Children Learn the Rules of

¶ … children learn the rules of their society's language at an early age through use, and over time, without formal instruction. Thus, genetics or heredity must be one source for learning. Humans are born to speak and have an innate gift for deciphering the rules of the language used in their environment. However, the environment itself is also a significant factor. Children learn the specific variety of language, or dialect that the people speak to and around them. Children do not, however, learn only by imitation.

They also work through linguistic rules, since they use forms that adults never use, such as "I goed there before" or "I see your feets." Children eventually learn the conventional forms, "went" and "feet," as they sort out the exceptions to the rules of English syntax. When children develop language abilities is always a difficult question to answer. Usually, toddlers say their first words between 12 and 18 months of age and begin to use complex sentences about the age of 4.

By the time they start kindergarten, children know most language fundamentals, so that they can converse easily with someone who speaks as they do. As with other aspects of development, language acquisition is not consistent. One child may say his or her first word at 10 months, another at 20 months. One child may use complex sentences at 5 1/2 years, another at 3 years. Researchers continue to learn about language, since it is one of the most complex forms of human behavior and provides significant insights into other areas of development.

Healthcare providers are often called on to screen young children for possible language problems. Early detection of language difficulties is essential, as they influence the overall development of a child. Language problems may be due to other problems, including mental retardation, pervasive developmental disorder or autism, physical handicaps, hearing loss, environmental deprivations, neurological problems, or a combination of these factors. A study in 2005 by Rivera et. al. decided to analyze how children of different ages listen and respond to questions of varying difficulty.

The research examined three areas: 1) Whether there were differences between educators of toddlers and preschoolers in terms of the frequency and type of questions used. It was predicted that early childhood educators working with preschool-age children would ask more questions, more open-ended questions, and more topic-continuing questions than those working with toddlers. This hypothesis was based on the expectation that the more advanced linguistic and conversational abilities of preschoolers would motivate educators to use more of these question types.

2) Whether preschoolers responded more frequently to these different types of questions than toddlers. It was hypothesized that preschool-age children would respond more often than toddlers. 3).