Oral Language Development in Children - Essay Example

?"Oral Language" Introduction Child development is the most imperative phase of human life. The thoughts inculcated during childhood serves as the foundation for the entire life. In the formative years every child is innocent and unaware of the world and its intricacies. How a child is moulded paves the way for its temperament and predisposition. The ability to express oneself by means of speech and ability to hear is vital for understanding, both these processes are connected with the oral language. Developing speaking skills overlay the foundation for enriching knowledge. Spoken language is essential for the onset of thoughtfulness. Once familiarity is developed with the listening and speaking skills it enables the development of writing and reading skills. Playing games with the kids, talking with them, spinning a tale, involving them through the mysteries of stuffed animals, narrating stories with props, spiritual chants, songs, puppets, playing interactive computer games, drawing and colouring facilitate them to construct an approachable and communicative language. Such activities stimulate the brain and aids in building vocabulary on one hand, while on the other these actions train the children to become accustomed with the oral language (Oral Language Activities that Develop Reading Readiness). Further, enables the child to develop fine as well as gross motor skills. With the advent of science and technology, various audio visual aids are available encompassing songs and rhymes that are directed to develop the understanding towards the surroundings, about self and body parts, about weather, clothes, shelters, pets, time, good habits, actions and keep the children involved in a complete manner. These activities play vital role in the cognitive development of the child right from the birth (Songs for Teaching). A constructive interaction always encourages the child, at the same time it is essential to put off falter and pauses for the growing personality. Early speech development allows the child to articulate and build communication with everyone around. This gives support in mastering other skills like writing, reading and understanding at much faster pace (Small, 2011). Understanding the requirement of the child as per age enhances the speech development. For instance- From Birth to Age of two- The care giver should talk a lot with the baby belonging to this particular age group. Babies at this age start recognizing the sounds, gesture and they start with the mono-syllable words, they try to identify the jargons, songs and rhymes encompassing actions and movements, gesture empowers their grasping. On the other hand, at the age of two to four grasping improves and therefore words should be spoken with care so that the appropriate vocabulary is framed. Use of abusive language in front of the child puts a wrong perception in the development. Age four to six, the school age, requires constant motivation and admiration for the good deeds performed or for the small achievements. Initiating expansion of vocabulary enables greater command over the language at the early stage of development, while at seven to eight years, the child understands the world around and should always be encouraged to ask and express what they perceive, enhancing the development of understanding the world in a better way and safeguarding self from any kind of mishaps or abuses (Small, 2011). Oral language is the most imperative part of the child's cognitive development, as it is the only means that aid in conveying wishes and knowledge. Oral language is the vital characteristic of language as it paves the way for literacy proficiency. Significance Oral language becomes a contributing factor in the academic success. According to Rhode Island Department of Education, "At middle school, student who had poor oral language skills in kindergarten lag five years behind their peers who had strong oral language skills in kindergarten." Oral language plays an important role in generating phonological responsiveness of words, followed by deciphering dexterities and letter identification abilities in harmonization, enabling the child to have a good reading habit, allocated reading, storytelling, telling the lessons in own words, dance and extempore, elocutions, solving riddles telling rhymes and tongue twisters, a contributory step towards the child's individuality, describing each and every act going around expands an apt towards spoken skillfulness which onsets right after the birth. Children entering schools with greater oral language command are more successful not only in academics but in every aspect of life (Joy). Diversities Diverse races, cultures and ethnicities prevail in the world with varied convictions, philosophies, assessments and objectives. Each individual belonging to a particular background possess certain parameters for grooming and nurturing the child. Moreover it also manipulates the social as well as personal life. Literacy of the society plays an imperative role for the implementation of government policies for the education, economical and social changes required for the fortifying the mass. Although literacy is the most imperative criterion in the present scenario but every society has their own coping mechanisms to bring their wards to the platform of international competition. It is a direct implication of oral language development as better readers persist to be better all the way through the edification and the inferior