Language Development
Humans begin to communicate with the world around them from the very first cries they make after they are born. From crying to cooing to pointing and other gestures, major developmental milestones are made as children continue to develop. This development first starts to occur when infants begin to use words to speak, from the start of word representation of objects to full sentences. Language is known as the system of symbols that is used to communicate with others or in our own thinking. Language isn't just used to communicate but sometimes used to talk to ourselves and use word to understand our thinking. Words can really influence the way think and understand certain experiences.
Aspects of Language
There are four basic aspects of language that have been studied: phonology, syntax, semantics,and pragmatics. Phonology refers to the study of the sounds of language. When remembering phonology it's best to think of the sounds that come through a telephone. Syntax is the grammar of the language. This is how we put words in order and how we chance words. Semantics is the study of the meanings of words. Where as pragmatics is how we use language, its the rules that guide how we use language in social situations. All of these aspects are used to describe language development.
Theories of Language Development
There are many different ideas about how children begin to learn to talk and how we understand language. From behaviorism ans social cognitive learning theory, nativism, interactionism, and the cognitive processing theory are just a few different theories that have developed over time. Nativism is a theory of language development that hypothesizes that the human brains are innately wired to learn language and that hearing spoken language triggers the activation of a universal grammar. This universal grammar refers to the set of grammatical rules and constrains proposed by Chomsky that is thought to underlie all languages and that is hardwired in the human brain. Interactionsim is the language development theory that proposes that the child's biological readiness to learn language interacts with the child's experiences with language in the environment to bring about the child's language development. Last but not least the cognitive processing theory deals with learning language that is the process of "data crunching" in which the actual process of learning words and their meanings relies on the computational ability of the human brain. There is some controversies among these theories, yet people follow these beliefs today.
Language and the Brain
The brain is divided into two hemispheres that comprise the human brain. It's known that the left hemisphere contains two ares that are central to language and development. Broca's area is one of those two areas which is involved in the production of speech and involves the motor movement that deals with the tongue and lips. Wernicke's area is the second of the two areas which deals with the part of the brain that has to be do with understanding the meaning in speech. These two regions develop during different times of development. Although its known that the left hemisphere is primarily for language some others aspects of language include recognition of the emotions of words as well.
Aspects of Language
There are four basic aspects of language that have been studied: phonology, syntax, semantics,and pragmatics. Phonology refers to the study of the sounds of language. When remembering phonology it's best to think of the sounds that come through a telephone. Syntax is the grammar of the language. This is how we put words in order and how we chance words. Semantics is the study of the meanings of words. Where as pragmatics is how we use language, its the rules that guide how we use language in social situations. All of these aspects are used to describe language development.
Theories of Language Development
There are many different ideas about how children begin to learn to talk and how we understand language. From behaviorism ans social cognitive learning theory, nativism, interactionism, and the cognitive processing theory are just a few different theories that have developed over time. Nativism is a theory of language development that hypothesizes that the human brains are innately wired to learn language and that hearing spoken language triggers the activation of a universal grammar. This universal grammar refers to the set of grammatical rules and constrains proposed by Chomsky that is thought to underlie all languages and that is hardwired in the human brain. Interactionsim is the language development theory that proposes that the child's biological readiness to learn language interacts with the child's experiences with language in the environment to bring about the child's language development. Last but not least the cognitive processing theory deals with learning language that is the process of "data crunching" in which the actual process of learning words and their meanings relies on the computational ability of the human brain. There is some controversies among these theories, yet people follow these beliefs today.
Language and the Brain
The brain is divided into two hemispheres that comprise the human brain. It's known that the left hemisphere contains two ares that are central to language and development. Broca's area is one of those two areas which is involved in the production of speech and involves the motor movement that deals with the tongue and lips. Wernicke's area is the second of the two areas which deals with the part of the brain that has to be do with understanding the meaning in speech. These two regions develop during different times of development. Although its known that the left hemisphere is primarily for language some others aspects of language include recognition of the emotions of words as well.
Stages of Language Development
It's important to not emphasize the stages and ages which development occurs because all children develop differently and at different rates. The biggest controversy with this topic is whether there is a specific age beyond when children aren't capable of developing language. Development beings in the prenatal stage even before birth. There is a prenatal awareness of language that sets the stage for language learning once the baby is actually born. Once infants are born they begin their language development with crying, cooing and babbling. After beginning to make sounds the process of which infants narrow their perception to the specific language they are hearing appears to be linked to later language production. It's important for parents and caregivers to take a role in the beginning stages of language development. This can be done through child- directed speech, shared attention, gestures and sign language. As children's language development grows so does their vocabulary and ability to develop words and sentences. After word development and sentence structure begins written language starts to become evident. This process begins with emergent literacy which is the set of skills that develop before children being formal reading instruction, which in the end provides the foundation for later academic skills to develop over time. As development continues so does metalinguistic abilities which help to think about and talk about language. Once children begin to enter into their teen years knowledge transformation takes place and a style of writing in which the goal is to convey a deeper understanding of a subject by taking information and transforming it into ideas that can be shared with a reader so that the reader understands and learns from those ideas.
