EDU 3102

Child Development
Prepared by:
Ng Jia Ying

A video to share, a thousand words to say

Tutorial Question
Discuss ways a teacher can encourage
language development in children 7-9 years.

Introduction

Language- a form of communication, whether spoken or written, or signed, that is

based on a system of symbols.

Language Area in the Brain- Left hemisphere of cerebral cortex.

Humans acquisition of language: Nature VS Nurture

The proponent of Nature: The Nativist Perspective by Noam Chomsky
Human are prewired to learn language at a certain time in a certain way. (Santrock, 2008)
All children have an innate Language Acquisition Device (LAD).

The proponent of Nurture: The Behaviorist Perspective

Language is learnt by children through imitation.

Imitation + reinforcement = promotion of language

Reality: Both factors are inseparable. Both biological & environmental influences
play important roles in childrens language development.

Introduction (Continued)
In order for a child to gain good proficiency in a language,
he/she must acquire the language during the age span of
brain lateralization (until puberty). (Erik Lenneberg, 1967, as
stated in Berk, 2009)
School Age Children (including
7-9 years old children)

Thus, teachers play an essential role in enhancing language

development in children, besides caregivers.

Elements of Language Development

Phonology- a languages
sound system

Morphology- the units of

meaning involved in word
information.

Syntax: the way words

combined to form acceptable
phrases & sentences.

Semantics: the meaning of

words & sentences

Pragmatics: the use of

appropriatelanguage in
different contexts.

Phonology

Pragmatics

Morphology

Elements
Of Language
Development

Semantics

Syntax

How can a teacher encourage language development in

children 7-9 years?
Establishment
of Reading
Corners
Story- telling

Voice Out &

Write Out
Sessions

Flashcards

Ways to
encourage
language
development
of a child

Incorporation
of technology
into teaching

My interest as
priority

1) Voice Out & Write Out Session

Childrens social competencies & language experiences greatly affect language
development (Berk, 2009)
Language = a form of communication.
The best way of acquisition: Say-it-out LOUD!
Children at aged 7-9 should be encouraged to express their feelings & thoughts
orally.
The ability of orienting information, detailed descriptions & connectives
lead to the increase in coherence to the story (Berk, 2009)
Evaluative comments rise dramatically, becoming common by age 8-9
(Meizi & Ely, 2009; Ukrainetz et al., 2005, in Berk, 2009)
Writing session can be done after the Voice Out session.
Writing can help students process word meanings actively (Santrock, 2008).
Writing gives students an opportunity to use words in a variety of contexts.

1) Voice Out & Write Out Session

Voice-Out Session

Interact with children in a conversational manner about objects &

events that have the childs attention.

Ask questions to get the child to think & talk

Provide pauses in conversations to give children opportunities to

generate language (O' Donnell, Reeve, & Smith, 2007).

Conversations with adults about past experiences contribute to

dramatic gains in childrens ability to produce well- organized,
detailed, expressive narratives (Berk, 2009).

Assign fill-in-blank sentences, & readand-respond activities.

Write-Out
Session

To ensure them that their voice is

heard although not being uttered.

To ensure that they have mastered the

structure of sentences.

Assign students a topic to write about,

using assigned vocabulary words
discussed before.

Relate words to their respective

context.

2) Story-telling
Stories are frequently claimed to bring many benefits to young learners,
including language development (Wright 1997; Garvie, 1990, as stated in
Cameron, 2010 )
Stories offer a whole imaginary world, created by language, that children can
enter & enjoy learning as they go.
Why story-telling?
To develop students listening skills
To develop comprehension skills
To build up vocabulary
To foster a love of stories, and hence, a reading habit

Start your class with a

story!

2) Story-telling (Continued)
During
Talk with the class about
their experience of the
central topic of the story.
Story: a springboard for
conversations

Pictures : Aid
Explanations of new words
through pictures, acting out
meaning or verbal
explanation, vocabulary
gain doubled, and the gain
lasts for 3 months.

Ask students to reiterate the

story.
Act-it-out
Age 7:Arrange a set of
pictures of the story in order.
Age 8: Fill-in-blank questions
Age 9: Rewrite the story
(pictures given)

Before
After

3) Establishment of reading corner

In most languages, reading is a cornerstone of learning.
Why reading corners?
To instil reading habit
To develop vocabulary skills
Reading contributes enormously to vocabulary growth in middle childhood &
adolescence (Berk, 2009).

To provide opportunities for independent reading and curricular extensions

To develop the culture of sharing

3) Establishment of reading corner (continued)

Collect & Label

Teacher: initiator
Students: contributor

Set Its reading time

Act as a starting point
Engage in as little as 21
minutes of independent
learning per day exposes
children to nearly 2 million
words per year

Sharing Session
The process of
exchanging ideas occurs.
Their ability to produce
narratives rich in
orienting info &
evaluations.

4) Flashcards (Fc)
Flash cards which can be
bright and colourful make
a real impact on visual
learners. Fc also appeal to
kinesthetic learners.

Great way to present,

practise and recycle
vocabulary.

Flash cards can be used in

conjunction with word
cards for children at
reading age.

