Final answer:
Noam Chomsky's language theory suggests that children possess an innate grammatical framework, known as a Language Acquisition Device, that facilitates language learning, highlighting our biological predisposition for this task during a critical period in early childhood.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question pertains to Noam Chomsky's theory on language development in children. According to Chomsky, contrary to B. F. Skinner's behaviorist approach, which suggested that language learning is a result of positive and negative reinforcement, children have an innate capacity to learn language. Chomsky introduced the concept of a Language Acquisition Device (LAD), which is an inherent mental faculty enabling children to instinctively acquire and understand language.
Chomsky's hypothesis is based on the observation that language acquisition unfolds in a predictable sequence and happens swiftly and effectively during the early stages of life, suggesting a biological predisposition to acquire language knowledge. This process takes place during a critical period in early childhood, across different cultures, and does not require formal instruction. Subsequently, current research in the field of cognitive development and linguistics supports a blended view recognizing both innate biological abilities and the influence of the linguistic environment in the development of language in children.