Effects That Language Has on Cognitive Development

• Language Learning Promotes Concept Learning

As children learn words, they are actually learning concepts. For instance, when a child first begins to use the word “dog,” perhaps while pointing at the family dog, it does not mean she has actually mastered its meaning. Children typically overextend the use of the new word, calling many things dogs that are not actually dogs—horses, cats, perhaps even daddy’s beard. Children also underextend the meanings of some new words, interpreting them as proper names rather than category labels. As children build up their vocabulary, they learn not only terms they can use to refer to things but also learn the underlying conceptual structure that we use to reason about the world around us.

• Spatial Reasoning and Language

If 2-year-olds see someone hide a toy somewhere in a room, they are good at finding it again later, even after an experimenter disorients them by covering their eyes and spinning them around for several seconds. If the room layout is symmetrical, however, the children have great difficulty using visual landmarks to reorient themselves. According to Linda Hermer and Elizabeth Spelke, children begin to succeed at this task as soon as they learn to use relevant spatial phrases such as “to the left of.” These results suggest that children’s ability to accomplish certain types of cognitive tasks depends on their ability to use language.

• Reading to Children

According to Lynn Fielding, many studies have found that reading to children for about 20 minutes per day results in better scholastic performance. Story-reading parents may be different than non-story-reading parents. For instance, it may be that the story-reading parents spend more time with their children in general. Nonetheless, the relation between daily reading and scholastic performance suggests that the use of written and spoken language involved in reading stories promotes cognitive development.

Original Source:  livestrong

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