Eleven-month old Alvaro exclaimed, "Che!" "Oh, you want leche, milk?" beamed his mother, Lucia. Alvaro reached his hands out to grasp his bottle.As Lucia's mother watched the two she suggested, in Spanish, "Maybe Alvaro should learn to speak in English. You should speak English at home.""Mama, then you won't understand us!" Lucia replied."I'll understand what you say, but speaking English is too hard for me.""No. I want Alvaro to know his culture. He learns English at the child care center. Besides, everyone around here speaks Spanish." Lucia gestured, referring to their neighbors.Two years later, Lucia enrolled Alvaro in a preschool near her workplace. In a parent-teacher conference, his teacher explained to Lucia, "Alvaro's mathematics skills are exceptional. He's way ahead of his peers

Question

in counting and understanding math concepts. But he lags behind his peers in vocabulary and syntax. I think he needs some extra practice speaking English to help to catch up and start first grade with his peers. Does he speak English at home?""A little, but we speak mostly Spanish. My mother only speaks Spanish. She lives with us and cares for Alvaro outside of preschool hours. And everyone in our neighborhood speaks Spanish," replied Lucia."Do you read stories to Alvaro?"Sometimes. I work at night and go to school. I'm thankful for my mother's help or I'd never be able to keep up. I try to read to Alvaro a couple of times a week."Alvaro appears to be better at speaking Spanish than English. How might this be explained by a learning theorist? Nativist? Interactionist?

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Suggested Answer: A nativist would say that the child finds Spanish more intuitive, since that was the first language that activated the LAD. The learning theorist would say that the greater proficiency in Spanish is due to early exposure and reinforcement to his native language. An interactionist would say that due to the child's early exposure to Spanish, especially since that is the language his parents spoke, he is more naturally sensitive to the sounds made in that language over those made in English, some of which include sounds he has lost the ability to detect.