Acquisition and Development of Language in Primary Education

Posted on Oct 2, 2024 in Social sciences

ITEM 17: Process of Acquisition and Development of Language in Primary Education: Understanding and Oral Expression, Language Non-Accompanying Oral Communication. Educational Intervention.

1. Introduction:

The emergence of language is the most momentous fact that happens in the life of man because it is between the words where rationality emerges. Authors such as Vygotsky, Piaget, Chomsky, and Bruner have spent parts of their lives studying this phenomenon, which causes intelligent and social behavior.

Communication is a process of sending and receiving messages using a plurality of codes. It is necessary for the issuer to be able to express what they feel, what they think, and what they want, and the receiver, in turn, to be able to meet, understand, and respond. The most authentic way is through oral language, which allows communication with others and with ourselves and that is installed on a sufficient development of neurological and psychological functions. We will take into consideration when planning our educational intervention, both the maturation of neural structures, and the psychic fonoarticulatorias and social and cultural environment that surrounds the child.

Language is probably the most complex set of rules a person can learn. However, the task of learning these rules is performed easily by all children in a surprisingly short period. Students who enter primary school have already learned speech. But there are many unknown words. Their verbal abilities continue to increase and improve their education during the primary stage.

2. Determining Factors

Oral language, as with any other development, does not escape the heredity/environment controversy. The genetic equipment and maturation are responsible for the acquisition and the environment in their jobs and wealth.

2.1. Heredity and Maturation

The basic equipment necessary for the acquisition of spoken language are the sensory pathways, nervous system, respiratory and fonoarticulatorio, which also need to mature.

  • The nervous system: The linguistic acquisitions involve material support without which no one understands their reception, decoding, processing, and production. In this sense, the central nervous system plays a role, mainly the left brain.
  • The system fonoarticulatorio: We call the fonoarticulador system all agencies involved in the issuance of articulate sounds. Only humans are able to use the fonoarticulatorio in conjunction with the respiratory system to produce articulate sounds.
  • The sensory pathways: Auditory pathways, visual and proprioceptive (skin, muscles and how to place the tongue, joints, etc.)

2.2. The Media and Learning:

There is evidence to show a close relationship between language development and the environment in which the child grows. The “environment” provides vocabulary, the basic elements of morphosyntax, and generally the level of expression.

Bernstein conducts research in 1958 where it already shows the relationship between socioeconomic status and family’s cultural and linguistic development.

Needless to say, the basic role the school played for the compensation of inequalities from a poor environment and linguistic and cultural models, as well as flattering to access these restricted codes of speaking Bernstein. LOE Remember: Part II: Equity in education.

3. Acquisition and Development of Oral Language: Explanatory Theories

Studies about the development of language acquisition are systematized according to the paradigms emerging over the last fifty years of the twentieth century: nativist, environmentalist, and interactionist.

3.1. Model Nativist

This model is in a rationalist line whose characteristic is considered as a factor of acquisition and development of oral language mechanisms and internal processes. It brings together such diverse theories such as Chomsky and Piaget, but both understand the language as a system to represent reality and whose acquisition depends on innate abilities.

Syntactic Model. Noam Chomsky

Language is a uniquely human ability. All subjects possess an internal grammar of language, which speakers are able to produce and understand sentences that have never before heard.

Cognitive Model. Piaget

For Piaget, the possibility to use and combine words responds to the emergence of a capacity after the symbolic function, which is known to be built in and along the sensorimotor period.

His main contributions are collected in his book “Language and Thought of the Child” (1923). Among them we quote:

  • The specifically human is general cognitive ability, which is an expression language.
  • Language is a symbolic system so a child in order to use it must first have acquired symbolic thinking, the semiotic function, characterized by the ability to give a significant meaning.
  • In the preoperational period and the specific operation, the child believes that words are a property of things, there is a distinction between the signifier and signified.
  • Fixed two main categories of speech:
    • Egocentric stage (2-7 years): A language spoken in the absence or presence of others, is not intended to communication.
    • Stage of social language (7 over): Language whose purpose is communication.

3.2. Empiricist Model or Environmentalist.

Within this model lie the various behavioral models: classical conditioning, operant, and vicarious.

Operant Conditioning. Skinner

The acquisition and development of language is acquired as habits of speech behavior. These behaviors are the result of stimulus associations, reinforcement, reinforce, and according to new stimulus situations.

Classical Conditioning and Vicarious Conditioning.

These models explain language acquisition and learning from any conduct described under their theoretical positions: the association mechanical stimulus, response, and imitation.

