Reinforcement Contingencies in Language Acquisition

Abstract

Reinforcement-based language intervention procedures amplify learning processes that operate in children's natural language acquisition. Key Points • • A large number of children require intervention to address deficits in language and communication that may negatively impact their educational and adaptive functioning. • • Potential reinforcement contingencies are embedded in all of children's interactions with caregivers and appear to exert a major influence on the acquisition of language and communication skills; in addition, response-contingent sensory consequences may play a role in vocal development and possibly other aspects of language learning. • • Reinforcement-based language interventions serve to amplify variables that are necessary for reinforcement learning to occur, and have been used successfully to teach various aspects of language and communication for children whose language impairments range from mild to severe. • • When naturally occurring reinforcement contingencies fail to result in age-typical language acquisition, effective arrangement of reinforcement contingencies that operate throughout the day may help support language learning.

Exploring the External Causes of Fossilized Pronunciation Errors Employed by English Graduate Students in Classroom Discussion at Universitas Negeri Padang

“…This finding shows that the contingent consequences of communicating are, in fact, an important driving force in language acquisition [12]. The reinforcement includes social reinforcement by even the subtlest reactions of listeners, which affect who we talk to and how and potentially, "automatic" reinforcement by auditory feedback from our own speech [13]. The immersion program (e.g., Harley and Swain, 1978) [14] also includes as the reinforcement from the environment, in which the teachers can simulate an immersion environment by establishing an 'English-only' area in their institutions and by insisting on all communication with them being in English.…”

SOUNDS AND PRONUNCIATION (Children's First Language Acquisition Model in the Pragmatic Process)

“…Penelitian tersebut cukup menarik dengan menggunakan adaptasi Denmark dari inventaris pembangunan komunikatif (CDI). Studi kasus penguasaan bahasa pada anak-anak juga dipengaruhi oleh kontingen pengasuhan dan mitra percakapan, serta oleh konsekuensi lain dari aspek berbicara, menurut (Petursdottir & Mellor, 2017) kontingensi penguatan berperan besar dalam pemerolehan bahasa anak. Beberapa dekade penelitian yang berkelanjutan telah mendokumentasikan bagaimana mengatur kontingensi penguatan untuk mendukung penguasaan keterampilan bahasa dan komunikasi pada anak-anak dengan berbagai tingkat gangguan bahasa.…”

Interactive Language Acquisition with One-shot Visual Concept Learning through a Conversational Game

“…While for mechanical actions such as movement, the consequences mainly follow geometrical and mechanical principles, for language, humans act by speaking, and the consequence is typically a response in the form of verbal and other behavioral feedback (e.g., nodding) from the conversation partner (i.e., teacher). These types of feedback typically contain informative signals on how to improve language skills in subsequent conversations and play an important role in humans' language acquisition process (Kuhl, 2004;Petursdottir and Mellor, 2016). Second, humans have shown a celebrated ability to learn new concepts from small amount of data (Borovsky et al, 2003).…”

“…In contrast, humans learn in a way very different from the supervised setting (Skinner, 1957;Kuhl, 2004). First, humans act upon the world and learn from the consequences of their actions (Skinner, 1957;Kuhl, 2004;Petursdottir and Mellor, 2016). While for mechanical actions such as movement, the consequences mainly follow geometrical and mechanical principles, for language, humans act by speaking, and the consequence is typically a response in the form of verbal and other behavioral feedback (e.g., nodding) from the conversation partner (i.e., teacher).…”