This engaging podcast wouldn't be possible without Eric at Licensure Exam and we're thrilled to have him as our speaker today . Cognitive Theory of Language Development . Jean Piaget is well-known proponent of the cognitive theory . He viewed language as behavior using symbols , and it was similar to other learning .
According to Piaget , learning takes place in an orderly fashion , in stages . He proposed that children explore their environment and that this is how they learn . The adults in a child's world are responsible for providing for the necessary experiences . Piaget's theory involved four stages of development , using processes of assimilation and accommodation .
First , sensory motor stage ages 0 to 2 years . It occurs during infancy , when a child responds reflexively without symbols . As a child becomes more mobile , he or she is able to begin experiencing more of the world . The development of symbolic language ability begins at the end of this first stage . Children work to develop fine motor skills and object permanence .
Second , pre-operational stage that's from 2 to 7 years , and it occurs during the toddler and early childhood years , when language symbols are continually learned . The child is egocentric and although memory , imagination and language skills are developing , thinking is not logical . Children learn to classify and order information .
The third is the concrete operational stage , from 7 to 11 years , includes later childhood and early adolescent years , when the child's intelligence develops sufficiently to manipulate symbolic language in logical fashion and develop thinking skills that can be reversed . And finally , the formal operational stage older than 11 years old refers to late adolescence and adulthood .
During this stage , the ability to think abstractly develops . Piaget believed that children require the supportive environment to facilitate learning , but that children learn only when they're ready .