Question

discuss the educational implications of the Cohen 1971 stages of language development

Answer 1

Two domains are considered under the rubric of language: structural language and pragmatic communication. Structural language skills encompass the sounds of language (phonology), vocabulary (semantics), grammar (syntax and morphosyntax), narrative discourse, and auditory verbal information processing. Pragmatic language skills include behaviours such as conversational or other communicative turn-taking, making good use of gestures and maintaining eye contact. As well as these specific aspects of language and communication, children must be able to both express their thoughts (expressive language) and understand those of others (receptive language) in both social and learning situations.

When children have difficulty understanding others and expressing themselves, it is not surprising that psychosocial and emotional adjustment problems ensue. Conversely, a relatively large proportion of school aged children who have psychosocial and emotional disorders often have problems with language and communication.

From infancy onward, language and psychosocial and emotional development are interrelated. Communication begins in the very first days of life. Potential problems that begin in relationships with parents can ultimately spiral as children enter school and have difficulty learning and getting along with teachers and peers. Even mild language impairments can have an impact on the course of development. Outcomes are worsened by the presence of co-occurring environmental stresses. Because language competence is critical for both school readiness and psychosocial and emotional adjustment, problems with language and communication can set a child on a maladaptive trajectory throughout life. Language problems can be subtle and may be overlooked in learning and therapeutic situations. Therefore, identification and assessment of language disorders, and intervention, are important in the early years, setting the stage for later competence in a broad range of areas.

Implications for Policy and Services

Starting from infancy, routine assessment of language and communication skills and provision of interventions are essential preventive undertakings. This is important because interventions during infancy or the preschool years can have a significant impact on child outcomes. Once identified, creating a comprehensive profile of communication, language, cognitive and psychosocial and emotional abilities is crucial to planning such preventive interventions. There has been a move away from one-to-one clinic-based therapy to a focus on functional language in naturalistic environments. Interministerial and multidisciplinary integration is required because of the implications that undiagnosed language impairments have for health, mental health, child care, education and the youth justice system. Information on the nature of language impairments, and their impact on academic and psychosocial and emotional functioning, should be available to parents and be part of the curriculum for professionals working with children. This includes pediatricians, family practitioners, speech/language pathologists, educators, early childhood educators and mental-health practitioners.