This explanation is unlikely to respond “fully” to the acquisition and development of such complex behavior that is learned as quickly as spoken language (Carey 1978).

Learning to speak from this approach involves not only knowing the rules of language, it is also necessary to know how it is used in each context.

Oral language proficiency behaves as knowledge of how to talk, of how to make our party understand the message, to dominate the discourse in context, and so on. So from this model, language is seen as a shared social system and rules for their usage in specific contexts. The ability to apply these rules is what Hymes (1972) called communicative competence.

4. Evolution of Language in Primary Education:

Language, like any other facet of development, undergoes a series of changes throughout life, and especially in childhood. The changes and advances in oral language development during the first years of life are staggering. But let’s focus on the evolution of language in the primary stage, which is what we demand the title of the topic.

In recent years, progress is less apparent verbally, but their reasoning then reaches the level of concrete operations, which requires mastery of certain linguistic concepts and more complex grammatical structures, as the domain of verb conjugation, using of prepositions, sentence construction, etc.

According to MONFORT, M (1993), in the first cycle of the stage, it can be considered normal to find it difficult to pronounce complex syllables (pla, b, fri).

Following LUQUE and VILLA (1991), we note the following progress:

  • Increase Vocabulary: The vocabulary is expanded with more social words than familiar. They enrich the meanings of words and use is made of the same increasingly accurate.
  • More accurate use of inflections. Morphology: Proper use of gender and number of nouns, adjectives, and articles, as well as their consistency, understanding and correct usage of prefixes and suffixes, person, number, mode, and aspect in verbs.
  • Handling more complex syntactic structures: Acquire the earliest uses of sentences coordinated juxtaposed and subordinate verbs but still not fit at all times.

Learn to distinguish nuances of verb tenses (past recent and remote), aspect (finished or unfinished action), the conditional mood subjunctive.

Among the most delayed are the correct order of pronouns in references intraverbals of direct and indirect object, the syntactic forms of the passive voice.

  • Accommodating to the conventional use of grammar: The child will learn over the years to vary depending on the context record situational, formal or informal, academic, etc. with the acquisition of sociolinguistic competence, psycholinguistics and pragmatics, and context language, narration, description, dialogue, etc.

5. Non-Linguistic Accompanying Oral Communication. Nonverbal Communication.

WALLON states that the child talks through their body attitude before their verbal language. They communicate with their body, their face, hands, and at the same time, interprets what the others will also express through the body.

We use the term “nonverbal communication” to describe all the events of human communication that transcends words spoken or written. It comprises part of the overall process of communication that can be used to repeat, emphasize, contradict, supplement, replace, and regular verbal communication.

It can be classified according to their modes of expression. (Following MAYOR 1984)

  • The term proxemics: Refers to the interpersonal distance that exists between sender and receiver. Variations in the distance are based on certain factors: relational, situational, and cultural.
    • Thus, the less the distance, the closer will be the relationship of the participants;
    • People of the same status, be located closer than those belonging to different social levels.
    • The interaction among peers reduces distances.
    • Women often keep smaller distances between them than men.
    • Established social norms which are appropriate levels of distance in the interaction vary from one culture to another, resulting in some cases can cause misunderstandings.
  • The kinesthetic expression: It consists in the transmission of information through body movements, posture, gestures, facial expressions, and visual behavior. For any of these signs to be considered as a form of communication, sender and receiver must have the same code.
  • Facial expression: According to Knapp (1988), we can see the face as a Multimessage system that can transmit information concerning the personality, interest, and sensitivity during interaction, and emotional states.
  • The look: Some functions of gaze in interpersonal communication are:
      • Initiate and regulate the alternation of the conversation.
      • Feedback interlocutor.
      • Expressing emotions.
      • Communicate the nature of interpersonal relationships.
  • The movements and gestures of the body are accompanied by speech and do not occur randomly, but are linked to it. For example, political handshake, finger pointing, hitting his palm with his fist for emphasis, to indicate the size of something with your hands.
  • Paralinguistic expression: Includes all vocal elements of speech: pitch (movement of the voice up or down), the emphasis, rhythm, and timbre.
  • The term touch clockwork, physical appearance and the environment and its objects: Touch The expression is a means to express understanding, affection, interest.

The timing is the way that subjects allocate their time, depending on the conversation context and culture.

Physical appearance also conveys information. Finally, the objects within the environment in which the conversation takes place usually have certain communicative functions (King’s Speech at Christmas).

