Language Development (education)

A variety of factors can influence language development in children. The relationships parents and caregivers have with a child in the early years of his or her life play a significant role. In addition to these influences on a child's language patterns, the school environment also has an impact. One way teachers can foster language development is by creating an environment in which children are allowed to interact socially and engage in conversations with each other. They can avail themselves of a wide array of children's literature that can serve as a language model for children to promote classroom conversations and reading comprehension. A number of strategies can be used to work with students experiencing language and speech difficulties, as well as students who are learning English as a second language.

Keywords Emotional Skills; English as a Second Language (ESL); Gesturing; Language; Language Skills; Literacy Skills; Morphemes; No Child Left Behind Act of 2001; Oral Language; Phonological; Recast; Semantic; Social Skills; Syntactic; Vocabulary

Overview

The ability to acquire and develop language skills is a capacity that separates humans from the rest of the animal kingdom. Language enables us to understand our emotions, to exchange ideas, to study the past as well as contemplate the future (Caulfield, 2002).

There are three basic components to language: phonological, semantic, and syntactic. The phonological component refers to the rules for combining sounds. The semantic is comprised of rules for combining the smallest sounds, or morphemes, into words and sentences. The syntactic are the rules that enable children to further combine words into sentences that express meaning. These components are normally developed and used together in social situations (Pullen, 2003).

Language Development in Infants

Innate Abilities

The development of oral language comes to us naturally and, according to Caulfield (2002) it is apparent that we are born to speak. While children do not normally begin to form their first words until they reach 10 or 12 months, studies have shown that humans are designed to speak even before birth. It appears that language recognition begins before a child's birth. By the 6th or 7th month of gestation, the fetus is able to respond to sounds; a mother's voice can be heard and the fetus can detect slight differences in sound patterns (Caulfield, 2002).

Once they are born, children begin to acquire language skills through their interactions with parents and care givers. These very ordinary situations afford children the time to develop and practice their language skills. Further, these interactions enable children to begin making social connections and to make sense of their world. Before they are even able to speak, however, young children usually communicate with gestures in the first 9 to 12 months of life. Initially children begin to point to objects in their environment. Gestures allow children to communicate since they have not begun to form and develop words. As they begin to do so, children combine gestures with words and this further allows them to develop two-word combinations. Essentially, gesturing enables a child to develop words (Iverson, 2005).

Social & Environmental Factors

Although they do not actually teach their children how to talk, the involvement of adults and the general environment and culture in which a child is raised does affect a child's ability to learn and develop language skills. Further, this development usually occurs in a sequence of events that is common to most children. Therefore, it can be said that language development occurs because of a combination of nature and nurture. By the time a child is born, he or she has already begun to recognize language and is quickly able to listen to the voices of parents and caregivers. This can be seen by the fact that newborns look at faces of caregivers when they speak. Moreover, newborns quickly learn to get attention from their caregivers by crying. Crying, however, is not merely a way for newborns to convey that they need attention, that is, feeding or changing, crying is also the beginning of a child's ability to acquire and develop language (Caulfield, 2002).

While parents may be able to eventually determine what their infants are trying to communicate through crying, it is more important that these initial interactions provide parents and caregivers with an opportunity to assist children with acquiring language skills. This is because children tend to use words and phrases that parents and caregivers use in these situations. However, this does not mean that children merely learn to speak by imitating adults. Further, children normally do not begin to use meaningful words until they reach their 11th or 12th month. As they do acquire basic vocabulary, a child's interactions with caregivers provide an opportunity for practicing word usage.

Not only do children begin to develop language skills by interacting with adults, children also begin to develop an ability to interact socially. This is important because a child's ability to develop language and social skills during this time will manifest itself at school age. Therefore, the early development of language skills can affect a child's academic progress. The environment in which a child is raised is related to his or her ability to develop language skills in a number of ways. For example, an adult's ability to use language will influence a child's language development and speaking skills. Adults who have strong oral communication skills will have a positive impact on a child's ability to develop language skills. Moreover, as children begin to utter words, parents and caregivers can assist a child's development by repeating what the child says. These interactions are also called "recasts" (Dockrell, 2004).

