Learning Through Conversation
One of the essential skills humans learn early in life is to talk, to have a conversation. For most people, this early step in life happens through natural learning.
Learning a language happens naturally as children are surrounded by other people speaking a particular language. They also have a close connection to these people, and their curiosity drives them to understand what these other humans are doing. In effect, the speech of the other people surrounding the child inspires the child to begin imitating the speech of others. There are undoubtedly other observations that the child makes regarding language during this time, including the fact that speech is a far more effective way of communicating what you want rather than merely crying. This is particularly true when the child’s needs become more complex.
When we learn naturally, we have an intrinsic motivation to learn. The desire begins from inside of us rather than in someone else who is desiring us to learn. Language is such a powerful tool that it is not surprising that virtually all human beings develop some language capabilities. The average six-year-old, just by listening and conversing, can recognise around 13,000 words.
My family immigrated to New Zealand when I was nearly six years old. This meant that I was already six when I started school. On my first few days of school, I only knew a few phrases such as, “My name is Justus, and I come from Germany.” I did a lot of crying that first week and quite a few of the weeks after that too. I don’t remember much of the rest of that first year at school, but I do remember that it didn’t take very long for English to become my primary language. It really was just a matter of a few months. To this day, in conversations with my parents, it is not unusual to find them speaking to me in German and for me to be replying to them in English. Learning is not as slow a process as many people think it must be. Language learning, in particular, can be very rapid.
But it is not just languages such as English or German that children can learn quickly. Everybody’s vocabulary base is different, with no two people having the same overall vocabulary. This is because we all find ourselves with different interests, passions, and professions. There is usually a whole lot of jargon that comes with each of our interests. When I was a young boy, I had an interest in dinosaurs, and I could rattle off quite a few names of the various types of dinosaurs. This may well sound familiar to those of you with 7-year-old boys.
As I grew older, my interests went more towards science and philosophy as well as music. I remember as a teen often waiting in the van after church, while mum and dad were busy chatting with other people. There I listened to a Christian philosopher on the radio, which played a large part in developing my philosophical vocabulary.
There is still a predominant view within society and among parents that children’s language learning must be staggered and follow some sort of prescribed path. We are quick to decide what would be suitable reading material or what is an appropriate topic of conversation for a child of a certain age. Unfortunately, in doing so, we often either stifle or ignore the curiosity that a child can show.
An interesting example of this is from a boy’s maths class that I used to teach. The boys were around twelve years old, and I was supposed to be teaching them about percentages. I felt that the lessons were becoming rather dull and boring, so I decided to try and talk about a practical application of percentages. I decided to talk about tax. It turned out to be one of the best lessons I ever taught. Not that I gave them specific tasks to do. All I did was open up a discussion beginning with the question, “what do you know about tax?” Immediately hands shot up around the room as each boy was keen to put their opinion forward. I knew it was going to be a good discussion when the first boy answered, “Taxation is theft.”
A month or two later, I was having parent-teacher meetings, and I asked the parents, “Did you know your son is interested in discussing tax?” Many of the parents were surprised that their son even had an opinion on the matter. I encouraged the parents not to be scared of discussing what may be deemed as adult topics, such as taxation.
The mistake we make is that we think that children want to be babied all the time. Children want to grow up and be fully involved in the world, to be able to add their own thoughts to the discussions happening around them. They don’t just want to be given “kids books” and have conversations about “kid-friendly topics”. Many of the boys in the example above had spent considerable time discussing and researching tax with their peers and through various resources online, such as Youtube videos. But unfortunately, the parents were not aware of this. This meant that they were also missing out on discussions of topics they themselves and their son had an interest in.
So I encourage parents to not miss out on opening up more in-depth conversations with your children. Especially during this Coronavirus lockdown, take the time to engage with your children about the nature of evidence, science, and politics. If you do, you might be surprised to learn how much your child already knows. But most of all be curious about their opinions, especially if they are different from your own. Don’t just assume that because they are younger, that therefore you must correct their thinking. Have an actual conversation, not a debate. In a debate, you are trying to defend your position, but in a conversation, your aim should be to become curious about the other person’s position.
So, are you ready for learning through conversation?
