Chapter 9:

Language and Communication

Chapter 9: Language and Communication

Chapter 9 has four modules:

Module 9.1 The Road to Speech

Module 9.2 Learning the Meanings of Words

Module 9.3 Speaking in Sentences

Module 9.4 Using Language to Communicate

The Road to Speech

Elements of Language

Let’s take a minute to define each of these elements.

Perceiving Speech

• Young babies can hear phonemes, even those not in their language

• Infants can identify individual words

• Adults use infant-directed speech

First Steps to Speech

Learning the Meaning of Words

Understanding Words as Symbols• Infants understand that words are symbols

• Gestures are symbols that children start to use around the time they begin to talk

Fast Mapping Meanings to Words

• Fast mapping

• Word meanings

• Common naming errors

Individual Differences in Word Learning Causes• Language environment and phonological

memory

• Different styles of learning language: referential and expressive

Individual Differences in Word Learning

• Referential style: vocabularies consist mainly of words that name objects, persons, or actions

• Expressive style: vocabularies include many social phrases that are used as single words

Can you give examples of how children use each style?

Encouraging Word Learning

Impact of Video

Viewing statistics• Infants: 1 hr. daily• Preschoolers: 2+ hrs. daily

Impact on work learning• Dependent on content• Influenced when adults view with children

True or False?

Intellectually geared videos are not effective before the age of 18 months.

Beyond Words: Other Symbols

Children learn other symbol systems as they grow, such as pictures and scale models

• 18 months: understand photos are representations of objects

• 3 years: understand relation between scale models and represented objects

• After 3 years: other symbolic forms learned

Speaking in Sentences

From Two-Word Speech to Complex Sentences

“Wug” Stimuli

What does this tell us about children’s application of rules that lead to creative communication?

How Do Children Acquire Grammar?

Semantic bootstrapping theory• At birth, children know nouns usually refer to

people or objects and that verbs are actions

• With age, they use this knowledge to infer grammatical rules

• Development of grammar is tied to development of vocabulary

How Do Children Acquire Grammar?

Behaviorist theory

• Development of grammar is learned through imitation and reinforcement

How Do Children Acquire Grammar?

• Specific brain region involved in language processing

• Only humans learn grammar

• Critical period for language learning identified

• Grammar development tied to vocabulary development

Innate Grammar Mechanism theory

How Do Children Acquire Grammar?

Cognitive theory

• Development of grammar is learned through powerful cognitive skills that help shape direction of regularities

How Do Children Acquire Grammar?

Social-Interaction theory

• Development of language and grammar is eclectic

• Language mastered generally and grammar mastered specifically in social interaction contexts

Using Language to Communicate

Taking Turns

Speaking Effectively

• Toddlers: first conversations about themselves

• Preschoolers: adjust speech based on age and needs of listener and context

• School-age children: speak differently to adults and peers

• African American children: may use code-switching

Listening Well

Preschooler Listening Skill Development• Ambiguity difficult• Speaker’s intention often unclear• Confusing parent statements better believed

than classmate statements• Understanding of non-literal meaning develops

slowly