In these instances, not only can an adult reply to a child by copying his or her words, parents and caregivers can also provide more information and word phrases that the child will begin to repeat. By making baby talk, parents enable a child to develop language skills. By repeating what a child says, adults also are telling the child that he or she is being listened to, that their words have meaning, and that what they are saying is important to the parent. The benefit here is that the child will be encouraged to continue using words and interacting with adults. This, in turn, will give them confidence in developing their emotional skills as well as their social skills. If a child is raised in an environment that is more orally stimulating, the ability to develop language skills is enhanced. At the same time, a less stimulating environment can adversely affect language development. In addition, in homes where a foreign language is primarily used, a child's ability to develop English language skills will affect his or her social and emotional development.

Physiological & Psychological Factors

In addition to the environment in which a child is raised, there are also other factors that can influence the development of language skills. For example, children can experience difficulties acquiring and developing language skills as a result of physiological or psychological problems. Some children might experience delays in developing language skills, and these at times might be the result of a problem with the child's hearing. Other children may experience speech problems such as stuttering or an inability to articulate words properly. Whatever the causes of such problems, children who experience difficulties with language skills at an early age can also experience other learning difficulties once they reach school age. Differences in the environments in which children are raised, and other issues affecting the development of language skills will ultimately affect a child's capacity to further develop language skills and to acquire literacy, emotional and social skills as they are exposed to other social environments.

Applications

A child's ability to develop oral language skills will affect his or her ability to learn upon entering more formal education environments such as a day care, pre-school, kindergarten and primary school. In particular, developing language skills is related to developing other literacy, communication and social skills. This includes the ability to listen, speak, read and write. Teachers are faced with the challenge of teaching children who have been raised in a number of different environments and cultures. Since the language abilities of children vary, teachers are required to not only address the needs of individual children, but also to develop teaching methods that will benefit the class and foster the development of all of the children's language skills (Kirkland, 2005).

Language & the Classroom

By the time children enter educational environments, their ability to acquire and develop language skills has already gone through a natural progression of stages. When they reach the age of five or six, children should be able to engage in conversations. While some children may be more conversant than others and some are not as articulate or may have trouble with pronunciation, the classroom environment should provide children with an opportunity to correct language difficulties that are not the result of a physiological problem as well as for children to further develop language skills acquired in the home.

Pre-School

Children in pre-school, for instance, use words to better comprehend their environment. At this point, children also begin to learn to interact with each other. During this process, they learn what will get them attention, and how to make others laugh. Some methods that are used in developing language skills in pre-schoolers include using props to act out roles, practicing tongue twisters, and singing children's songs that contain repetitive lyrics. When children reach kindergarten they use a variety of language styles to express themselves. At this stage in their development, children's language skills and vocabularies are related to their overall social and emotional development as well. This is because they are moving further away from the culture and environment in which they were raised and into new social situations presented in the classroom (Miller, 2003).

Primary School

By the time children reach primary school, they have been exposed to other social and environmental influences besides the environment in which they were raised. However, the environment and culture in which a child is raised will continue to influence his or her language development. Moreover, the diversity of environments in which children are raised is also a challenge for primary school teachers, since it is now their responsibility to further develop their students' language skills. In order to be successful in this development, teachers should be empowered to make decisions about classroom practices that will foster the development of language skills (Kirkland, 2005).

One way teachers can accomplish this is by creating an environment in which children are allowed to interact socially and engage in conversations with each other. In addition to developing conversational skills, children also need to be able to acquire and develop written communication skills. To achieve this, children should be allowed to write their own words, and be encouraged to attach vocabulary to objects in the classroom. One way to accomplish this is by creating labels for objects in the classroom, such as desks, books, boards, chairs, closets and then asking the children to attach the labels to the appropriate objects. Another method is to have daily rituals and routines that allow children to talk about the day and what they accomplished. In particular, ending the day with a ritual song or poem enables a child to repeat the language they are learning. The purpose of these activities is to enable children to see how language works and also to create an environment where they feel safe to express themselves (Kirkland, 2005).

In addition to developing oral language skills, school-age children also begin to develop reading and writing skills, and their capacity in this regard is closely linked to how far they have advanced with oral language skills. In fact, the vocabulary a child has acquired by the age of six is a good indicator of what his or her reading comprehension will be when they reach sixteen (Dockrell, 2004).

