Factors affecting children’s phonological learning

  (1) Physiological factors: Gender, physical health, physical maturity, and language organ conditions may have an impact on language development. For example, a one-year-old child is unlikely to have the language level of a five-year-old child; children with severe hearing loss are more likely to have their language development threatened.  (2) Temperament: “Temperament” refers to a child’s innate response characteristics. The intensity of stimuli needed and the level of receptivity to language stimuli vary from child to child, depending on temperament. Some children start their language development very early, some later; some children progress faster, some slower.  (3) Intellectual factors: A child’s intelligence and language development can affect each other. Generally speaking, children with higher levels of intelligence do not have poor language development; children with lower levels of intelligence usually have poorer language development.  (4) Environmental factors: This is a very important factor. Some innate conditions cannot be changed or are limited in the extent to which they can be changed, but the acquired environment can be improved. Whether a child is receiving adequate language stimulation and whether the environment in which he or she grows is conducive to language development are issues that often need to be discussed with parents. In general, children who have more parent-child interaction, more opportunities to interact with playmates, and more life experience will develop language better. This is because children tend to learn language through observation, imitation, play and interaction, so children who are able to engage in more of these activities in their environment naturally have better developmental conditions.