilities to coordinate bodily movements. Howard Gardner sees mental and physical activity as related. ** Spatial intelligence ** involves the potential to recognize and use the patterns of wide space and more confined areas. ** Interpersonal intelligence ** is concerned with the capacity to understand the intentions, motivations and desires of other people. It allows people to work effectively with others. Educators, salespeople, religious and political leaders and counsellors all need a well-developed interpersonal intelligence. ** Intrapersonal intelligence ** entails the capacity to understand oneself, to appreciate one's feelings, fears and motivations. In Howard Gardner's view it involves having an effective working model of ourselves, and to be able to use such information to regulate our lives. Subsequent research and reflection by Howard Gardner and his colleagues has looked to three more possible basic intelligences: ** a ** **naturalist intelligence, a spiritual intelligence and an existential intelligence.**
 * __ GARDNER'S LEARNING THEORY __**



**__ Resource __**

** - __ Michale Rosen __****__. Reading aloud__** **is a proposal to develop Multiple Intelligences while reading** [] Reading Aloud is a fifteen minute programme about books that teachers can use in the classroom but also included a segment that is a discussion about any book that people in education might enjoy reading. This might be because it has educational interest, like Howard Gardner's 'Multiple Intelligences' book, or because, in some general way, it might interest the person who happens to be a teacher - a book like 'Spies' by Michael Frayn, 'The Rainbow' by D.H. Lawrence. ** LANGUAGE ACQUISITION THEORIES ** **__ CHOMSKY. __** Chomsky suggests that language is an innate faculty. He means that we are born with a set of rules about language in our heads which he refers to as the 'Universal Grammar '. The universal grammar is the basis upon which all human languages build. This, he says, is because: This set of language learning tools, at birth, is referred to by Chomsky as the ** Language Acquisition Device **. (Notice that he uses the term "acquisition" rather than learning).
 * 1)  Poverty of the Stimulus . Children are exposed to very little correctly formed language they manage to learn their language all the same.
 * 2) Children do not simply copy the language that they hear around them. They deduce rules from it and generate infinity of new sentences.

**__ BRUNER. __** He began to study sensation and perception as being active, rather than passive processes. Bruner refuted the computer model for studying the mind, advocating a more holistic understanding of the mind and its cognitions. Bruner studied how children learned and coined the term "scaffolding" to describe how children often build off the information they have already mastered. In his research on the development of children, Bruner proposed three modes of representation: - ** Enactive ** representation (action-based). - ** Iconic ** representation ( image -based). - ** Symbolic ** representation ( language -based).

Bruner's theory suggests it is efficacious when faced with new material to follow a progression from enactive to iconic to symbolic representation. Bruner's work also suggests that a learner (even of a very young age) is capable of learning any material so long as the instruction is organized appropriately, in sharp contrast to the beliefs of [|Piaget] and other stage theorists. Bruner suggests a system of coding in which people form a hierarchical arrangement of related categories. In accordance with this understanding of learning, Bruner proposed the spiral curriculum, a teaching approach in which each subject or skill area is revisited at intervals, at a more sophisticated level each time. His educational Psychology referencing his overall view that education should not focus merely on the memorization of facts, Bruner wrote in Process of Education that ** 'knowing how something is put together is worth a thousand facts about it.' ** Bruner wanted to create an educational environment that would focus on: - What was uniquely human about human beings? - How humans got that way. - How humans could become more so.

** Spiral Curriculum **

To address readiness, structure, sequence, and motives, Bruner introduced the spiral curriculum, “in which ideas are first presented in a form and language … which can be gasped by the child, ideas that can be revisted later with greater precision and power until, finally, the student has achieved the reward of mastery” (Bruner, “On Knowing” 107). In this design, students return to topics throughout their academic careers, continually building upon what they have already learned as they develop and mature.