Social interactionist theory, often abbreviated SIT, is an account of language development that emphasizes the role of social interaction between a developing child and the linguistically knowledgeable adults around them. The theory draws heavily on the sociocultural theories of the Soviet psychologist Lev Vygotsky, treating a child's language growth as inseparable from the social exchanges through which it happens rather than as a purely internal or purely innate process.
Facts
Core ClaimLanguage development is driven by social interaction between the developing child and linguistically knowledgeable adults, grounded in Lev Vygotsky's socio-cultural theory and the zone of proximal development, rather than by innate structure or behaviorist conditioning alone. 1 FAQs
How do social interactionists answer the nativist view of language learning?
They dispute Chomsky's claim that adult input is full of errors and offer evidence that children's errors are corrected.
Social interactionists criticize the claim made by Noam Chomsky according to which the linguistic input children are presented with by adults addressing them is full of errors and discontinuities. They also provide contrary empirical evidence on another nativist argument, the availability of negative feedback on, and corrections of, children's errors.
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Source Social Interactionist Theory (Wikipedia)
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1. Social Interactionist Theory (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead paragraph
Social interactionist theory (SIT) is an explanation of language development emphasizing the role of social interaction between the developing child and linguistically knowledgeable adults. It is based largely on the socio-cultural theories of Soviet psychologist, Lev Vygotsky.
In Group: Language Learning in Social Context, Lead
Social interactionist theory (SIT) is an explanation of language development emphasizing the role of social interaction between the developing child and linguistically knowledgeable adults.
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