Word Definitions and Comprehension of Figurative Language Project

Word Definitions and Comprehension of Figurative Language Project

Introduction

In general , children aged four to twelve years old lack vocabularies for defining some words particularly those that are not familiar to them or to express their thoughts about them . Their lack of vocabulary may be partly a result of the structure of the English language as most often the common use of words to define something is vague and imprecise (Freeman 1989 ,

. 523 . Nevertheless , Heath , Potter Perry (1995 pointed out that as the world of preschoolers expand beyond the family boarder

where they meet other children and adults , their vocabulary increase rapidly and by the age of five , they will have a vocabulary of more than 2000 words enough to define familiar objects , identify colors and express their desires and frustrations (p . 130 . Lerner Easterbrooks Mistry (2003 ) stressed that language is a social phenomenon and that language development is a social process (p . 173 Therefore the more children associate with other children , the more that he learns new vocabulary . Furthermore Heath , Potter Perry stated that cognitive changes provide the school-aged child with the ability to think in a logical manner about the present , but not about abstraction (Heath , Potter Perry 1995 ,

. 131 . In other words , their thoughts are no longer dominated by their perceptions , and that their ability to understand the world greatly expands . In their study regarding when children begin to acquire the language-specific meanings , Hirsh-Pasek and Golinkoff (2006 ) pointed out that children acquire language-specific semantics that...