It's important to not emphasize the stages and ages which development occurs because all children develop differently and at different rates. The biggest controversy with this topic is whether there is a specific age beyond when children aren't capable of developing language. Development beings in the prenatal stage even before birth. There is a prenatal awareness of language that sets the stage for language learning once the baby is actually born. Once infants are born they begin their language development with crying, cooing and babbling. After beginning to make sounds the process of which infants narrow their perception to the specific language they are hearing appears to be linked to later language production. It's important for parents and caregivers to take a role in the beginning stages of language development. This can be done through child- directed speech, shared attention, gestures and sign language. As children's language development grows so does their vocabulary and ability to develop words and sentences. After word development and sentence structure begins written language starts to become evident. This process begins with emergent literacy which is the set of skills that develop before children being formal reading instruction, which in the end provides the foundation for later academic skills to develop over time. As development continues so does metalinguistic abilities which help to think about and talk about language. Once children begin to enter into their teen years knowledge transformation takes place and a style of writing in which the goal is to convey a deeper understanding of a subject by taking information and transforming it into ideas that can be shared with a reader so that the reader understands and learns from those ideas.
Bilingualism and Bilingual Education
It's never an easy task when it comes to learning how to speak a second language, yet many people around the world speak more than one language. There is evidence that bilingual children having smaller vocabularies in each language though. It is best if you learn another language at a younger age and it makes it more likely for the child to speak without a detectable accent and will be proficient at using the particular language. There has been suggestions that bilingualism is an advantage for cognitive development and functioning particularly in the area of executive control. There is also evidence showing advantages in solving problems that end up requiring the child to ignore irrelevant or misleading information. There are many different intended goals that come from bilingualism. Most importantly, promoting multiculturalism is a dual language approach that tops all goals.
It's never an easy task when it comes to learning how to speak a second language, yet many people around the world speak more than one language. There is evidence that bilingual children having smaller vocabularies in each language though. It is best if you learn another language at a younger age and it makes it more likely for the child to speak without a detectable accent and will be proficient at using the particular language. There has been suggestions that bilingualism is an advantage for cognitive development and functioning particularly in the area of executive control. There is also evidence showing advantages in solving problems that end up requiring the child to ignore irrelevant or misleading information. There are many different intended goals that come from bilingualism. Most importantly, promoting multiculturalism is a dual language approach that tops all goals.
Language Disorders
There is a good deal of variability in which children reach the various milestones that fall within the normal range. Some children are racing through their milestones sooner than expected, while others are maybe lagging behind. It's important for parents to pay attention to how their child is progressing over time. There a multiple different disorder that can deal with language development such as expressive language disorder, phonological disorder, and receptive- expressive disorder. Expressive language disorder is when a child has more limited vocabulary and a difficulty using tenses correctly, recalling words, or producing sentences that would be expected for their age. Phonological disorder focuses on he difficulty producing the sounds or using sounds correctly for their age. The biggest example of this would be when a child substitutes one sound for another. The receptive- expressive language disorder is when a child has difficulty with both expressive language and receptive language. Along with the specific language disorders there is also problems that can arise from language based learning. This could be difficulties with understanding and or using spoken or written language. This disabilities can be very frustrating for children.
There is a good deal of variability in which children reach the various milestones that fall within the normal range. Some children are racing through their milestones sooner than expected, while others are maybe lagging behind. It's important for parents to pay attention to how their child is progressing over time. There a multiple different disorder that can deal with language development such as expressive language disorder, phonological disorder, and receptive- expressive disorder. Expressive language disorder is when a child has more limited vocabulary and a difficulty using tenses correctly, recalling words, or producing sentences that would be expected for their age. Phonological disorder focuses on he difficulty producing the sounds or using sounds correctly for their age. The biggest example of this would be when a child substitutes one sound for another. The receptive- expressive language disorder is when a child has difficulty with both expressive language and receptive language. Along with the specific language disorders there is also problems that can arise from language based learning. This could be difficulties with understanding and or using spoken or written language. This disabilities can be very frustrating for children.