Critiquing Psycholinguistic and Sociolinguistic Theories
Psycholinguistics and Sociolinguistics
Psycholinguistics - Psycholinguistic Theory
Psycholinguistic theory falls under the general concept of Constructivism; it is regarded as the study of relationship between psychological process and linguistic behavior including the concept of language acquisition (Tracey & Morrow, 2012). The evidence from which the theory was based upon is the assumption that language is a primary process of reading. There are three major components of the theory that are also referred to as cues such as semantic, syntactic and Graphophonic. Syntactic refers to the pattern that dictates how the word combination constructs the sentences or otherwise the grammar structure of the sentences. Semantic on the other hand refers to the universal meaning of the word and the sentences that allows the reader to predict the next word or sentences. Graphophonic cues corresponds to the sound and visual patterns of the word or otherwise the alphabet.
The theory addresses the aspects of reading given the components that makes up its key tenets. It is a valid theory used by Goodman and Smith as a focus of their seminal publications about reading. Goodman in particular coined the term “miscues” to define a more positive description on the deviation that readers make during the actual act of reading (Tracey & Morrow, 2012). Although the theory can be easily followed in terms of logical progression, one would still notice a particular gap or limitation and that is the absence of a more profound explanation of the theory’s relationship to how and why language acquisition occurs during reading. Since the theory encompasses a relational link between language and psychological process, it offers a logical application on how reading should be addressed in P-12 schools. For example, not all children with normal cognitive abilities could acquire language. Therefore, through linguistic rules of the theory the children would learn to categorize and internalize the information in order to interpret the meaning of text from the reading materials.
Sociolinguistics – Social Learning Theory
Under sociolinguistics, social interaction plays a significant role in learning and knowledge development. The term was coined in the 1950’s to combine the concepts of sociology and linguistics (Tracey & Morrow, 2012). From the principles of sociolinguistics came the development of several theories and one of them is the Social Learning Theory developed by Albert Bandura in 1969. The theory emphasizes a key principle that links the premise of behaviorism in explaining the process of learning or otherwise the phenomenon referred to as “vicarious learning” (Tracey & Morrow, 2012). The tenets of this theory was derived from the belief that people is capable of learning by observing other people’s failures, styles and achievements without having to experience it themselves. Social learning theory was a result of Bandura’s research investigation on the effects of media on children’s learning. In his research, Bandura found out that children exposed to cartoons with varying characters that shows aggression.
After the experiment the research indicated that children have the tendencies to repeat the hostile actions perceived from watching cartoons during play. This research finding became the foundation of social learning theory (Tracey & Morrow, 2012). From the context of the research done by Bandura and the main principles of the theory, one can assume that the social learning theory possesses a valid argument pertaining to observational learning. The theory in discussion addresses a particular aspect of learning on elf-efficacy and learning. The strong point of the theory is argument that humans posses the ability to learn, imitate and interpret others behavior, which are perceived as qualities that sets human apart from the rest of the animal species. The logical progression of thought in the theory can be easily followed because of the simplicity of its underlying principles. Furthermore, the theory encompasses logical application that would address literacy in P-12 schools. The impact of the theory on education reflects on the concept that teachers frequently use in classroom management such as reinforcing one student’s behavior in the classroom (Tracey & Morrow, 2012). In addition, the teacher would be able to set a classroom behavior expectation that the rest of the students in the classroom will imitate.
References
Tracey, D. H., & Morrow, L. M. (2012). Chapter 4: Constructivism (1920s - Present). In Lenses on reading: An introduction to theories and models (2nd ed.). New York: The Guilford Press.
Tracey, D. H., & Morrow, L. M. (2012). Chapter 6: Social Learning Perspectives (1960s - Present). In Lenses on reading: An introduction to theories and models (2nd ed.). New York: The Guilford Press.
