LD weeks 5 & 6

What is the process of turning complex acoustic signals into a meaningful message called?

Language comprehension, also known as receptive language.

What are the five domains of language that should be considered in a child's understanding?

Pragmatics, Syntax, Semantics, Morphology, Phonology.

Why is it challenging to measure language comprehension in children?

Because comprehension is influenced by nonlinguistic context, such as the situation, speaker, previous statements, and visual information.

What is the significance of context cues in language comprehension?

Context cues help in understanding messages but can complicate the assessment of linguistic comprehension.

What is meant by 'pseudo-successes' in language comprehension?

Instances where parents overestimate a child's comprehension based on gestures and timing rather than actual understanding.

What is phonological constancy?

The ability to recognize that different sounds can represent the same phoneme, allowing children to understand variations in speech.

How do children use phonological information to aid comprehension?

Children set boundaries for sounds to recognize phonemes despite variations in pronunciation.

What is the difference between fast mapping and slow mapping in vocabulary acquisition?

Fast mapping is the initial association of a word with its reference based on context, while slow mapping involves enriching the understanding of a word through repeated exposure.

At what age do children typically begin to comprehend two-word combinations?

Between 18 and 24 months of age.

What factors can lead to confusion in children's comprehension of two-word utterances?

Inserting unexpected or unfamiliar nouns into familiar action + object pairs can cause confusion.

What are the three categories of tasks used to measure comprehension?

Identification, Acting-out, and Judgments.

What is the relationship between semantics and syntax in children's comprehension?

Accurate comprehension of questions may depend on detecting rising intonation and grammatical structures that signal a question.

What is the role of gestures in children's language comprehension?

Gestures can aid comprehension but should be minimized in assessments to focus on linguistic understanding.

What is the typical receptive vocabulary size of a child by the time they have 10 expressive words?

Children often have a receptive vocabulary of about 50 different words.

How does the input children receive differ from adult-adult conversation?

Input to children is often more repetitive, with longer pauses, emphasis on content words, and use of gestures.

What strategies do children rely on for comprehension?

Children use strategies like the Word Order Strategy, Order of Mention Strategy, and Probable Relation to Events Strategy.

What age range typically sees the emergence of comprehension for questions?

Children begin to comprehend questions around 3-4 years of age.

What is the importance of nonlinguistic cues in language comprehension?

Nonlinguistic cues are critical for less sophisticated language users, helping them decode language input.

What is the significance of the child's world knowledge in language comprehension?

World knowledge helps children interpret linguistic messages based on context and prior experiences.

What happens to children's language comprehension as they become more sophisticated users?

More sophisticated language users become less reliant on nonlinguistic or context information.

What is language comprehension?

The process of turning complex acoustic signals into a meaningful message, also known as receptive language or understanding of language.

What are the five domains of language that influence comprehension?

Pragmatics, Syntax, Semantics, Morphology, Phonology.

Why is measuring language comprehension challenging in young children?

Language comprehension is inferred from verbal and nonverbal responses, making it easy to overestimate a child's understanding.

What role does context play in language comprehension?

Context enhances understanding by providing nonlinguistic information, such as the situation, speaker, prior conversation, visual cues, and the listener's world knowledge.

Describe an example of the interplay between linguistic and nonlinguistic information.

A child responds to their mother's question about shoes while observing her actions, indicating partial understanding influenced by context.

What should be eliminated when testing young children's linguistic comprehension?

Nonlinguistic information, such as gestures, to accurately assess their linguistic competencies.

What is the significance of the Chapman, Klee, and Miller (1980) study?

It highlighted that caregivers often overestimate children's comprehension and that nonlinguistic cues can confound assessments.

What are pseudo-successes in language comprehension?

Instances where children's responses appear to show understanding due to nonlinguistic cues rather than true comprehension.

What are the steps children take to effectively use phonological information?

Detect sounds, discriminate between them, classify sounds into categories, and develop phonological constancy.

What is phonological constancy?

The ability to recognize that different productions of the same phoneme (e.g., /b/) can sound different but still represent the same sound.

How do children map language to meaning?

They rely on nonlinguistic information to connect consistent sound strings to meanings.

What is child-directed speech?

A style of speech used by adults with children that includes repetition, longer pauses, emphasis on content words, and dramatic intonation shifts.

Why do adults use child-directed speech?

To focus a child's attention on relevant parts of speech that aid in understanding the message.

How does the connection between language and events assist language learning?

Adults help children map language input to the context or event, making the learning process easier.

What is the impact of adult speech patterns on children's language development?

Adults modify their speech to enhance children's attention and comprehension, aiding in language acquisition.

How do more sophisticated language users rely on comprehension strategies?

They are less reliant on nonlinguistic or context information.

What factors do less sophisticated language users rely on for comprehension?

They rely on nonlinguistic or context information, such as gestures and previous experiences.

Why do children use comprehension strategies?

To help them understand spoken language and compensate for incomplete comprehension.

What is an example of a comprehension strategy involving objects?

A 10-month-old reaching for a pacifier when a caregiver asks if they want it.

What does the imitation of ongoing activities look like in children?

A baby waves goodbye after seeing a caregiver wave, without fully understanding the request.

What is the Word Order Strategy in language comprehension?

Children become familiar with high-frequency subject-verb-object sentences, identifying the first noun as the actor.

What is the Order of Mention Strategy?

Children comprehend sentences with multiple clauses by interpreting them as having the same meaning regardless of order.

What does the Probable Relation to Events Strategy entail?

Children interpret unknown information based on past experiences and what typically makes sense in a situation.

What is bootstrapping in language learning?

When a child makes a best guess using partial linguistic information, which can lead to feedback and learning.

At what age do children typically have a receptive vocabulary of about 50 words?

By the time they have about 10 expressive words.

What is fast mapping in vocabulary learning?

The initial association made between a novel word and its reference after limited exposure.

What is slow mapping?

The process of enriching lexical-semantic representations through repeated exposure to a word.

When do children typically begin producing two-word utterances?

Between 18 and 24 months of age, after acquiring around 50 different words.

How do children demonstrate comprehension of actions paired with familiar words?

They understand simple commands like 'Eat the apple' but may get confused with unexpected nouns.

Does language comprehension usually exceed production in children?

Yes, comprehension typically exceeds production, although there are exceptions.

What are the three categories of tasks used to measure children's language comprehension?

Identification, acting-out, and judgments.

What age range typically understands Wh- questions like 'Where' and 'Who'?

Children aged 3-4 years.

What age range typically understands more complex Wh- questions like 'When' and 'Why'?

Children aged 4-6 years.