Chomsky's Language Acquisition Device

Language Learner Project


I asked the following questions:
1. Do you agree with Chomsky that all children are born with an innate Language Acquisition Device, and if so, do you think that this translates to all students with Exceptional Learning Needs, especially those who do not have English as their first language?
2. For students with English as a second language who may be struggling in the classroom, what are some ways to assess whether a student's academic performance is affected by a learning disability or a language barrier? If it is determined that the ESL student has a learning disability, what would you do to ensure that they are receiving the services that are necessary for them to excel as much as possible?
The responses I received to the first question were varied. One student stated that they agreed with Chomsky’s theory that all children were born with an innate LAD, and listed the areas in the brain that generate speech. (Wernicke and Broca Area). She also stated that ESL students needed to focus on their primary language, and utilize socialization, combined with Vygotsky’s theory of Language Acquisition Support System.
Another student disagreed with Chomsky’s LAD as being the sole basis for language acquisition. She stated that it did not matter how a brain was pre-set to learn language, because exposure to a language early-on could allow the subject to learn the language similarly to if it were their native language. She pointed out that language acquisition was a very complex task, and cited Critical Age Hypothesis when discussing multiple language acquisition. She furthered her idea by expanding that ESL/ELN students should be able to learn English while learning other tasks in an ESL/ELN environment, if they are guided appropriately, and socialized properly. I believe that all children are born with an innate LAD, and that if a student were experiencing difficulty in school, an assessment in their native language would be important to ensure that the source of the difficulty is language related, in lieu of some other complication.
The responses that I received for the second question were fairly similar to each other. One student postulated that there are various methods to assessing a struggling ESL student, which include: problem identification and the identification of the source of the problem, working with an ESL teacher, as well as the student’s family, developing a classroom plan of action, and consistently reassessing the progress of the student. She stated that if progress was not evident, then the student needed to have a Special Needs Assessment to make sure that the student received all of the necessary services. She also referenced the use of a translator to represent the student’s primary language while they were acquiring facets of another language. Lastly, she stressed the importance of the teacher/student relationship, and social networking as a support system for the student.
The other comments agreed with the above, and added that one on one interaction would also be a helpful tool. She stated that teachers also had the ability to communicate nonverbally with their students, regardless of a language barrier, and that assistive technology, such as computer programs, would also be beneficial. I agreed with the above statements, and believe that utilizing all available resources is extremely important to ensure comprehension.