CHILD DEVELOPMENT

Child Development in reference with Language and PSE Development



Language Development

When working on children in terms of language or PSE development, it is essential to take into account the individual, and to have an understanding of the subjects which is being referred. It's called language development (or acquisition of language) the cognitive process by which humans acquire the ability to communicate verbally using a natural language (Nora, Pp. 66). This development comes at a critical period that extends from the first months of life until the onset of adolescence. In most humans the process takes place mainly during the first five years, especially in regard to the acquisition of linguistic forms and contents. During these early years has led to faster learning and acquire the basic elements and their meanings, and even the preteen is consolidated using the inference pragmatic and ability to understand non-literal statements (ironic, sarcastic, etc.). The early years are the critical period of language development but extend far beyond the early years (Chess S. Pp. 33-47).

Objective

The object of the observation is to observe the child's behaviour during a lesson and to evaluate it and link it to development theories, particularly in relation to cognitive development. The child is a five year old who, according to his teacher, is attaining all the typical milestones for his age group. He is the oldest of three males in a family living with both parents whose home language is Somali. English is also spoken in the home (Fombonne, Pp. 44).

Observations

The child shows good communication skills with his peers as he talks to them and also shows them how to hang the clothes. During the observation it was noted that 'A' did a lot of interaction with the teachers, this could be seen as the child seeking positive reinforcement from her during the activity. This can be linked to the behaviourist theories such as Skinner's Operant Conditioning theory in which children adjust their behaviour in response “a wide variety of rewards or reinforces, things such as praise or a friendly smile”.

In addition to this, when the teacher asked how many more items were needed to make five, 'A' counted the items hanging up then added the one on his hand to make five then told her he only needed to hang one more. This shows he was using the clothes practically to solve the problem. This would put him in the Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 years).

Nativism

Nativism is a feature often found in systems rationalists and that is required by the need to find a different source of knowledge to experience, i.e. information that comes from the senses. If knowledge is not made from the senses, then it has to come from somewhere else. In particular, it is conceivable that prior to any experience, it takes some basic knowledge. This can be one of the elements that can explain A's above average performance (Kambartel and Pirmin, Pp. 22).

Family impact (Autism)

A has two younger siblings, from which the youngest ...