'evaluate the idea that adults play the most important role in children's language development' [30]

refer to data set 1 in detail and to relevant ideas from language study. 15 [AO1] + 15 [AO3]

Data set one supports the view that adults play the most important role in children’s language development through their interactions with the child.

Behaviourists, such as Skinner, argue that interaction is vital for a child’s language development as they learn language through imitation. This is seen when Zac asks Nina ‘what bird is she [with rising intonation]’, which Nina later imitates as she asks, ‘what bird is this [with rising intonation]’. Zac is using child directed speech (CDS) in this utterance as he exaggerates his intonation and pitch (‘[with rising intonation]’), which engages Nina in the conversation, and helps her understand the phonological differences between an interrogative and a declarative (which would have more steady intonation). This shows the importance of adults in children’s language development as the adult’s interaction with Nina exposes her to language frameworks, such as question and response, which she is then able to use herself, supporting Skinner’s argument.

Interaction with adults is also considered important in a child’s language development by Bruner in his Language Acquisition Support System (LASS). He argues that a child’s interaction with adults provides them with structured language support, also known as scaffolding. Scaffolding helps a child bridge what Vygotsky referred to as the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) which is the gap between what a child is unable to do, is able to do with support, and is able to do independently. Scaffolding is used by Zac when he helps Nina try to pronounce ‘swan’. Zac prompts Nina by uttering ‘/s/ (.) /s/’, to which she replies ‘seagull’ rather than swan, showing that she is on the outer zone of proximal development as she is unable to say ‘swan’. However, Zac acts as a more knowledgeable other (MKO) as he knows how to pronounce swan, and provides support to Nina by correcting her when he says, ‘not seagull (.) swan’. Nina goes on to utter ‘/s/ɒ/n/ (.) /s/ɒ/n/’ , showing development in her pronunciation due to the scaffolding she received from Zac. This shows the importance of adults in children’s language development as they can provide scaffolding to children to enable them to bridge the gap between the ZPD, such as by helping them pronouncing new words or using new language frameworks (such as the aforementioned use of questions).

Furthermore, following this exchange, Zac says, ‘nearly (.) it’s a swan’. The holophrastic adverb, ‘nearly’ demonstrates positive reinforcement, as Zac is praising Nina’s attempts to articulate ‘swan’. Skinner believed that positive reinforcement is vital in a child’s language development as it encourages them to continue speaking, as corrections without positive reinforcement may discourage children from continuing speaking and developing their language for fear of being incorrect. Nelson found that children whose mothers corrected them more often at the two word stage had less developed language than those whose mothers were ‘generally accepting’. This shows the importance of positive reinforcement from adults for children’s language, therefore supporting the importance of adults in children’s language development.

The importance of adults in children’s language development is also seen through the display of Haliday’s functions of language. Nina asks ‘do they sting’, displaying the heuristic function of language (learning about the world), as well as the personal function by stating, ‘don’t want them to fly away’ as she is expressing her personal opinion with the verb ‘want’ and negation ‘don’t’. This use of language has come aout due to the conversation she had with her fathers’, showing the importance of adults in her language development, as their interaction has lead her to use a variety of language functions.