Language developmental pathways in middle school age - Essay Example

Middle school level education is an important factor which influences language and communication skills. Middle schools are schools that group students between the ages of 10 and 14. In some parts of the country, children from fifth to ninth grades are grouped together; in other parts, seventh- and eighth-graders are in one school. One of the most common middle school arrangements groups children from sixth to eighth grades.  As children grow they experience physical, intellectual, and emotional changes.

The way they learn, feel, see the world, and relate to other people becomes different from when they were younger. It is from this age that a strong foundation for communication skill must be provided. Most parents feel Parents feel that athletics can teach their youngsters how to compete with others and also how to function as part of a team. There is, however, another activity which can help young children learn to be part of a team but which places less emphasis on competition and which is, in addition, less gender specific than athletics.

That activity is debate. Debate is one of the ways that boosts up communication skills and way of expressing one’s views authentically. The main aims of conducting debates are enhancements of critical thinking, academic advancement and development and promotion of communication skills. A single topic is distributed among two or more groups in which some groups support the topic while the others would oppose it by expressing their views on that topic. Sodikaw (1985) believes that debate helps students develop the emotional maturity to win and lose graciously; acquire the social skills necessary to work with a colleague and compete against other students; and use spoken English in an increasingly sophisticated way.

Huston (1985) stresses that the student should be encouraged to become adaptable to many different styles of communication. McClain (1989) argues that debate should be seen as a cooperative rather than a competitive endeavor. Some educators feel that debate should become more audience centered and focused on community issues rather than on tournaments (Stepp, 1989). Many college students who are involved in debate feel that the emphasis on tournament debating makes them too argumentative in everyday life.

For younger children, a focus on developing communication skills rather than on competition in debate fosters attitudes of open-mindedness, fairness, and tolerance for the viewpoints of others. (Atwater, 1984) . The other way would be conducting speeches courses. A topic would be given and the student would be asked to prepare on it and deliver the speech. This not only increases knowledge regarding the topic but also removes