1. Slide 1 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. LIFE-SPAN DEVELOPMENT 9 A Topical Approach to John W. Santrock Language Development

2. Slide 2 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Language Development What Is Language? How Language Develops Biological and Environmental Influences

3. Slide 3 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Defining Language Form of communication, whether spoken, written, or signed, based on system of symbols –Infinite generativity ability to produce an endless number of meaningful sentences using a finite set of words and rules What is Language?

4. Slide 4 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Languages Rule Systems What is Language? Phonology Morphology Syntax Sound system of language; how the sounds are used and combined – phoneme is smallest unit of sound morphemes are units of meaning involved in word formation Ways words are combined to form acceptable phrases and sentences Semantics Meanings of words and sentences Pragmatics Appropriate use of language in context; can be very complex

5. Slide 5 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Infancy Babbling and other vocalizations – Crying - from birth – Cooing - 1 to 2 months – Babbling - around 6 months – Gestures - 8 to 12 months How Language Develops

6. Slide 6 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Infancy Recognizing Language Sounds – Newborns recognize sound changes – Can recognize own language sounds at 6 months First Words – Receptive vocabulary considerably exceeds spoken vocabulary – Timing of first word and vocabulary spurt varies How Language Develops

7. Slide 7 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Infancy Two-Word Utterances – Begins between 18 to 24 months – Child relies heavily on gesture, tone, context – Telegraphic speech use of short and precise words without grammatical markers How Language Develops

8. Slide 8 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Variation in Language Milestones Fig. 9.3

9. Slide 9 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Early Childhood Understanding Phonology and Morphology –Children know morphological rules Plural and possessive forms of nouns Third-person singular and past-tense verbs –Children abstract rules and apply them to novel situations Sometimes overgeneralize rules How Language Develops

10. Slide 10 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Understanding Syntax Preschoolers learn and apply syntax rules Children show growing mastery of complex rules for how words should be ordered By elementary school years, children become skilled at using syntactical rules to construct lengthy and complex sentences How Language Develops

11. Slide 11 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Advances in Semantics Speaking vocabulary: ranges from 8,000 to 14,000 words for 6-year-olds –Rate of 5 to 8 words per day from ages 1 to 6 –Some estimate 6-year-old learns 22 words a day –Entering elementary school with small vocabulary places child at risk for reading problems –Quantity of parent talk linked to childs vocabulary growth and SES of family How Language Develops

12. Slide 12 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Advances in Pragmatics 4 to 5 Years Old 4 Years Old 3 Years Old Change speech style to suit the social situation Develop remarkable sensitivity to needs of others in conversation Improve ability to talk about things not physically present, improved displacement How Language Develops

13. Slide 13 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Preparing for Literacy Family environment linked to differences linked to differences in childrens language and literacy skills Literacy comes quickly for preschoolers participating in print-related interactions Literacy experiences extremely important for young children How Language Develops

14. Slide 14 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Amount of Maternal Speech and Infant Vocabulary Fig. 9.6

15. Slide 15 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Family Environment Mothers education level is positively correlated to number of books in home Single-parent and welfare families had fewer books than two-parent and affluent families Kindergartener had better language skills if parents read to them 3 or more times a week How Language Develops

16. Slide 16 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Language Input and Young Childrens Vocabulary Development Fig. 9.7

17. Slide 17 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Language Input and Young Childrens Vocabulary Development Fig. 9.7

18. Slide 18 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Middle and Late Childhood Vocabulary and grammar – Reading and writing assumes prominent role – Preschoolers usually respond with one word first – Elementary school children Increasingly understand, use complex grammar Metalinguistic awareness greatly improves – By adolescence, most know rules for use of language in everyday contexts How Language Develops

19. Slide 19 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Reading How Language Develops Before learning to read, children learn – To use language to describe things not present – The alphabetic principle: letters represent sound Whole language approach – Instruction should parallel childs natural language learning; reading should be whole and meaningful Basic-skills-and-phonics approach – Instruction should teach phonics and its basic rules; reading should involve simplified materials

