![]() ![]() In response to Tickell’s (2011) review of the EYFS, the statutory framework was revised to include seven areas of learning and development, replacing the previous six areas, and grouping them into two categories – prime areas and specific areas. (1993) the interaction between adults and children may be considered an “apprenticeship in thinking” in which children’s understanding of the world is shaped during routine day-to-day activities in interactions with communicating and engaging adults (Rogoff et al.,1993) Others highlight the importance of children learning through activities with adults, for Rogoff et al. Therefore, interaction with peers is seen as important for development as it allows young children to make sense of and copy another’s behaviour. Infants often perceive others as being like themselves (Meltzoff,2005) and young children, in particular are interested in what their peers are doing. Piaget (1962) placed a high value on peer-interaction for development as peers share similar world views and capabilities. The next developmental step, which can be attained with this targeted support, is referred to by Vygotsky as “the zone of proximal development” (ZPD) In order to support this, Noam Chomsky hypothesised that humans possessed some kind of genetic “language acquisition device” (Chomsky, 1965) and evidenced this by stating that all human languages share a number of properties, children are observed to know things about language despite receiving different input, and all children eventually arrive at the same grammar, for example, despite receiving varied input (Chomsky, 1957) These theories about language acquisition focus heavily on the biological side of the coin.Īccording to Vygotsky’s(1978) theory of social constructivism, it is mainly social interactions that drive development forward and so, adults, or more competent peers, help children to achieve more. Nativist theories propose that within human development there exists a consistent trajectory of language development which transcends cultures and languages (Chomsky, 1965, 1980). Nativist theories of language acquisition So how then do children acquire the language needed in order to perform these 8 functions? As with most things in Early Years, there are a range of suggestions. When we think about our own everyday experiences of language, we can see that this is reflective of our experience. Language is a uniquely human trait, some other species have a rudimentary language but the complexities that we see in human language are unparalleled elsewhere.Ĭrystal (1997, cited in Harley ) suggested that human language has 8 main functions: This distinction is important as the process by which our first language is learnt is extremely different to learning to speak another language. ![]() When we talk about children learning to speak their first language (or languages in bilingual homes) we call this ‘language acquisition’ in contrast to learning a foreign language which is generally referred to as ‘language learning’. To go from no words to such a complex range of skills is quite a feat, but the vast majority of children do just that! They develop their own narratives and explanations by connecting ideas or events.” They use past, present and future forms accurately when talking about events that have happened or are to happen in the future. “Children express themselves effectively, showing awareness of listeners’ needs. The Early Learning Goal for the end of the EYFS reads Between the ages of 0-5 children experience and explosion of language, from being able to form no words to speaking in full sentences.
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