Early Childhood Language Skills

Everyday we are developing no matter our age, but it is how we develop children that will tell a tremendous amount an individual. How a child developments is fundamentally important at a young age as it affects all aspect of their lives once the child matures. Throughout the class, we looked at many theorists during the course of the semester as well as looked at many articles pertaining to the concepts of the development of children. The theorists and articles opened up our minds to a world that we have never seen before and concepts about child development we have never been taught but have seen in the practical work we do every week. What makes humans unique is the ability that we have to interpret the language being used, as Lois Bloom

There are many needs that need to be met by children and one of them is speech, language and communication.

In each session, we had together I notice that he was improving on learning rhyming words pairs and he could point out words that rhyme together. He began to meet the needs of the overall goals which very limited for the short time we spend together in the four weeks. My learning was very clear for his age group. In each lesson, I would model activity and pounced each word for him so he could hear and see each rhyming words. “language modeling responses provide children with demonstrations of linguistic forms, content and uses” In the article Crating language Rich Preschool Classroom Environment by Laura M. Justice. This article highlight one of the strategies I use to work with Zachary.

Developmentally appropriate practice is a method where the instructor teaches to the level of the child’s mental capability based on research. I am majoring in Speech Language Pathology and this method is absolutely huge in this field. Everything we do is based off of where the child is supposed to be developmentally. I have had already a full semester class and two more to come full semester classes just on the development of language in children. Every assessment is done based off of the developmental milestones of the child. For example, by 22 months of age a child should have around 200 words in their vocabulary. If this child comes in and is still babbling and produces maybe 12 words this would give us a huge red flag. We know this because

Language development: Letter recognition- The children will identify upper case letters by corresponding the letters to familiar objects.

In the Oxford dictionary, Discourse is defined as a human oral or written communications between. Word allows people to express their thoughts and ideas through grammar, pronunciation, etc., and understand complex issues. For children in terms of education, language is a vital part of the development of education. People 's daily dialogue, learning, etc. are all required language skills. It requires the use of language between people convey their ideas. So in early childhood education, the development of language is very important. This article will relate to theories about early childhood language learning, content at different stages of children 's language development, the adult children of the relationship between language and language development, and so on.

The timeframe of a child from birth to three years of age is essential in shaping their intelligence, their grit, and their self-regulation. In that short period of time, their brains are like sponges, soaking up everything that their surrounding environment has to offer. Because of this, it is crucial for them to be exposed to as much language and knowledge as possible, so that they will be able to reach their full potential academically, socially, or emotionally. At the root of a baby’s full potential is their primary caretaker. Thirty Million Words’ purpose is to educate new parents about how simple techniques implemented into their child’s daily lives could immensely benefit their future.

Johanson, M., Justice, L. M., & Logan, J. (2016). Kindergarten Impacts of a Preschool Language-Focused Intervention. Applied Developmental Science, 20(2), 94-107. doi:10.1080/10888691.2015.1074050

A foundational aspect of all children’s learning is oral language. Communication orally entails the ability to include four components of spoken language to incorporate, and build on, a child’s vocabulary and grammar. These four elements consist of the phonological, syntactic, semantic and pragmatic components. Development of a child’s language skills should form together resulting in literacy success later in life. In order to master the teaching of oral language, three strategies are used. These include, the use of open –ended questions, talking about sophisticated words and incorporating sociodramatic play in to lessons, which in the end, enhance expressive and receptive oral language skills. Fellowes & Oakley and numerous other literature sources explore the significance of oral language in the child’s development.

Language can be divided into two fundamental categories of “oral” and “non oral” however it is important to acknowledge there is more to these components than simply “speaking” and “listening”. There are many theories on the processes in which language is learnt during childhood. These theories range from Piaget’s cognitive development theory, of immersion is the best environment for learning (Fellowes & Oakley, 2014. p.50., Woolfolk & Margetts, 2013. pp.81-94) to Chomsky’s Nativist theory stating environment is not as important since we are biologically adapted to learn language as an inherent life skill (Fellowes & Oakley, 2014. p.49). Researchers continue to debate that no single theory is solely responsible for language

Nature and nurture both play various roles in children’s language development. Nature is a child’s inherited genetics and characteristics. Nurture is the persuasive influence a child develops from their environmental surroundings. The two have created many debates on whether one has more influence on a child’s language development than the other. In this essay I will discuss, the roles nature and nurture play in children’s language development, how they structure communication and the theoretical debate of their impact.

We must engage with the children and help create interesting and enjoyable experiences in which they can learn from.

If used correctly, reinforcement can be a very effective tool when it comes to the development of language. Positive reinforcement gives a child an incentive to do whatever it is that will result in a reward. In my opinion, positive reinforcement, in many ways, is just an innate reaction to a positive behavior. If I’m with a child and they do something good, I don’t think twice before I praise them. Positive reinforcement is not running through my mind, I simply wish to compliment their great behavior. Reinforcement motivates a child which is necessary in trying to develop language skills.

In the study, there was a substantial variety in the child-directed talk within the sample. Children who experienced more child-directed talk “heard on average seven times more words, five times more utterances, three times more different words, and sentences that were twice as long” (Hurtado, et al, 2008, p.6). While there was no correlation between the mothers’ speech and the children’s vocabulary at 18 months; at 24 months there was a correlation between the amount of gains and amount of child-directed speech they received. This directly relates to previous studies that

The development and acquisition of language skills in a child’s early years is critical to his/her development (Otto & Otto, 2013). During a child’s first five years of life the brain goes through a sensitive period in regards to language development, making many synapses and connections that leads to communication (Otto & Otto, 2013). There are many factors that contribute to the development of language such as innate neurobiological factors and cognitive capabilities (Sylvestre, Bussieres, & Bouchard, 2015). However, in order to put these capabilities into motion, they must be combined with social interactions (Sylvestre, Bussieres, & Bouchard, 2015). Children become a part of a social environment from the moment they are born. Each social interaction a child experiences plays a crucial role in developing and shaping his/her language skills (Sylvestre, Bussieres, & Bouchard, 2015). The deprivation of these social interactions at a young age, which can be seen in children who have been abused and/or neglected can lead to severe language delays across multiple areas of development.