Language Development and Education

This article discusses the role of language development in educational achievement and the implications of this role for curriculum development. In the article children's knowledge of language before they enter school and the developmental changes that occur over the early school years are discussed. It is argued that these changes are a product of both maturation and the language education that children receive. How their language experiences in school might enhance their language development in two important ways is outlined. One way is in increasing their ability to use language to learn , and another is in increasing their ability to metaprocess the categories and relations in language. There is a final and very brief note on the effect of language differences and problems on curriculum.