Characteristics of Childrens Speaking Ability

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2.2 Characteristics of Childrens Speaking Ability

Children’s speaking ability is definitely different than adult’s speaking ability. There are two characteristics of children speaking ability Hurlock, 1976: 191, namely: a Speaking focus on himself egocentric and b speaking focus on others socialization Ginsberg and Opper said that children use language in a non-communicative and communicative way Paul Saparno, 2001: 55: a. The use of non-communicative language There are three ways of language usage, among other: 1 The child imitates what he or she just hear. The child imitates other people unconsciously. 2 The child is talking to himself monolog. Sometimes, a child speaks to himself loudly without the desire to communicate to others such as when he’s playing. 3 Monolog among friends. Sometimes, a child talks t himself a bit louder even though he is in the circle of his friends. Some children sitting together can talk to themselves without the intention to connect with his or her other friends. b. The use of communicative language. The child starts to interact with other people. For example, children try to explain how to play the game or sometimes they criticize another child. Children talk to each other and respond what another child has said, although the often miscommunicate it. Bredekamp and Copple mentioned characteristics of 5 years old children’s ability are as follows Ramli, 2005: 189 192-193: a. Using vocabulary around 5.000 to 8.000 by frequently playing with words; pronouncing with little difficulty, except for certain sounds such as r. b. Using a more perfect or complex sentence. c. Take a turn in a conversation, rarely interrupt other people; listening to other people conversation if the information is new and interesting; showing the remaining of egocentrism in the conversation. For example, considering listener will understand what he or she means. d. Sharing experience verbally; knowing words in various songs. e. Like to imitate other people role, showing off in front of new people or become very shy in an unexpected moment. f. Remembering simple pottery lines and fully express it in sentences and expressions from other people, including clues and TV advertisements. 49 g. Showing off his or her skill in using conventional means of communication with pitch and tone of voice changes.

2.3 Factors Affecting English Language Learning in Children