6. Educational Intervention:

The LOE, Title I: Lessons and management, Chapter II, Article 16 states that the purpose of primary education is “To provide all children an education that enables them to enhance their personal development and own welfare, to acquire basic cultural skills related to speaking, listening, reading, writing, and arithmetic, as well as develop social skills, work habits and study the artistic sense, creativity, and emotion.

Also, Article 17 which contains the objectives, it is mentioned: e) study and make appropriate use of the Spanish language and, if any, the official language of the Autonomous Region and develop reading habits.

Therefore, the oral expression will play an important role in our educational work.

6.1. Oral Language in the Primary Curriculum:

6.1.1. CB

Competition in linguistic communication: This refers to the use of language as an instrument of oral and written communication, representation, interpretation and understanding of reality, construction and communication of knowledge and self-regulatory organization and thinking, emotions, and behavior.

6.1.2. Contents:

The contents are organized around an axis that is the social use of language in different contexts: private and public, family and school. Around this theme, the content is organized into blocks that try to organize linguistic content appearing in various communication situations, taking into account its dual dimension, understanding (receiver) and expression (issuer). We’ll see how speaking and may show more closely in block 1 (Listening, speaking and conversation), 3 (literary education) with the practice of rhetorical games or listening to texts of oral literature and 4 (language skills) production activities of oral texts, which involve a conscious use of language standards.

6.1.3. Strategies for Action and Resources:

The organization in areas of knowledge EP presneta stage shall be without prejudice the overall character of the stage, given the need to integrate different experiences and learning of students at this age. Thus the RD 1513 and the D 22, argue that without prejudice to specific therapy in some areas, reading comprehension, oral and written expression, audiovisual communication, ICT and the securities are eduación work in all areas.

  • Principles:
  • For the child to progress in the domain of oral language, requires the presence of “other”, therefore an effective pedagogical approach will be to talk to him and let him speak. It must be a protagonist in the communication process.
  • Creating situations adapted to the evolutionary possibilities, from its level of development, interests, situations, and contexts.
  • Create a center in the classroom and a climate of confidence.
  • To provide children with rich language patterns and proper to help you acquire good communication skills and linguistic diversity.
  • Promoting classroom interaction between child and teacher, child and child, teacher, etc. group of children.
  • Exploit any situation to work on oral language.
  • Pay special attention to focus on the diversity of students, individual attention in the prevention of learning difficulties in oral language.
  • Resources: We need to separate principles, a number of resources and organizational arrangements as.
  • Exploiting the possibilities offered by the spontaneous speech based on open dialogue and conversation.
  • Planned and rules related to oral language.
  • Work on texts of oral tradition, poems, stories, riddles, etc.

6.2. Intervention to Oral Language Disorders Frequently:

a) Before a student in which communication is affected, showing low levels of communication or even rejection or disinterest in those students who have personality problems, inhibited, shy or emotional problems, the teacher must take an active role, encourage and motivate these children to be interested in communication, although in some cases, due to the seriousness of the problem may be required in addition the intervention of other professionals.

b) The communication is affected in some children from depressed socio-cultural contexts and uninspiring, arriving at school with a more limited linguistic background, the teacher should enrich the vocabulary of these students, as well as structure and use it properly, one top priority task at this stage of education, and to which we must deploy all possible strategies when there are these difficulties.

c) Children who have hearing problems or severe motor difficulties, dysphasia, etc. Can have major difficulties in communication, whenever possible, we will try oral language acquisition, as this is essential. But when difficulties to acquire it are so big that they run the risk that students do not have a language that can successfully meet all or some of the functions of oral language, then it is desirable the acquisition of another language or communication system of supplementary.

7. Conclusion:

Throughout the issue, we have tried to approach the complex world of human communication and genuine instrument for its realization, the spoken language. Pointing to the importance of the contents of this issue for the teacher, given its role to “compensate” and optimize the development in our case linguistic ability has been one of our intentions.

We conclude that oral language development, priority must be to be a vehicle for communication and interconnection between different curricular areas, and therefore, play an important role in the education of children in the primary stage.

8. References:

Chomsky N (1989) The nature of language. Its nature, origin and use. Alliance. Madrid.

Hymes, D (1971) Competence and performance in linguistic theory. Acquisition of languages: Models and methods. Huxley and E. Ingram. New York. Academic Press.

LUQUE, A and Vila I (1991) Language development.

Piaget (1975) Child Psychology.

Vygotsky, LS (1995) Thought and Language. Polity Press. Barcelona.