How did Giambattista Vico think language study helped children learn?

Giambattista Vico argued that the educational methods of his time, specifically those influenced by Cartesianism, were flawed because they prioritized logic at the beginning of the learning process.1

Vico believed this approach inverted the natural development of a child's mind. Instead, he maintained that young people should first develop their mental powers by nourishing their memories through the study of languages and enhancing their imaginations by reading poets, historians, and orators.1

By focusing on these humanistic studies, Vico argued that children acquire common sense and the ability to work with probabilities. He believed that training youth in logic before they have developed this foundation of common sense causes them to make judgments without the necessary knowledge to do so.1