"Jean Piaget", a Swiss psychologist, is famous for his work on child development. He made a systematic study of cognitive development in his theory that is categorized in four stages. Key Points According to Piaget, the student is involved in ego-centric speech which is a significant drawback in the younger child’s speech. During the ego-centric stage the children do not direct their speech to anyone in particular nor do they bother to listen if anybody is listening to them. They talk either to themselves or for the pleasure of associating with anyone who happens to be there with their activity for the moment. They merely enjoy talking in the presence of others. If you have noticed a child of 3 or 4 is content to play ‘house-house’ by him/herself, the whole time talking to him/herself. They are unable to carry out a conversation with others, also it is difficult for them to change their manner of talking to suit the occasion or people of different age groups. Hence, it is clear that according to Piaget, the student is involved in ego-centric speech. Hint Social speech refers to the external communication to talk with others. It is used largely to control others Private Speech: It refers to the speech produced aloud by young children which seems to be addressed either to the self or to others, which sometimes cannot be easily conceived by a listener.