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Discussion
Patterns in Development; Developmental Sequence
According to Sugandha (2017), In order to describe the developmental
process of the child, practitioners should base their observations on the following
area of development;
Physical Development
This area of development studies how children acquire the below physical
abilities to perform certain activities.
Gross Motor Skills – These are movements made by large limbs such as kicking
a ball, pulling a heavy object or throwing an object.
Fine Motor Skills – These are fine and precise movement shown when holding a
pencil correctly, retrieving a tiny object from the floor.
Locomotive Skills – These are skills for balancing the body such as walking on a
line, standing on one foot for a few minutes.
Cognitive Development
This area of development describes the intellectual development of the
child. Children show a profound development in receiving, retaining, processing
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information. They are learning to think logical and understand. They are able to
form imagination and learn problem solving skills.
Communication Development
This area of development considers the ability to communicate
information in the form of speech, verbal and non-verbal, reading and writing,
asking questions, discussing and gestures through body language.
Social and Emotional Development
This area of development deals with children’s ability to express their
feelings and emotions. It also includes forming relationships, self- identity, social
behaviour as how to speak courteously, caring for oneself and others and also
how to deal with their emotions.
Moral Development
This area of development is closely related to the Social and Emotional
Development. Here children are able to learn how to distinguish between right or
wrong activities, how to react and behave towards others, how to make the right
choices and they develop abstract moral reasoning.
Researchers have observed that the development of children follows an
expected stage in the form of time spans. This is referred to as Four Stages of
Development according to Maria Montessori.
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First Plane of Development (0-6 Years) – The Period of Infancy
0-3 Years
The human baby is fully dependent on the adult for its movement and
interpretation of his needs, unlike other species of beings that are able to walk or
make same kind of noises like their adults, almost immediately after they are
born. The human child can only express by crying.
3-6 Years
During this period the child of three although more physically
proportionate than the child between birth to three, the child is still perfecting his
coordination of movements. The Absorbent Mind along with the Sensitive
Periods is still functioning, the child is absorbing all the impressions that
surround his environment; however he is now able to question and reason
before he accepts what he sees. The period between three to six marks the
period of expansion, consolidation and completion.
Second Plane of Development (6 – 12 Years) – The Period of Childhood
At this stage the child is physically independent and is stronger. The child
constantly engages in activities to test how strong, fast, daring and challenging
he/she is. The infant soft hair disappears and the first tooth falls. The child
becomes slim, lean, limbs become larger showing proportion of an adult. There
is mental and physical stability, a uniform growth.
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Third Plane of Development (12 – 18 Years) – The Period of Adolescence
Arrival of puberty marks the end of childhood and is the beginning of
adolescence. Enormous changes occur both physically and mentally. Physically,
between the ages 12 – 15, the body is disproportionate. The body reaches full
maturity between fifteen and eighteen. The period is aimed at constructing a
social self. It is characterised by self concern and self assessment. By exploring
wider cultural issues, in relation to society at large, the adolescent is capable of
critical thinking and re-evaluation.
Psychologically they become more aware of the social being and
therefore are ultra sensitive and easily discouraged. The adolescent becomes
interested in music, drama, dance and other creative activities, because these
activities allows them self-expressions and begins to idolize people and
organizations, which can lead to appreciate social values or engage in anti-
social behaviors.
Fourth Plane of Development (18 – 24 Years) – The Period of Maturity or
Adulthood
The fourth plane of development is similar to the first plane, in that it is the
period of consolidation and expansion. This plane depends on how the child has
passed the earlier planes of development. If all the needs in the above planes
have been fulfilled the child will feel secure and well adapted to his environment,
is more able to make decisions on how life should be and how to contribute to
the human values.
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Influences of Development
Young children are easily influenced by various factors in the environment
which affects their learning and behavioral process. They can be affected by
various social, environmental, economic and biological factors.
Personal Factors
Personal factors are those that are influenced by nature or genetic
formation such as:
Problems during pregnancy and at birth
An embryo is made up of 46 chromosomes which carried the genetic
information of both male and the female partners. An embryo may not survive if
there are changes in the number of chromosome.If the embryo does survive, the
extra or the missing chromosome will cause an effect in the learning and
development of the child.
The fetal development of the child can be also affected due to mother’s
behaviour towards health. If the mother continues to smoke and consume drugs
during pregnancy can harm the child. Children with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)
have distinct facial features including small and narrow eyes, a small head, a
smooth area between the nose and the lips and a thin upper lip. They also show
symptoms such as hearing, facial, immune system problems, epilepsy etc.
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Children can also be affected if they are born prematurely whereby there
development can be delayed.
Health
The development of the child can be affected due to genetic disorders.
For example, a blood disorder such as sickle cell disease can be a barrier for
development, as the child may not be able to fully participate in any physical
activities which require gross muscle movements.
Disabilities
Children with disabilities are challenged with cognitive abilities and
physical growth. Many disabilities are caused due to genetic conditions at birth,
for example Down Syndrome.
Those factors may affect the children in acquiring a language. But in the
following timeline gives an overview of the ages at which children generally
acquire language:
4-6 months: Babbling using all sounds.
6-9 months: Babbling becomes more focused—narrowing of sounds.
10-12 months: First words develop.
18-24 moths: Children begin using two-word phrases.
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2-3 years: Children begin using three words phrases in correct order with
inflection.
4-5 years: Children starts speaking with nearly complete syntax.
5-7 years: Children begin using and understanding more complex language.
9 years and older: Children understand almost all forms of language.
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Conclusion
Human, especially children have an amazing capability to learn
language. Each child develops at their own pace of time because before
birth, after and until adulthood, they grow and develop continually. However,
all learners of a language will pass through the same order of acquisition
regardless of their backgrounds and different learning environment.
All children learn in basic stages, but there are still developmental
patterns that everyone must consider. Since parents are a child’s first
teacher, it is important to describe and determine developmental stages in
advance in order to adjust teaching to the child’s present developmental
stages. It is therefore important to introduce the patterns and sequences of
development in order to observe the factors that hinder or facilitate progress
on the way of learning the language.
