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Biological influences that contribute to language development
Child Development and Learning Focusing on Language Development
Cultural consideration in language acquisition
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Language Development in Children Language is a multifaceted instrument used to communicate an unbelievable number of different things. Primary categories are information, direction, emotion, and ceremony. While information and direction define cognitive meaning, emotion language expresses emotional meaning. Ceremonial language is mostly engaged with emotions but at some level information and direction collection may be used to define a deeper meaning and purpose. There is perhaps nothing more amazing than the surfacing of language in children. Children go through a number of different stages as language develops. According to Craig and Dunn, (2010), “Even before birth, it appears that infants are prepared to respond to and learn language” (p. 112). Children develop these skills quickly with nature and nurture influences. Researchers have proposed several different theories to explain how and why language development occurs. This paper is an overview of the process of early childhood language development with research evidence supporting the information stated. Babies begin to develop language skills long before they embark on speaking. Foundation for learning language begins before birth by the baby listening and recognizing his/her mother’s heartbeat and voice in the womb. “In a study, researchers played a 2-minute recording of a popular Chinese poem to 60 pregnant women and their unborn babies while monitoring total heart rates. Heart rates rose while the babies listened to their own mother's voice, but they fell and stayed lower while the stranger recited. Obviously, the babies were paying close attention, leading the researchers to suspect they're not only recognizing morn, but beginning to learn the ins and outs of lang... ... middle of paper ... ... (p. 116). In her article, “Babies Prove Sound Learners,” Sohn (2008), states, “Such studies show that, up to about 6 months of age, babies can recognize all the sounds that make up all the languages in the world” (para.24). B.K. Skinner suggest that the materialization of language is the result of imitation and reinforcement. According to Craig and Dunn (2010), “Language development is linked to cognitive development that, in turn, depends on the development of the brain, on physical and perceptual abilities, and on experiences. Biological and social factors also jointly influence the early development of emotion and personality” (p. 117). In her article, A natural history of early language experience. Hart (2000), states, “Talking is important for children, because complexity of what children say influences the complexity of other people’s response” (para. 1).
The most popular method for educators at the centre to build on children’s comments and conversations is by talking with them, particularly by talking through processes or experiences as they are happening. With infants this process of talking through experiences and processes seems more like narration. Spending time in the infant room feels solidary as I talk to myself for most of the day, however it is important to remind myself that the child is learning through my one-sided conversations. Baby’s language develops socially, they listen to those speaking around them and then begin to internalise the words that are high frequency (Clarke, 2004). As they develop their vocabulary grows as they build their repertoire through socialisation. Research
Language acquisition begins with babies. The initial sounds are babbling and cooing, then they try to imitate what they hear. Eventually, they can say a word. They learn the rules and grammar of their home language Rowe and Levine)
Development in Children Under Age 2 Years (Zimmerman et al., 2007) Nearly every theory of language development recognizes that there is a critical period for learning language. During this critical period a child must receive environmental input for normal development. Parents and caregivers are an extremely important piece of this environmental input and the best way for caregivers to teach their children language is to simply talk to them—a lot. We know that children often say their first word between the ages of 11 and 14 months, and there continues to be a lot of variability in language development; is this a result of nature or nurture? Zimmerman, Christakis, and Meltzoff (2007) studied the effects of media viewing on language development in children under 2 to see if this, as a part of nurture, has a negative consequence on language.
This brings a responsibility to the parents to make sure that they care for their child so that they can enhance their native language and possibly others as well. Children’s brains develop fast and it starts to create the foundation for their learning in the future. How parents care for their children can truly impact them in their development and learning skills. One important aspect that parents can do is talk to their child as much as possible. This starts to introduce children to different sounds and words in their native language and can help them develop their language skills. It can help children develop their language skills much faster. Another thing that parents can do is show positive reinforcement to their children by clapping when they begin to develop language skills. When they are infants, they use their body language or make eye contact to communicate with their parents. Showing positive reinforcement to these beginning stages of language can positively impact the growth of their language skills. This topic is important because it shows how crucial this period of time is in the development of language
Kuhl, P. (2007). Is speech learning 'gated' by the social brain?. Developmental Science, 10(1), 110-120.
Cognitive Development and Language Skills Development “Cognitive development underpins all the other aspects of development as children start to explore and make sense of the world around them. It is closely linked to the development of language and communication skills as children interact with the people around them.” There are many theories written on the subjects of cognitive development and language and communication. These theories vary in several ways, but they all seem to make the link between the too subjects. Childcare settings put these theories into practise in a lot of ways, sometimes without even realising it, just through conversation.
