In Chapter 6, you learned that language development is related to a number of environmental factors. Read Chapter 6 Box 6.2 “Language Development and Socioeconomic Status.” Then consider the following scenario that you have been asked to speak to parents of children at a lower income daycare about the importance of reading books and talking for language development.
In your initial post, what specific recommendations from the book would you make to parents for improving their children’s language development? Identify at least three things parents could do and provide a rationale to parents for the long-term benefits of doing these things. Why did you choose these particular recommendations? [All recommendations should be in your own words, not simply copied and pasted from the textbook.}
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6
Development of Language and Symbol Use
Presentation Slides
Chapter
Language Development
The Process of Language Acquisition
Theoretical Issues in Language Development
Nonlinguistic Symbols and Development
Outline of Chapter
2
Production: Refers to speaking (or signing or writing)
Comprehension: Required to develop language skills; refers to understanding what others say (or sign or write)
Symbols: Systems of representing our thoughts, feelings, and knowledge, and for communicating them to other people
Language Development
3
Generativity: The idea that, through the use of the finite set of words and morphemes in humans’ vocabulary, we can put together an infinite number of sentences and express an infinite number of ideas
Phonemes: Units of sound in speech; a change in a phoneme changes the meaning of a word (e.g., rake vs. lake)
Phonological development: The acquisition of knowledge about the sound system of a language
Morphemes: The smallest units of meaning in a language, composed of one or more phonemes
The Components of Language
Semantic development: The learning of the system for expressing meaning in a language, including work learning
Syntax: Rules in a language that specify how words from different categories (nouns, verbs, adjectives, and so on) can be combined
Syntactic development: The learning of the syntax of a language
Pragmatic development: The acquisition of knowledge about how language is used
Metalinguistic knowledge: An understanding of the properties and function of language—an understanding of language as language
The Components of Language (cont.)
Language is species-specific, meaning that only humans acquire language in the normal course of development, and species-universal, meaning that language learning is achieved by typically developing infants across the globe.
Critical period: The time during which language develops readily and after which (sometime between age 5 and puberty) language acquisition is much more difficult and ultimately less successful
Infant-directed speech: The distinctive mode of speech that adults adopt when talking to babies and very young children; used by virtually all cultures; not the same as “baby talk”
What Is Required for Language?
Können Sie sprechen?
Se puede hablar?
Potete parlare?
你能说话吗？
Вы можете говорить?
Can you speak?
Pouvez – vous parler?
あなたは話すことができる？
Você pode falar?
Bilingualism: The ability to use two languages
Research shows that bilingualism puts children at an advantage.
Two Languages Are Better Than One
7
Infants pay attention to what other people say or sign.
Producing intelligible speech (or signs)
Comprehending what other people communicate
Language is acquired by listening and speaking (or watching and signing).
The Process of Language Acquisition
Term Definition
Prosody The characteristic rhythm, tempo, cadence, melody, intonational patterns, etc., with which a language is spoken
Categorical perception The perception of speech sounds as belonging to discrete categories (b vs. p)
Voice onset time (VOT) The length of time between when air passes through the lips and when the vocal cords start vibrating
Word segmentation The process of discovering where words begin and end in fluent speech
Distributional properties The phenomenon that, in any language, certain sounds are more likely to appear together than are others
Acquiring language involves listening and speaking (or watching and signing) and requires both comprehension and producing speech (or signs).
Speech Perception
9
Word segmentation: The process of discovering where words begin and end in fluent speech
This process begins during the second half of the first year.
Distributional properties: The phenomenon that, in any language, certain sounds are more likely to appear together than others
Infants can identify patterns in the speech surrounding them.
They then focus on sound patterns that make a difference in their native language.
This lays the groundwork for becoming native listeners and native speakers.