20. Slide 20 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Relation of Reading Achievement to Number of Pages Read Daily Fig. 9.9

21. Slide 21 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. National Reading Panel Most effective phonological awareness training – Has two main skills: blending and segmentation – Best when integrated with reading and writing; small groups more beneficial than whole class Children benefit from guided oral reading How Language Develops

22. Slide 22 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Writing Childrens writing emerges out of their early scribbles, about 2 to 3 years of age Parents and teachers should encourage childrens early writing Positive corrections discourage writing Children should be given many writing opportunities How Language Develops

23. Slide 23 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Middle and Late Childhood Bilingualism ability to speak two languages – Learning second language easier for children – Childrens ability to pronounce second language with correct accent decreases with age; sharp drop after age 10 to 12 – Has positive effect on childrens cognitive development How Language Develops

24. Slide 24 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Grammatical Proficiency and Age of Arrival in U.S. Fig. 9.10

25. Slide 25 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Adolescence Increased use and understanding of – Sophisticated words – Analysis and abstract thinking – Metaphors implied comparison of unlike things –Satire use of irony, derision, or wit to expose folly or wickedness How Language Develops

26. Slide 26 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Adolescence Adolescents are much better at organizing ideas and writing Dialect variety of language distinguished by vocabulary, grammar, or pronunciation –Adolescent dialect with peers often uses jargon or slang –Usually used to indicate group membership How Language Develops

27. Slide 27 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Adulthood Distinct personal linguistic style is part of special identity Vocabulary often continues to increase throughout adult years until late adulthood – Little decline among healthier older adults Non-language factors may be cause of decline in language skills in older adults How Language Develops

28. Slide 28 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Adulthood Some decrements common in late adulthood – Inability to distinguish speech sounds – Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon – Alzheimers disease Language does not change Word-finding difficulties are early warning signs How Language Develops

29. Slide 29 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Biological Influences Evolution and the brains role in language – Human language about 100,000 years old – Particular regions of brain predisposed for language acquisition – Most comprehend syntax in left hemisphere; emotion and intonation comprehended in right hemisphere – Aphasia language disorder resulting from brain damage; loss of ability to use words Biological and Environmental Influences

30. Slide 30 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Biological Influences Evolution and the brains role in language –Brocas area area of brains left frontal lobe involved in speech production –Wernickes area area of brains left hemisphere involved in language comprehension If damaged fluent incomprehensible speech produced Biological and Environmental Influences

31. Slide 31 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Brocas and Wernickes Areas of the Brain Fig. 9.11

32. Slide 32 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Language Acquisition Device Chomsky – Humans biologically prewired for language – Language acquisition device (LAD): biological endowment to detect features and rules of language – Theoretical, not physical part of brain – Evidence of uniformity in language milestones across languages and cultures Biological and Environmental Influences

33. Slide 33 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Is There A Critical Period For Learning Language? Fixed time period for mastering developmental experiences Lenneberg – Language depends on maturity – Critical period for first language is 18 months to puberty – Preschool years most important: language develops rapidly and easily Biological and Environmental Influences

34. Slide 34 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Behavioral and Environmental Influences Behavioral View –Language is complex learned skill, reinforced –Problems with behavioral view: Cannot explain people creating novel sentences Children can learn syntax of native language without reinforcement Fails to explain languages extensive orderliness Biological and Environmental Influences

35. Slide 35 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Behavioral and Environmental Influences Environmental influences –Mothers language linked to childs vocabulary –Child-directed speech higher pitch for attention Parents, older children modify their speech –Other strategies Recasting rephrasing Expanding restating Labeling identifying objects by names Biological and Environmental Influences

36. Slide 36 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. An Interactionist View of Language Language – Has biological foundations – Acquisition influenced by experiences – Children acquire native language without explicit teaching; some without encouragement Bruner: parents and teachers help construct language acquisition support system (LASS) –Resembles Vygotskys ZPD Biological and Environmental Influences

37. Slide 37 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The End 9