Years ago, a scientist named Noam Chomsky came up with a concept. This concept, which he calls Universal Grammar, expresses the general principles that are subject to the sentence production laws of all languages in the universal sense. As soon as we are born, we are equipped with a language acquisition device. Although all languages are different in terms of alphabet, pronunciation and spelling, they appeal to us in a universal dimension with common and general principles. Have you thought about how you acquired a language when you learned it? Chomsky thought about it and based it on certain questions:
1- When we know a language, what do we know?
2- How to get this information?
3- How is this knowledge put into practice?
4- What is the physical basis of information systems and its use in neural mechanisms?
Chomsky says that although he seems to be interested in the biological dimension of the mind, which is a language acquisition device, he also needs environmental stimuli such as the body. The mind matures over time and can develop with environmental stimuli. ‘The mind has a very rich competence; however, certain kinds of stimulating environments are required for these competencies to work.
Apart from the questions about how we speak a language, these researches of Noam Chomsky on why we cannot speak a language shed light on us. It is a fact that knowing the theoretical structure of the language, memorizing many words, and grammar knowledge offers us a rich infrastructure. Besides, I think that the most robust language learning method is to be exposed to that language only in the place where that language is spoken. In this way, the invisible language acquisition device in our minds will start to work and begin to reveal all its potentials in this way. This is where the bewilderment of ‘how did I learn this language in such a short time’ or ‘how could I express myself in this way’, which the person does not even believe in himself, begin. A person should be aware of his own wealth and the beauties that the mysterious structures in his brain will offer him. We have a great processor and we have to create the motivation to drive it within ourselves.