Word Segmentation
10
Produced as sounds (or hand movements for learners of sign language)
Produced during early phases of language development
Babbling: producing syllables made up of a consonant followed by a vowel (“pa,” “ba,” “ma”) that are repeated in strings (“mamama”)
Preparation for Production
11
Holophrastic Period
The period when children begin using the words in their small productive vocabulary one word at a time
Overextension
The use of a given word in a broader context than is appropriate (e.g., referring to all 4-legged animals as dogs
Reference
In language and speech, the association of words and meaning
First Words
12
Word Learning
Children have a vocabulary of about 50 words at around 18 months of age.
A “vocabulary spurt” occurs due to:
Adult influences on word learning
Amount and quality of speech that is heard
Contexts in which words are used by talking adults
Consistency between visual environment and spoken words
First Words (cont.d)
13
Fast mapping: The process of rapidly learning a new word simply from hearing the contrastive use of a familiar and an unfamiliar word
Syntactic bootstrapping: The strategy of using the grammatical structure of whole sentences to figure out meaning
Pragmatic cues: Aspects of the social context used for word learning
First Words (cont.d)
14
Most children combine words into simple sentences by the end of the second year (18-24 months).
Comprehension precedes production.
Telegraphic speech: Children’s first sentences
Generally two-word utterances (e.g., “drink juice,” “read me”) that convey entire meaning
Overregularization: Speech errors in which children treat irregular forms of words as if they were regular (e.g., “men” becomes “mans,” “went” becomes “goed”)
Putting Words Together
15
Correct singular noun Correct plural noun Overregularized plural
mouse mice mouses
tooth teeth tooths
leaf leaves leafs
sheep sheep sheeps
How do children make nouns plural?
Putting Words Together (cont.d)
16
Collective monologues: Conversation between children that involves a series of non sequiturs, the content of each child’s turn having little or nothing to do with what the other child has just said
Narratives: Descriptions of past events that have the basic structure of a story that can be produced by 5 years of age
Universal grammar: A hard-wired set of principles and rules that governs grammar in all languages
Conversational skills increase with cognitive and social development
This development also allows for the ability to take other people’s perspectives.
Conversational Skills
17
Development of language skills beyond ages 5 or 6 years
Foundations for language in place by that age
Accomplishments in sustaining a conversation
Complex grammar mastered by school-age children
Appreciation of multiple meanings of words
Better comprehension of words
Approximate vocabulary achieved:
6-year-olds – 10,000 words
5th-graders – 40,000 words
College students – 150,000 words
Later Language Development
18
Prerequisites for language acquisition are:
A human brain (nature)
Experience with a human language (nurture)
Nature and nurture interact.
Theoretical Issues in Language Development
19
Noam Chomsky proposed humans are born with:
Universal grammar: A proposed set of highly abstract, unconscious rules that are common to all languages
Hard-wired set of rules governing grammar in all languages
Many surface differences in languages but similar underlying structures in all languages
Suggests that language learning has an innate basis
Chomsky and the Nativist View
20
Skinner (and behaviorists) favored nurture.
Infant sounds (babbling) develop later to language because of reinforcement from parents.
Modularity hypothesis: The idea that the human brain contains an innate, self-contained language module that is separate from other aspects of cognitive functioning
Connectionism: A type of information-processing approach that emphasizes the simultaneous activity of numerous interconnected processing units
Ongoing Debates in Language Development
21
The range of symbols we encounter daily is large and varied.
A crucial developmental task for children is mastering the symbol systems important in their culture.
The two most important symbolic activities are:
Mathematics
Reading
Nonlinguistic Symbols and Development
22
Dual Representation:
The idea that a symbolic artifact must be represented mentally in two ways at the same time—both as a real object and as a symbol for something other than itself
Using Symbols as Information
23
Dual representation: A symbolic artifact must be represented mentally in two ways at the same time:
As a real object
As a symbol for something other than itself
Very young children have trouble managing dual representation.
School-age children have the ability to understand dual representation.
Enables them to discover abstract nature of various symbolic artifacts
Using Symbols as Information (cont.d)
24
Creating pictures and letters is a symbolic activity.
Drawing pictures starts at about 3 or 4 years of age.
It starts with scribbles at about 2 ½ year of age.
Scribbles reflect an emerging understanding of writing; thus, scribbles have meaning, too!
