Question 26

A student's mind is a blank slate that responds to environmental stimuli.

The behaviorist perspective on language acquisition posits that learning is primarily a response to external stimuli, suggesting that a student's mind begins as a blank slate. This viewpoint emphasizes the role of the environment and reinforcement in shaping language development.

A) A student's mind is a blank slate that responds to environmental stimuli.

This option accurately represents the behaviorist perspective, which asserts that language acquisition occurs through interaction with the environment and is largely influenced by reinforcement and conditioning. It emphasizes that learners do not come with pre-existing knowledge but rather acquire language through their experiences.

B) A student is born with an innate ability to acquire language.

This statement aligns more closely with the nativist perspective, which argues that individuals possess an inherent capacity for language learning. Unlike the behaviorist view, it suggests that children are pre-wired to learn language, making this option inconsistent with the behaviorist framework.

C) A student actively takes ownership of information in a way that provides meaning.

This option suggests an active, constructivist approach to learning, where students engage with and interpret information. This perspective diverges from behaviorism, which views learning as a passive process influenced by external factors rather than an active construction of meaning.

D) A student has a limited period of time to acquire full native-like competence in a language.

While this statement may reflect some aspects of language acquisition theories, it does not encapsulate the core of the behaviorist perspective. The behaviorist view does not specifically emphasize a critical period for language acquisition; rather, it focuses on stimulus-response patterns.

Conclusion

The behaviorist perspective on language acquisition is best captured by the notion of a student's mind as a blank slate responding to environmental stimuli, emphasizing the role of external factors in learning. Options B, C, and D each reflect different theoretical frameworks that do not align with behaviorism, thus reinforcing the correctness of option A in this context.