Discussion of the Importance of the Social and Cultural Context Where Child Language Acquisition is Concerned Beginning with Elene Lieven’s review of the importance of the environment for language learning, discuss the importance of the social and cultural context where child language acquisition is concerned. Environment According to Elena Lieven, the roles played by brothers and sisters, and other children and the extent to which adults explicitly teach appropriate language to their children are important in language learning. By ‘environment’, she means the characteristics of the interpersonal surroundings within which young, language-learning children spend their time whether dyadic ( mainly alone with the mother)or polyadic ( with other adults,with siblings,with a group of children). ( Mercer & Swann, p 36) Theories of environmental influences on language learning have tended to be built upon the study of the mother-infant dyad where in actual fact most children in the world grow up in polyadic situations where they spend a lot of time in one of the following situations: with the mother and other sibling/children; with older children or others acting as caregivers; sitting around with a group of adults and children. This is not only true of children in non-industrailized cultures; in many economically advanced societies childcare arrangements may be less dependent on the mother staying at home with the children. (Mercer & Swann, p 36) There are more polyadic patterns of childcare seen in rural, economically traditional societies. The children in Schieffelin’s (1985) study of Kaluli of Papua New Guinea spend... ... middle of paper ... ... communities via different dialects, in others via different languages, whereas in others codeswitching allows hybrid identities to be expressed and mixed messages to be conveyed. Up to adolescence children are learning to use these different varieties and mixtures of language to express their identities and achieve their goals, both as members of social groups and as individuals. ( Mercer & Swann, p 70) In our everyday lives, we play a variety of social roles, and it is often through spoken language ( or silence) that we signal shifts in our social identity or relationships with others. Sometimes we unconsciously converge towards or diverge from the speech patterns of others either within or beyond our community; at other times we may make a conscious choice to emulate or mimic another person or social group.
When most people think of the process of language development in “normal” children, the concepts that come to mind are of babies imitating, picking up sounds and words from the speakers around them. Trying to imagine that a child who cannot hear one single sound a person makes can learn to speak a language is absolutely fascinating. These children range from amazin...
Typically children begin speaking by twenty-four months and first enter the school system at the age of six. In a society where English is expected as a first language and children are expected to have a firm grasp of comprehension and conversation by kindergarten, children with non-English home languages are at a distinct disadvantage. The focus of traditional classrooms is on English as medium of instruction as opposed to an introductory subject, this means that children without English as a first language are burdened with the task of learning both English in an environment not geared towards teaching it and traditional coursework. The added strain of working to learn a new language and the possibility of having parents unable to help master new English skills can lead to a performance divide in
Following on from the I CAN report (2006) this independent cross governmental review was undertaken by John Bercow (2008) at the request of Alan Johnson, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (2007), and noted by Mroz (2012) as the most extensive review of Speech Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) undertaken in England. The review, which assessed efficiency and effectiveness of provision for SLCN, was facilitated through major consultation with both parent and professional, alongside personal experience and carried out through discussions and questionnaires. In conjunction with this, support and contribution was made by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) and the write out(DCSF). The RCSLT (2008) highlights how the review is the most significant policy, having long-term impact on the future of SLCN.
Language is integral to learning as it is linked to our thoughts. It helps us to organise our thoughts in an organised way. If a child has difficulties in communicating with others due to a speech and language delay or disorder, they will not be working to their full potential, as they will be less able to organise their thought processes and express themselves. This becomes even more of a problem as children become older and the curriculum becomes more demanding, the use of rational and abstract thinking will become more important, hence the importance of early detection and intervention. The early years are a time of rapid learning and development, therefore the earlier the diagnosis of delayed language acquisition, the easier it will be for professionals and others to target the childâ€TMs needs so that they are able to give appropriate support, thus benefiting the
Socioeconomic status (SES) is a major topic of interest within the study of language development in children. It has been indicated as one of the most widely studied constructs in the social sciences (Bradley & Corwyn, 2002). Even with the wide variety of studies involving SES, there has never been a complete consensus on what SES actually represents. Beyond the development of language, SES also affects the overall development of a child. These developmental differences then further lead to differences in language acquisition. When looking at SES, there are many factors to consider. The concept of capital seems to best embody the current meaning psychologists hold of SES, according to Bradley and Corwyn (2002). Capital is favored because of its inclusion of access to financial (material resources), human (nonmaterial resources such as education) and social capital (social connections). The current working definition of SES involves family income, education level, and occupations, which influence the theories and characteristics that children develop (Hill, 2006). The effects of socioeconomic status on children are shown through many factors that affect language development through the child’s overall growth, their cognitive development, as well as their stress management and the parenting styles that they are exposed to.
