Language is the basis of human interaction and communication. It has transformed over time from general sounds and movements to expansive histories, notations and variants (Robinson et al, 2013). As an educator, language needs to be described in a way which respects all its histories and cultures, while still transforming forward for the future. Language as a social process will maintain its integrity moving forward while paying respects to all language and cultures (Robinson et al, 2013). As an object, language allows for data and communication to transform in a way which can be visualised by all students, and then be replicated by the students in an academic setting (Robinson et al, 2013).
Thesis Statement: Application of socio-cultural knowledge provides educators a means to teach their students about language as an object's well as proving it to be a social process.
The term language is defined as “The method of human communication, either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words in a structured and conventional way” (Robinson et al, 2013). From this definition, numerous meanings of the word language can be derived and supported. Many individuals see language ‘as a set of rules in our minds or brain that tell us how to speak grammatically. In this sense, language is a cognitive phenomenon’ (Gee & Hayes, 2011). During early childhood, this cognitive function plays a key role in the development of language with social exposure at the forefront. It is through
Nature and nurture both play a significant role in language development. Language development refers to how children understand, organise, speak and use words in order to communicate at an effective, age-appropriate level (Karen Kearns, 2013, P.105). For centuries, theorists have been debating the roles of nature versus nurture. Although, each child’s language will develop at their own pace and there will be many individual differences based on culture, ethnicity, health and ability. As well as physical, social, emotional and cognitive development in which will contribute to a child’s language development.
Language is a system in which sequences of sounds make up words to signify a person, place, idea, or object and eventually becomes a tool through which we communicate. Language development starts at birth with crying. Infants cry to communicate their needs are not being met. At around six months infants begin to form consonant- vowel chains; this is the start of babbling, an essential pre-linguistic skill and milestone in language development. Around the age of eleven months the child will say begin to say their first words, and language continues to develop throughout life. Like many other areas of development language development is influenced by the culture the infant grows up in.
Language is an art form through which shapes our understanding of ourselves and our world. (BOSTES, 2012). It is through language; where human beings are able express their inner thoughts and emotions. Language is defined as the verbal behaviour; gestures, body movement (Pierce & Eplin, 1999). The NSW K-10 English Syllabus emphasises that language is central to the intellectual, social, and emotional development of all students and that the model of language development is through a sociolinguistic approach. Sociolinguistics is referred to as the study of language and its relationship with culture and society (Kennedy, 2014). Sociolinguistics is an approach through which correlates with the NSW K-10 English Syllabus, as learning English, is recursive and develops through ever-widening contexts (BOSTES, 2012). It is through English, where students develop their critical and imaginative faculties to broaden their capacity for cultural understanding. (BOSTES, 2012). Through the syllabus (the rationale, aims, objectives, outcomes, stage statements and content), is the notion of how students will develop an appreciation of language as well as the skills in composing, understanding values and attitudes. Thus, the study of English, as expressed in the syllabus, allows students to learn across the curriculum as well as develop an understanding about and dress contemporary issues they face (BOSTES, 2012).
Language is the method of human communication. Language is a uniquely human ability that is acquired seemingly with ease by all persons free of a neurological abnormality. Patricia Kuhl an internationally recognized psychologist who work in Washington her main focus was babies and how they develop language and where exactly does it develop. The question was how could babies pick up language so fast and why adults couldn’t. The video clip introduces how Patricia Kuhl research how babies learn one language over another. The research was primarily focused on early language and brain development.
An important role of language is learning to use it appropriately. According to B.F. Skinner an American Psychologist, children learn to understand language through classical conditioning. This is achieved by young children playing together with objects or actions with words in a social aspect which is reinforced by attention, praise or body language, which will assist the development of an associated language. With this in mind these repeated actions and thoughts (McDevitt et al., 2013, p. 205), create schemes allowing children to adapt to their surroundings using previous knowledge. Schemes will include the type of language they will use otherwise known as language register (Fellows & Oakley, 2014, pp. 32 - 33). Language register determines
Babies are not born talking, they learn language, starting immediately from birth. How does this process take place? When do children master the skills needed for using language successfully? What stages do they go through as they learn to understand and talk? Do the languages they learn affect the way they think? This edition of Eve Clark's highly successful textbook focuses on children's acquisition of a first language, the stages of development they go through, and how they use language as they learn. It reports on recent findings in each area covered, includes a completely new chapter on the acquisition of two languages and shows how speech to children differs by social class. Skilfully integrating actual data with coverage of current theories and debates, it is an essential guide to studying language acquisition for those working in linguistics, developmental psychology and cognitive science.
