W5 - Language and literacy development

theories of language development - nature

Chomsky’s universal grammar (UG) theory

• language is an innate human capacity that contains fundamental rules common to all

• children hit milestones at same time across languages

• nativism

only humans produce complex language

poverty of the stimulus argument

• not enough input from adults/environment to account for children’s complex syntactic knowledge

• children can make up novel sentences they’ve never heard

  • supports idea of language acquisition device (incomplete input is handled by this mechanism)

limitations: Lin (2017)

• unfalsifiable - Tomasello (2016)

• flawed and unprecise methodology

• lanuage learned through general cognitive processes

theories of language development - nurture

behaviourism

• verbal behaviour is learned like any other behaviour

• correct language is reinforced

constructivism

• children construct their own knowledge depending on the environmental input they receive – build on existing knowledge they have

children’s babbling reflects native language

children use stress/statistical patterns to segment words from speech stream

• main nurture explanation of language acquisition

robust links between quantity and quality of verbal input and children’s language outcomes (parents vocab range to kids)

case of Genie

Fromkin et al. (1974)

• could acquire range of vocab

• significantly struggled with syntax and grammar

  • could only make 2 word sentences

show that the ability to acquire grammatical rules is dependent on early exposure

• supporting the idea of critical/sensitive window

aspects of learning language

language comprehension vs language production (understanding vs creating)

babbling

phonological discrimination

segmenting words from the speech stream

• picking out words using spaces between them in a sentence

word learning (understanding and speaking)

grammar rules

pragmatics

stages of language development

newborns and babbling

phonological development and speech production

segmenting from the speech stream

development of non-verbal abilities

newborns and babbling

1st stage of language development

newborns prefer their own mother’s voice and familiarity, than a strangers

• mothers read same passage during pregnancy then after birth

• DeCasper & Spence (1986)

canonical babbling from 6 months

quantity and complexity of babbling linked with subsequent vocabulary

• Morgan & Wren (2018)

babbling reflects native language in terms of prosody (pitch and stress) and phonological patterns

phonological development and speech production

2nd stage of language development (7-9 months)

children learn to associate the sounds which they hear and those they can make via their vocal tract

• likely to be interwoven with segmenting words from speech stream

segmenting from the speech stream

3rd stage of language development

different explanations how children pick out words in a long stream:

• 1) use familiar stress patterns of language

  • start of most words has more stress on it

  • Jusczyk et al. (1999) - 7.5-month-olds could segment strong-weak (kingdom) more easily than the reverse (guitar)

• 2) use transitional probabilities (what sounds usually go next to others sounds)

  • certain letters and sounds go together eg. b and z don’t go together so can differentiate the words

  • Saffran et al. (1999) - 8-month-olds were able to do this with nonsense words

development of non-verbal abilities

4th stage of language development

eg. pointing, turn-taking, eye gaze & other symbolic gestures

triadic joint attention states from 10 months (Cameron-Faulkner, 2020)

• ability to coordinate attention between social partner and an object/event through gestures

  • shift from dyadic interactions to understanding social meaning

  • at this critical period, infants can distinguish between intentional gaze and random head movements

• successful attention here predicts better language development, comprehension and social-cognitive skills

word/vocab learning

expressive vs receptive vocab

words need to convey meaning

linked and disassociated to a degree

by 4 years old, children have clearer speech sounds and use decontextualised speech

signpost language milestones

• GOSH, ICAN, ASHA

expressive vocab

productive

words children say

from 12 months

receptive vocab

comprehension

words children understand

from 8-10 months

larger in earlier stages of language acquisition

why vocab size is difficult to estimate

how to measure if children understand words without producing them

standardised test is limited

which words come first

more frequent words

• true for concrete nouns

• not for abstract eg. ‘the’ = later

nouns first, verbs later

• easier references

• verbs usually need longer sentences to link words = later

shorter words

grammar

rules of language for combining words into sentences

includes punctuation and syntax

word categories/classes/parts of speech

grammatical knowledge of speech and syntax helps decipher meaning

how do speech and language difficulties manifest

understanding spoken words and using language to communicate

remembering and recalling information accurately

listening and understanding

sequencing information to tell a story

using abstract language (e.g., idioms, metaphors)

staying on topic

understanding non-verbal communication and relating to others in socially acceptable ways

expressing feelings and emotions in an appropriate way, for example they may use aggressive behaviour, instead of words, to express themselves

speech sound disorders

speech, language and communication needs (SLCN)

most common need in primary school

• 40% of children lacking necessary vocabulary to access learning            

• 20% of 5-year-olds fail language related Early Learning Goal                   

Locke et al. (2002)

