Landmarks of First Language Acquisition Theories

چکیده

Language learning is a natural and unique human development process according to which the child learns his mother tongue as a first language. The simplest theory of language development is that children learn language by imitating adult language. Another possibility is that children learn language through conditioning. Chomsky proposed the hypothesis of the innateness of language. Piaget believed that language is a cognitive process and a product of the development of public intelligence. According to Vygotsky, although children have a cognitive basis for language learning, language development is for expressing functions. Finally, connectionists believe that children learn language without even understanding the rules or even without the rules. Some attempts to link linguistic and cognitive development to the use of Piaget steps have been unsuccessful. Major advances have been made in understanding language and cognitive development, but these advances have not shown a close relationship. Given the state of knowledge today, it is not possible to make a definitive choice of one of the various theories. It seems logical to say that a combination of imitation skills, innate language learning tools, cognitive development, and social communication interactions contribute to language development. This article is a review of theories of language development and learning in children.