Drawing and Writing
25
Creating pictures is a common symbolic activity encouraged by parents and is often accompanied by narratives regarding the drawing.
Children’s early drawings of people typically take a “tadpole” form.
Drawing and Writing (cont.d)
26
6
Development of Language and Symbol Use
Presentation Slides
Chapter
Language Development
The Process of Language Acquisition
Theoretical Issues in Language Development
Nonlinguistic Symbols and Development
Outline of Chapter
2
Production: Refers to speaking (or signing or writing)
Comprehension: Required to develop language skills; refers to understanding what others say (or sign or write)
Symbols: Systems of representing our thoughts, feelings, and knowledge, and for communicating them to other people
Language Development
3
Generativity: The idea that, through the use of the finite set of words and morphemes in humans’ vocabulary, we can put together an infinite number of sentences and express an infinite number of ideas
Phonemes: Units of sound in speech; a change in a phoneme changes the meaning of a word (e.g., rake vs. lake)
Phonological development: The acquisition of knowledge about the sound system of a language
Morphemes: The smallest units of meaning in a language, composed of one or more phonemes
The Components of Language
Semantic development: The learning of the system for expressing meaning in a language, including work learning
Syntax: Rules in a language that specify how words from different categories (nouns, verbs, adjectives, and so on) can be combined
Syntactic development: The learning of the syntax of a language
Pragmatic development: The acquisition of knowledge about how language is used
Metalinguistic knowledge: An understanding of the properties and function of language—an understanding of language as language
The Components of Language (cont.)
Language is species-specific, meaning that only humans acquire language in the normal course of development, and species-universal, meaning that language learning is achieved by typically developing infants across the globe.
Critical period: The time during which language develops readily and after which (sometime between age 5 and puberty) language acquisition is much more difficult and ultimately less successful
Infant-directed speech: The distinctive mode of speech that adults adopt when talking to babies and very young children; used by virtually all cultures; not the same as “baby talk”
What Is Required for Language?
Können Sie sprechen?
Se puede hablar?
Potete parlare?
你能说话吗？
Вы можете говорить?
Can you speak?
Pouvez – vous parler?
あなたは話すことができる？
Você pode falar?
Bilingualism: The ability to use two languages
Research shows that bilingualism puts children at an advantage.
Two Languages Are Better Than One
7
Infants pay attention to what other people say or sign.
Producing intelligible speech (or signs)
Comprehending what other people communicate
Language is acquired by listening and speaking (or watching and signing).
The Process of Language Acquisition
Term Definition
Prosody The characteristic rhythm, tempo, cadence, melody, intonational patterns, etc., with which a language is spoken
Categorical perception The perception of speech sounds as belonging to discrete categories (b vs. p)
Voice onset time (VOT) The length of time between when air passes through the lips and when the vocal cords start vibrating
Word segmentation The process of discovering where words begin and end in fluent speech
Distributional properties The phenomenon that, in any language, certain sounds are more likely to appear together than are others
Acquiring language involves listening and speaking (or watching and signing) and requires both comprehension and producing speech (or signs).
Speech Perception
9
Word segmentation: The process of discovering where words begin and end in fluent speech
This process begins during the second half of the first year.
Distributional properties: The phenomenon that, in any language, certain sounds are more likely to appear together than others
Infants can identify patterns in the speech surrounding them.
They then focus on sound patterns that make a difference in their native language.
This lays the groundwork for becoming native listeners and native speakers.
Word Segmentation
10
Produced as sounds (or hand movements for learners of sign language)
Produced during early phases of language development
Babbling: producing syllables made up of a consonant followed by a vowel (“pa,” “ba,” “ma”) that are repeated in strings (“mamama”)
Preparation for Production
11
Holophrastic Period
The period when children begin using the words in their small productive vocabulary one word at a time
Overextension
The use of a given word in a broader context than is appropriate (e.g., referring to all 4-legged animals as dogs
Reference
In language and speech, the association of words and meaning
First Words
12
Word Learning
Children have a vocabulary of about 50 words at around 18 months of age.
