LanguageAcquisition and Symbol Weaving—Conflicting or Complementing Views?

 Scientists have developed a number ofdifferent theories about how (and for what purpose) children learn to speak.Two seemingly contrasting proposals emerge from these theories:

1)When it comes to language, infants teach themselves, and they do this primarilyso they can make sense of the world around them. From this point of view,language acquisition is primarily a cognitive task.

2) Infants learn language as a creative, emotional, and interactive endeavorthrough social interaction with peers, and primarily for the purpose of socialinteraction.

focus and reflect on the following questions:

• In which ways dochild development theorists explain the process of language acquisition?
• In what ways dothese theories differ from each other?
• What is thedifference between defining language learning as “languageacquisition” and defining it as “symbol using and symbolweaving”?
• What does each ofthese theories imply about the role of the young child in the acquisitionof language?

Next response to the following scenario:

Oneof your friends is expecting her first child. She is part of a small group offirst-time parents who are eager to learn all they can about child development.Knowing that you are currently enrolled in a child development course, yourfriend asks you to provide the group with information about languagedevelopment.

Consideringall that you read this week about children and language development:

• Which theory or combinationof theories would you use for your presentation, and why?
• Which position orcombination of positions about the goals of language learning and usewould you incorporate, and why?

Besure APA and to support your response with specific references to and/or examples fromthe readings.