Chapter 3

LINGUISTIC AND LITERACY DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

At the end of the lesson, the learners must be able to:

1. describe the history of language development;

2. explain bilingual language; and
3. explain the factors affecting language development.

LESSON I: NATURAL HISTORY OF LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

There is no definite sequence on how a child can acquire language. But since the birth of child
psychology many had developed theories or did researches that led to some relevant information on how
we children acquire language. As the studies were compiled and revised, it eventually formed a
framework basis for the study of language development.

1. LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT DEPENDS UPON THE PRINCIPLE OF

REINFORCEMENT

PRINCIPLE OF REINFORCEMENT
 It means a psychological concept based on the idea that the consequences of an
action will influence future behavior.

B.F. SKINNER’S OPERANT CONDITIONING

 Rewarding a behavior/reinforcement teaches the subject that the behavior is
desired and encourages the subject to repeat it.
 Punishing a behavior/punishment teaches the subject that the behavior is not
desired and should not be repeated.

2. LANGUAGE IS ACQUIRED BY IMITATION

 It is an advanced behavior whereby an individual observes and replicates another’s
behavior.

3. NATIVIST THEORY OF LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

 It was proposed by NOAM CHOMSKY.

NATIVIST THEORY OF LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

“Children are born with a specific innate ability to discover for themselves the
underlying rules of a language system on the basis of the samples of a natural language
they are exposed to.

4. LANGUAGE IS LEARNED THROUGH INTERACTION

 Acquiring language is always an active and interactive.

INTERACTIONIST THEORY
 It explains that language development is both biological and social.

“Children are born with a powerful brain that matures slowly and predisposes them
to acquire new understandings that they are motivated to share with others.”

ANTECEDENTS OF LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

 Here are the following devises that make up the antecedents.

1. PSUEDODIALOGUES - one of the early training devices characterized by the give and take
of the conversations between the child and mother or other person.
2. PROTODECLARATIVES- when the child uses gestures to make description about the
statement.
3. PROTOIMPERATIVES- when the child still uses gestures, but these gestures are used to
let someone do for him.

LESSON II: BILINGUAL LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

“How does a bilingual child acquire language? And how do learning two languages
affect the child language development.

 BILINGUALISM - is the person’s ability to speak or write fluently in two languages.

1.Productive Bilingualism – speaker can produce and understand both

languages.
2.Receptive Bilingualism - speaker can understand both languages but have
more limited production abilities.

DEVELOPING BILINGUALISM
A bilingual child generally follows one of the two language acquisition patterns:

1. SIMULTANEOUS BILINGUALISM- when the child acquires two languages at the same
before the age 3 years.
2. SEQUENTIAL BILINGUALISM- when the child acquires a second languages by the age 3
having acquired the primary language.

LESSON III: READING DEVELOPMENT AND PERFORMANCE

Many educators believe that both learning to read and learning to speak begins at the same
time. Playing, talking to children, reading stories and singing are some of the activities that will facilitate
the development of reading and speaking.

Reading development in early childhood can be divided into three stages: emergent, early, and
accomplished. Each stage of development is identified by children’s growing knowledge and skills, and
each stage requires different teaching strategies.

