Linguistic Development

Language can be difficult because we need to articulate vowel sounds, consonants and consonant blends such as "buh" and "duh".  Children excel in learning a language when it's spoken around them.  Children do not just absorb the language but construct their opinions on word meaning and structure, as Piaget's theory suggested. As you've probably heard there is a sensitive period where children learn language rapidly. This occurs between age 5 and 10. However I learned in another educational psychology class that it's still possibly to learn a foreign language even when you're old at an efficient rate. In this book there's a nice word semantics which means meaning of words and word combinations.

I like how this book says read,read and read to help children expand their vocabulary. Reading helps vocabulary because you might remember a certain passage that will trigger the vocabulary word. Rules of syntax allow us to put together sentences. Syntax is how to put words together into sentences (this is usually done unconsciously). The development of syntax and semantics help listening comprehension. Some times I can be really bad at this. Children in the early elementary years believe listening is simply sitting still and being quiet. Some cultures such as in Asian and Mexican ones believe it to be offensive to ask a question for clarification.

                                                          

(A good book to read about an unknown in history

who has made important contributions to the US. )

Children don't listen well because they use the context of the situation more and use their preconceived beliefs in what someone is saying. As children grow older they base their listening less on the context. As children grow they can go beyond a literal interpretation such as with the phrase "don't put all your eggs in one basket". During the preschool and early elementary years children have a hard time pronouncing sounds s and th and other sounds. By age 8 or 9 most students have mastered the sounds of English. Even in the upper elementary level students do not take into account what someone else knows. Another nice word is pragmatics which means knowledge about cultural-specific social conventions that includes initiating a conversation and picking topics to talk about. This is another important component in linguistic development. A person who changes the topic frequently or interrupts people may have others become irritated or annoyed. 

Word play such as rhymes, chants, and jokes help students master a language.  While doing these activities they develop metalinguistic awareness, the ability to think about language.  This process seems to develop slowly.