On the nature side of the debate, every baby cried when they were trying to communicate to their caregiver. Crying is universal because it is the only way that babies can alert their caregiver that something is wrong. Furthermore, each baby cooed, babbled, and cried without prompting. Ponijao babbles when her mother pats her on the back because she likes the sound it makes. Bayar’s brother keeps putting a strip of fabric in his face, making him cry out of annoyance. Mari babbles and has a “conversation” with another baby on one of her visits to the park. Hattie also starts saying syllables on her own. However, nurture plays a huge role in language development as well. Each baby was read to, spoken to, sung to, or a mixture of the former. Without prompting from his mother, Bayar would not be able to copy the sounds that she makes to try to get him to speak. Hattie can say “no” and “uh oh”, which are English phrases. Her parents would have taught her how to say those words. In fact, her mother reads to her, and she imitates the sounds her mother makes while reading. This proves that without both heredity and environment, language would never develop in an infant. They need to have an inborn ability to quickly and easily learn vocabulary and grammar during the critical periods, but they also need to hear and interact with language in their
This essay is about a child’s development and learning, focusing primarily on language development. It will describe the main stages of developmental "milestones" and the key concepts involved for children to develop their language skills, discussing language acquisition and social learning theory. The essay will also look into the key theorists involved in language development, primarily Vygotsky and Chomsky, and how these theories have had an impact on the way society views language and their implementation within schools. The essay will describe the factors affecting language development, both biological and environmental. While also discussing key arguments among theorists, one being the nature vs nurture debate, and how these play a part in the teaching in schools.
Otto, B. (2010). Language development in early childhood (3rd ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.
6 – 12 months – children usually listen carefully, and turn to someone talking on the other side of the room. Babble strings of sounds, like ‘no-no’ and ‘go-go’ usually begin to develop. Finally, children will look at you when you speak and when their name is called.
The aim of this essay is to explore language acquisition and compare and contrast different theories of language acquisition and language development. Language in its most basic form is used to communicate our needs and wants. It encompasses a range of modes of delivery including signing, spoken and written words, posture, eye contact, facial expressions and gestures. So how do we learn ‘language’? Are we born with the skills for communication, or is it something that we have to learn or have taught to us? Four theories are looked at in this essay to determine how children acquire and then develop language. These theories include behaviourist, nativist, cognitivist and sociocultural. This essay will highlight some similarities and differences in each theory and what impact these have on a child’s acquisition and development of language. Lastly we will look at the implications of these theories when working with children. Can a classroom teacher deliver a quality literacy program based on just one of these theories or does it need to incorporate components of all four? Sims, (2012) pp. 21 states ‘’High-quality learning experiences in the early years of life enhance children’s cognitive and language skills’’. This places a great responsibility on educators and teachers alike to provide an environment which is rich in learning opportunities that will encourage both the acquisition and development of language.
There are three main theories of child language acquisition; Cognitive Theory, Imitation and Positive Reinforcement, and Innateness of Certain Linguistic Features (Linguistics 201). All three theories offer a substantial amount of proof and experiments, but none of them have been proven entirely correct. The search for how children acquire their native language in such a short period of time has been studied for many centuries. In a changing world, it is difficult to pinpoint any definite specifics of language because of the diversity and modification throughout thousands of millions of years.
During this phase children begin to gain better control of their mouths and tongues they start to laugh and coo. The sounds that are produced are mostly from the back of the mouth which are velar, plosive consonants for example the /k/ and /g/ and the long close back rounded vowel /u:/. O’Grady suggests that from four months a parent, guardian or care-giver can contribute to language acquisition by speaking to the child in a particular way known as Motherese. This nature of speech is slow with careful pronunciation and simple vocabulary objects, using short sentences and exaggerated intonation. This kind of speech helps the child understand what is being said. Furthermore, children react more positively to speech with the emphasis of Motherese than speech that has adult like intonation. (O’Grady
Language acquisition is a significant milestone in early childhood with lexical acquisition beginning as early as six months, and starting before an infant ever speaks their first word (Gervain & Mehler, 2010). Understanding and later speaking their native language will prove to be an important skill. According to Topping, Dekhinet, and Zeedyk (2012), parent-infant interaction in the first three years is critical to the development of this skill. The brain shows evidence that structural and functional organization for language exists from the start (Gervain & Mehler, 2010), and even prior to birth infants are exposed to language in utero (May, Heinlein, Gervain, & Werker, 2011), with hearing onset in the third trimester. This exposure allows them
Further in this term-paper I am going to describe the stages in child language acquistion starting from the very birth of an infant till the onset of puberty.