Language is an important requirement for a child’s cognitive, social and emotional development. This is why our education system is designed in a manner that ensures that during formative years children are exposed to more direct teaching of pragmatic knowledge, phonetics, semantic and morphemic. However, there has been disagreement among scholars of human growth and development. Some believe that children’s natural development is stinted by the regimented rote memorization of phonics and manipulation of language while others believe a systematic approach like phonics instruction is the most effective way to increase language acquisition during primary years.
There are two main opposing schools of thought on the instruction of literacy. The bottom-up theories has put forward a sub-skills approach which holds that reading is learned at the beginning by manipulating the fundamental components of language, that is, alphabetical letters and words (Riley 2003). On the other hand, the top-down schools of thought propose that seeking out the meaning is the most important objective right from the start of learning how to read. Top-down theories further suggest that guessing and prediction are the main strategies for decoding words (Riley 2003).
In the US these two opposing points of view have been enthusiastically discussed as phonics instruction in opposition to whole language (Hempenstall 2009). Even though on the surface the debate appears to be about teaching methods, the deeper level of departure revolves around what children have to learn so as to develop his or her language and be able to read (Riley 2003). Central concerns of the current phonics controversy revolves around fundamental questions such as which feature of languag...
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...reading potential if used objectively with other effective activities like language enhancing activities. In any case, evidence has demonstrated that those instructors who comprehend the complexity of how young ones learn to read adopt successfully a structured multi-approach strategy. Doing so holds up all elements of learning to read that are essential to development during primary years.
References
Hempenstall, K. (2009). The Whole Language-Phonics Controversy: A Historical Perspective. Education news Retrieved July 27, 2011, from http://www.educationnews.org/articles/the-whole-language-phonics-controversy-a-historical-perspective.html
Otto, B. (2010). Language development in early childhood (3rd ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.
Riley, J. (2003). The teaching of reading: the development of literacy in the early years of school. New York, NY: SAGE.
Finding a definition of literacy is not as easy as it sounds. The Webster definition says that to be literate is to be” able to read and write.” But to some researchers, this definition is too simplistic, leading to multiple models of literacy. Most Americans adhere to the autonomous model, which falls closest to the standard, dictionary definition. Believers in this form say that literacy is a cognitive activity that students learn like any other basic skill. It has a set of proficiencies that one must master in order to be capable of decoding and encoding text (Alvermann, 2009; SIL International, 1999). A competing theory is the ideological model, which claims literacy is intrinsically linked to culture, and therefore what constitutes a “literate” individual is ever-changing. Society is the largest influence on literacy, according to this thought, and it is affected by politics, religion, philosophy and more (Alvermann, 2009; SIL International, 1999). These two are just the tip of the iceberg. For example, some studies recognize “literacy as competence,” which is a “measure of competence to do a given task or work in a given field,” (SIL International, 1999) such as being computer literate. Although more researchers are recognizing and exploring multiple literacies, the one that most influences American schools is the autonomous, cognitive model – the ability to read and write. For many, it seems a simple task, but millions of adolescents are struggling or reluctant readers, and there are many reasons why young readers have difficulty with reading. XXXXXX------NEED HELP WITH THESIS STATEMENT HERE PLEASE—(This paper will focus on the effects of low reading skills, some of the possible causes of reluctant and struggling readership...
The DeFord Theoretical Orientation to Reading Profile, developed in 1985 by Diane DeFord, is a way to measure the philosophy and belief systems associated with instructional practices in the beginning of reading. The three systems include phonics, skills, and whole language (Vacca et al 2006). The bottom-up beliefs systems, associated with Behaviorism, place emphasis on letters, letter-sound relationships, and the understanding that the student, in order to comprehend the selection, must recognize each word in a text. There is importance placed on decoding, and skills are taught in a systematic and sequential format.
First off, in terms of education in grades K through 3 it seems that students are introduced to the basic concepts of learning, reading, and writing. For example, young children begin to comprehend the sounds of speech in terms of being able to read while also practicing how to correctly write common words used in everyday language. Furthe...
"Reading." The Gale Encyclopedia of Childhood and Adolescence. Ed. Jerome Kagan and Susan B. Gall. Online Edition. Detroit: Gale, 2007.
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
21). Examples of structured phonics education including games, flashcards with sight words and teacher led instruction. Conversely, other educators believe that phonics instruction cannot be planned for so specifically and that an ongoing, wide variety of embedded phonics concepts is the best way for students to learn (Savage, 2007, p. 114). There is also many approaches available for teaching phonics; an example includes through analytic or synthetic phonics. The analytic phonics approach concentrates on whole words, breaking them down into phoneme sounds (Ewing & Maher, 2014, p. 2., Savage, 2007, p. 113). The synthetic phonics approach starts with a small group of letter and sounds, adding letters and blends as the student progresses (Ewing & Maher, 2014, p. 2., Savage, 2007, p. 113). It seems that both methods have their success as well as challenges, whatever method the teachers chooses, the result is still an education in phonics (Savage, 2007, p. 114). Effective phonics instructions will be delivered through a program that is varied in techniques and lesson styles (Ewing & Maher, 2014, pp. 2-3., Mesmer & Griffith, 2005, p. 375). The teacher will use their knowledge of student learning and dispositions to implement the most effective phonics
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.
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.
While I believe every child is a reader, I do not believe every child will be enthralled with reading all the time. All students have the capability to read and enjoy reading, but just like any other hobby, interest will vary from student to student. The students in my classroom will be encouraged in their reading, be provided with choice, taught how books can take you into another world but, my students will not be forced to read. This paper will illustrate my philosophy of reading through the theories I relate to, the way I want to implement reading and writing curriculum, and the methods I will use motivate my students to read and help them become literate.
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.
SHANNON LOCKHART (2012) 'Supporting Communication, Language, and Literacy Learning With Infants and Toddlers', 26(3), pp. [Online]. Available at:http://www.highscope.org/file/NewsandInformation/Extensions/ExtVol26No3_low.pdf(Accessed: 18-Mar-2014).
Child development language is a process by which children come to communicate and understand language during early childhood. This usually occurs from birth up to the age of five. The rate of development is usually fast during this period. However, the pace and age of language development vary greatly among children. Thus, the language development of a child is usually compared with norms rather than with other individual children. It is scientifically proven that development of girls language is usually at a faster rate than that of boys. (Berk, 2010) In other terms language development is also a crucial factor that reflects the growth and maturation of the brain. However, this development usually retards after the age of five making it very difficult for most children to continue learning language. There are two major types of language development in children. These include referential and expressive language development styles. In referential language development, children often first speak single words and then join the words together, first into –word sentences and then into th...
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.
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.
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.