Cognitive language and literacy development

...

Concerning Vygotsky(1896-1934), a Russian psychologist and teacher, everything is learned from a social context .Social interaction plays a fundamental role in the development of cognition. What is called "scaffolding" is when somebody more experienced is able to show you something that you would not do by yourself.

There are three stages of speech development : social,egocentric and inner speech.

For him, there is a zone called ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development) in which the student is cognitively prepared but needs help and social interaction to fully develop.

Playtime is crucial as play leads to development. Teachers and caregivers need to provide young children many opportunities to play.

Language holds a central role in Vygotsky's Theory so schools need to give the kids chances to reach the inner speech.

To conclude we can say that Piaget reflects what the child knows and that Vygotsky facilitates learning through guiding assistance.

The Information Processing Theory uses the computer as a metaphor to show how kids learn.Information flows through the sensory register to short-term memory, is encoded into long-term memory and is regulated by the executive function . This theory stresses the links between input (sensory exp)and output (perception).

During early childhood, children's vocabulary improves and increases rapidly through a process called fast mapping.They tend to apply the rules of grammar when they should not. This tendency is called overregularization (foots,tooths,mouses) or add -ed to indicate the past tense.

Their skills increase during this period and they can readily learn two languages.

Bilingual children develop the skill of code switching(language alternation):which language to speak to whom and in which setting.

By the end of this period, children can adjust their speech in order to make others better understand their intentions.

Concerning school readiness skills, children who acquire very young good phonological awareness become better readers and spellers.Listening, rhyming and games involving segment words contribute to this awareness.

Children use invented spelling (transitional) to express ideas and practice their writing skills.

As young kids are not accurate about a number line concept , by rote memory they can learn to count objects.Hands-on manipulation of objects can be helpful.

High-quality preschool programs offer a large array of diverse stimulations to the young ones through health and safety standarts.

Head Start, a government program helps low-income families .

Children learn best if there is a clear curriculum and if the child/adult ratio is low. The teacher training is also important in order to have higher quality interaction with children.

.

...