The Difference Between Thought and Speech

Talking With Children is So Important

I like how the book I’m reading, about knowledge-construction or meaning-making, describes the difference between thought and speech.

Thought does not consist of individual words like speech. I may want to express the thought I had that I saw a barefoot boy in a blue shirt running down the street today. I do not, however, see separately the boy, the shirt, the fact that the shirt was blue, the fact that the boy ran, the fact that the boy was without shoes. I see this all together as a unified act of thought. In speech, however, the thought is partitioned into separate words. Thought is always something whole, something with significantly greater extent and volume than the individual word. Over the course of several minutes an orator frequently develops the same thought. This thought is contained in his mind as a whole. It does not arise step by step through separate units in the way that his speech develops. What is contained simultaneously in thought unfolds sequentially in speech. Thought can be compared to a hovering cloud which gushes a shower of words. (Vygotsky p. 28)

Language is a tool. Vygotsky believes that meaning is made while we try to turn our thoughts into speech. More meaning is created by talking about our ideas or trying to.

Talking with our children is so important. I emphasize ‘with’ our children, not to our children. I think what children learn through talking and interacting with others is vastly underestimated. A child whose life is full of interactions with others, mediated by all kinds of artifacts, words being one of the most common, can’t help but learn on a regular basis. This is exactly what they did before we sent them to school.

So, in a time when school is being so disrupted, I don’t worry about the child’s reading and math skills that get tested so heavily in the schools. What does ‘falling behind’ even mean in a world where everyone is in the same disrupted-school-boat. I do worry about the emotional toll the pandemic is having on their mental health. But as far as learning goes, just keep on letting them live as rich a life as you can, in whatever environment you can create. Help them turn their thoughts into words. I think that is where the most important learning takes place.

Here is a conversation between a 7-year-old and a 5-year-old who are sheltering at home.

7-year-old: Hey, you’re not making the future awesome right now.

5-year-old: You’re making the future terrible.

Apparently, the mediating artifact here is a t-shirt the 5-year-old is wearing that says, “I can make the future awesome.”

The t-shirt is introducing a new idea and the kids are going at it with their words. I’m not sure what kind of knowledge is being created, but the opportunity for them to think more about how their behavior is impacting the future is happening.