The study of the ways in which people affect, and are affected by others, is known as social psychology; a primary means by which people affect one another is through the medium of Communication (Kruglanski and Higgins, 2007). At the heart of communication is the idea of shared meanings between one, or more people, however, communication is not simply a case of exchanging words; through the process of communication we create meanings and an understanding of what words and behaviours represent or imply (Ramaraju, 2012). Language acquisition forms a critical basis for a child’s development, it is an essential tool for communicating, building relationships with others, and learning (Brock and Rankin, 2008). This assignment probes early language acquisition in infants and children; starting with typical child language
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.
This essay is going to illustrate the different stages in language acquisition that children pass through and elicit the theories in accordance.
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.
Language acquisition is perhaps one of the most debated issues of human development. Various theories and approaches have emerged over the years to study and analyse this developmental process. One factor contributing to the differing theories is the debate between nature v’s nurture. A question commonly asked is: Do humans a...
In the discussion of nature verse nurture, one controversial issue is language. Arguing on the side of nature, children across the world seem to exhibit universal stages of linguistic development. Infants as young as seven months old are able to recognize simple linguistic rules from a string of sounds. When a child is first learning to speak, they typically combine words in ways that an adult would not. They can also speak and communicate clearly without adult correction. These observations suggest that we are born with the capacity to communicate verbally and through the use of kinesics, or gestures. However, nurture also plays a large role in the use of language. Linguistics differ amongst children from region to region based on the way the people around them speak. Thousands of languages such as: Spanish, English, Italian, and Creole are spoken around the world. Vernacular and accents also vary within each language and is acquired through a learning process, not genetics(Brown, 10/1/13). Another major environmental factor is correction from parents and adults. A child may be born with the ability to speak, but grammatical correctness and annunciation requi...
Long, M. (1996). The role of the linguistic environment in second language acquisition. In W.Ritchie and T.Bhatia (eds.) Handbook of Second Language Acquisition (San Diego, CA: Academic Press), 413-68.
How do children acquire language? What are the processes of language acquisition? How do infants respond to speech? Language acquisition is the process of learning a native or a second language. Although how children learn to speak is not perfectly understood, most explanations involve both the observations that children copy what they hear and the inference that human beings have a natural aptitude for understanding grammar. Children usually learn the sounds and vocabulary of their native language through imitation, (which helps them learn to pronounce words correctly), and grammar is seldom taught to them, but instead that they rapidly acquire the ability to speak grammatically. Though, not all children learn by imitation alone. Children will produce forms of language that adults never say. For example, “I spilled milk on hisself” or “Debbie wants a cookie”. This demonstrates that children have the desire to speak correctly and have self-motivating traits to communicate. This supports the theory of Noam Chomsky (1972)-that children are able to learn grammar of a particular language because all intelligible languages are founded on a deep structure of universal grammatical rules that corresponds to an innate capacity of the human brain. Adults learning a second language pass through some of the same stages, as do children learning their native language. In the first part of this paper I will describe the process of language acquisition. The second part will review how infants respond to speech.
Children’s acquisition of language has long been considered one of the uniquely defining characteristics of human behaviour.
Language has oral, written and non-verbal aspects, that can be seen and heard, and which are socially and culturally influenced. Although languages have common features, these social and cultural influences also create great diversity among languages and varieties, often leading to a perception that some varieties have greater value or status. In addition, social and cultural context play a large role in meaning-making. Children develop language as a result of social and cultural interactions, based on a growing awareness of the functions of language, and how language can be used. This understanding of the different types and uses of language increases as children experience language outside of the home. As their understanding of these different roles of language grows, children gain the ability to select and use the appropriate language for a particular context or