1.4 Theories’ works

Lasting importance of Piaget’s work despite these concerns, Piaget’s work was very important for us all because he established the idea of the child as a lone scientist who was actively seeking answer. He was also one of the first to suggest that children had the need for thinking time. Though Piaget’s findings are no longer thought to illustrate exactly the way we understand children’s learning, he was the first person to try to establish exactly what was going on in the child’s head. He also thought about the child as an individual who developed and thought as an individual rather than a small version of an adult or a passive and empty vessel waiting for adults to fill his or her mind with information.[6] Piaget’s work was thus very important as a first step in gaining understanding of the cognitive development of children. Language is Central to Child Development Lev Vygotsky (1978) and Jerome Bruner (1983, 1990, Bruner and Haste 1987) believed, in contrast to Piaget, that language was central to the cognitive development of children. In particular, they thought it was instruction(provided by an adult, a teacher, or a more able peer) that helped children to learn and develop. Guiding the ‘thinking’ process Vygotsky and Bruner believed that the act of internalization for children (moving thought from something that was spoken out loud to thought that was in their heads) was helped and supported when another more knowledgeable person talked the ‘thinking’ process through with children and instructed or guided them along as they did so.[8] For example, an adult might guide a child through putting together a puzzle by saying: let’s take all the pieces out of the box and turn them over. Now let’s find all the pieces with the straight edges and put them over here. And where are the four corner pieces? Oh, yes. Here they are… While Piaget talked of children working through different stages of learning on their own, Vygotsky (1978) described the difference between what children could achieve (and how they could develop) on their own and what children could achieve (and how they could develop) when an adult was able to work with them as the zone of proximal development. Encouraging development and growth Bruner (1983, 1990, Bruner and Haste 1987) developed this idea further and described the cognitive support that could be given to children by a more knowledgeable other as scaffolding. With scaffolding, children could develop and grow because the adult would give support to their thinking and encourage them to think in ways that would develop their own ability to think through situations. Scaffolding is often seen when parents or teachers ask children what they are experiencing. For example, in a situation where an adult is playing with a child at the beach, the adult might encourage the child to develop in his or her thinking by asking questions such as: how does the stone feel? Is it heavy? Do you think it would sink if you put it in water? How could we put the stones together so that they would make a wall? Do you think the big ones should be at the top or the bottom?... A view of scaffolding: Just as scaffolding can provide support to a building in its initial stages of development, a more knowledgeable other can provide support to a child and encourage him or her on to higher stages of development. Making sense of experiences Returning again to Donaldson's work (1978), she believed that children were able to cognitively develop by trying to make sense of the experiences that they had, and by asking questions and trying things out, or hypothesizing. To some extent, this idea of the child as hypothesizer links back to what Piaget set out to explain with his experiments.[10] But, perhaps, Piaget approached his investigation too clinically and not in a child-friendly enough way to gain clear insights into what children really were able to do in their minds. Donaldson felt that Piaget's view of the child as very egocentric was not necessarily the case. Donaldson's work, in contrast, showed how young children were able to think in ways that Piaget felt they could not.

Figure 1.3 The child as hypothesizer.

In considering the child as hypothesizer, Donaldson felt the child continues to hypothesize until the original hypothesis becomes changed or adapted by the feedback that continues to be received. The child then changes internalized rules to new ones or adapts the ones previously held. How Do We Think Children Learn Language? Learning a language is a complex process. However, we can see in all corners of the world, that children somehow learn to speak their native language without formal training. How does this happen? There are theories about this, and there is continued research in the search for answers. We will touch on a few theories below. Critical period for language learning? This idea of Chomsky's linked neatly with the Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH) suggested by Eric Lunenburg around the same time (1967). Lunenburg thought that there was a critical period, up to about the age of eleven, in which children were able to learn language. He believed that if language was introduced to children after this age (or this critical period) then it was extremely difficult for them to learn it. This hypothesis has often been cited as one of the main reasons for starting the teaching of foreign or second languages early in a child's schooling. Bruner (1983, 1990, Bruner and Haste 1987) feels that there is a Language Acquisition Support System (LASS) supplied by adults, or more able mentors, that helps children to develop such a language acquisition device and that this input and support is crucial to the success of language acquisition in children.[12] Language learning –innate and universal? If we move on to think about the learning and development of language in children, particularly their mother tongue, we find that Noam Chomsky (1959) believed that learning was innate. This idea was developed by the group called the Initiates, so called because they felt that learning (and therefore language learning) happened to all individuals, and therefore, must be innate and universal. Chomsky felt that there was an innate language capacity in all of us which he called the Language Acquisition Device (LAD). This ability to acquire language was later referred to as Universal Grammar (UG). Children are constantly learning, inside and outside the classroom. By watching them in the classroom and on the playground, we can see that individual children have different interests and that they learn about their world in different ways. Visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning styles more recently, there have been some very interesting suggestions that children (and adults, too) do not all learn in the same way and that there are probably many different types of learners. This understanding focuses on the preferred learning style(s) that individuals seem to have and how these influence what and how they learn. In essence, these are known as Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic (VAK) learning styles. Multiple intelligences Linked closely with this understanding of the three types of learning styles is the work of Howard Gardner (1993) who suggested that there are actually a lot of different learning styles or intelligences, as he called them, that we all have at our disposal. He believed that we individually favor and use some more than others, and some to a greater or lesser extent than others, too. Initially Gardner suggested there were seven such Multiple Intelligences, but in his later work he suggests there may be many more. The initial seven are noted below.

