Language and Thought

Ann Dunne wrote an interesting article on ‘Language and Thought’ in which she discusses ‘the function of language, its job in our daily lives, and why Montessori places so much emphasis on the natural development of language in children.’

Firstly she outlines the Montessori theory and practice with regard to language development; she goes on to compare and contrast these with contemporary views; she concludes that ‘language is a, if not the, most important skill for human learning and communication.’
She refers to studies which show ‘that with vocabulary growth comes increased opportunities for using words in the development of thinking, which in turn prompts further linguistic development. If children can use language to express and communicate their feelings, their emotional growth will also be greatly enhanced.

…It can certainly be argued that the Montessori language programmes at both levels allow children to acquire the means to interpret, explore, make logical judgements, clarify the language they already have, express their needs, emotions, ideas and unique individuality in a concrete way whilst developing the mechanical skills and acquiring the knowledge and culture appropriate to their society and nation, and in so doing help them to reach clarity of thought and independence of intellect.’