A mother notices that her child sometimes says things that she has never heard adults or her siblings say. She is confused, as she believes that the child learns language by imitating people in her family and immediate surroundings. Her belief resonates with :

The correct option is Behaviourism.

Step-by-Step Explanation:

1. Understanding the Mother's Belief:
The mother believes that children learn language primarily by imitating and repeating words and sentences spoken by adults, family members, and people in their immediate environment. This view holds that language acquisition is a process of habit formation driven by external stimuli, imitation, practice, and reinforcement.

2. Analyzing Behaviourism in Language Acquisition:
Behaviourism, a psychological perspective pioneered by figures such as B.F. Skinner, suggests that all behaviors (including language) are learned through interaction with the environment. According to behaviourist theory:
- Language learning happens through imitation of environmental models.
- Desired speech habits are reinforced positively (e.g., praise or getting what they want), while errors are corrected.
Therefore, the mother's belief that language is acquired purely through imitation aligns directly with Behaviourism.

3. Why the Mother is Confused (Context of the Scenario):
The child produces novel utterances that she has never heard before. This phenomenon actually contradicts pure behaviourism (and supports theories like Nativism/Generative Grammar), which is why the mother is surprised when her imitation-based assumption fails to explain her child's creative language use.

4. Evaluating Other Options:

- Nativism: Proposed by Noam Chomsky, this theory suggests that humans have an innate Language Acquisition Device (LAD) enabling children to generate novel sentences, which contradicts the mother's imitation-based belief.
- Multilingualism: Refers to the ability to use or communicate in multiple languages, which is irrelevant to the mother's belief system about learning mechanisms.
- Constructivism: Emphasizes that learners construct knowledge actively through cognitive development and interaction, rather than passive imitation.

Thus, the belief that language learning occurs strictly through imitation is a hallmark of Behaviourism.