• children from low socioeconomic backgrounds = more likely to have SLCN

  • 50% at the start of reception had these needs, and weren’t meeting language milestones

examples:

• cleft lip and palate

• learning disabilities, stammering

• communciation issues from autism/hearing loss

• developmental language disorder (DLD)

developmental language disorder (DLD)

significant, ongoing difficulties in understanding and/or using spoken language

• 7% of children start school with DLD, 2-3% LD associated with another condition

• has neurological/genetic basis

• co-occurance of DLD and behavioural problems (Vermeij et al. (2021)

  • need to factor behaviour into interventions

in the past, has also been referred to as specific language impairment, developmental aphasia, speech impairment and language delay

different DLD presentations

DLD children slower growth in vocabulary size (particularly verbs)

at 18 months (50-100 words), typical children begin to combine words, but DLD children don’t

• DLD children follow same trajectory as typical children, but at a slower rate and with more errors

DLD children have particular difficulties with tense morphemes (e.g. –ed) and subject-verb agreement (e.g. I walk, she walks)

DLD children have particular difficulties with syntactic rules (word order) especially forming wh- questions (Leonard, 1995)

DLD can become ‘invisible’ at school

Toseeb et al. (2020)

secondary analysis of data

a child’s early language and communication environment is important for language and social development

• the absence of adequate language ability in DLD children means play and prosocial behaviours allows development of relationship and behavioural skills instead

  • this protects them against externalising problems like hyperactivity

since DLD children tend to have poorer mental health, this research, showing play helps behaviours, can be applied practically to improve their lives

language ‘delay’

smaller vocabs than peers

no specific reason eg. not DLD, SSD

• shows early signs through limited babbling and communication frustration

causes: (Liang et al. (2023))

• environmental factors eg. limited parents talk to kid, reading books

• CNS disorders eg. autism

• speech disorders

• hearing problems

early interventions are effective, like speech therapy

impacts of language difficulties in childhood

school curriculum/ready

• all subjects require language, reading and comprehension

social well-being

reading and writing

knock-on effects of mental/physical health, life expectancy, job prospects

Iverson & Williams (2025) show impacts from infancy into adulthood

literacy

ability to read, write, speak and listen to communicate effectively

specific literacy skills:

• vocab

• fluency

• sequencing

• decoding

• comprehension

• GPC (grapheme phoneme correspondence)

• print awareness (book experience, the cover/contents)

• narrative/storylines

• phonological awareness (sounds)

• letter knowledge (what they look like)

general cognitive skills required:

• working memory

• attention

• fine motor skills

reading

not a single skill, but complex coordination of abilities, strategies and knowledge

simple view of reading (SVoR) conceptualises reading

simple view of reading (SVoR)

Gough & Tunmer (1986)

4-dimensional conceptualisation of reading comprehension

• reading comprehension is the product of:

  • word recognition/decoding

  • language comprehension

SVoR supporting evidence

Nation & Snowling (1997)

• looked at validity of reading skill tests

• children with poor comprehension had greater difficulty on tests heavily dependent on linguistic comprehension, and least on decoding measures

• text comprehension heavily dependent on listening comprehension

  • shows the link of the 2 dimensions of the model

Muter et al. (2004)

• separate underlying skills for each dimension

  • early letter knowledge &  phoneme sensitivity predicted later visual word recognition

  • oral vocabulary, rhyme & grammar skills predicted later comprehension skills

Spooner et al. (2004)

• evidence of children with divergent profiles

  • eg. good decoding but poor comprehension skills

• word recognition necessary for adequate text comprehension

SVoR limitations

decoding/word reading and comprehension do not account for all variation in reading ability

• some researchers have tried to add in other components e.g. fluency, but results are conflicting

only a theoretical model

• doesn’t explain mechanisms behind the development of decoding and comprehension

• oversimplification of a complex cognitive process

Pressley et al. (2008) still argues many ignored components within SVOR model

• eg. inference, working memory, fluency

• but the skills required for each dimensions are integrated into them

Scarborough (2001) reading rope

involves many more interwoven reading skills

• expansion of SVoR

better guidance for educators

components of reading

word reading

reading comprehension

fluency

word reading - components of reading

word reading is the ability to pronounce words accurately

not all countries use phonics to teach kids to read

strategies:

• sight word reading

  • familiar words

• phonological decoding

  • unfamiliar words sound out and blend together

• reading by analogy

  • knowledge about the pronunciation of a familiar word to pronounce a new word eg. fat, rat, cat