The primary responsibility for fostering this development belongs to the teacher. In this regard, teachers can avail themselves of a wide array of children's literature that can serve as a language model for children. This literature should be readily understood by children and also encourage them to read aloud in the classroom. Children should also be allowed to discuss the stories and books with each other in the classroom. In so doing, their language skills will continue to develop. By exchanging ideas with each other, children have the opportunity to enhance their social and emotional development. By having group discussions, children begin to learn the rules of conversation; in particular they learn when it is appropriate to speak, and when they should allow others to do so.

In order for these circumstances to arise, teachers should use different types of stories and books that are appropriate for the class. There are different techniques that teachers can employ to create an environment that encourages children to read aloud. One way to do this is by using stories and books that have rhymes. Children are naturally drawn to rhyming stories, and such stories enable a child to remember words and phrases. Not only does rhyming expand children's vocabulary, rhyming is fun for children. Creating an environment that is fun, and that makes them comfortable allows them to feel safe, and this in turn fosters their social and emotional development (Kirkland, 2005).

In addition to selecting books and stories that use rhymes, teachers can also rely on books that relate to the environment of the children. In so doing, children will be able to make sense of their world and this can give them confidence to read other stories that will develop their literacy skills. In the end, oral language skills are closely linked to a child's literacy development. If a child is better equipped to use oral language at an early age, their ability to read and eventually to write will be enhanced.

Speech & Language Difficulties & ESL

While the development of oral language skills comes naturally to children, there are instances when some children do not follow what should be a natural progression of language development.

Some children experience difficulties with speech and language. These difficulties are usually evidenced by slow language development, or problems with articulation that stem from an inability to master the basic components of language. Since the ability to read stems from oral language skills, children who have speech difficulties also experience problems with literacy (Lindsay, 2003).

In addition to children with language and speech difficulties, the number of children who need instruction in English as a second language (ESL) continues to grow. Because these children come from different cultural backgrounds, and because English is not their primary language, they are often assessed to have learning disabilities. However, the techniques for teaching ESL students can enable children to develop oral language skills. Studies have shown that there are similarities between ESL students and students who experience language development problems. Some of these include problems with pronunciation, syntax and semantics, that is, the basic components of language briefly addressed earlier in this article.

There are a number of ways to overcome these problems. Teachers can speak more slowly, pronouncing words more slowly and giving clear instructions on assignments. In addition, teachers can incorporate ESL students' cultural backgrounds into the classroom environment. This will provide a degree of comfort to ESL students and encourage interaction with their English-speaking peers.

Viewpoints

While oral language development is a natural progression that begins early in life, by the time children enter the school system, they should have the basics for conducting conversations and for interacting socially. As they progress through the school years, oral language development should continue with the aim being to foster other literacy skills as well as a child's emotional and social skills. However, recent changes in classroom practices because of governmental regulations and school board initiatives are presenting new challenges.

Effects of No Child Left Behind

For example, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), has placed an emphasis on using standardized testing as a means for not only assessing students' progress but also for making schools accountable for that progress. This is turn has apparently "fragmented the curriculum…while the development of oral language which ultimately impacts all aspects of the curriculum has been relegated to a more incidental by-product of many classrooms." (Kirkland, 2005).

What this means is that teachers may be spending more time preparing children for standardized tests rather than creating environments where children are encouraged to develop their oral language skills by using their own language, conversing with each other, reading aloud and engaging in discussions about books and their daily experiences in the classroom environment. It is not clear what the long-term result of this will be, but it is possible that children will ultimately not be given an opportunity to develop their social and emotional skills in the schools. At the same time, as our society continues to change, there are alternatives to classroom environments. Today many children are involved with a variety of extra curricular activities that might provide alternative means for children to interact and therefore enable them to develop socially and emotionally.

Mainstreaming

Another issue that has been raised is the mainstreaming of students with speech and language difficulties in their primary years. In these situations, teachers who are not specialists in special education may not have the skills necessary to properly foster the development of these children's oral language skills (Lindsay, 2003). In these cases, additional pressure will be placed on the schools to develop extra curricular programs for these students. While mainstreaming is now a widely accepted practice, this could run counter to the goals of the NCLB.

