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How Does Language Development Relate to Emotions in Critical Thought?

Language is the tool humans use to communicate with one another. The ability of children to use language develops through a series of cognitive development stages. If children or adults are unable to use language as a communication tool, critical thinking and other essential human interaction needs will not be met and may lead to emotional and cognitive difficulties.

  1. Function

    • Language includes written words and symbols. People use language to express their needs or to communicate to others their emotional responses to crisis or joy. Inability to use language effectively limits a person's capacity to express basic human needs or highest aspirations. According to the American Speech Language Hearing Association, "language based learning disabilities are problems with age appropriate reading, spelling, and/or writing."

    Considerations

    • Language is expressed in more ways than just the sounds that come of out a person's mouth. Language includes facial expressions, hand gestures and the movement of arms and legs. People with cognitive challenges can communicate through the blinking of their eyes, or the movement of their fingers. People who are deaf use American Sign Language to speak with other people. Any ability people have to communicate indicates they have the capability to express emotions, and the ability to think and respond.

    Delayed Development

    • Children who experience delays in the development of cognitive language skills will experience educational and social disadvantages. Language delays may come from malnutrition, lack of exposure to adults who have good communication skills, or seclusion from social interaction with other children. Children who enter kindergarten without the ability to use language are in a race against time to catch up with their peers. Critical thinking skills will be inhibited until a child has the ability to understand and think through a question and respond appropriately.

    Sensual Peception

    • Language development of children is enhanced by exposing them to a wide range of sensory experiences. Children need to see, taste, touch, hear, and smell the environment around them if they are to learn to communicate with the world they live in. Parents should talk to their children in adult language, expose their children to sounds and colors, and allow them to express their creativity in play. Children should learn to communicate their need for a drink of water, and be rewarded for thinking things through on their own.

    Making Decisions

    • The development of critical thinking skills is essential to making correct decisions in response to life's challenges. As a child's ability to use language grows, he develops the ability to think a problem though, and come up with an acceptable response to the challenge he is facing. A measure of emotional well being is the ability to solve your own problems independently. When a problem is too big to solve on your own, then good language skills enable you to find help for the problem.

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