Theories of language and intelligent development in children

These three physiologists and linguists argued about theory of language and intelligence development in children. Vigotsky is sure that language built and established intelligence development in children. There are some phases how language influences children mind. Piaget does not agree to the Vigotsky’s opinion that language determined intelligence development in children. Piaget ‘s theory is that intelligence decides language development in children.  Brunner’s opinion is between Piaget and Vigotsky’s theory. He believes that language and intelligence supported one and another. Intelligence development cannot be separated from language stimulation and vice versa.

He is a psychologist, a linguist and a philosopher. He is Lev Semenovich Vigotsky. He was born in 1896. He died because of Tuber coleuses at the age 38 years old. Piaget and Vigotsky lived in the same era but Vigotsky argued Piaget ‘s theory. Their opinions about language and intelligence are different. Generally, Vigotsky is sure that language determined intelligence development in children. Piaget believes that intelligence determined language development in children. These are three theories of those three linguists.

                In the early language and intelligence development in children, Vigotsky divides language development into two categories. They are inner speech and external speech. External speech is language models that children hear from adults. Children imitate and response the conversation of adults. The adult’s conversation becomes models in children mind and it turns into inner speech. This inner speech is the seed of intelligence development in children.

               Vigotsky divides children intelligence development into phases. All phases refer to conceptual thinking. These are the phases.

1. Heaps or Random thinking

         This phase is similar to Sensory motor of Piaget’s theory. Children describe objects in heaps. They have not been able to differentiate correlation between one object to others. They like to do trial and error in the intelligence experience.

2. Complex thinking

         Children have capability to clarify objects based on characteristics. Adult’s conversation has strong influence in this phase because children will get many vocabularies from having conversation with adults. Language develops rapidly and becomes the determination to intelligence development. This phase is the same as pre-operational stage of Piaget’s theory.

3. Conceptual thinking

         Children think systematically. They have employed their logical thinking. They can imagine abstract objects. The ability to count numbers and understanding concepts takes place at this phase. This is like concrete operational and formal operational stage of Piaget’s theory.

               Those are three main phases of intelligence development of Vigotsky’s view. Language is very important aspect that influences intelligence development. Vigotsky believes that language was one of major factors that establish intelligence development in children.

His name is Jean Piaget. He was born on August 9, 1896 in Neuchatel, Switzerland. He is known as psychologist. His focus on children intelligence development has influenced researchers after him. His opinion about intelligence development is divided into some stages. Environment also has responsibilities to form each stage. Piaget splits the stages into four major stages. They are ..   

1. Sensory motor stage

         It starts from 0 to 18/24 months old. Logical thinking has not developed yet. Children‘s intelligence works on motor movement.  There are three main developments at this stage. The first is children perception of existence of objects. The second is beginning to understand cause and effect and the last is language development. Those three developments develop fast at the end of the stage.

2. Pre- operational stage

         It ranges from 18/24 to 6/7 years old. Children can imagine or think. They use symbols to describe their thought. They use some symbols. They are mimes, pictures, mental pictures, and words or language. Language develops fast at this stage. It helps children to use their mind to think logically. It also makes children remind past events. Children start using abstract and logical thinking at this stage.

3. Concrete operational stage

         It is from 6/7 to 11/12 years old. Logical and abstract thinking have grown. Children can classify, clarify, count numbers. They can also use measurement like weight, volume, length, and others. Children can explain more than one characteristic of an object.

4. Formal operational stage

         It is from 12 to 15 years old. Children have used their logical thinking and abstract thought perfectly. They also can hypothesize objects. They can use data to take conclusion of cause and effect. They have employed language well.

Jerome S Bruner is a psychologist from USA. He was one of presidents of America Psychologists association. He is between Piaget and Vigotsky. He views that language and intelligence had correlation. He explains that intelligence development was categorized into modes.

1. Enactive mode

         Children intelligence works on movements at this phase. They always pay more attention to moving objects. They do many body movements to recognize outside world. It is the same as sensory motor theory of Piaget.

2. Icon mode

         Children’s mind forms icons to objects they see. If children see a cat, they will analyze, comprehend the shape of the cat and create icons of cat in their mind. This is the time when children start using their logical thinking. Children can distinguish objects and the relation among the objects.

3. Symbolic mode

         Children use symbols to express their mind. Language is one of the symbols. It helps children think of abstract concepts. Children do not have to know the presence of objects to think of something.

