Early Childhood Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Early Childhood Studies - Essay Example However, research has shown that this does not have immediate effect on speech development in children hence they are not necessary though they are helpful. From the above argument, it has been suggested that language acquisition by children is promoted through speaking to children in special way. Mothers often speak in a slow way such that they carefully articulate basic vocabulary which is easier to understand by the children. Grady (2005) calls this motherese where the mother speaks in a slow way so the child can grasp the meaning of speech or the words uttered. To a greater extent, it can be noted that this aspect of speech development is very important given that it is commonly believed that the child adopts a language from the mother. This is the reason why the child’s first language is called the mother tongue in different social dispositions. Though this aspect of motherese is not necessary in speech development, it has been observed that it significantly contributes t o the development of speech in young children. In some cultures, adults do not simplify their language when they are talking to the children but these children still learn their language perfectly. There is a misconception among people that children require special instructions for them to learn a language. According to the author of the given article, children can still learn a language without special help from the parent but there is one external condition that has to exist in as far as language acquisition is concerned. The author argues that children need to hear sentences they can actually understand before they know a lot about the language they are... This paper approves that it can be argued that language is acquired given that in some instances, it may not be possible to create a formal learning environment for infants whose minds are still very young to be reasonable enough to learn a language at a faster rate. It is pretty difficult for a child to be taught to create a meaningful sentence at a tender age as this can be confusing. Children often construct meaningful sentences without using the same words from their parents which brings us to the conclusion that language acquisition is not an art of imitation. This report makes a conclusion that it can be observed that there are different misconceptions with regards to language acquisition and learning in children. Some scholars believe that language is acquired naturally while others believe that it is learnt from the people around. However, a closer analysis of different concepts proposed by different scholars show that there is no agreed way about how children learn a language. It can also be said that the external environment has a bearing on the way children learn or acquire their first language. The culture of a particular group has a strong influence on the way at which a child acquires a language. Normally, the behaviour of people is shaped by their cultural values as well as their language. It is also easier for the children to learn to construct meaningful sentences through the guidance of someone but this does not necessarily mean to say that they have to undergo a formal learning programme as this can be done subconsciously. Yo ung children are capable of learning from the social environment around them.