Developmental Level- 4 to 5 years
Jessica Holden
ECE315: Language Development in Young Children
Nancy Hooper
February 24, 2012
I chose the developmental level for children between the ages of four and five. I chose this age group because this is the dominate age group of the children that I currently work with.
This time in a child’s life is filled with rapid language acquisition. Children’s vocabulary will grow from about 2,000 words to just under 6,000 words by the time they turn six. Children are able to speak in full sentences and carry on meaningful conversations with their peers and teachers. They have had many life experiences to which to build word knowledge on. They can actively participate in circle time, remembering stories and rhymes, and will even learn to recognize letters and words, like their names. This is a wonderful time in children’s lives! They soak up new experiences like a sponge. “With the structural building blocks in place, children begin to learn to use language appropriately in a wider variety of settings and for a broader range of purposes…” (Piper, 2012, Ch.6.6, para. 3) Learning to speak grammatically correct is still being learned at this age, so it is not uncommon to hear a child speak incorrectly. This incorrect speech will work its self out as the child becomes of more aware of language in conversation. “Before the age of 5, bilingual children have essentially acquired two first languages.” (Piper, 2012, Ch. 6.6, para. 4) This should be acknowledged when a child is being assessed, “If they appear to lag behind, this advantage will help them to catch up in the dominant language when the time is right.” (Piper, 2012, Ch.6.6, para. 4)
Three ways to support language acquisition at this developmental level are:
1. Have meaningful conversations with the children. This is a perfect time for teachers and parents to use modeling, that way their children can to learn how to interact socially with their peers by watching how you interact with individuals around you. Children will be more likely to express themselves if they see you are truly interested in what they have to say. This will help the child become more confident and it will build positive self-esteem.
2. Provide an environment that is set up for language acquisition for bilingual children. It is important that children see that their family’s culture is valued. Providing things like bilingual labels and books will help children who may have a language barrier make sense of their classroom. According to an article published by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, to “Encourage home language and literacy development, knowing that this contributes to children’s ability to acquire English language proficiency.”(NAEYC, 2005)
3. Use Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences to teach children. “Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner has spent many years analyzing the human brain and its impact on education, including language learning. Gardner says that we have several types of intelligence-linguistic, logical-mathematical, visual-spatial, social, introspective, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, and naturalistic (Gardner, 1983; Gardner, 1998).” (Vos, 2008) This is important because the more ways you can teach children the better they are going to understand a new concept, like new vocabulary that is being introduced to them. By providing learning experiences in many different facets you can reach a child that you may not have reached before.
Resources
Vos, J. (2008). Can preschool children be taught a second language? Early Childhood News. Retrieved from http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleId=60
Piper, T. (2012). Making meaning, making sense: Children’s early language learning. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education.
National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2005). Responding to linguistic and cultural diversity. Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/diversity.pdf
Jessica Holden
ECE315: Language Development in Young Children
Nancy Hooper
February 24, 2012
I chose the developmental level for children between the ages of four and five. I chose this age group because this is the dominate age group of the children that I currently work with.
This time in a child’s life is filled with rapid language acquisition. Children’s vocabulary will grow from about 2,000 words to just under 6,000 words by the time they turn six. Children are able to speak in full sentences and carry on meaningful conversations with their peers and teachers. They have had many life experiences to which to build word knowledge on. They can actively participate in circle time, remembering stories and rhymes, and will even learn to recognize letters and words, like their names. This is a wonderful time in children’s lives! They soak up new experiences like a sponge. “With the structural building blocks in place, children begin to learn to use language appropriately in a wider variety of settings and for a broader range of purposes…” (Piper, 2012, Ch.6.6, para. 3) Learning to speak grammatically correct is still being learned at this age, so it is not uncommon to hear a child speak incorrectly. This incorrect speech will work its self out as the child becomes of more aware of language in conversation. “Before the age of 5, bilingual children have essentially acquired two first languages.” (Piper, 2012, Ch. 6.6, para. 4) This should be acknowledged when a child is being assessed, “If they appear to lag behind, this advantage will help them to catch up in the dominant language when the time is right.” (Piper, 2012, Ch.6.6, para. 4)
Three ways to support language acquisition at this developmental level are:
1. Have meaningful conversations with the children. This is a perfect time for teachers and parents to use modeling, that way their children can to learn how to interact socially with their peers by watching how you interact with individuals around you. Children will be more likely to express themselves if they see you are truly interested in what they have to say. This will help the child become more confident and it will build positive self-esteem.
2. Provide an environment that is set up for language acquisition for bilingual children. It is important that children see that their family’s culture is valued. Providing things like bilingual labels and books will help children who may have a language barrier make sense of their classroom. According to an article published by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, to “Encourage home language and literacy development, knowing that this contributes to children’s ability to acquire English language proficiency.”(NAEYC, 2005)
3. Use Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences to teach children. “Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner has spent many years analyzing the human brain and its impact on education, including language learning. Gardner says that we have several types of intelligence-linguistic, logical-mathematical, visual-spatial, social, introspective, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, and naturalistic (Gardner, 1983; Gardner, 1998).” (Vos, 2008) This is important because the more ways you can teach children the better they are going to understand a new concept, like new vocabulary that is being introduced to them. By providing learning experiences in many different facets you can reach a child that you may not have reached before.
Resources
Vos, J. (2008). Can preschool children be taught a second language? Early Childhood News. Retrieved from http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleId=60
Piper, T. (2012). Making meaning, making sense: Children’s early language learning. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education.
National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2005). Responding to linguistic and cultural diversity. Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/diversity.pdf