chomsky

• Chomsky states that individuals are born with a ‘language acquisition device’ (LAD) that enables children to recognise and develop the languages they experience.
• According to Chomsky’s theory, children are ‘programmed’ to acquire language and it evolves naturally, the same way that children have the ability to stand and to walk.
• Chomsky believes that a child could not possibly learn a new language through imitation alone because the grammar and syntax of the language around them is often highly irregular.
• Noam Chomsky (1959) believed that the ability to develop a signed or spoken language is genetically programmed into individuals.
• All individuals have the ability to understand and use language, regardless of other abilities and to become fluent in their first language by the age of five or six.
• Critics of Chomsky point out the lack of scientific evidence to support his theory.
• Some would argue that social interaction, particularly in the early stages of language development, is critical and has far more influence on children than Chomsky suggested.
• Chomsky did not take into consideration children who experienced delayed language development e.g. children who have learning disability or hearing/speech impairments.