         Not all modes are gone with the growth of children but they develop. Children experiences improve their intelligence. The older children are the better their intelligence develops. Brunner believes that language was a dominant factor of intelligence development in children but the influence is not as strong as Vigotsky’s theory.

         Children have to obtain much experience from environment. Experience is not language acquisition but it will be intelligence stimulation. The more experience children obtain the better language will develop. This opinion shows that experience helps children get more information and vocabularies for instance; children can tell a story about beach better if they have been to a beach before. They have enough data and information to describe a beach because they have experience doing some activities at the beach. From this, Brunner believes that intelligence and language supported one and another to develop.

Bibliography

Fauzi Ahmad, 2003. Children Language Development, The Faculty of Letters and Culture, “Yogyakarta “ University of Technology.

DSAK, Soetjiningsih,1955. Tumbuh Kembang Anak, Bali, Universtas Udayana.

Tampubolon, 1933. Mengembangkan Minat dan Kebiasaan Membaca pada Anak, Bandung, Angkasa

LG Alexander, Practice and Progress, Longman

    

          

How to improve speed reading skill foreign language

               How to improve your speed-reading skill foreign language becomes easy if you know the tricks and tips. Reading will be fun. You don’t have to open your dictionary very often. Your skill will improve gradually. What you need to do you just follow the steps from practicing intensive reading and extensive reading. 

               Reading is an activity to grasps ideas from a passage or text. Reading a foreign language is not different from reading native language. It is not translating into your mother language. You need to read full sentence to catch the idea of the sentence. You can use your dictionary to read a foreign language but using it very often will interrupt your thought. How to improve speed-reading skill a foreign language as quickly as reading your native language becomes the focus on this passage. 

               There are two methods of reading skill a foreign language. These two methods have correlation. The first is intensive reading. It is slow and careful reading. You need to note the difficult words and structures. You also need to reproduce your understanding on your own. You can in turn use construction in your speaking or writing to imitate the vocabulary, sentence structures and phrases you obtain in your reading. You cannot apply intensive reading technique in quick and fluent reading but this technique helps you develop the ability to improve your speed-reading skill foreign language. 

               The second is extensive reading. This is rapid and fluent reading. You have to practice the technique by reading easy materials and familiar topics.  Your goal is not to learn vocabularies, sentence structures and phrases but to understand the idea of a passage or a text. Your basic skill in intensive reading will speed up your improvement in developing your skill. You are expected to understand the idea of foreign language texts as quickly as to understand your native language.

               You may face hard problems to improve speed-reading skill foreign language. Most people have difficulties in understanding vocabularies, structures. In general, non-native language learners have basic vocabularies of some three thousand words.  (Language and life in The USA, Gladys G. Doty, Janet Ross, Happer and Row, Publishers, New York, 1968).  To help you overcome these obstacles you should practice reading materials designed for foreign students.  You will be stressful of you read time magazine articles while you are a beginner. 

               Learning vocabularies is not difficult. You should have a dictionary. When you are learning English language, you can use American College dictionary, Websters dictionary or Longman dictionary.  You do not need to look up your dictionary too often but you note the difficult words and continue reading until you finish the sentence or paragraph. You connect the idea with the difficult words. If you still find problems, you can open your dictionary.

               You may have some problems to understand sentence structures. You have to mark your difficult spots then reread the selection until you understand the meaning. You do not need to spend too much time on the problems as long as you do not lose you’re the idea of a paragraph you can skip and finish your reading until the last sentence. When you think that it is important, you can reread the difficult sentence structures. You have to practice to improve your reading skill and you will not realize that your skill is getting better after that.

               These are some steps of reading for fluency for beginners. I hope these tips will be useful for you.

1. Mark the difficult vocabularies and sentences. You do not have to spend too much time in finding the meaning of a word. You can continue reading until you finished the paragraph. You can reread if you need.
2. Go back to the difficult words and sentences. You will know the meaning of the words or sentences after you finished reading. You get the meaning from the correlation of the whole idea of the text. You will find the difficult words or sentences become clear after all.
3. Reread the difficult words and structures. You may not get the meaning of the words at fist. You can get the meaning when you reread them. If you still find difficulties in understanding the meaning, you can look up your dictionary or you grammar books. Take a note, write down the case and keep it. You need to open your note someday.

               Practicing reading foreign language will help you improve speed-reading foreign language. You should start from easy materials to ones that are more difficult. You can also practice with your friends or lectures to improve your reading skill. Your friends or lectures will help you every time you find difficult words and structures. The best of all to improve your reading skills you always practice because practice makes perfect.