readers descend at the back. The social and cultural environment boosts the developmental skills. It is for this reason some of the geographical areas witness poor socioeconomic as well as literacy percentage as compared to the developed nations. Poor cognitive development and lack of effective communication put them off from the race of development. Aware parents do literate their children in every sense, not only to cope with the cut-throat competition but also to withstand the cultural bias. Some of the Arabian nations are highly developed besides maintaining their sociocultural aspects. Their history reveals that the child development was never given much attention but with growing awareness the outlook changed and people understood the cognitive, emotional, social and physical developmental connotation of literacy, beginning from the birth and continues up to the adolescence with utmost consideration to gender equality and promoting girls to be a part of literacy and decision making. Conclusion Adaptation for any language is imperative for the complete development of the personality as it infuses mannerism, social interaction or pragmatics and syntax. All these are most essential for the developing psychology of the child. It is essential that children be moulded in an appropriate manner as per their age and understanding. Sociocultural environment, parental influence, literacy and awareness of the parents is reflected in the personality of the child. The amendments and reformations that are being made in the literacy policy over the years and with the growing awareness and technical advancements are imperative and must be implemented rather than beating about the bush with the same traditional and redundant methodologies to keep with the pace of development and to meet the cut-throat competition. The educators are required to be aware for the implementation of reformed developmental policies. It is now an old and an orthodox thinking that child must understand and read only after attaining a particular age rather it should be well promoted for the maturational readiness as it is followed by behavioural modifications. These are well seen in the children of the present generation. Parents who keep swiftness with the changing trends march ahead while those who simply stick to the traditional norms without giving thought to benefits of tailored environment lag in every aspect of life. It is imperative that educators and parents adapt resilience for the cognitive development and bonding, communication, philosophical predisposition, acquiring knowledge and scaffoldings. It is the need of time to understand the mounting domain of the literacy for every individual, belonging to any sociocultural sphere. As literacy encompasses phonological consciousness, interpreting ability, confidence, terminologies and expression, command and significant exercises, it empowers the child to understand the world in a better way. It is always better to start perceiving things at an early age to be more indulgent and responsive about the happening around. It is a profound leap in the direction of overall success rather than waiting for an appropriate age for preaching. Knowledge is never a squander rather if acquired early prevents the development of misconnects. It is possible only by means of early onset of oral language development as it empowers the child to get connected with the world in a meaningful manner and therefore should be promoted by early childhood centres, schools, societies, educators, care providers and above all by parents. In the present epoch it is quite challenging for the educators to work in an innovative manner to generate literacy and oral language development. The subject is confronting with traditional methodologies and procedures advocating, knowledge is to be imparted only on arrival of suitable age and not prior to the age thereby hampering not only the physical and mental abilities but also impede cognitive and intellectual expertises of the growing child. Early command on the vocabulary and learning proficiencies empower the child to cross the geographical as well as sociocultural boundaries and contribute towards the meaning, purpose and worth of being a human, the most intellectual being on the planet. Once oral language is mastered it paves the way for learning other language(s) as well this aids in initiating communication with a wide range of individuals and thus sharing views and enriching self. It is therefore imperative to have an early onset of oral language development (Tayler, 2003). Reference Joy, K. Role of Oral Language in Academic Development. Available at http://www.ehow.com/about_6532170_role-oral-language-academic-development.html. [Accessed on 16th Aug' 2011]. Theories of Child Development and Learning. Available at http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/earlycld/ea7lk18.htm. [Accessed on 16th Aug' 2011]. Oral Language Activities that Develop Reading Readiness. Available at http://www.literacyconnections.com/OralLanguage.php. [Accessed on 16th Aug' 2011]. Songs for Teaching. Preschool, Early Childhood and Kindergarten Songs. Available at http://www.songsforteaching.com/preschoolkindergarten.htm. [Accessed on 16th Aug' 2011]. Small, K. (2011). Features of Speech to Promote Early Language Development. Available at http://www.ehow.com/info_7956974_features-promote-early-language-development.html. [Accessed on 16th Aug' 2011]. Tayler, C. (2006). Challenging partnerships in early childhood. Early Years. Dunmore Press. Read More