A Summary of Chapter 4: Children's Self-Esteem and Verbal Strategies

This summary of Chapter 4 discusses the development of children's sense of self, starting with self-awareness and progressing to self-concept, including the ability to connect past, present, and future. It highlights the importance of children's self-evaluations and the development of self-esteem, emphasizing the role of adults in providing a supportive environment. The summary also covers strategies for establishing a positive verbal environment through behavior reflections, praise, shared narratives, open-ended questions, and paraphrase reflections. It addresses the support of linguistically diverse children, particularly dual-language learners (DLL), and stresses the importance of valuing their first language to enhance second language acquisition, advocating against the mistaken belief that exclusive English instruction promotes faster learning. The document references relevant research to support its points.

Running head: CHAPTER 4 SUMMARY 1
Chapter 4 summary
Institution
Student
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CHAPTER 4 SUMMARY 2
Chapter 4 summary
Children emerging sense of self: At first children understand that they are unique beings
different from others, that is, self-awareness. With time they manage to identify sole attributes
such as psychological attributes and abilities which differentiate them from their peers and other
people, that is, self concept. In their very early childhood, they acquire language which they use
to describe who they are. Early to middle childhood, they are able to connect their past, present
and the future. Middle to later elementary age they start comparing themselves with their peers
such as in terms of appearance, abilities and achievements. I have noted that children’s growth
and development is gradual and takes place differently among different kids. Thus, parents and
guardians should allow this process to take place without any negative external influence.
The evolution of self-esteem: Children start self-evaluations at a very young age. They start
making judgments in various categories such as academic, social, and competence. The way they
evaluate themselves depends on the level of self-awareness and self-concept. As they evaluate
self, one will note that these evaluations vary even though they undergo similar developmental
sequence. Children who evaluate themselves positively have healthy self-esteem while those
who evaluate self negatively develop poor self-esteem. As adults we should provide children
with a conducive environment to self-actualize themselves and see themselves as capable people,
liked, and worthy. As we interact with them we should acknowledge that our practices influence
their self-esteem.
Establishing a positive verbal environment: There are different strategies of doing this. These
include behavior reflections, effective praise, shared narratives, conversations, open-ended
questions, and paraphrase reflections. Harms, Cryer, Clifford, & Yazejian, (2017) point out that

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positive verbal environment do not come about consistently or automatically without forethought
or intent. The aforementioned verbal strategies can be used for all children irrespective of their
language abilities or primary language. Through their respective explanations, I have learnt that
adult people who want to establish positive verbal environment need to understand which one
works best for their children because they all have different degrees of efficiency.
Verbal strategies that support linguistically diverse children: Apart from the first home
language, children should be supported to acquire another second one say English so that they
can become dual-language learners (DLL) (Jacoby, & Lesaux, 2017). For speedier and better
acquisition of a second language, parents should encourage their kids to speak in their first one
as a way of appreciating it. When they see their language being treated with reverence, children
feel valued and hence evaluate themselves positively. The process of acquiring a second
language, children undergo some stages and the first one is home language use. Research has
proven that allowing children to make ideas using their first language increases their chance of
comprehending another one. This teaches us that as adults we should drop the assumption that
denying children access to their home language and bringing them up with “English language
only” promotes speedier acquisition. This is a mistaken belief.

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References
Harms, T., Cryer, D., Clifford, R. M., & Yazejian, N. (2017). Infant/toddler environment rating
scale. Teachers College Press.
Jacoby, J. W., & Lesaux, N. K. (2017). Language and literacy instruction in preschool classes
that serve Latino dual language learners. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 40, 77-86.