Linguistic Intelligence	Reading, as well as the creative use of words (such as doing crossword puzzles) is usually enjoyed by those favoring this intelligence. We would probably see a journalist using this intelligence more than other people.
Logical-Mathematical Intelligence	Sorting and ordering are favored by this intelligence, which also includes classifying, ranking and sequencing. People who enjoy research and organization of research results would likely show high tendencies to use this intelligence more.
Spatial Intelligence:	This intelligence links well with the use of diagrams, maps, charts, plans, pictures and seeing how things fit together. Cartographers and designers are likely to show strong signs of this intelligence.
Kinesthetic Intelligence	This intelligence leans toward the physical. Interaction with and manipulation of themselves and objects is important to this intelligence. Dancers, acrobats, gymnasts and sportspeople use this intelligence a great deal.
Musical Intelligence	The use of rhythm, music and song is particularly important to this intelligence. Songwriters, singers and musicians would use this intelligence much more than others.
Interpersonal Intelligence	This intelligence links well with personal interaction with others and people favoring this intelligence usually relate well to others. People who enjoy counseling, teaching, training and demonstrating use this intelligence a lot.
Intrapersonal Intelligence	This intelligence favors reflection and personal thought about what is happening to individuals and the world around them. Often religious leaders have a strong tendency to use this intelligence more than others.

Gardner has also developed the idea that there are other intelligences such as emotional and naturalist intelligences.[15] Emotional intelligence is when you are so attuned to your emotions and the emotions of others that you learn through these feelings. Naturalist intelligence is where you learn through being involved in the natural world. Two types of language (BICS and CALP)

Some really interesting work has been carried out by Jim Cummins (1979) who suggests that there are two types of language that can be acquired. These are Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills (BICS) and Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP). As the names suggest, BICS-type language is the everyday social interactive language that we all use when interacting from a very early age. We will hear that type of language when we listen to ten-year-olds playing together on the playground. Meanwhile, CALP-type language is the type of language we use when learning about and discussing content in an academic class. Ten-year-olds will use that language when studying about the characteristics of the sun in a science class. We need to prepare our students to use and understand both types of language. In planning language lessons for our new language learners (whether they are in an EAL, EFL or ESL setting), we should ensure they have been exposed to and have acquired the language to communicate socially (BICS), so that they are able to interact comfortably and meaningfully in the target language. For example, we can encourage young learners to understand and use social language by playing a game, singing a song, asking questions and giving information in an activity, role-playing an everyday scene, and so on.[16] At the same time, we should be encouraging our young learners to progress in their academic studies as well as their language learning, and can begin to teach them the type of language (CALP) that they'll need to learn skills and concepts in other subject areas (such as language arts, mathematics, social studies and science) and to share their understanding of that new content in the target language. We can guide them to understand and use academic language to carry out such activities as describing a type of animal, writing about a famous person, or figuring out a math problem. They can learn content while also learning a new language. Of course we need to consider many factors when planning lessons, including our students' age, interests, cognitive level, proficiency in the target language, immediate and long term needs (as ESL or EFL students), as well as the requirements of our school system. However, in recognizing the value of introducing our students to BICS and CALP-type language instruction, we can guide them to accomplish tasks that will help them progress in their language learning and overall studies. For more details about the type of social and academic language teachers can help their students acquire (by language proficiency level and grade level), refer to the guidelines released by the international association of TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages). Check the Supplementary Materials to find out more about TESOL's PreK-12 English Language Proficiency Standards. Relating Overall Learning Theories to TEYL If a foreign or second language is introduced to our young learners, then it would seem wise to do so in the same way as any other subjects are introduced to them. It is worth pausing for a moment here and reflecting on why young learners are taught anything, whether it is science, history, music, or any other of the subjects they study in their early education. We introduce a range of subjects to young learners, not as pure and abstract subjects, but as an introduction to the interesting things that are all around them and are relevant to their lives. We initially build the foundations of understanding in each subject in a very practical, hands-on way so that the children can interact with the actual, physical and here and now or concrete aspects of each subject at the appropriate stage of their cognitive development. We also do this through scaffolding their learning in each and every subject and in helping support their overall cognitive development.[2] The most important aspect of teaching young learners is that we should recognize how we can develop their thinking and learning skills in each and every subject with a full understanding of what each age group of learner is cognitively able to do and understand, and can physically relate to and carry out. Linking language learning with everyday life Before embarking on teaching a foreign or second language to younger learners, then, we need to remember that we are trying to provide opportunities for these learners to find out about and use this other language. Teachers need to show them how the new language can have a link with their everyday lives and be fun. Teachers can also, depending on the age of the learners, introduce the idea that it is positive to speak another language and communicate more easily in a world that is becoming smaller. Language teachers, also need to act as mentors and modelers of this target language. As mentors, they must support and scaffold the learning, and as modelers, they must provide good examples of the language in use. They must also help young learners share their ideas about everyday things around them and expand their general knowledge while learning a new language. Developmental stages of children Based on the results from his work and research with children, carried out under rather strict conditions in research laboratories, Piaget suggested that children developed through specific stages.[17] These stages were:

• Sensory-Motor Stage (from 0 - 18 months) in which children seemed to learn through interaction with the world around them, largely through the use of their senses. This was a stage where Piaget felt children were particularly egocentric and were only able to think about things in terms of how they interacted and linked with themselves.

• Pre-operational stage (from 18 months - 7 years) in which children were developing towards the next stage. They were starting to use some aspects of the concrete world around them and were also beginning to internalize information in a very basic way through the use of their imagination and memory.

• Concrete Operational Stage (from 7 - 11 years) in which children were able to operate and learn through their interactions with the concrete world around them and were moving towards the final stage which would involve more abstract thinking.

• Formal Operational Stage (from approximately 11 years of age to adulthood) in which children were able to develop more abstract thought and understanding in this final stage of cognitive development. Usually this stage coincided with puberty and the development into adulthood.