Hadley-Chomsky

I would ask you to write in your blogs about one theorist or approach (ie. Chomsky or Cognitive theory). Write a short paragraph about your topic and if you think either the theorist of the approach is valid. Why?

Chomsky made a distinction regarding the rationalist/empiricist theory in 1965. The most recognizable difference between the rationalist and empiricist theories is "the presumed locus of control of the process of language acquisition". The rationalist theory maintains that we as humans have an innate and genetic capacity to develop language in certain ways. Empiricists maintain that more important than any innate capacity to learn language is the learner's experience. It is rather the outside forces rather than any internal programming. Language learning is just a part of "general learning ability or capacity" (Hadley, 54).

I have had experiences in language learning that can be explained by both the rationalist and empiricist theories. I am a proponent of the ideal that language learning can be a genetically ingrained characteristic. For instance, my son who speaks English as a first language has always had the natural ability to speak, even in English with the natural candence and lilt that we hear among Ojibwe language speakers. It is only something that could be genetic in his case.