Name: ALVARO LUIS VELASQUEZ JIMENEZ

Course: Qualitative and Quantitative Research

Tutor: JULIO CESAR TULANDE
Date: September 12th, 2018

Theoretical Perspective

The theory that I will use is Universal Grammar Theory. It was developed by the famous American
linguist Noam Chomsky and others since 1960 and it was used to study language learning and
acquisition. This theory indicates that we are all born with an innate knowledge of grammar that
serves as the basis for all language acquisition. Universal grammar is usually defined as the
“system of categories, mechanisms and constraints shared by all human languages and considered
to be innate” (O’Grady et al. 1996: 734; cf. also Chomsky 1986: 3, 2007: 1, Pesetsky 1999: 476).
The initial state of language development is determined by our genetic endowment, which appears
to be nearly uniform for the species. At the initial state, infants interpret parts of the environment
as linguistic experience; this is a nontrivial task which infants carry out reflexively and which
regulates the growth of the language faculty. Chomsky emphasizes the importance of the child's
genetic inheritance of the syntax imprint. For Chomsky, the "growth" of language is analogous to
the growth of internal organs and arms and legs -- determined by internal mechanisms, but
nourished by the environment -- whether verbal or nutritional. Chomsky says knowing a language
is synonymous with the capacity to produce an infinite number of sentences never previously
spoken, and to understand sentences never before heard. This ability is what Chomsky calls the
"creative aspect" of language.
Chomsky's concept clashes directly with that of behaviorist B. F. Skinner, who espoused the idea
that language is a direct result of conditioning, and with psychologist Jean Piaget, viewed language
acquisition as a part of overall cognitive development in children.
As applied to my topic, this theory holds that I would expect my independent variables as the
varying social conditions under which second language acquisition takes place, age and the
accidental facts of individual experience, to influence or explain the dependent variables of the
acquisition and learning of a second language because Universal Grammar theory is essential since
it offers a predictive model of acquisition empirically testable, which can be usefully employed as
a valid reference point for a wide range of phenomena, including non-primary acquisition .
Chomsky’s Universal Grammar is a significant theory in the field of linguistics and it has given a
solid explanation of the way that how child learns languages. It is a fundamental and significant
turn or shit from the behaviorist opinion. The principle and parameter, logic concept of UG, has
gained much focuses from the linguistics. It is full of value in understanding language learning.
Meanwhile, with the quicken development of second language acquisition, though different
viewpoints appear concerning the UG approach to language learning, it is not appropriate to deny
the role that UG plays in language learning.

1
REFERENCES
Creswell, J. (2014). Quantitative Theory Use. In Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and
mixed methods approaches (4th ed., pp. 84-97). California: SAGE Publications, Inc.Retrieved from
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MDuKDcn1eKRppZSTwQnRJtiPx3wXowu/view?usp=sharin
Henner Kaatz (Author), 2007, The role of universal grammar in second language acquisition,
Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/90841
Roger Hawkins (2001). The theoretical significance of Universal Grammar in second language
acquisition. Vol 17, Issue 4, pp. 345 – 367. Second Language Research.
https://doi.org/10.1177/026765830101700404
Savela, T. (2017). The advantages and disadvantages of quantitative methods in schoolscape
research. Linguistics and Education, 44, 31-44. Retrieved from
https://bibliotecavirtual.unad.edu.co:2054/science/article/pii/S0898589817300943?via=ihub