ge is acquirocl in a social selling: it cannot be acquired in a solitary soiling. ~;;guoge learner must have iuleraclion v,•ilh another person who is a language user.

Immersion. Young children are surrounded by language as it is used by others in their environmenl. Beginning al birth, children hear the conversations of Uieir parents, siblings, and 0U1ers in their environment.

He identified eight conditions that support oral language development: immersion, dem-onstration, engagement, expectations, responsibility, approximations, employment, and response.

The ways in which an environment supports children's language explorations have been referred to as the language acquisition support system (LASS)

The primary role of social interaction in language development is based on the observation that children acquire an awareness of specific communicative functions or intentions (such as indicating, requesting, and labeling) before they ore able to express themselves linguistically

t acknowledges behaviorism's recognition of the environment's responses lo young children's communicative allempts, nativ-ism's recognition of tho human capacity for processing linguistic information, and the cognitive developmentalist's contention that language development is infl u-enced by the nature and sequence of cognitive development.

Language is acquired by individuals as they develop awareness of how to com-municate and function in society

This perspective contends that children acquire language through their attempts to communicate with the world around them. This perspective contributes to our understanding of the ways in which children acquire pragmatic language knowledge.

While the behaviorist porspoclive does explain how some words and phrases are learned, il does nol provide a complete explanation for lhe development of other language competencies.

Many types of environmental responses serve as reinforcers.

Thus, language is "taught" through situations in which children are encouraged to imilato others' speech and to devolop associations between verbal stimuli (i.e., words) and objects

A child is considered lo be a "blank slate" (Karmiloff & Karmiloff-Smilh, 2001), and loaming occurs due to associations established between stim-uli, responses, and events that occur after tho response behavior.

The behaviorist perspective emphasizes the role of "nurture" and considers learn-ing to occur based on the stimuli, responses, nnd reinforcements that occur

The cognitive developmental perspective encourages teachers to pay close attention lo a child's stage of cognitive development and use that knowledgo to appropriately plan learning activities.

According lo Piaget, lhe second stage of cognitive development is the preopera-tional stage. This stage begins al about 2 years of age and extends to about 7 years of nge. Children in this stage "begin to represent the world with words, images, and drawings" (Santrock. 2001, p. 36). Piaget (1955) considered children's initial speech to be egocentric, focused on their own perceptions, which may reflect distorted perceptions or relations. Gradually, as children develop cognitively, their speech becomes socialized, or reflective of more logical thinking.

For "language" to exist, Piaget contended, the "capacity for mental represen· talion must be present" (Brainerd, 1978. p. '110). Thus, vocalizations nncl babbling that occur during infancy ore nol language, according lo Piaget.

The close relation between cognitive devel-opment and language is based on the beliof that. for language lo develop, specific cognilivo growth must occur first.

the nalivist perspective describes language development as an innate, instinctual process where children develop language by discovering the structure of their language

Children are active participants in their language development. In a sense, children teach themselves language. Through the acquisi-tion process, children construct their knowledge of the ways language is used nnd manipulated.

As evidence of the universality and instinctive nature of lan-guage, Pinker noted that throughout history, all civilizations, even among primitive societies, have a language. While languages may differ dramatically with respect to linguistic features, the development and use of language in all cultures is universal.

Steven Pinker (1994) conlended that language is an instinct, not simply a cultural invention: "Language is a biological adaptation lo communicate information ... language is the product of a well-engineered biologi-cal instinct"

The nativist perspective emphasizes inborn or innate human capabilities (i.e., "nature") as being responsible for language development.

Is a child a "blank slate" at birth, and do the experiences or "nurture" provided in the envi-ronment predominantly determine language development'! Or is the child already "preprogrammed" for language develo11ment in such a way that heredity and matu-ration are the major influences, with experience and context exerting only limited influence'?

The nativist and the cognitive dovelopmentalisl perspectives emphasize the contributions of "nature," whereas tho behaviorist and interaclionist perspectives focus more on the contributions of "nurture."

Another aspect of school success related to oral language competencies is a chilcl's social-interaction skills (Windsor, 1995). Children who have oral language competencies wHI be more successful in communicating with both teachers and peers. Their success in carrying on conversations and in responding in learning activities will contribute to further success at school. Children who have difficulty communicating may be ignorod by peers or excluded from informal social or col-laborative interactions. The inability to participate successfully inn conversation or the inability to clearly articulate the sounds in words may decrease the likelihood that other children will attempt to speak or play with them.

Oral language provides tho basis on which knowledge of written language is acquired. As children interact in environments where written language is used lo communicate, they acquire knowledge and a,, arenoss of how wrillen language is similar to and different from oral language. \VrilleiLlanfil!..!!ge is not just oral lan-guage written down (Purcell-Gales, 1989). Written language uses aifferenl vocabu-lar, and a more comple~ worg__order or syn~ (Chafe, 1982; Purcell-Gales, 1989; Tannen, 1982}.ln addition, ,~te!!_ lang~age_Emst convey meaning through the printed message because it carries tho meaning without gesture, facial expression, or fiifmediatec·ontextuai situations.

The ability to use morphemes appropriately is one of the characteristics of an effective language user. Knowledge of morphology allows children to comprehend others' speech better, such as understanding plural nouns and verb tense.

The fact that such random combinations of words have nol been documented among young children indicates that word order knowledge develops early.

road ins comprehension.f Children with larger and more developed vocobularie! have more optiorrsfor expressing what they wa[!l to say a~1d1 thus, hav_e grnat.er hn-\ guistic nexibility.

Young children acquire knowledge of these prosodic features as well as the spe· cific sounds used in a language through interactions wilh people in their environ-ment.

This conscious awareness of speech sounds contributes significantly to children's understanding of the relation between speech and print. The development of lileracy skills requires that children be able to use symbols to represent the sounds of their language in writing and lo decode the symbols when reading. Children who are unable lo consciously focus on or segment the sounds in a word may experience difficulty in learning to read and write

In every language, some speech sounds are more important than others. Gradually, young children learn to discriminate and produce the speech sounds that are found in their home language.

Insload, it is important for teachers to recognize that children will need a wide range of communication competencies lo ensure their effectiveness in a varielfol settings throughoutfueirlivos.

Without language, a society and its culture cannot exist.

Oral language development and written language development are interrelated processes that culminate in children's communicative com~encies. Languag"a'is essential to society. It forms the foundation of our perceptions, com-municntion!f and daily interactions.

when you create classroom posters and other displays involving print, you are showing children how written language can be used to communicate. Through these interactions, you will have a significant influence on children's language development.