Chapter 6: language learning and teaching processes and young children

Comprehension, production, and cognitive growth

• children know something, then comprehend its name, then produce its name

• Cognition and language develop in parallel early on

• Changes in both are due to discrimination, organizing schemes, coding, and retrieval getting better

Principles of cognitive learning apply to language learning

• pay attention to important stimuli

• Discriminate stimuli based on important characteristics

• Classify stimuli according to result of discrimination

• Remember stimuli

Event based knowledge

• influences vocab acquisition

• May be the basis for taxonomical knowledge

• Knowledge gained through participating in certain activities

• Ex: dinner event, bath event

Taxonomical knowledge

• words first understood in context, then becomes cue for events, increased words later become categories

• Classes of words

Context

Important for kids, use a lot of comprehension, very important

Fundamental assumptions (use this to learn new words)

1. Words refer to entities- assume words your saying refer to something

2. Words are extendable- use same word for reference that share characteristics…ex: dog = any dog

3. A given word refers to the whole entity of its parts- ex: shoe is shoe, not the buckle, laces, or straps

4. Categorical assumption- ex:cup extend to all things that hold liquid like bowl, bucket, etc.

5. Novel name-nameless assumption- make assumption that word used that they don’t know is a reference to another thing they don’t know

6. Conventionally- assume that if you use the word today, it apples to it every time

Mutual exclusivity

Assume different words refer to different things, mutually exclusive

Toddler expressive strategy: evocative utterances

Word that child says, like “dog”, prompts the adult to talk

Toddler expressive strategy: Hypothesis testing

Raising initiation with one word, prompts adult to talk about that

Ex: “cookie?” “Dog?”

Toddler expressive strategy: interrogative utterances

1-2 word question

Ex: “where mom?”

Toddler expressive strategy: Selective imitation

Repeat what others say

Ex: “want pizza?” And says back “Pizza”

Toddler expressive strategy: Focus operations

Child says exactly what adult said

Toddler expressive strategy: Substitution operations

Make change to word

Ex: “park swing” instead of park

Toddler expressive strategy: Formulas

Piece of talk

Ex: “bye bye see you later” is seen as one chunk

Bootstrapping

Using what you know to solve what you don’t know

Semantic bootstrapping

Using understand of vocab to figure out sentence structure

Syntactic bootstrapping

Using syntax (sentence) to understand unknown vocab

Universal language learning principles (used to understand language)

1. Pay attention to end of words- linguistic markers, provide important info

2. Phonological forms can be systematically modified- final “t” sound (walked) can help meaning

3. Pay attention to the order of words and morphemes- understand some words and morphemes unfold in some way

4. Avoid interruption and rearrangement of linguistic units- children learn rules/patterns and resist changing those patterns

5. Underlying semantic relationships should be marked clearly and overtly- kids learn way of marking things and want to use them all the time

6. Avoid exceptions

7. Grammatical markers should make semantic sense

Child directed speech

Modify own language to meet need of child

Fill ins

Adult starts utterance and leaves pause for child to finish sentence

Elicited imitation

Parent says “say ____”

Questions

Asking questions to prompt child to participate

Reformulation or recast

They don’t understand what child says, “is that what you’re asking?”

Expansion

“Adult takes what child says and provides example in adult way

extension

Adult adding semantic content to message

Imitation

Imitate a little of what said to keep convo going

Use utterance prefixes

About to say something

Reassuring redundant utterances

“Ooo” “yeah!” “Wow!” Words that keep child conversing

Increased expansion of own utterances

Expanding own utterances

Use of questions and self response

“Looks pretty sunny” provide models of thought process

Shared event knowledge (routines) to scaffold new structures

Routines, introduce new terms with routines

Turnabouts

Response to something child says, then a press for more

Development of play: less than 12 months

Functional use of objects, for intended use

Development of play: 12-15 months

Meaningful actions used playfully, using objects symbolically

Development of play: 15-21 months

Pretend okay with dolls and other activities

Ex: carry baby

Development of play: 21-24 months

Combined play episodes with 2 themes, combined actions in play

Intellect

High IQs, obtain language earlier

Personality

Temperament, show up early in life

Learning style

What you’re interested in

Birth order

1st born better advantage for learning language

Family structure

Who interacting, how many, siblings

Cultural and social differences

• twins and siblings

• Boys vs. girls

• Single parents household (controlled for SES)

• Culture