Thesis
A child’s language development is intertwined with all other areas of their development and therefore it plays an integral role in their cognitive and intellectual growth.
Introduction
Language is an abstract set of principles that specify the relationship between a sequence of sounds and a sequence of meanings. Everyday life constitutes and intrinsic part of the way language is used. Any communication between people is in a social context that constrains the linguistic forms participants use. (Bacalu, 2013)
Language comes in many forms. It can be seen, heard, diverse or standard. Then there is written, visual, oral, musical language etc. The world contains between 6000 and 7000 languages …show more content…
Dialects and Accents are terms than can be used to describe different forms of a language. A Dialect is defined as a particular form of a language that is peculiar to a specific region or social group. ("Dialect", n.d.) An accent is defined as a distinctive way of pronouncing a language, especially one associated with a particular country, area or social class.(“Accent”, n.d.) A common example is the differences in the English language in different countries. Australian English different from American and British English in that it has a bias towards invention, humour, profanity and a classless society. Australian English today, particularly the humorous slang, can be traced back to its convict foundations (Convict Creations, n.d.). While British English tends to be more formalised, Australian English is characterised by diminutives. Diminutives are where the first part of a word is taken and an a, o, ie, or y sound is substituted in. Examples of Diminutives include arvo(short for Afternoon) and Aussie(short for …show more content…
Almost all classroom activities across all subjects rely on age appropriate language skills. Vygotsky Coined the term Zone of proximal development. This is the zone at which parents and educators work as children move towards independence. The zone changes when children move past a particular point of development and onto new areas of knowledge.(Education, 2016)
So children in primary school may use language to ask their parents or teachers for assistance with their schoolwork, communicate their needs or wants and use it when playing with other children.
Several activities a teacher or parent/guardian can do to assist primary school children with their language and literacy skills and in turn prepare them for secondary school include; Reading together. It is important that the child is encouraged to choose what they want to read.(Raising Children, 2016) Take turns reading together and scaffold the child when they have trouble reading particular words. Sing songs together, play simple word games and tell jokes and riddles together. For parents, find time to chat to your child about your day. (Raising Children, 2016) This could be going for a walk together or over a family meal. As well as enhancing their vocabulary and preparing them for future education, it improves the relationship between the school age child. These activities could enrich