Child language development: learning to talk. John Wiley and Sons Essay

“Child language development: learning to talk” is first of all aimed to address early communication problems of young children. This book deals with the early stages of language development for children, and the main point of this source is the developmental program which involves early language acquisition skill such as turn-taking and join attention with appropriate game activities. The skills of questioning and answering questions are also included as part of this programme. An important feature is the use of peer interaction as a means of cognitive development for the children, which is aligned with Piaget’s importance of peer-shared solutions compared with individual solutions of the children. The programme itself is based on the premises of the transaction model of language acquisition developed by Snyder and McLean.
In this model, it is supposed that early language skills arise from the involvement of children into interactions with their environment, people and objects. Authors distinguish three aspects of early language development: linguistic, social and cognitive. The programme also includes several causes of early language impairments and ways of helping children with these problems.
This programme stresses the importance of adults’ conversations with children – a view which has been expressed by Piaget and other researchers of early language formation. Chapter 3 where the contexts and routines for daily language acquisition for young children are described, can be very useful both to the researchers and to parents willing to improve cognitive development of their children. The first part of the book is devoted to the research and background for the language programme, and the middle part of the book (Chapters 6-10) contain essential steps of the language programme. The final part of the book contains recommendations for common early language impairments and describes the ideas for group therapy and supporting families. The book allows to draw parallels between cognitive development in early childhood and language development, and shows particular steps of improving language development through cognitive development, and vise versa. Practical value of this book is very high, especially taking into account that it contains resource materials and is based on the practical experience based on early parent intervention for children with problematic early language development.
Source 2. Painter, C. (1999). Learning through language in early childhood. London: Clare Painter.
The book “Learning Through Language in Early Childhood” by Clare Painter represents a detailed case study of child cognitive and language development during the period from 30 months to 5 years. Theoretical background of the book is based on the systemic-functional linguistics, which can at the same time be considered as a learning theory. One of key premises in this case study is the idea that language and learning are inseparable in this age, and that cognitive development is aligned with learning development. This directly relates to my research question, and the whole case study show the relationship of language experience and cognitive development in early age. Main part of the book describes the steps and elements of preschool language development.
The changes of language are considered from the perspective of four domains of experience: world of events, world of things, cause and effect, and semiosis / inner cognition world. The book also shows the ways how cognitive development can be fostered by the new linguistic possibilities, and how these developments can contribute to the child’s future experiences and success at school.
According to Piaget’s model, this book operates within a preoperational stage of development, where the core focus is indeed on the language. The case study does not address school years, where language formation is largely shaped by peer interaction and school curricula, but instead outlines the important stages and perspective of preschool language development. The data set used in the book is rich and longitudinal, and thus it presents an important insight into key stages of early language development, and gives a framework for creating optimal learning environment for young children. Thus, this book is a valuable source of information for preschool educators, researchers, language development experts and even to parents willing to prepare their children for school and to improve their cognitive and language skills.