Topic > Language development and Vygotsky's cognitive theory...

Language plays an important role in our lives, this is a critical time for children to learn how to use language to communicate effectively since they learn through school and adulthood. While a child goes to school he is exposed to standard English, but there are diversities that appear in the classroom, for example culture plays a role in language development. Gee and Hayes (2011) stated that there are many things that language can include; a set of rules, a cognitive experience, a social tool or an object, but overall language is something that changes based on culture and social context. Recognizing and accepting diversity in the classroom as it relates to language and language learning is important. McInerney (2014) explores Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development, explaining that language is used as a tool for communication and as a way to organize our thoughts. Vygotsky believed that children developed a tool called self-talk or private speech as a way to make sense of their actions and thoughts. This then develops to the internalization of their thoughts and subsequently public discourse. Vygotsky's belief was that children develop cognitively with exposure to their surroundings and social situations. Learning how to process, plan and receive language at a young age is important for the development of higher mental processes, including; planning and evaluation, memory and reason, which are important in the functioning of society as adults. According to Piaget's theory of cognitive development, language is the basis for learning the ability to internalize problems instead of using objects and increase one's mental capacity (McInerney, 2014). At a young age, not being able to develop and maintain language skills, such as having a specific language disorder, which limits the ability to retain language skills in memory. This is problematic as it can impact children academically and psychosocially and can extend to mathematical concepts, attention span and motor skills. If a child has trouble absorbing these concepts, this can lead to other problems in cognitive applications, including problem solving, working memory, and logical thinking (Reichenbach, Bastian, Rohrbach, Gross, & Sarrar, 2016). Piaget's theory states that between 2 and 7 years old children are in the preoperational stage of development, which means they have a sense of eccentricity, when we talk to a child we can hear the use of instrumental and personal language functions. AS