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"When they (my elders) named some object, and accordingly moved towards something, I saw this and I grasped that that the thing was called by the sound they uttered when they meant to point it out. Their intention was shown by their bodily movements, as it were the natural language of all peoples; the expression of the face, the play of the eyes, the movement of other parts of the body, and the tone of the voice which expresses our state of mind in seeking, having, rejecting, or avoiding something. Thus, as I heard words repeatedly used in their proper places in various sentences, I gradually learnt to understand what objects they signified; and after I had trained my mouth to form these signs, I used them to express my own desires."
I'd like to be a parent someday, perferably after I'm married.
Interestingly, I have a hard time understanding my 2 year old now, because she sometimes uses Spanish words that she learned from watching Dora the Explorer. Example: she wanted a drink, so she went to the refrigerator and starting pulling on the handle, saying "Abre'! Abre'!" I was befuddled, wondering if she was asking for an apple or perhaps apple juice.
On the surface it seems that repetition is the most effective way to teach a child a new word. They need to hear the word pronounced correctly many times in order to pick it up. That is why shows like Teletubbies are useless for child development - they do not enunciate the correct words. Children don't want to talk like babies, they want to talk like us.However, with that said, desire is certainly a strong motivator. My daughter learned her version of the word "chocolate" very quickly. Interestingly, I have a hard time understanding my 2 year old now, because she sometimes uses Spanish words that she learned from watching Dora the Explorer. Example: she wanted a drink, so she went to the refrigerator and starting pulling on the handle, saying "Abre'! Abre'!" I was befuddled, wondering if she was asking for an apple or perhaps apple juice.
Sign language can be learned much earlier than spoken language. Many hearing parents are beginning to teach their hearing kids sign language so as to understand what they need. You ought to do some research.
Interesting. I've heard many people say that children who learn two languages early in life are typically are the more intellegent. Perhaps Dora the Explorer is very good for children indeed.
And I resent that statement.
Quote from: Cameron the Conqueror on May 15, 2009, 11:26:08 AMAnd I resent that statement.Mine or Colin's? If mine, why?
[I disagree with that. How does knowing a second language have any bearing on your God-given intelligence. It may help you develop in certain areas, but to make you automatically smarter? One of my kids has a very high IQ and he only knows 1 language. With your theory, you telling me he could be a genius if I taught him a 2nd or 3rd language? Or is it possible that he has the capability to learn it and just hasn't?
learnign a language at an early age causes neural pathways to form in the brain that make it easier for a child to learn languages later on in their years. of course if they are not regularly used by Jr. High, they will begin to be whittled down and re-used for other things. Childrens brains grow by 90% by the time they are like 7 or 8. If children are exposed to more stimulus (and different types of stimulus) the children will respond by forming new neural pathways to solve problems and understand the new content.This is why IQ points are 6-7 points higher based on socio-economic class. If you live in poverty, you can expect to do 6-7 points poorer than they typical middle class ro upper class person. this is because the IQ tests are made by/ and gueared toward middle class lifestyles and the poorer childred did not have the stimuli that would prepare them for the test. This does not mean that the children cannot catch up, it jsut means that they are goign to begin with a handicap.
But even so, the point is, that is another way to get the child to form associations. Essentially, the brain runs on association, establishing patterns; it's what causes the synapses to fire and meld things into the long-term memory. For that reason, I can't stress enough the importance of understanding that children know things before they can say them. So the best long-term road to teaching them language is to teach them everything that's associated with the word: talking to them, signing to them, letting them explore with all their senses.
r u calling my child stupid, a cheat, or specifically geared to during the test making procedure? i'm kidding of course
Quote from: soul seeker on May 15, 2009, 11:38:59 AMr u calling my child stupid, a cheat, or specifically geared to during the test making procedure? i'm kidding of course lol choose yoru own adventure no, yo know I love your boys. I'm just syaing that exposing them to a language early on cannot hurt them, only help them. (although it may drive you batty)
...by how far back someone remembers in their childhood, my sixtee-year-old brother remembers being breast-fed; which makes sense because he's grown up very fast and is perhaps quite more mature than I am.
Quote from: Colin Michael on May 15, 2009, 11:43:37 AM...by how far back someone remembers in their childhood, my sixtee-year-old brother remembers being breast-fed; which makes sense because he's grown up very fast and is perhaps quite more mature than I am.Who would want to remember that? I think those are memories that I would suppress! I do thank God that children don't remember much of their early childhood more for my sake then theirs. (Long term memory really doesn't start until age 3 or 4). That way my kids can forget the mistakes I made. Here is a doozy: I was watching my oldest child and before my wife would go to work she would set out the current bottle. I get up and tried to feed him. He just wouldn't eat and I can tell from the screaming and accepting the bottle that he was hungry, but after a few sips he would quit. An ounce later, I knew something had to be wrong. Boy was I right, I had grabbed the wrong bottle! The one I had was from the day before that I forgot to throw out....oops.
That will still be better than your brother's Oedipus Complex....
