How does the theory of social interactionism view language development?

The theory of social interactionism views language development as fundamentally rooted in interactions with caregivers and other members of society. This theoretical framework posits that children learn language through social engagement, emphasizing the importance of communicative exchanges and feedback from their environment.

Interaction with caregivers provides both the scaffolding necessary for language acquisition and a rich linguistic context. Through these social interactions, children are exposed to language models that they can imitate, receive encouragement and correction, and learn the social rules around communication. This perspective highlights that language development is not merely an individual cognitive achievement but is significantly influenced by the social environment. This contrasts with other views that focus solely on genetic factors, individual learning processes, or a static cycle of language use, which do not account for the dynamic nature of social learning in language acquisition.