Innatism

The most influential proponent of the innatist position is Noam Chomsky
he pointed out that imitation and SR-theories (SR= stimulus-response) of learning fail to
explain how people come to produce sentences which they never heard before.
He argued that if children learn language by imitation, why do they say things have never
heard before?
The innatist theory states that learning is natural for human beings. They believe that babies
enter the world with a biological propensity, an inborn device, to learn
This human built in device for learning language has been coined the – LAD - language
acquisition device.
The innatist theory does somewhat explain how children can generate or invent language
they have never heard.
researchers like Chomsky, Fodor, and Steven Pinker to argue that languages are not
learned like any other complex faculty (flying airplanes or doing complex mathematical
calculations, for instance) but 'acquired' on the basis of an innate knowledge of grammatical
principles contained in the language acquisition device (LAD).
the LAD is later renamed Universal Grammar (UG)**.
The 'logical problem of language acquisition', which gave rise to the problematic distinction
of 'language acquisition' and learning, is seen to lie in the fact that adult language generally is full
of grammatically errors, unfinished sentences and similar 'handicaps' which seem to make it
impossible for the human brain/mind as a 'logical machine' to extract from that sort of
controversial input the right sort of grammatical rules.
Observation of children and their parents reveals, too, that adults do not give children
explicit instruction in rules of grammar (which would undo the logical problem of language
acquisition). ** Chomsky hypothesizes that infants must be born with some special built-in
ability to learn language. He called this biological ability as the Language Acquisition
Device (LAD). This device contains the main rules for all possible human languages.
Chomsky called this set of common rules Universal Grammar (UG). Infants universally
possess an innate 'grammar template' or universal grammar that allows them to select out
the many grammatical rules of the language they hear spoken around them, they
gradually construct the grammar of their own native language.
It suggests the children construct grammar through a process of hypothesis test. For
example, the past tense of verbs are formed by adding –ed, so a child says "goed".
Eventually children revise their hypothesis to accommodate exception of the past tense of
irregular verbs.
Children create sentences by using rules rather than by merely repeating what they have
heard.
The innatist theory is mainly concerned with first language acquisition. It asserts that
human have access to the knowledge that is processed innately. The protagonists of the
nativist position of language acquisition aim to explain first language acquisition, not second
language acquisition.
that acquisition is related to first language whereas learning has to do with second and foreign
languages.
Some theorists argue that UG may be available for second language acquisition up to a critical
age only (early puberty) after which the plasticity of the brain would put an end to the beneficial
workings of UG.
We must remember, too, that second language learningis different from foreign language
learning. Second language learning takes place in a target language environment and
provides the learners with plenty of language input in contextually meaningful situations. In
contrast, foreign language learning takes place under extreme time limits in a first language
cultural context and provides comparatively poor environmental conditions for language
acquisition.
To sum up, the innatist theory proposes that the ability to learn language is inborn, that
the nature is more important than nurture and that experience using language is only
necessary in order to activate the LAD. However, one problem with Chomsky's theory is
that it does not take enough account of the influence that thought (cognition) and
language have on each other's development. Although this theory provides what some
claim is a reasonable explanation about acquiring language,
this theory lack sufficient evidence. Some of the cases against this theory include, “timing of
language learning varies greatly within cultures, environment shapes how much and what
language is learned, and feedback from other language users affects language acquisition”
(Cooter & Reutzel, 2004).
 Not a good explanation of second language learning acquisition especially by learners

who have passed the critical period.
 Puts too much emphasis on final state (competence of adult native speakers) and not
enough on the development aspects.
 Doesn’t see that there are specific brain structures devoted to language acquisition.

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The most influential proponent of the innatist position is Noam Chomsky

the LAD is later renamed Universal Grammar (UG)**.

 Not a good explanation of second language learning acquisition especially by learners

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