Language and Literacy Development
The foundation of language development begins during the preschool and early elementary school years. Middle school students continue to refine their language skills in several areas. Their understanding of word meaning, or semantic development, continues throughout middle childhood. The understanding that words have multiple meanings also increases. Between the ages of 11 and 12, most children will begin to think, reason, abstractly, and apply logic. They transition from concrete operations to formal operations stage. Unless there is another issue, they are strong readers and use their language and literacy skills across the subject areas in school.
Formal operations continue into adulthood. After age 12 marks the end of the critical period for learning languages. If language is learned after age 12, the speaker will speak with an accent. The 11-13 year olds demonstrate an increased ability to look beyond literal interpretations and understand the symbolic uses of language. They are able to comprehend proverbs and sarcasm. Middle school students are ready to hold difficult ideas and manipulate them in their head.
Vocabulary expands based on the amount a child reads. In addition to an increased vocabulary size, tweens and young teens are also increasing their understanding of how to use words with multiple meanings. By middle school, children use language functionally, fitting in to their peer group is importance, and children will select vocabulary based on cultural or other factors. Some children begin to swear to fit in with peers or use the slang of their identified cultural group.
Children this age are better able to read or anticipate the needs of their listener. They are able to adjust their speech to correct for misunderstandings and can respond to the intent or tone of the communication, as opposed to the literal words. They can better contribute to and extend conversations, maintaining interactions and participating more socially. At this age, children’s writing abilities also improves. They are able to write extensively to support their opinion or to formulate an argument. They can correctly use complex sentence structure in their writing, such as colons and semicolons.
Cultural and educational background influence overall language development. As a result, they are better able to focus on an individual piece and carry through writing to editing and publishing. Middle school students facilitate greater idea development while improving cognitive skills and grammatical structures. It also ensures rereading and editing. Their ability to think abstractly allows them to create new kinds of stories, ones beyond their set of direct experiences, and to better integrate theme across writing. A student’s academic success and confidence is closely related to his ability to read and write. This makes language development key in the education process.
The foundation of language development begins during the preschool and early elementary school years. Middle school students continue to refine their language skills in several areas. Their understanding of word meaning, or semantic development, continues throughout middle childhood. The understanding that words have multiple meanings also increases. Between the ages of 11 and 12, most children will begin to think, reason, abstractly, and apply logic. They transition from concrete operations to formal operations stage. Unless there is another issue, they are strong readers and use their language and literacy skills across the subject areas in school.
Formal operations continue into adulthood. After age 12 marks the end of the critical period for learning languages. If language is learned after age 12, the speaker will speak with an accent. The 11-13 year olds demonstrate an increased ability to look beyond literal interpretations and understand the symbolic uses of language. They are able to comprehend proverbs and sarcasm. Middle school students are ready to hold difficult ideas and manipulate them in their head.
Vocabulary expands based on the amount a child reads. In addition to an increased vocabulary size, tweens and young teens are also increasing their understanding of how to use words with multiple meanings. By middle school, children use language functionally, fitting in to their peer group is importance, and children will select vocabulary based on cultural or other factors. Some children begin to swear to fit in with peers or use the slang of their identified cultural group.
Children this age are better able to read or anticipate the needs of their listener. They are able to adjust their speech to correct for misunderstandings and can respond to the intent or tone of the communication, as opposed to the literal words. They can better contribute to and extend conversations, maintaining interactions and participating more socially. At this age, children’s writing abilities also improves. They are able to write extensively to support their opinion or to formulate an argument. They can correctly use complex sentence structure in their writing, such as colons and semicolons.
Cultural and educational background influence overall language development. As a result, they are better able to focus on an individual piece and carry through writing to editing and publishing. Middle school students facilitate greater idea development while improving cognitive skills and grammatical structures. It also ensures rereading and editing. Their ability to think abstractly allows them to create new kinds of stories, ones beyond their set of direct experiences, and to better integrate theme across writing. A student’s academic success and confidence is closely related to his ability to read and write. This makes language development key in the education process.