From childhood to old age, we all use language as a means of broadening our knowledge of ourselves and the world about us. When humans first 41 , they were like newborn children, unable to use this 42 tool. Yet once language developed, the possibilities for humankind"s future 43 and cultural growth increased.
Many linguists believe that evolution is 44 for our ability to produce and use language. They 45 that our highly evolved brain provides us 46 an innate language ability not found in lower 47 . Proponents of this innateness theory say that our 48 for language is inborn, but that language itself develops gradually, 49 a function of the growth of the brain during childhood. Therefore there are critical 50 times for language development.
Current 51 of innateness theory are mixed, however, evidence supporting the existence of some innate abilities is undeniable. 52 , more and more schools are discovering that foreign languages are best taught in 53 grades. Young children often can learn several languages by being 54 to them, while adults have a much harder time learning another language once the 55 of their first language have become firmly fixed.
56 some aspects of language are undeniably innate, language does not develop automatically in a vacuum. Children who have been 57 from other human beings do not possess language. This demonstrates that 58 with other human beings is necessary for proper language development. Some linguists believe that this is even more basic to human language 59 than any innate capacities. These theorists view language as imitative, learned behavior. 60 , children learn language from their parents by imitating
them. Parents gradually shape their child"s language skills by positively reinforcing precise
imitations and negatively reinforcing imprecise ones.