1. EMERGENT READER
Children at this stage of development have these behaviors and knowledge:
 Attempt to read independently, sometimes relying on their memories, the
illustrations, and their background experiences to reread the story.
 Begin to understand directionality that is, the right-to-left and top-to-bottom
orientation print.
2. EARLY READER
Children at this stage of development have these behaviors and knowledge:
 Recognizes common, irregular spelled words by sight (have, said, where)
 Self-correct when an error does not fit with letter or context clues.
3. ACCOMPLISHED READER
Children at this stage of development have these behaviors and knowledge:
 Read with greater fluency.
 Spend time reading daily.
 Interpret information from graphs and charts.
 CHALL’S STAGES OF READING DEVELOPMENT
Source: Jeanne S. Chall, Stages of Reading Development. N.Y.: McGrawBHill Book Company, 1983.
Characteristics and Relationship of
Approximate
Stage Masteries How Acquired Reading to
Age/Grade
by End of Stage Listening
Stage 0: Pre+reading 6 months – 6 years Child “pretends” to read, Being read to by Most can
retells story when an adult (or older understand the
looking at pages of book child) who children’s
previously read to responds to and picture books
“pseudo reading” Preschool him/her, names letters of warmly and stories read
alphabet; recognizes appreciates the to them. They
some signs; prints own child’s interest in understand
name; plays with books and thousands of
books, pencils and paper. reading; being words they hear
provided with by age 6 but
books, paper, can read few if
pencils, blocks, any of them.
and
letters. Dialogic
reading.
Stage 1: 6 – 7 years old Child learns relation Direct The level of
between letters and instruction in difficulty of
sounds and between letter+sound language read
printed and spoken relations by the child is
Initial reading and words; child is able to (phonics) and much below
1st grade and
decoding read simple text practice in their the language
beginning 2nd containing high use. Reading of understood
frequency words and simple stories when heard. At
phonically regular using words with the end of
words; uses skill and phonic elements Stage 1, most
insight to “sound out” taught and words children can
new one syllable words. of high understand up
frequency. Being to 4000 or
read to on a level more words
above what a when heard but
child can read can read about
independently to 600.
develop more
advanced
language
patterns,
vocabulary and
concepts.
Stage 2: 7 – 8 years old Child reads simple, Direct At the end of
familiar stories and instruction in Stage 2, about
Confirmation and selections with advanced 3000 words can
fluency increasing fluency. This decoding skills; be read and
2nd and 3rd grade is done by consolidating wide reading understood and
the basic decoding (instruction and about 9000 are
elements, sight independent known when
vocabulary, and meaning levels) of heard. Listening
 context in the reading of familiar, is still more
familiar stories and interesting effective than
selections. materials that reading.
help promote
fluent reading.
Being read to at
levels above
their own
independent
reading level to
develop
language,
vocabulary and
concepts.
Stage 3: 9 + 13 years old Reading is used to learn Reading and At beginning of
Reading for learning new ideas, to gain new study of Stage 3,
the new 4th – 8th grade knowledge, to textbooks, listening
experience new feelings, reference comprehension
to learn new attitudes, works, trade of the same
generally from one books, material is still
viewpoint. newspapers, more effective
Intermediate and magazines than reading
that contain comprehension.
4th – 6th
new ideas and
Phase A values, By the end of
unfamiliar Stage 3,
vocabulary and reading and
Junior high school syntax; listening are
systematic about equal
7th – 9th
study of words for those who
Phase B and reacting to read very
the text through well, reading
discussion, may be more
answering efficient.
questions,
writing, etc.
Reading of
increasingly
more complex
text.
Stage 4: 15 – 17 years old Reading widely from a Wide reading and Reading
broad range of complex study of the comprehension
Multiple viewpoints materials, both physical, is better than
expository and narrative, biological and listening
10th –12th with a variety of social sciences comprehension
viewpoints. and the of materials of
grade
humanities, high difficult
quality and content and
popular literature, readability. For
newspapers, and poor readers
magazines; listening
systematic study comprehension
of words may be equal to
 and word parts. reading
comprehension.
Reading is more
Stage 5: 18+ years old College Reading is used for one’s Wide reading of
efficient than
own needs and purposes ever more listening.
Construction and and beyond (professional and difficult
reconstruction personal); reading serves materials, reading
to integrate one’s beyond one’s
knowledge with that of immediate needs;
others, to synthesize it writing of papers,
and to create new tests, essays, and
knowledge. It is rapid and other forms that
efficient.
call for
integration of
varied knowledge
and points of view.

LESSON IV: FACTORS AFFECTING LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

1. EARLY LANGUAGE STIMULATION

Parent and caregiver can help the development of child’s communication through
natural and everyday activities.

2. LITERATE COMMUNITIES AND ENVIRONMENT

The literacy-rich environment emphasizes the importance of speaking, reading, and
writing in learning development. This involves the selection of materials that will facilitate language and
literacy opportunities.

3. STORY READING
Story reading plays a vital role in child’s literacy and language development. The books
he reads, and the characters he gets to know can become like their companion.
REFERENCES

https://www.slideshare.net/rhamylle13/linguistic-and-literacy-development- of-children-
and-adolescents

Jeanne S. Chall, Stages of Reading Development. N.Y.: McGrawBHill Book Company,

1983.