Introduction
Many health, psychology, and education professionals are interested in when and how children develop their language skills. A central area of research is the similarities and differences in children’s cultural experiences and how they are reflected in the development of language skills. I found the topic of the relationship between culture and language highly useful for my educational practice since it provided me with a deeper understanding of the factors that may influence the language learning process.
Main body
There are differences in how intercultural languages use multiple words to describe a topic and how others use only one word to explain the same concept. Petek (2017) discusses many of the differences researchers have found in studying the language development of children of different cultures. Such peculiarities impact the way children develop language skills, and the difference is already evident, starting from a young age. The pragmatic use of the language is also important in the context of culture. For example, children of American culture learn through singing lessons, while children of other cultures learn through non-verbal lessons.
Saul McLeod examines Lev Vygotsky’s work and theory in a psychological way. Vygotsky’s theory is that children are born with language skills, but their development is influenced and shaped by cultural and social experience (McLeod, 2018). People’s values, beliefs, and intellectual coordination tools are shaped by the culture in which they grow. All of these factors affect cognitive function, including language development. Vygotsky also believed that language arises through social interaction and that language is responsible for cognitive education. According to Michael Silverstein, a professor of linguistics, anthropology, and psychology at the University of Chicago, the pressure of cultural communication represents a part of reality, connecting different contexts at the same time (Silverstein, 2018). It also means that using symbols to represent events, identities, emotions, and ideas is also a way to put them in the cultural context.
Conclusion
In conclusion, various cultural peculiarities and aspects may influence the way children acquire and learn a new language. It, in many ways, affects the language development of a child. That is why the professional needs to know about the relation between language and culture in order to provide a student with a more comprehensive strategy of language learning that admits the impact of the culture on the child’s language development.
References
McLeod, S. (2018). Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. Simply Psychology, 1-9. Web.
Petek, K. J. (2017). Language-only or intentional bilingualism: The benefit of choice. Maribor International Review, 5(1), 1-16.
Silverstein, M. (2018). Of Two Minds About Minding Language in Culture. In Indigenous Visions (pp. 147-165). Yale University Press. Web.