Notes: Language & Thought | Child Development and Pedagogy for CTET Preparation - CTET & State TET PDF Download

Learning is such a phenomenon that comes from language and thought. Language is  always to be viewed as a resource and thought is an emergence of what one perceives  and is expressed in the form of the language. A learner uses these two as a tool for  learning. Several psychologists have put their views forward on the development of  language and thought.

Language is the human ability to acquire and use complex systems of communication. A particular language, like English or Hindi, is a specific example of such a system. The scientific study of language is called linguistics.

Characteristics of Language

• Productivity: Language is able to communicate about things that are not immediately present, relying on social convention and learning.
• Complex Structure: It affords a much wider range of expressions than any known system of animal communication, helping to communicate thoughts, emotions, and ideas.
• Understanding Complex and Abstract Ideas: Language helps individuals make sense of complex and abstract concepts and preserve historical, cultural, and civilization-related records.

Elements of Language

• Phonology: Refers to the sounds of a language.
• Semantics: The study of words and their meaning.
• Grammar: The rules used to describe the structure of a language, including syntax.
• Pragmatics: The study of how people use language to communicate effectively.

The building blocks of a language are called phonemes, which are unique sounds that can be combined to create words, such as the sounds 'p' in pin, pet, and pat, or 'b' in bed, bat, and bird. Infants can distinguish many of these sounds as early as one month after birth.

Factors Affecting Language Development

Linguistic experts assert that while children do not reach the same milestones of language development at the same time, natural human progression is the primary factor in language development. The three main factors that affect language development are:

1. Social: A child’s language development depends directly on its social interactions with parents, siblings, peers, and caretakers. Children from poorer socio-economic backgrounds tend to have a smaller vocabulary compared to children from wealthier families.
2. Educational: The educational environment significantly influences a child’s language and thought development. Exposure to correct language through reading and listening, as well as attending school, provides various learning experiences.
3. Biological: Some children experience slow language and speech development due to biological factors such as autism, cleft lip/palate, ADHD, or brain injuries during birth. These conditions may affect their ability to use words coherently, communicate with others, form relationships, and understand abstract concepts.

Importance of Language

• Carries our Thoughts: Language is the vehicle of our thought process. We think through language, and any deficiency in language can disrupt the thinking process.
• Medium of Expression: Language is the primary medium of expressing a child’s feelings and experiences, through signs, gestures, and speech.
• Medium of Communication: It serves as a major tool of communication between countries, cultural groups, companies, communities, and friends.
• Moral Development: Language helps children understand what is right and wrong by listening to authorities, and it plays a critical role in moral development.
• Developing Personality: Language aids in developing and grooming a child’s personality as a whole.
• Human Developmental Process: Language development starts at birth and significantly progresses by age five, impacting emotional and intellectual growth.
• Child’s Growth: Language is directly linked with emotional development, allowing children to express emotions through speech.
• Basis of Education: Language forms the basis of all education, including reading, writing, and arithmetic.
• Medium of Literature: All great literary works are produced through language, enabling children to appreciate the work of great writers and poets.

Theories of Language Development

1. Language Acquisition and Environmental Theories by BF Skinner

   • Skinner, one of the pioneers of behaviorism, explained language acquisition through environmental influence.
   • Children learn language by associating words with meanings, reinforced through positive feedback.
   • Language acquisition involves the capacity to perceive, comprehend, and produce words and sentences.

2. The Nativist Theory by Noam Chomsky

   • Chomsky’s theory proposes that humans are born with an innate ability to develop language.
   • He introduced the concept of the Language Acquisition Device (LAD), which contains universal grammatical rules.
   • The LAD allows children to understand and produce the rules of any language they are exposed to.

3. The Interactionist Theory by Lev Vygotsky

   • Vygotsky’s theory suggests that language development is both biological and social.
   • Language learning is motivated by children’s desire to communicate and share new understandings with others.
   • Children have a brain that matures slowly, predisposing them to acquire new understandings.

Stages of Language Development

1. The Pre-linguistic Stage

   • During the first year of life, the child is in a pre-speech stage.
   • Developmental aspects include gestures, eye contact, and early vocalizations such as cooing, babbling, and crying.
   • Examples of pre-speech sounds include "dadadada," "mamamama," and "waaaah."

2. The Holophrase or One-Word Stage

   • Typically occurs between 10 and 13 months of age.
   • The child uses single words that carry meaning, often supplemented by context and non-verbal cues.
   • Example: A child saying "Dada," which could mean "Daddy, please come to me."

3. The Two-Word Sentence Stage

   • By 18 months of age, the child starts using two-word sentences.
   • Sentences typically consist of a noun or verb plus a modifier.
   • Examples: "Doggy big," "Where ball."
   • These sentences gain complexity with context and non-verbal communication.

4. The Multiple-Word Sentences Stage

   • Around two and a half years of age, the child begins forming sentences with a subject and predicate.
   • Examples based on previous stages: "Doggy is big," "Where is ball?"

5. More Complex Grammatical Structures

   • Between two and a half to three years of age, children use more intricate grammatical structures.
   • They incorporate conjunctions, embedded elements, permutations within sentences, and use prepositions.
   • Examples: "Read it, my book," "Where is Daddy?"

6. Adult-like Language Structures

   • Around five to six years of age, children reach this developmental level.
   • They use complex structural distinctions, such as "ask/tell" and "promise," and adapt sentence structure accordingly.
   • Examples: "Ask her what time it is," "He promised to help her."

Thought

Thought refers to ideas or arrangements of ideas that are the result of the process of thinking. Thinking allows humans to make sense of, interpret, represent or model the world they experience, and to make predictions about that world. It is helpful to an organism with needs, objectives, and desires, as it makes plans and tries to accomplish these goals.

Characteristics of Thought

• It is the product of mental activity.
• It involves the capacity to think, reason, imagine, etc.
• It includes consideration, reflection, recollection, contemplation, anticipation, expectation, and judgement.
• It is conscious awareness of something.

Language and Thought are Independent

Regarding the role of language in development and the relationship between language and thought:

• According to Piaget, thought precedes language, which is only one of its forms of expression.
• Vygotsky proposed that thought and language are interdependent processes from the beginning of life.
• The acquisition of language shapes thought, enabling imagination, memory usage, and action planning.

Interdependence of Thought and Language

• The majority of our daily life involves the use of language, which plays a crucial role in rational thinking.
• Linguists Sapir and Whorf proposed that thought is influenced by language, where both are essential and intertwined.
• Thought is not only expressed in words but also develops through language, creating a flow of inner movement.

Development of Thought

Children actively build a symbol system or thought process to understand the world around them, guiding their language development. This involves:

1. Cognition: Mental processes such as thinking, knowing, remembering, judging, and problem-solving.
2. Feedback: Bodily changes in response to stimuli, indicating emotional states.
3. Facial Expressions: Important indicators of a person’s response to stimuli.
4. Problem-Solving: Taking action in response to stimuli to solve problems.
5. Formation of Concepts: Abstract constructions of common features of items and events.
6. Creative Thinking: Using language creatively to motivate, inspire, and challenge children, enriching their educational experience.