You might have heard how young children use the “running commentary” to accompany everything they do. They might play with some plastic blocks, for example, commenting on their own actions: “Now put this block here, and this goes there…”.

Where does this egocentric speech come from? According to Piaget, this is a stage in cognitive maturation. Language

“grows” from the inside. The child is not trying to speak to anyone, he or she is just trying out the new skill that is gradually maturing. According to Vygotsky, egocentric speech is compressed social speech. This means that these are parts of phrases and instructions that the child previously heard from adults and other children. The child is using these instructions to guide his or her behaviour, but with age the instructions become internalized. They become thoughts.

Which of the two explanations better corresponds to your experience with children? What practical implications does it have to accept one or the other explanation?