The Montessori Approach to Language Development - Essay Example

The sensitive period is that period in a child’s development whereby he is unconsciously aware that a certain skill is to be learned at that period.  It is the time when a person has the best opportunity to learn something.  Examples of the sensitive periods in a child’s environment are sensitivity to movement, sensitivity to order, sensitivity to language, and sensitivity to sensory impressions.

            Sensitivity to movement occurs at ages two to four.  This is the time when the child moves around to learn about his environment.  Practical life exercises are used in Montessori schools during this sensitive period.  Practical life exercises are one of the four areas of the Montessori-prepared environment.  This area resembles the work at home such as washing the dishes or sweeping the floor.  The teacher introduces the name of the activity while the movement is being performed.  Social grace and courtesy activities are introduced such as the use of “May I” or “Can I”.  Language skills are further developed from these practical life activities.

            Sensitivity to order also occurs at the same time as the sensitivity to movement.  Sensitivity relates to spatial, social, sensory, and temporal.  Children at this age become more aware of the order in time and space. According to Montessori at this stage, order becomes the child’s foundation to make sense of his environment.

            Another important sensitive period is that of the sensitivity to language which is one of the longest-lasting sensitive periods which starts at age three to six.  After this period the rate of absorption for new words will never be the same again. The child becomes attracted to human sounds which drive him to speak his native language.  After age six, the sensitive period for language weakens and the child then moves on to grammar work as he improves his reading skills.

            The sensitivity to sensory impressions is another period in a child’s development.  This is when the child becomes interested in his environment and wants to learn more about it.  This need is answered by Montessori’s sensorial training where the senses are being developed and refined.

            An important method used in teaching language in Montessori schools is the Three Period Lesson which is a teaching technique used to give formal vocabulary lessons. Language is given after the experience of that which is to be named. The three periods support the three stages of learning.  The First Period (Naming) is an introduction to the names to be learned by presenting names that are nouns using color tablets.  The color tablets which were used in the sensorial training of the child are also used in this activity.  The first step is to lay the primary colors in a row in front of the child.  One color is isolated and the teacher says the name of the color after which the child is encouraged to say the same.  The same procedure is repeated for the other colors.

            The Second Period (Recognition) is the practice of associating the names with the objects.  In this period, the teacher gives the name of the object without moving it, then asks the child to point to the object named.  Later, to make the lesson more interesting for the child, the object is moved and the teacher commands the child to show him the object.
             The Third Period (Pronunciation of the Word) is a confirmation that the names have been learned.  The objective here is for the child to use the correct vocabulary without prompting.  If the child does not name the object correctly, the teacher goes back to the Second Period until such time that the child is ready for the Third Period.

            Other language development materials and activities used by Montessori schools include memory games, moveable alphabet, picture cards, sandpaper letters, and the pink, blue, and green phonics language series. These activities will introduce a child to phonetics and teach him how to pronounce and spell words.

            Maria Montessori realizes the value of language development in the total development of a child.  This is the reason why the Montessori method emphasizes that at age zero to six, the parent or teacher must be able to use these sensitive periods of a child to develop his language skills. As Montessori puts it, “To follow a child in his language development is a study of the greatest interest …” (Montessori, 1995).