Children learn oral language through what is “modeled” in their environment. At birth children begin learning speech sounds and patterns through social interaction. Children begin stringing sounds together to form words and sentences based what they hear in their environment. Children connect words to pictures and meaning to interpret the “noise.” A person’s genetic code plays a role in how they form and catalog these sounds and words into meaning. Children begin building their personal “dictionary” at birth through observations and interactions of their environment. Children catalog spoken verbiage with their understanding of the word(s). Children use their personal dictionary to process and comprehend spoken language. Children will attach “higher” functioning words to the simple words as they maturate, such as cut-carve and fun-merriment.
Children use their knowledge of spoken language to learn how to read written symbols and write words. Their knowledge of oral language helps them learn how to decode and encode words and sentences. Children edit their personal dictionary to include the written words of the cataloged spoken words. For example, I was raised on a farm and owned a flock of sheep. So, the subject of biology or science seemed easy to me until I had to sit in a formal biology class. Some of the verbiage or words used in the class to describe the subjects covered in biology class were foreign to me. I was able to transfer my verbal knowledge of the subject, which helped me to learn the “new” words used to described things that were already familiar to me. In addition, I often witness this in the classroom, as students are presented worksheets or exams that use “unfamiliar” words for things that students are already familiar with. Individuals continue to edit their dictionary to accommodate new oral and written information as they maturate.