Language arose out of a need to communicate ideas and commands. Initially it was very basic, but in its current form language is very complex. It a adapted to the changing need of speakers. In this sense, language is a living entity which evolves in response to the changing cultural context in which it exists. Because language evolves in response to culture, the full quality of its meaning is derived from understanding the context in which it takes place. Educators must be aware of the sociocultural nature of language, understanding that language cannot be viewed as stagnant or removed from its context. This has implications for the ways that educators think about, understand and teach language, so that students have an appreciation for
From a baby 's first word to their first complete sentence, there 's a lot to debate with their language development. The average child has a vocabulary of up to six-thousand words by the time they turn five years old (Brighthubcom, 2016). Language development is one of the most critical roles for an educator in both early childhood and primary settings. It is this ability of language development that is particularly interesting in the nature vs nurture debate. In order for educators to provide effective communication, it is important that they have the knowledge and understanding of the four key concepts of language, such as phonological, syntactic, semantic and pragmatic development and the underlying theoretical perspectives that explain the processes of language acquisition and development.
Language is a mixed bag of contradictions which all of society use to address the specific needs of their group. A teacher’s role is extreme in the process of understanding language. It is not enough to merely consider the cultural context in which the speaker emerges, teachers must understand the implications arising from such circumstances, and how they present in the classroom. Socio-cultural factors such as religion, sex and social class, play a significant role in developing a student’s ability to perceive and use language effectively. Renowned theorists Lee Vygotsky, placed an enormous value on students learning from competent social relationships (O’Donnell et al. 2016, 101). Through exploring different language codes identified by
Language is more than an object and should be seen as a means of communication and interaction between individuals and groups within a society. Within this, the socio-cultural understanding a society/ culture has about language will influence the implications for teaching language and literacy to future generations. Language cannot be viewed as a code or a set of rules, it is not a fixed or finite concept. This view of thinking does not highlight the complexities involved in using language for communication. (Australian Government, 2016). The constructedness of a text needs to be known to students, therefore it is important for teachers to address the fact that texts contain the views of the authors and their own ideologies (Green, 2006).
The four stages of language development phonology, semantic, syntax and pragmatics are impacted by age and individual ability. These language components are used to guide the level at which children progress through each stage of language development and the level at which nature and nurture play a role in this development. Supported by the behaviourist and cognitive theories while determining how children’s language is best supported. Through these stages, it is found that children learn to communicate in a stimulating environment influenced by social interaction
Language is a key ability required to communicate with others and if someone lacks this expertise they encounter countless obstacles. At the end of 2010, my family and I immigrated to the United States of America. At the time, I had mixed emotions about the move, I was unable to process everything. I did not know how I was going to survive in a new country with a completely different culture. For the first ten years of my life, I had been brought up in an Indian household where I had been instilled with Indian values and spoke Punjabi. Much to my dismay my largest obstacle would be the language barrier, because I wasn't fluent in speaking English. When I started to attend school, everything began to intimidate me. I needed to get accustomed to a completely different schooling system compared to the one I had just come from. I wasn't fluent in English which hindered my ability to communicate with my teachers and my peers. On the first day of school, I had difficulty navigating through my elementary school because I was unable to figure out where I was supposed to go. I tried asking other students for assistance, but no one was willing to help me. When I finally found my class, my teacher gave the class an introduction and assigned the class an assignment which we were given twenty minutes to complete. I looked at the assignment which had the words "about me" printed on top. I quickly glanced through the rest of the assignment and found that I did not understand any of it. At
Language is a powerful tool that is integral in human communication. The human brain is hard-wired to be adept at understanding social cues and situations that change the way we choose to communicate. These internal and external factors play into one another and ultimately determine how we choose to correspond with others to achieve our ultimate goal— relaying a message. Although in many cases it is frowned upon to rely on slang to convey ideas, in some situations, slang can be a reliable resource. By using his or her discretion and analyzing the situation, the speaker must determine whether or not this dangerous, risk-reward weapon should be used.
Language is a method of human communication, one of the most important things all humans have in common. In Dillon’s Grammar Repair textbook, she mentions that language is power and those who can exercise its power “possess a greater share of life’s privileges across the board” (1). Language greatly defines the person and how they are deceived by others. In the essays “Mother Tongue,” “The Meanings of a Word,” and “But What Do You Mean?” language is depicted as a controller of our lives in the workplace and our community. The individual’s communication methods dominated their impressions on society.
Language are our human’s foundation to live with others, and currently more than 6000 types of language are spoken by human. There are various components that create language. The combination of letters and sounds create meaning and can be represented verbally (communication), physically (written) or mentally (thoughts). Our ability to communicate and speak is represented within the brain and relies on other cognitive processes, such as memory, to process, store and retrieve language. What makes language special is its universality. There are various formations of language evident across different cultures and strongly influence an individual 's ability to effectively communicate. People who can control more than two language, call as bilingual people, can voluntarily utilise which language is in use at any given time. In recent year, Grosjean has stated a definition of bilingualism which describe as “the regular use of more than one language, and thus bilinguals are people who need and use more than one language in their everyday lives. Bilinguals are also a common, worldwide fact that is observed to exist.” (Grosjean, 2006) More than half of European, nowadays, can handle more than one language and quarter of them are able to speak at least two languages on their conversation according to the recent research. If we concern about bilingual person, there are obviously two types of pattern which can be separated. Age of acquisition is one way to separate bilinguals types,