A “vocabulary spurt” occurs due to:
Adult influences on word learning
Amount and quality of speech that is heard
Contexts in which words are used by talking adults
Consistency between visual environment and spoken words
First Words (cont.d)
13
Fast mapping: The process of rapidly learning a new word simply from hearing the contrastive use of a familiar and an unfamiliar word
Syntactic bootstrapping: The strategy of using the grammatical structure of whole sentences to figure out meaning
Pragmatic cues: Aspects of the social context used for word learning
First Words (cont.d)
14
Most children combine words into simple sentences by the end of the second year (18-24 months).
Comprehension precedes production.
Telegraphic speech: Children’s first sentences
Generally two-word utterances (e.g., “drink juice,” “read me”) that convey entire meaning
Overregularization: Speech errors in which children treat irregular forms of words as if they were regular (e.g., “men” becomes “mans,” “went” becomes “goed”)
Putting Words Together
15
Correct singular noun Correct plural noun Overregularized plural
mouse mice mouses
tooth teeth tooths
leaf leaves leafs
sheep sheep sheeps
How do children make nouns plural?
Putting Words Together (cont.d)
16
Collective monologues: Conversation between children that involves a series of non sequiturs, the content of each child’s turn having little or nothing to do with what the other child has just said
Narratives: Descriptions of past events that have the basic structure of a story that can be produced by 5 years of age
Universal grammar: A hard-wired set of principles and rules that governs grammar in all languages
Conversational skills increase with cognitive and social development
This development also allows for the ability to take other people’s perspectives.
Conversational Skills
17
Development of language skills beyond ages 5 or 6 years
Foundations for language in place by that age
Accomplishments in sustaining a conversation
Complex grammar mastered by school-age children
Appreciation of multiple meanings of words
Better comprehension of words
Approximate vocabulary achieved:
6-year-olds – 10,000 words
5th-graders – 40,000 words
College students – 150,000 words
Later Language Development
18
Prerequisites for language acquisition are:
A human brain (nature)
Experience with a human language (nurture)
Nature and nurture interact.
Theoretical Issues in Language Development
19
Noam Chomsky proposed humans are born with:
Universal grammar: A proposed set of highly abstract, unconscious rules that are common to all languages
Hard-wired set of rules governing grammar in all languages
Many surface differences in languages but similar underlying structures in all languages
Suggests that language learning has an innate basis
Chomsky and the Nativist View
20
Skinner (and behaviorists) favored nurture.
Infant sounds (babbling) develop later to language because of reinforcement from parents.
Modularity hypothesis: The idea that the human brain contains an innate, self-contained language module that is separate from other aspects of cognitive functioning
Connectionism: A type of information-processing approach that emphasizes the simultaneous activity of numerous interconnected processing units
Ongoing Debates in Language Development
21
The range of symbols we encounter daily is large and varied.
A crucial developmental task for children is mastering the symbol systems important in their culture.
The two most important symbolic activities are:
Mathematics
Reading
Nonlinguistic Symbols and Development
22
Dual Representation:
The idea that a symbolic artifact must be represented mentally in two ways at the same time—both as a real object and as a symbol for something other than itself
Using Symbols as Information
23
Dual representation: A symbolic artifact must be represented mentally in two ways at the same time:
As a real object
As a symbol for something other than itself
Very young children have trouble managing dual representation.
School-age children have the ability to understand dual representation.
Enables them to discover abstract nature of various symbolic artifacts
Using Symbols as Information (cont.d)
24
Creating pictures and letters is a symbolic activity.
Drawing pictures starts at about 3 or 4 years of age.
It starts with scribbles at about 2 ½ year of age.
Scribbles reflect an emerging understanding of writing; thus, scribbles have meaning, too!
Drawing and Writing
25
Creating pictures is a common symbolic activity encouraged by parents and is often accompanied by narratives regarding the drawing.
Children’s early drawings of people typically take a “tadpole” form.
Drawing and Writing (cont.d)
26
