Discuss the Behaviorist Theory of Language Learning.

One of the proponents of behaviorist theory is Skinner (1957).He is the brain child of the behaviorist approach to learning. In his famous work verbal behavior Skinner explained how language learning takes place. According to this theory one learns a language just like he learns any other form of behavior. As children, we learn how to crawl then walk. We also learn how to run, how to eat by ourselves, how to wash and so on. Later in life we learn other complex skills such as how to cook, how to ride a bicycle and even how to drive a car and so on. These behaviors/skills are likened to language learning; human beings will learn language just as they learn other forms of behavior .Thus a baby begins learning a language through babblings by first acquiring the sounds he hears in the surrounding environment .Through reinforcement these babblings are further articulated into groupings of syllables and words then gradually into sentences. As he grows up, the child continues learning through trial – and - error process during which the right utterances are reinforced through reward while the wrong ones are discouraged through lack of reward until he eventually learns to make appropriate utterances acceptable by the speech community in which he is being brought up (Wilgar M. Rivers 1968)
The notion of repetition is, therefore, extremely important in behaviorist thinking. This is because when one begins learning a behavior/skill the leaner is expected to repeat what he is learning over and over again. It is only through constant repetition that he eventually achieves the competence in the given skill.
Another concept central to the theory is stimulus and response. According to the theory every utterance can be analyzed into a stimulus and response. For example, if a child sees water and then hears his mother call it "maji” then the water (actual liquid) is the stimulus while the word "maji" is the response to the stimulus in the environment. Thus, if the child realizes that other people e.g. his father, siblings, etc keep referring to water as "maji' then he will begin to associate the word "maji" with an actual water and will do so repeatedly until it becomes a habit. Habits are, therefore, formed when certain stimuli are continuously associated with certain responses. Thus, language learning in behaviorism is compared to formation of habits.
In addition to the notion of stimulus and response, is the concept of imitation. Imitation is regarded as one of the most important strategies a child uses in the acquisition of language. According to behaviorists, children are seen as good imitators and mimics. Thus children learn by imitating/mimicking what they hear, and in this way they are able to learn a language. Consequently the frequency of a stimulus in the environment will influence the language development of a child, with more frequent stimuli resulting into more responses. Behaviorists hold the view that a child will only mimic what he has heard, and the more he imitates the more he learns the language. Therefore, imitation is an important principle in behaviorist theory.

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francis1897 answered the question on March 8, 2023 at 09:27