Introduction
Studies on psychology and cognition have shown that a child’s language has a great impact on his/her ability to regulate his emotions and behavior. In order for two people to understand and share meaning with one another, a clear ground should first be laid out to avoid misunderstandings. A study involving 120 children aged 18 months to 4 years old showed that participants who had superior language skills expressed less anger upon reaching 4 years old (Roben, Cole, & Armstrong, 2012). Most children in their early stages learn to use language as a means of self-expression and self-regulation, because expressive language plays a big role in the emotional development of a child (Cole, Armstrong, Pemberton, Calkins, & Bell, 2010).
The development of a child’s skill in behavior regulation often lead to the expression of prosocial behaviors, while children who lack behavior regulation skills contribute to possibilities of exhibiting behavior problems (Reuda, Posner, &Rothbart, 2005). Children who are more capable of handling their emotions are more capable to adapting to different situations.
Research Questions
There are many things that needs to be considered in analyzing the relationship between behavior regulation and language development. There are certain factors that show how these two are interrelated. Many studies have also shown how behavior can affect language development and vice versa. To help address this issue, here are the questions that this research paper intends to ask:
What are the factors affecting the behavior regulation abilities of children?
What is the effect of language on a child’s behavior regulation ability?
What is the effect of a child’s socio economic status with his/her behavior regulation ability?
What is the effect of a child’s living environment on his/her behavior regulation ability?
What are the effects of a child’s language ability to his/her behavior regulation abilities?
Which language ability (monolingualism or bilingualism) possesses a significant relation to a child’s behavior regulation skills?
These research questions were created to reflect the previous studies about the topic and validate the researcher’s hypothesis.
Rationale
It is important to study the relationship between a child’s language development and behavior regulation abilities because this can greatly affect the personality that the child will build and bring until his/her adulthood. Language and the ability to communicate are critical means that contribute to the learning of a child. Language also possesses an inherent link to the emotional development of a child (Cohen, 2010). It is an important component in the improvement of a child’s ability to solve problems.
Wolfe and Bell (2004) discovered that a child’s attitude and conduct towards a task, and his/her ability to control temper is positively correlated with language. A child’s vocabulary can be anticipated to lead to growth and self-regulation abilities (Vallotton&Ayoub, 2011). Lastly, improving one’s language skills bolsters the enhancement of one’s behavior regulation skills, for the reason that the language is jointly connected with the motor system of the brain which is most responsible for our actions (Yew, &O’Kearney, 2013).
Meanwhile, Behavior Regulation or Self-Regulation indicates an individual’s capability to behave appropriately, handle one’s emotions, and manage distractions (Lowry, 2011). It is considered an important factor in a child’s preparedness to enter school. It is also highly associated with immediate manifestation of a child’s ability to perform executive functions such as planning, memorization, organization, and critical-thinking skills (Morin, 2014).
Behavior Regulation speaks highly of child’s ability to carry-out proactive deeds to the people around him/her. It can also determine his/her willingness to engage in activities that enforce learning. Developing behavior regulation also leads to the ability to improve one’s interpersonal relationships. However, failure to develop behavior regulation abilities at an early stage can cause opposite effects to a child. Poor regulation abilities can cause the inability to manage anger, and may lead destruction in one’s interpersonal relationship (Kids Matter, n.d).
There are many contributing factors to the development of a child’s language development and ability to regulate behavior. One of which is the environment that a child experiences at home. Study shows that disorder in the home indirectly dictates the way a child behaves (Feagans, Peters, & Willoughby, 2016).
Parenting is also another factor in the development of a child’s ability to self-regulate. Children who receive positive reinforcement and treatment from his/her parents often reflect the same and tend to develop good behavior regulation skills. Meanwhile, negative treatments such as exhibiting anger often affects the child in the same manner, thus, making the children mirror the behavior and treatment of his/her parents to the people surrounding him/her (Schermerhorn & Bates, 2012). Lastly, the socio-economic status of a child also affects the language development and behavior regulation abilities of a child. Poverty has been proved to result to hinder the development of executive function in a child. This may be due to the fact that factors concerning poverty intensify the levels of stress hormones in a child, which can then influence even the child’s cognitive development (Blair & Raver, 2015). The environmental conditions by which a child is exposed to also imposes a great impact on his/her cognitive development.
Entering formal schools could serve as an avenue to observe compelling distinction in children’s self-regulation and language prowess (Bohlmann, Maier, & Palacios, 2015). This can be partly attributed to the increasing population of children who are exposed to the use of dual languages. A child who has a more developed a refined vocabulary skill also has a greater possibility of developing self-regulating abilities as well.
Review of Related Literature
Monolinguals and Bilinguals
People who speak only one language are referred to as Monolinguals. Bilinguals, on the other hand, are those who speak two or more languages. However, because of the increased occurrence of migration, and with English being considered as the universal language, only few or including 80 percent of Americans can actually be considered as monolingual (Erard, 2012).
Language Development
Language and communication is the most fundamental part of human interaction. Through engaging in the communication discourse, humans share meanings, produce and reproduce culture. It also paramount to the process of learning. Language the most common way of expressing one’s ideas and emotions. It plays a vital role in the process of the development and learning, not only of students, but of all people in general (National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, n.d).
Expressive and Receptive Vocabulary
Expressive vocabulary is the set of words that people use to express their thoughts, either through speaking or writing. Receptive Vocabulary, on the other hand, includes words that are expressed both verbally, and non-verbally (Burger & Chong, 2011).
