The role played by nature and nurture in human development and behavior is a subject that arouses interest among many behavioral psychologists. Proponents of Nature argue that inborn qualities (such as genetic material and inheritance) play a major role in shaping an individual’s development and behavior, while proponents of Nurture, on the other hand, argue that experience and learning determines an individual’s development and behavior to a great extent. When it comes to first language acquisition, ‘nativists’ believe that human beings are born with the capacity for language development, while, on the contrary, behaviorist theorists believe that first language acquisition is under the influence of “bad habit formation”, which the child corrects as they hear and imitate the right speech. Without discussing the merits and demerits of the “nature versus nurture” debate, an objective assessment of first language acquisition reveals that both nature and nurture play critical roles in human development and behavior.
The nature of mental activity processes that govern language acquisition is a subject that child language experts still debate. On one hand, some experts argue that grammatical knowledge is genetically available, while the opponents argue that grammatical knowledge is gained through analyzing and organizing information, and this has nothing to do with innate grammatical capacity. The behaviorist approach is supported by B.F Skinner who believes that language is learned through imitation, reinforcement and conditioning. The nature concept, on the other hand, is fronted by Noam Chomsky who believes that language is developed through innate mechanisms. Despite the different points of view, there are some areas where consensus can be established. One of these areas is in the predictable sequence of language acquisition.
Most children start to speak by the age of two. This is the age when they know a few words and can at least combine short phrases. By the time children join school, their sentences become complex and their vocabulary range also increases. However, the speed of language acquisition varies from one child to another. This subtle differences offer an opportunity to understand the role of nature and nurture in language development and to explain these differences.
Some children acquire their first language faster than others because they posses better receptive language capacity than their peers. Receptive language capacity is the ability to understand a language, and it is developed first before expressive language capacity (the ability to use language to communicate). For example, if a mother instructs her child to place a toy on the table, the child may follow the instructions even though he/she cannot repeat those words. Receptive language capacity largely depends on nature (inheritance and genetic materials). However, there are other factors governing language acquisition that depend on the environment.
As behaviorist theorists point out, children also acquire language through habit formation, conditioning and reinforcement. Consequently, they associate some phrases with certain sounds and actions memorized. Children also develop their language through imitating words and syntax heard from those around them. In this case, the environment (nurture) plays a role in language development.
Recent studies show that both nature and nurture influence language development, and no single factor is exclusively responsible for language acquisition and development. Although this does not settle the nature versus nurture debate, it is a pointer that other human qualities are developed through interplay between nature and nurture.
Works Cited
Singleton, Nina Capone and Brian B. Shulman. Language Development: Foundations,
Processes, and Clinical Applications. Burlington, MA : Jones & Bartlett Publishers,
2013. Print.
