Language Development in Children: Observation and Theory

Reflection on Language Development Theory

Observing children's language development can be fascinating. What could be more exciting than hearing a child imitate and behave similarly to the people around them? According to Lev Vygotsky, "Language is man's greatest tool." He believed that language is a critical instrument in cognitive development for two reasons: first, it is the primary tool adults use to communicate information to children; second, language is key to intellectual adaptation (McLeod, 2007).

For the past couple of weeks, I have observed my younger brother and recorded his conversations with several people in order to pay close attention to his language development and the ways he expresses himself. This reflection and observation task has shown me the different ways a child develops language skills and how children begin to associate various sounds with objects. Through this task, I observed many interesting phenomena and learned how children use language to make connections between objects and their uses, as well as how children struggle to pronounce different letters sometimes.

As mentioned, language is mankind's greatest tool, which means it has highly significant importance in the life of any human being. The process of developing language starts from the birth of the child. Infants observe what is happening around them. What they listen to, they will eventually speak. In the growing stage, parents encourage children to call them by "MAMA" or "DADDY." For this reason, a child's first words are almost always mama or daddy. The child listens to these words repeatedly, and what they listen to, they will speak.

Through research on language development in children, I have observed that every child has his or her own will to understand language and speak it. Sometimes several children take time to develop language. Some children tend to develop language acquisition faster than other children, which appears regardless of the child's culture or native language (Crosser, 2009).

Children's development of language and social skills is affected by the nature of their family and early educational experience. In the growing stage, children become socialized through interaction with parents, siblings, relatives, and neighbors. According to Seefeldt (2010), a typical five-year-old child tends to find joy in talking and sharing their thoughts. In addition, they acquire a basic understanding of various rules of conversation, such as waiting for others to finish speaking and hearing other people out without interrupting.

Through my observation of my younger brother and other children, I have discovered an interesting fact: every child has his or her own language development skills that develop based on the nature of his or her family and the environment in which he or she lives.

As language is a verbal behavior, each child has his or her own way of learning through reinforcement, analogy, structured input, and imitation. In receptive language development, a child of two to three years learns to listen and understand language, then begins naming things and can call siblings by their names.

I noticed many things I had never imagined before regarding the phases of language development in children. Children tend to imitate our words and say them in exactly the same pronunciation as we do. Right communication at that level is essential, as children learn on average 20 new words a day. I was astonished by how quickly they pick up words they have heard for the first time and use them later.

Language development in children is truly affected by nature, culture, and environment. The environment of the living space affects children significantly during the growing phase. Children who live in an environment where they receive little attention from their parents and witness mistreatment will observe and internalize these situations negatively.