Essay on Montessori Language
Essay on Montessori Language
Language lies at the root of that transformation of the environment that we call ‘civilization’. The child’s language developments during his or her early years are freely remarkable. Describe how does the Montessori environment aid the child’s language development?
What is civilization? “Civilization is a term used to describe a certain kind of development of a human society”(2). In ancient Egypt, writing was first discovered in the form of paintings on the walls of caves, structures and many artifacts. These ancient forms of writings are a form of communication within the ancient Egyptian society. The paintings on the walls were later transformed into writing on papyrus. Paper was first discovered in China and later papermaking spread throughout Asia. Many languages were developed. As the result of advancement in reading and writing, economic, political and social developments were possible. Through the development of languages it leads to the transformation of the environment we call ‘civilization’.
An infant is first exposed to language through sounds generated by the environment and languages spoken by the adults surrounding him. He babbles words such as ‘da da, ma ma’ and utters intentional word like ‘milk, mum mum ‘when he gets hungry. At the age of 1.5, he realizes that everything has a name. This is a crucial period whereby Montessori understands that any form of education imparted at this age has to be indirect as “Montessori’s enormous respect for the mysterious powers that form the child from the moment of conception led her to fear any direct interference with their unfolding”(1, page 121).
Before a child begins to learn how to read and write, there are four fundamental preparatory activities that will indirectly enhance their learning. Story telling is a great way to impart new words to a child. It is important for the story to be short and interesting as children have very short attention span. It
Language lies at the root of that transformation of the environment that we call ‘civilization’. The child’s language developments during his or her early years are freely remarkable. Describe how does the Montessori environment aid the child’s language development?
What is civilization? “Civilization is a term used to describe a certain kind of development of a human society”(2). In ancient Egypt, writing was first discovered in the form of paintings on the walls of caves, structures and many artifacts. These ancient forms of writings are a form of communication within the ancient Egyptian society. The paintings on the walls were later transformed into writing on papyrus. Paper was first discovered in China and later papermaking spread throughout Asia. Many languages were developed. As the result of advancement in reading and writing, economic, political and social developments were possible. Through the development of languages it leads to the transformation of the environment we call ‘civilization’.
An infant is first exposed to language through sounds generated by the environment and languages spoken by the adults surrounding him. He babbles words such as ‘da da, ma ma’ and utters intentional word like ‘milk, mum mum ‘when he gets hungry. At the age of 1.5, he realizes that everything has a name. This is a crucial period whereby Montessori understands that any form of education imparted at this age has to be indirect as “Montessori’s enormous respect for the mysterious powers that form the child from the moment of conception led her to fear any direct interference with their unfolding”(1, page 121).
Before a child begins to learn how to read and write, there are four fundamental preparatory activities that will indirectly enhance their learning. Story telling is a great way to impart new words to a child. It is important for the story to be short and interesting as children have very short attention span. It
Bibliography: 1. Paula Polk Lillard, Montessori – A Modern Approach, New York, 1972 2. Wikipedia, Civilization, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilization 3. CMT104 – Montessori Language Apparatus, Modern Montessori International LTD, London