• using context

  • knowledge about the topic/text

useful skills for word reading

vocabulary

letter knowledge

print awareness

phonological awareness

morphological knowledge

phonological awareness

early reading instruction is focused on needing to learn how to decode printed symbols in order to access the meanings of the words they represent

phoneme - smallest speech sound unit

• English has 44

grapheme - letter(s) associated with a single phoneme

importance of linking letters and sounds:

• grapheme-phoneme correspondence (GPC)

• phonics lesson is about teaching these GPCs

silent letters make it tricky

morphological knowledge

morpheme - smallest meaningful unit

morphological awareness - ability to manipulate word structure

knowing the root word helps readers decode the word eg. kind, unkind and kindness

meanings of words eg. suffixes, prefixes

• knowledge of un- and -s means don’t need to decode whole word again, just learn the rule

reading comprehension - components of reading

understanding the meaning of the words

• the ability to process text, understand its meaning, and to integrate it with what the reader already knows

relationship with decoding:

• dependent on a reader’s ability to read words on a page for younger children

• inaccurate decoding slows down access to meaning

  • memory and cognitive processes are directed to decoding words first before meaning can be extracted

useful skills for reading comprehension

vocabulary knowledge

general background knowledge of the world

inference (understanding things not explicitly said)

knowledge of grammar

• syntactic bootstrapping: knowledge of grammatical structure helps children understand word meaning

  • including syntactic categories (adjectives, nouns, verbs etc)

knowledge of different genres

comprehension monitoring

• skilled readers monitor their understanding of a text and notice when comprehension breaks down

• strategies: 

  • re-read – in response to breakdown in understanding

  • slow down – more cognitive resources available

  • speed up – skimming irrelevant information at expense of deep comprehension

fluency - components of reading

accuracy

• word reading

automaticity

• achieved at speed and without effort

prosody

• correct intonation and expression (stress of certain letters)

• sounds like normal speech

• probably requires comprehension

measure fluency using timer and count of errors

useful skills for fluency

repeated practise reading aloud

practising a particular text

reading silently whilst skilled reader reads aloud

systematic, positive and constructive feedback

reasons for atypical literacy skills

environmental & biological factors affect how language and literacy develop

• some conditions can make the development of literacy skills more difficult

• sub-optimal environmental conditions can also make the development of literacy skills more difficult

  • e.g. limited resources, limited quality interaction with caregiver

nativist vs constructivist vs hybrid theories of language learning

literacy/reading difficulties

decoding/word reading

• difficulties using GPC rules

• difficulties with whole word recognition and fluency

comprehension

• lack of vocab/general knowledge eg. from prior lack of vocab at home

• difficulties with inference

motivation

dyslexia

motivation - literacy difficulties

children are not motivated to read = less reading practice = weaker decoding and comprehension skills

motivation for reading is complex and linked to many different constructs

• eg. expectancy value theory

motivation is linked to achievement

• children who enjoyed reading and read daily have higher reading scores than those who don’t (statistically significant)

  • both frequency and enjoyment are interlinked and important in academic success

1 in 3 people aged 8-18 enjoy reading

• this has decreased by 8% over the last year

expectancy value theory

Li et al. (2023)

• successful reading = expectancy of success x value ascribed to reading

both expectation of success and value ascribed to task are linked to motivation for that task

• expectancy linked to self-efficacy, but also encompasses tasks in future

task value incorporates:

• attainment value (does task relate to personal goals and identity?)

• intrinsic value (enjoyment)

• utility value (usefulness for future plans, linked to extrinsic motivation)

• cost (what is the relative cost/effort needed to complete task?)

dyslexia - literacy difficulties

a learning difficulty that affects skills involved in accurate and fluent word reading and spelling

characteristics:

• poor phonological awareness

• verbal memory

• verbal processing speed

not dependent on IQ

• is a continuum not a category

co-morbidities such as language, motor skills, concentration etc exist (but are not by themselves markers of dyslexia)

indication of severity can be gained by RTI

identifying developmental dyslexia

screening & checklists are indicators of risk but not official diagnoses

• eg. year 1 phonics screener, Diagnostic Test of Word Reading Processes

diagnostic test by certified dyslexia assessor

positive diagnosis results in:

• access to intervention (often phonologically based)

• reasonable adjustments in workplace/exams

summary of L+L difficulties

SCLN can be interpreted broadly or narrowly

language difficulties can manifest in many different ways

• e.g. expressive/receptive, vocabulary, grammar, social communication.

speech sound disorders & stuttering also come under the SCLN umbrella

literacy difficulties can be conceptualised as decoding, comprehension or both

• SVoR

• SRR

literacy motivation can feed into these difficulties, or be a result of them

these are atypical development for those experiencing difficulties