Language Develpment Theory

Throughout the study of education and learning processes, humans have divided the language development theory into different categories. It is difficult to say which one is the best, but as a teacher it is necessary to understand the different perspectives. That’s one of the reasons why there is still a lot of research and studies focused on language development. As an immigrant in this country, I feel like the Social Interaction theory fits the best to my experiences. Interacting with other students who are native speakers helped me a lot to improve my English language skills. Of course, at school I was instructed through more of the Connectionist theory. “Connectionist model consists of a set of processing elements, called nodes, and the interconnections among those nodes.” For example, Spanish and ESL classes required a lot of repetition in order to gain understanding and new vocabulary. This is similar to our experience when we were a baby. We learned words by listening to others and each time they repeated a word, we would learn how to use and pronounce that word better. Like the saying goes, “practice makes perfect.” While reading Hoff, chapter one, I realized that there are other theories which could be used effectively in the classroom, for instance, Generativist, Constructivist, and Behaviorist.


The Generativist theory states that all human can learn equally. It also explains how humans are capable of learning naturally like a built-in ability. This means that we don’t need to strain ourselves over learning about something as one can absorb information and use it naturally. For instance, when students are writing short passages in Spanish, they can partner with other students and correct each other’s grammar. The Constructivist theory says that “language (or any form of knowledge) is constructed by the child using inborn mental equipment but operating on information provided by the environment.” To me this means, anyone can learn almost anything, but it is the environment or classroom that facilitates learning. For example, after reading or watching a movie in Spanish, students can sit in a circle and have a question and answer session in order to discuss and understand each other points of view. This theory is often used in today’s classroom and involves interacting directly with the environment. This theory also states that the environment can teach any student. For example, as a Spanish teacher I can create environments where students can interact with each other by speaking the language in order to practice naturally, and be able to learn Spanish from the environment or naturally occurring instances like dialogue or conversation. Lastly, there is the Behaviorist theory. This theory focuses on certain reinforcements according to the behavior of the student. For example, positive reinforcement is really important to create a healthy learning environment and can be used to motivate our students. As a result, students will want to learn more in order to receive the incentives as part of the reinforcement. However, it’s possible that some students feel that reinforcement doesn’t always work since students are only working for a prize. “Because the behaviorists' notion of the endpoint of development was wrong, the behaviorist theory of achieving that endpoint is inadequate as a theory of language acquisition”. As a good teacher I feel like sometimes I should be giving some reinforcement to motivate students, but trying different methods to see their effectiveness is our job. In the classroom, giving too many stickers or candies everyday can condition students to get used to the idea of receiving awards for every activity or task they accomplish. However, if the instructor provides reinforcement only when it is needed or earned, students may try a little harder to work for the prize that is not so easy to get.

As a Spanish and Technology major, I believe in my field the best theories that apply are Constructivist and Social Interaction. In these classrooms, usually teachers create an environment where students can learn naturally and interact with other in order to learn and scaffold. At the same time, as an educator, it is hard to say which one of these theories is the best for all students although all of these theories are proved and can make sense in different situations. As an intentional teacher, we need to study our students by using these theories in order to serve them the best. Understanding how our students learn can help us improve in our job as guides. Since every student is different, we need to apply different methods to teach every student in the classroom.