These problems can be overcome if there is enhanced interaction and cooperation between families and the schools. Although the schools are primarily responsible for the oral language and literacy development of school age children, parents can greatly assist this development if they are attentive to their children's needs in their early years.

Terms & Concepts

Emotional Skills: The ability to access, perceive and regulate emotions.

English as a Second Language (ESL): English taught in schools to students whose primary language is not English.

Gesturing: A movement of a part of the body intended to communicate feelings or intentions.

Language: A systematic means of communicating by the use of sounds or conventional symbols.

Language Skills: Mastery of the rules governing the sequence of words into sentences and the forms of words.

Literacy Skills: Mastery of reading and writing skills that can also include other cognitive skills such as math skills and problem solving.

Morphemes: The smallest units of sound that are eventually combined to form words.

No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB): Federal law aimed at creating standards to measure students' progress in schools as well as to hold schools accountable for that progress.

Oral Language: The reception and expression of the pragmatic, semantic, syntactical and phonological aspects of language and this includes speaking and listening.

Phonological: One of the three basic components of language that are essentially rules for combining sounds.

Recast: The repetition and expansion by a parent or caregiver of the utterances and words of small children.

Semantic: One of the three basic components of language for combining morphemes into words and sentences.

Social Skills: Behavior in a particular situation that can predict social outcomes.

Syntactic: One of the basic components of language for forming sentences that have meaning.

Vocabulary: The words of a language or units of language that are used to develop sentences.

Bibliography

Caulfield, R. (2002). Babytalk: Developmental precursors to speech. Early Childhood Education Journal, 30 , 59-62. Retrieved December 22, 2006 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=11305225&site=ehost-live

Dockrell, J., Stuart, M. & King, D. (2004). Supporting early oral language skills. Literacy Today, , 16-18. Retrieved December 22, 2006 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=15109315&site=ehost-live

Hohenstein, J. (2013). Parent–child talk about motion: Links to children’s development of motion event language. First Language, 33, 411-425. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=89227313&site=ehost-live

Iverson, J. M. & Goldin-Meadow, S. (2005). Gesture paves the way for language development. Psychological Science, 66 , 367-371. Retrieved December 22, 2006 from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Premier. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=16878349&site=ehost-live

Lindsay, G. & Dockrell, J. (2003, June). Oral language difficulties. Literacy Today, , 21. Retrieved December 22, 2006 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=12332361&site=ehost-live

Kirkland, L. & Patterson, J. (2005). Developing oral language in primary classrooms. Early Childhood Education Journal, 32 391-395. Retrieved December 22, 2006 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=19444264&site=ehost-live

Miller, S. A. & Church, E. B. (2003). Helping children build language skills. Early Childhood Today, 17 , 26-28. Retrieved December 22, 2006 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=9219613&site=ehost-live

Nys, J., Content, A., Leybaert, J., & Oetting, J. (2013). Impact of language abilities on exact and approximate number skills development: Evidence from children with specific language impairment. Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research, 56, 956-970.Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=90608525&site=ehost-live

Pullen, P. C. & Justice, L. M. (2003) Enhancing phonological awareness, print awareness and oral language skills in preschool children. Intervention in School and Clinic, 39 , 87-98. Retrieved December 22, 2006 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=11022295&site=ehost-live

Suggested Reading

Kronenberger, W. G., Pisoni, D. B., Harris, M. S., Hoen, H. M., Xu, H., Miyamoto, R. T., Bacon, S. & Tobey, E. (2013). Profiles of verbal working memory growth predict speech and language development in children with cochlear implants. Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research, 56, 805-825. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=90607170&site=ehost-live

Lindberg, I. (2006). Early language development as related to the acquisition of reading. European Review, 14 , 65-79. Retrieved December 22, 2006 from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Premier. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=20174142&site=ehost-live

Page, K. M. (2004). Language learning: How much evidence does a child need to learn to speak grammatically. Bulletin of Mathematical Biology, 66 , 651-662. Retrieved December 22, 2006 from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Premier. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=13479702&site=ehost-live

Stahl, S. A., & Yarden, Jr. D. B. (2004). The development of literacy in preschool and primary grades: Work by the Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement. Elementary School Journal, 105 , 141-165. Retrieved December 22, 2006 from EBSCO Online Database Education Resource Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=15166654&site=ehost-live