Section 2.7 Theories of language development and learning

1. Behavioral theory

This theory explains language development exclusively in terms of environmental factors. Behaviorists use two processes to explain language acquisition: imitation and reinforcement. They suggest that children learn to speak by imitating what they hear and repeating it in appropriate situations.

A good example of children’s imitation of adults’ language is seen when parents say “good bye” to their children.

With time, many young children by the age of two years are able to wave and say ‘bye and bye’ or good bye’. They learn this by simply observing and imitating parents and others. When children imitate, adults give praise and attention. This increases the likelihood that they will imitate again. Through continuous observation and imitation, the child’s language expands and that way he or she develops a language.