Role of Language in Behavior Regulation
A child’s capacity to self-regulate facilitates an avenue for environmental adaptation. In a study done by Cole, Armstrong & Pemberton (2010) have shown that there is a high relation between the language skills developed by a child and his/her ability to self-regulate and perform prosocial acts. The ability to regulate one’s behavior manifests as early as in preschool (Vallotton&Ayoub, 2011). Children begin to develop and learn pattern’s that lead to behavior regulation by observing the language used by their caretakers in supervising them (Vygotsky, 1986). The words that children hear during their early years develop as “mental tools”, because this is the time when they start learning their language. Children who possess better language skills are more likely to develop executive functions. Children with lower language skills, on the other hand, are more likely to express behavior problems (Bono &Bizri, 2013).
Behavior regulation does not only affect a child’s actions and behavior per se. Studies show that aside from intelligence quotient and genes, students who are capable of regulating his/her behaviors have the greater probability of being academically excellent (Raver and Knitzer, 2002). Children who practice better behavior regulation skills tend to have more focus in learning, and get distracted less compared to children who have poor behavior regulation skills.
Behavior Regulation
Behavior Regulation or self-regulation is an individual’s ability to control oneself and act accordingly and appropriately. In order to achieve one’s objectives, it is important to have the ability to manage emotions, behaviors, and act in socially acceptable ways (Lowry, 2012).
Executive Function (EF)
Meanwhile, Executive Function (EF) refers to the mental skills that a person utilizes in order to accomplish things. The area of the brain responsible for the ability, is the frontal lobe. The Executive Function aids an individual in time management, attentiveness, shift focus, plan, organize, memorize, remember details, and judge between right and wrong (WebMD, 2016).
Effects of Behavior Regulation in Cognition and Vice-Versa
According to a research by Petersen, Bates & Staples (2015), children who exercise better behavior regulation skills tend to absorb more knowledge than children who show inferior behavior regulation skills. This may be attributed to the fact that children who have superior behavior regulation are able to focus and pay more attention. Likewise, studies also suggest that children who have mastery of more than one language tend to develop more cognitive skills. This is because bilingual children are able to be more focused and flexible in learning. Another study showed that bilingual children have the ability to have a strong, founded association for names and objectives (Reuda, Posner, & Rothbark, 2005). The study constituted an experiment, where names were attached with explanations, and these names were given to the children. The names were then interchanged to measure the ability of the children to remember the meanings attached to these names (Lowry, 2011).
Behavior Regulation and Social Outcomes
Language is considered one of the most basic tools for human interaction and socialization. In the discourse of communication, children who have better behavior regulating skills are often more capable of controlling their emotions, thus enabling them to act accordingly. Children who appear to have more self-regulating skills are more capable of socializing with others. Having more control over their behaviors and actions, these children possess skills in problem solving, are willing to do deeds that can be of help to others, and can communicate their feelings and thoughts appropriately (Aro, Eklund, Nurmi, &Poikkeus, 2012).
Language Development and Literacy
Language development is highly associated with a child’s emotional development. Beginning from infancy to adulthood, an individual’s language, emotions, psychological, and social development are interconnected. Development or impairment in one, cause the same with the others (Cohen, 2010).
Bilingualism and Cognition
A study by Ianco-Worrall (1972) has shown how a child’s ability to speak more than one language have effects on his /her cognitive development. Studies show that when a child has mastery of two languages, s/he has more advantage over monolingual children in terms of cognition. Due to the increasing population of bilingual speakers, bilingualism has earned an importance in the study of cognitive science. Experts believe that bilinguals are more advantaged in cognitive terms because of their ability to focus and be flexible in the learning process.
Role of Parents in Self-Regulation
Parents play an important role in the development of a child’s self-regulation skills. This is because children have tendencies to mirror the things that they see from their parents. This is the very reason why the home environment of a child has great effects on the way a child behaves. Children who are exposed to disorganized and chaotic homes have less probability of developing behavior regulation skills (Feagans, Peters, & Willoughby, 2016). Home chaos have extremely negative effects on the development of a child (Sameroff, 2010). The experiences that a child earns at home is reflected by his/her way of treating other people around him/her. If a child is exposed to violent language, s/he will definitely carry this out during interactions with others. That is why it important for children, in their early age, to learn to regulate their behaviors in order for them to be capable of reacting on different situations accordingly.
Hypothesis
While most present researches available are about bilingualism, this paper intends to prove that the relationship between behavior-regulation and language development in monolingual children is significantly stronger than bilingual children.
Language development and behavior regulation are directly linked to one another. This is because a child’s language use immensely affects the way s/he will interact and express his/her thoughts and emotions to other people surrounding him/her.
Though bilingual children have cognitive advantages compared to monolingual children, this does not automatically mean that the developments in the language of a monolingual individual is not relative to developments in his/her behavior regulating skills. Monolingual children have an edge with regards to their mastery of their language. This helps them to better express themselves in a single context.
Since the major function of language is to be used in the discourse of communication, meaning- making and meaning sharing is very important. Monolingual children have an advantage with regard to this because monolingual children attach and share the same single meaning of things.
Monolingual children have greater understanding and proficiency of the language they are using. Their vocabulary is wider because of their exposure to beginning from early childhood. In the current state of the world, where migration is very rampant, it is important to study the positive effects of preserving one’s language. The effects of language in the ability of a child to regulate his/her behavior carries a big weight in the study of social and cognitive sciences.
The issue of language development and behavior regulation imposes a serious impact on how children will be raised by their parents in the future. For parents, it is important to understand why their children is acting and behaving the way s/he does, and the factors affecting such behaviors. This is for them to know and be guided whether their children are continuously developing, both emotionally and mentally, or whether they need reinforcement and help to get there.
Lastly, issues of behavior regulation should not be taken lightly. The language they learn from their childhood and the behavior that they exhibit will be carried until their adulthood. Language also should not be taken for granted. Parents should know how to maintain a good home environment for their children while they are still young because what happens in the home, will be reflected on the actions of the child.
References
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