Language and Education in Life-Span Human Development - Book Report/Review Example

?Chapter 10- Language and Education Review/Outline In chapter 10 of his book, Life-Span Human Development, the Carol K., Sigelman has talked about language and education with regards to human development, very comprehensively and rationally. The author starts with the discussion about mastering a language in the early years of life. He states that all children master a language in their early years but this does not mean that language is not a complicated piece of knowledge. It is a combination of words, phrases and sentences. The chapter starts with what, when and how language acquisition occurs. The author states that phonemes are used in every language to differentiate words according to their meanings. Morphemes are the basic units of meanings that, when added, change the meaning of the whole word. Mastering the syntax, semantics and pragmatics of language is important to understand the rules of language and forming meaningful sentences. Prosody is important to pronounce a word according to situation. The chapter then turns to the ‘when’ part. The infant is not able to produce meaningful words in initial months but start segmenting words around 7th month. They are able to distinguish and recognize words from sentences. The language skills improve by the end of two years. In the early months of infancy, infants produce sounds of burps, hiccups and sneezes to which the elders respond which gives a cue to the infants that their sounds mean something. They start relating the responses to their sounds and how the sounds are produced which paves their way to producing meaningful sounds. Babies coo in response but until this stage they do not know the meaning of what others are saying. Babbling begins at 4-6 months in which babies like to repeat pleasing sounds. This is the time they begin mastering the semantics of language and begin to understand the words they are not able to produce yet. Thus, comprehension starts before production. Early comprehension results in better academic achievement. One year old babies make use of joint attention to label things. They also start learning syntactic bootstrapping. They start speaking holophrases at one year of age which they use for questioning and demanding. Kids this age talk about familiar objects. They know words for social interaction like hello and bye-bye. 18 months is the period of vocabulary spurt when the child has mastered around 30-35 words. The word learning quickens. They also make mistakes like overextension and underextention which Piaget has also talked about as assimilation. The author states that individual differences in language acquisition are due to differences in cultures and norms rather than on individual language learning ability. I agree with this point because an English speaking child will learn fewer verbs than a Korean child because of the complexity of language. This point also made me understand the importance of sophistication of language used in homes that can affect language acquisition in children. I also believe that the more parents communicate with their children, the more they enable them to acquire language early in life. Telegraphic speech learning starts at two years when the child combines two words into a sentence, not considering any rule or grammar. After basic language skills, formal language acquisition has been discussed regarding how reading, writing and problem-solving techniques are acquired through formal education. School age children acquire vocabulary very fast. They begin understanding grammar and rules which adds to their cognitive development as well. Adolescence brings metalinguistic awareness which is about understanding and defining words. Adults only hold on to the phonology they have acquired in childhood. However, the knowledge of words, semantics and sentences continues to grow because of their life experiences. This point made me understand the importance of social interactions throughout life. I learnt that no matter what the age, the more one interacts with the world and different cultures, the more one learns about language and gains vocabulary. Adults also know the use of pragmatic language according to social circumstances. Much older adults, however, have a difficulty recalling names because of their slowed down memory retrieval. The chapter then turns to the ‘how’ part of the problem, that is, how language develops. Research on people with damaged brain tells that language is associated with the left hemisphere of the brain. Further research shows that left hemisphere is associated with listening to speech and right hemisphere with processing the melody of speech. Research also shows that women process language using both the hemispheres equally while in men, the left hemisphere is more active. The author mentions that the left hemisphere contains two regions: Broca’s area which is responsible for speech production, and Wernicke’s area which comprehends language. Incoming language is processed and comprehended in Wernicke’s area which then is sent to Broca’s area for production of speech. The author states that both nature and nurture are important in language acquisition. I have learnt the point from this that we cannot hold any of the two responsible for a child to learn language; instead, both nature and nurture play their roles in enabling a child to grasp a language. At this point, the chapter turns to the nurture view of the debate emphasizing upon how brought-up contributes in language development. One interesting point that benefitted my learning the most was that, those children tend to speak much earlier whose parents talk to them, converse with them, ask them questions, and engage them in talking. This enables children to pick up words and build vocabulary much earlier than those children who are not talked to directly. The author further mentions that reinforcement and imitation of elders does not enforce grammatical rules in language acquisition. Children overregularize, make mistakes and then learn. The chapter then takes into account the nature part of the debate focusing on nativists’ view that biological contributions in genes are responsible for language acquisition. Nativists argue that humans have an inborn genetic capability of learning any language and possess a universal grammatical rules system. The Language Acquisition Device (LAD) area of the brain is activated while language acquisition. This holds some truth when we observe an 18 month old baby understanding and using syntax. A second proof is that of second language learning. So, there is no critical period for language acquisition. The chapter then interlinks both nature and nurture and the author states that both concepts work along each other. The chapter then focuses on language acquisition in deaf children. Their process of language development is much the same as normal children. They respond to sign in which their brain plays as much role as parents do. Sign language is a must to enable them to learn language, otherwise their language development delays. The chapter then turns quite rapidly toward the interactionist point of view in which the author states that cognitive abilities and their maturation are responsible for language development such as symbolic thought. Language develops as one interacts with the society. When parents tell stories to their children, this enables the latter to learn taking turns, ask questions and respond. This child-directed speech is necessary to make them learn how and when to use what kind of sentences. The chapter then focuses on mastery of environment in infants. They master their environment while exploring with their hands, roaming around and making mess. Research suggests that baby educational videos tend to make the child learn at a slower pace than those babies who do not watch any videos. However, this does not negate the importance of preschool educational programs. The next section talks about achievement motivation in children in which they ask for approval or disapproval on their actions. Achievement motivation involves contributions from children, parents and schools equally. After this, the chapter then takes into account the learning to read. This section benefitted me in the way that I learnt the importance of reading in language acquisition. I learnt that mastery in reading enables one to outshine in other academic skills too. Moreover, prealphabetic, partial alphabetic and full alphabetic phases teach children about alphabet recognition. Emergent literacy which talks about reading skills in children depends upon the attitude of children toward willingness to read which enhances their reading skills. There are skilled and unskilled readers. The former type knows how to associate letters with phonemes and sounds. The latter type has dyslexia that lacks phonological awareness. The author states that phonics approach is the best way to teach reading. The chapter then discusses the characteristics of effective schools. Schools must invest money wisely to increase the outcome. The students and teachers matter more. Integration and inclusion work is necessary. The chapter afterwards discusses the declining trend of academic achievement in adolescents. Peer groups and peer pressure are mainly responsible for this. I learnt from this section that giving autonomy to students maintains their interest in studies because they develop a sense of ownership and control on their learning. Their developmental needs must be addressed by the school environment. The author further states that secondary school teachers spend more time teaching science and math rather than reading and writing. Students who integrate work with school tend to show poor grades. The end of the chapter discusses achievement motivation in adults which declines with age due to changes in work and family contexts. The author discusses literacy and some facts and figures have been mentioned. The author mentions that many adults choose to continue their education which hinders with their family and professional lives. To sum up, the chapter comprehensively talks about language acquisition and education starting from infancy through childhood, adolescence, and into adulthood. References Sigelman, C.K. (2011). Life-Span Human Development. Canada: Cengage Learning. Read More