Chapter 10 and 13 Reflection

Chapter 10: Language II: Language Production and Bilingualism
Chapter 13: Cognitive Development Throughout the Lifespan

1. How does this topic fit into what I have learned already in this course?

Now that we have covered every chapter in the Cognition textbook, there are many concepts that relate to ideas already discussed in the book. Language development and acquisition is a process that develops from infants throughout childhood, continuing to be mastered even into adulthood. So every cognitive process that people go through can somehow be related to part of their language development.

Chapter 2 introduced us to the characteristics of speech perception, discussing phonemes, context, and theories behind speech perception. Chapter 13 also went into more detail of phoneme production and using context to figure out word meanings. The idea of fast mapping, or using context to make reasonable guess about a words meaning relates to students using their prior knowledge and experience to make decisions, which has been discussed in previous Chapter 12. Language Development also relies heavily on working and long term memory, which was previously discussed in Chapter 4 and 5. Chapter 13 also mentioned Parallel Distributed Processing to discuss children’s overregularizations, affirming that children find understanding in terms of networks that link groups.

2. What am I still not clear on in this week’s readings?

Language acquisition is often said to be the most spectacular of human accomplishments. It is a fascinating process to learn about and to witness. As a Spanish teacher, I am familiar with the process of language development and acquisition, and I also completed my workshop on the topic, so I feel as if I am clear on all of the concepts discussed in these two chapters.

3. Under what conditions would I apply this material to my own teaching?

I can apply the concepts from this chapter as I have come to a better understanding of how children learn language. Individual children differ in the rate at which they master language. Some may pick up on the concepts of language faster than others. It is important for teachers to effectively utilize language and describe things in a variety of ways so that students increase their vocabulary and understanding of the language. Finding common ground is crucial to increasing understanding between teachers and students. Using our language in ways that our students can relate to will enhance their understanding of new concepts. Being aware of the linguistic mistakes of our students will assist us in making corrections that will help their language development for a lifetime.