Language development in early childhood

In the current essay I would like to consider language development in early childhood and Jean Piaget’s cognitive theory. To begin with it should be noted that consensus seems to be the notion that child development is a result of the interaction between genetics and the environment where the child develops. As a fact, the need for sensory input to the development of communication skills (speech) and psychomotor coordination is extremely important.
It can be said that Jean Piaget ”“ Swiss scientist, philosopher and psychologist made a significant contribution to study child psychology, in particular he developed the theory of cognitive development. Cognitive development ”“ is the development of all types of mental processes such as perception, memory, concept formation, problem solving, imagination and logic. His epistemological theory provided many of the basic concepts in the field of developmental psychology and examines the growth of intelligence, which, according to Piaget, is the ability to reflect more accurately the world and perform logical operations on the concepts that arise in the interaction with the environment, according to Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development (2009).
As a matter of fact, the theory of cognitive development considers the emergence and construction of schemes, which help to understand how to perceive the world in the “development stage”, the time when children seek new ways of presenting information in the brain. Despite the fact that Jean Piaget in many ways laid the foundation for the study of child psychology, modern science has refined his theory of cognitive development, according to Angela Oswalt (2008). Further, I would like to consider and characterize the main stages in language development in early childhood.
It can be said that each day of small children is filled with the acquisition of new knowledge and skills. Moreover, becoming older, the child requires greater attention from parents; he/she wants play with toys together with parents, walk down the street and follows their various actions. In some time, the child there feels a need to express his/her feelings and knowledge with words. It is essential to note that language development occurs gradually, beginning from one year of age and ending with pre-school age. As a fact, language development in early childhood occurs in several stages. With each step, the child increasingly improves his vocabulary; communication with parents is gradually more mature level. If we trace the development of speech of young children, we can observe the following stages: age 1 – 1.3 years old. At this time a child learns to imitate adults, actively tries to repeat a variety of their words, saying them not very clearly and correctly. Language development of early childhood takes on the features of this period of comprehension. For example, a child may call a toy as a car or object from which he drinks ”“ a mug. It should be noted that this applies only to the intelligence of the specific items that the baby uses every day. The following stage is age of 1.5 years old. Language development in early childhood of this period is characterized by sufficiently formed vocabulary consisting not only of nouns but some verbs. The child knows how to call not only concrete objects but also objects of the same species, according to Kendra Cherry (2010).
The next stage is age 2-2.5 years old. According to Nicole Munoz (2009), during this period there is sharp expansion of the vocabulary of a child. Moreover, with the words, he expresses his thoughts well, actively entering into conversation with his parents, asking them a lot of questions. Early child development at this age is associated with the use of not only individual words, but also simple short sentences. The next stage comes at the age of 3 years old. Language development in early childhood at this age represents the completion of the formation of the initial knowledge and skills, from which later it will begin a new stage in the development of a child’s speech. At the age of three years old, a child can use words to talk about everything that happens around him. According to Candice Hughes (2010), as at the age of two years old, a child asks lots of questions for adults. More and more the speech of a child becomes a means of expression, the reflection of his inner world and his desires. He already knows how to distinguish good from bad. However, starting from four years old, speech and language development in early childhood moves to a principally new level. It is no longer just a means of reflecting the specific situation. Now, with its help, a child learns to meaningfully talk and communicate with peers and influence on himself and other people. Gradually, it becomes a powerful universal tool for communication. Language development in early childhood, from age of four years old continues to grow with acquiring new words. Also this stage is characterized by gradually formation of written language. Some children in the age of five years old are aware of letters, and even try to read simple words.



Leave a Reply