Student blog series: child language development matters

by Sophie, Year 13, East Midlands

About the author: Sophie is a Year 13 student based in Derbyshire/ Nottinghamshire, studying English Language, English Literature and Computer Science. In the future, Sophie would like to study English at university and become a secondary school English teacher.

The importance of language and why I’m curious

Have you ever been out in public, and experienced a child crying and having a tantrum because they can’t get something? I know I have. But have you ever thought about how the child might feel, when communication is suddenly replaced with anger? This is just one example of a societal problem: the neglection of children’s linguistic needs. According to Speech and Language UK, approximately 1.7 million young futures are being affected by linguistic struggles, a statistic which is extremely shocking to me.

My reasons for investigating

The Access Project prompted me to write about something I love for this blog. As an English Language student, I’m both curious and angered about why so many children’s futures are being jeopardised. Well, to put it simply, they shouldn’t be. The lack of understanding around the wide range of factors – biological, social, educational, and behavioural – which affect a child’s language development is damaging society and needs to be changed.

Biological factors

From my research, I have found that biological factors can have a significant impact on language development. Hearing impairments, for example, may prevent a child hearing clearly during the critical period of language learning (as proposed by Lennenberg), which can lead to communication difficulties and, in extreme cases, social exclusion. Children with a family history of developmental or conversational disorders are much more likely to experience the same challenges themselves, which increases the likelihood of needing added support.

Some children with neurological conditions such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience delayed speech, whilst others find it difficult to understand non-literal language, such as metaphors or sarcasm. This often leads to communication that is highly impulsive or even non-existent, which can cause frustration, isolation and reduced mental wellbeing. Additionally, physical conditions of areas associated with speech can create barriers such as difficulties with articulation and a lack of willingness to converse with others.

Socio-economic background

Whilst biological factors are extremely important influences on child language development, environmental factors are equally as influential. One of the key, but most upsetting, factors is a child’s socio-economic background. Children from a lower socio-economic background will have fewer opportunities to access a language rich environment, due to limited access to resources such as books and trips out. This is, quite frankly, unfairly damaging to a child’s linguistic growth; not only can it reduce the chance of communication with a diverse range of people, but it can also stunt vocabulary growth. Furthermore, one of the best ways a child can learn language is through regular conversations with a guardian. Without this, language acquisition is practically impossible.

One of the most severe cases of this is Genie, a young girl who experienced extreme social isolation due to being locked in a cage by her father and banned from talking to her mother or her brother. After being rescued by the police, it was discovered that due to a lack of exposure to linguistic norms during her critical period, she struggled to acquire normal language skills and couldn’t pick up basic grammatical structures. Her case highlights the importance of recognising and preventing linguistic struggles, before it’s too late.

The importance of education

Finally, I’d also like to highlight the importance of educational factors which affect child language development. High-quality teaching strategies within early years education, such as effective scaffolding, guided learning and regular assessments can help children to develop confidence in vocabulary learning. However, individual support is lacking all too often within education, which can lead to greater linguistic struggles such as miscues and a lack of pragmatic understanding within communication. The interactions of children with their fellow peers through social activities, such as playtime, can allow children to learn other paralinguistic features such as facial expressions, tone, and body language. When children with limited opportunities to socialise, or those with behavioural needs, received little to no support, it can result in difficulty connecting with classmates. For example, a child may struggle to express their own opinion, which may cause unneeded emotional stress.

Reducing inequalities within language learning

So, what can we do to reduce the inequalities within language learning? It’s quite simple. Educate yourself on factors. Introduce greater support for children (such as more 1-1 teaching). Create greater opportunities for social activities such as trips for all children. But, most importantly, listen to your child and their linguistic needs – it’s the only way linguistic struggles can be addressed and reduced.