bob: How do children contribute to their own language development?
Children are said to make contributions to their language development. According to psychologists how do children contribute? I am trying to form an elaborate essay on this so any input is appreciated.
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Answer by lolo
The first three years of life is the most concentrated period of speech and language development. In this stage, the child’s brain is developing and maturing at a quick pace. Language and speech tend to develop and improve when children are exposed to an environment full of sights and sounds of others engaging in speech and language.It doesn’t take infants long to begin to communicate with the world around them. During the first few days of life, they learn that crying will bring them food, comfort and a feeling of safety. Newborns are also born recognizing the voice of their mother. It is a familiar sound from their recent time inside the womb. Newborns also begin to recognize other familiar sounds in their environment and learn not to be startled by common louder noises or more frequent sounds.As they develop and grow, babies begin to separate the phonemes, or the sound units of speech. This builds the foundation of their language development. Research has shown that by the age of 6 months, most children can recognize the basic sounds of their natural language. Children need to be immersed in a language early on.
Babies begin by making cooing sounds. These are fairly soft, almost singing sounds. As infants reach 6 months of age, they are usually babbling or creating more repetitive syllables such as “ma, ma” or “da, da.” This babbling will then begin to sound like gibberish as the child tries to talk like the adults around him. As toddlers reach the end of their first year, a majority of them can say a few simple words. They continue to learn and use more words as they see the response given by others around them. It is important to try to teach your child about the world around him by showing and talking about daily activities. By the time a child reaches 18 months of age, he can usually say eight to ten words. By age 2, most children are putting words together in basic sentences such as “more juice.” At this age they also begin to engage in pretend play. At ages 3, 4, and 5, a child’s vocabulary continues to increase as he begins to understand the rules of language. Remember, all children develop differently, and your child may be saying more or less words at each stage. Talk to your doctor about any concerns you may have.
another website: https://www.comeunity.com/disability/speech/young-children.html
Children seem born not just to speak, but also to interact socially. Even before they use words, they use cries and gestures to convey meaning; they often understand the meanings that others convey. The point of learning language and interacting socially, then, is not to master rules, but to make connections with other people and to make sense of experiences (Wells, 1986). In summary, language occurs through an interaction among genes (which hold innate tendencies to communicate and be sociable), environment, and the child’s own thinking abilities.
Understand that every child’s language or dialect is worthy of respect as a valid system for communication. It reflects the identities, values, and experiences of the child’s family and community.
Treat children as if they are conversationalists, even if they are not yet talking. Children learn very early about how conversations work (taking turns, looking attentively, using facial expressions, etc.) as long as they have experiences with conversing adults.
Encourage interaction among children. Peer learning is an important part of language development, especially in mixed-age groups. Activities involving a wide range of materials should promote talk. There should be a balance between individual activities and those that nurture collaboration and discussion, such as dramatic play, block-building, book-sharing, or carpentry.
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