Suitable Activity Type (1):

Memory Activities

Suitable Activity Type (2):

Riddles

Should be followed up with

writing exercise

4) Flashcards (Continued)
Memory Activities
To test students memories on a
certain topic.
To test the students speed in
learning.
Has a time limit for each activity
Speed up synonyms, students
are asked to figure out as many
synonyms as possible for a
flashcard words within 30 seconds.

Riddles
Can be used to get students to list
down the features of an object.
Can be used to test students
understandings
Get 2 or 3 concrete nouns and
sticky notes.
On slide A, write the descriptive
sentences of that object.
On slide B, write the name of the
object.

It is a small animal.
It is yellow and black.
It can fly.
It gives us honey.

It's a big animal which has

a long trunk.
It can swim and run but it
can't fly.

Run smoother than any

rhyme, loves to fall but
cannot climb

5) Incorporation of Technology into teaching

The myriad resources of the online world also provide each classroom
with more interesting, diverse, and updated learning materials.
The incorporation of technology enables learning to achieve:
fun learning
active engagement,
participation in groups,
frequent interaction and feedback
connection to real-world experts.

Examples
Educational-related materials
Movie & Popcorn Session
Sing-a-song
Digital Story-telling

Essential
components in
encouraging
language
development

5) Incorporation of Technology into Teaching (Continued)

Educational-related materials
Varies from graphics, videos & presentations.
Helps to capture students interest in learning in an exciting way.
Helps to develop listening skills & through this, students are capable to develop other skills such as
sentence structure & patterns.

Sing-a-song
Helps to stimulate interest and attention, & thus maintain classroom motivation.
Helps to create relaxed & informal atmosphere
Reduce anxiety & increase students interest in learning targeted language
Help young learners to improve listening skills, pronunciation & speaking skills. Songs can also be useful
tools in the learning of vocabulary, sentence structures, & sentence patterns, (Murphey, 1992, as stated in
Millington)

Teaching Mathematics using animated &

interesting videos

Teaching Science using animated &

interesting videos

5) Incorporation of Technology into Teaching (Continued)

Movie-popcorn session
Students- learn the language by listening to the language of the movie
Provides underlying messages, knowledge about worlds and subjects
Provides a platform for discussion

Digital Story-telling
Combination of the art of telling stories with a variety of multimedia, including graphics,
audio, video, and web publishing.
Serve the similiar function as traditional story-telling
Provides a platform for discussion

Conclusion
It is clear that teachers play an important role in encouraging language development in
children, especially school-aged children.
This can be achieved through
Encouraging children to express their feelings & thoughts, either in spoken or written form, or both.
Story-telling
Establishing classroom library
Using flashcards
Integrating technology into teaching & learning process

Consistent practice of these approaches will eventually develop good proficiency in the
children.
Childrens interest should be the top priority to maximise the learning that takes place.
Reminder for all teachers: Never make your students to study language, but make
them learn language.

Reference List

Why are folktales so useful in language teaching? (2011). Retrieved February 22, 2014, from Roger jenkins
storyteller: http://www.rogerjenkins.com.sg/languagethroughstory.html

Riddles about animals. (2012, May). Retrieved February 20, 2014, from Cram:
http://www.cram.com/flashcards/riddles-about-animals-2203830

Why Integrate Technology into the Curriculum?: The Reasons Are Many. (2014, February 22). Retrieved
February 23, 2014, from Edutopia: http://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-introduction

Berk, L. E. (2009). Child development (eighth edition). United States of America: Pearson Education, Inc.

Budden, J. (2004, February 24). Using flash cards with young learners. Retrieved February 20, 2014, from
BBC-TeachingEnglish: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/using-flash-cards-young-learners

Cameron, L. (2010). Learning through stories. In L. Cameron, Teaching languages to young learners (pp.
159-179). United Kingdom : Cambridge University Press.

Classroom Library. (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2014, from Nation union of teachers:
http://www.teachers.org.uk/node/12403

Reference List
Film in primary literacy. (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2014, from Film Education:
http://www.filmeducation.org/resources/primary/teaching_with_film/film_in_primary_literacy/
Millington, N. (n.d.). Using Songs Effectively to teach English in Young Learners. Retrieved February 22, 2014, from
CAMTESOL:
http://www.camtesol.org/Download/LEiA_Vol2_Iss1_2011/LEiA_V2_I1_11_Neil_Millington_Using_Songs_Effectively_to_Teach_En
glish_to_Young_Learners.pdf
Murphy, K. L., Depasquale, R., & McNamara, E. (2013, November). Using Technology in Primary Classroom. Retrieved
February 20, 2014, from National Association for the Education of Young Children:
http://www.naeyc.org/files/yc/file/200311/TechInPrimaryClassrooms.pdf
O' Donnell, A. M., Reeve, J., & Smith, J. K. (2007). Educational psychology: reflection for action. United States of America:
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Santrock, J. W. (2008). Cognitive and language development. In J. W. Santrock, Educational psychology (third edition) (pp. 5464). Singapore: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
What is digital story telling. (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2014, from Educational uses of digital storytelling:
http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/page.cfm?id=27&cid=27
Woolfolk, A. (2010). Educational Psychology (Eleventh Edition). Ohio: Merrill.
(SoulPancake). (2013, September 12). Kids Presidents Pep talk to Teachers and Students. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwlhUcSGqgs