Language Development and DT 1

(Physical Aspects of Development)

Mark Jenkins

Election of Cohort Representatives

2 from each seminar group

Chosen during child development seminar tomorrow

Names and e-mail addresses of those chosen to be sent to Emma.Morley (the staff representative for Y1) by Friday.

What are the Functions of Language?

1. Communication

1. Thinking

2. Self-Regulation

Learning to Talk Wernicke’s Area:

Switched on from birth, or before birth

Broca’s Area: Switches on from the fifth or sixth month

MothereseThe distinctive style of speech

when talking to a young child

Can be called child directed speech [CDS] or adult to child speech [A-C]

Making speech simpler, briefer,more repetitive and attention worthy than adult speech

Motherese has a warmer, more human, style than general talk.

Found in the speech of almost anyone confronted by a young child

Cassatt’s ‘Mother and Child’ 1889

Common Features of Motherese

Phonological SemanticClear enunciation Limited vocabulary range

Higher pitch ‘Baby Talk’ words

Exaggerated intonation Reference to here and now

Slower speech

Longer pauses Pragmatic

Syntactic More directives

Shorter utterance length More questions

Sentences well formed More attention devices

Fewer subordinate clauses Repetition of child’s utterances

The Timing of Adult Speech Generally timed to coincide with whatever the child is

attending to Talking about what the child is interested in These times are known as Joint Attention Episodes Joint Attention Episodes are particularly effective at

getting language started Using a variety of verbal and non-verbal cues adults can

develop the child’s interest and learning Studies show that the more responsive the mother the

quicker her children will tune in to language development Attention following strategies, rather than adult inspired

attention-shifting strategies, are far more beneficial in developing the 9-15 month old child’s linguistic abilities

4 Distinct Aspects of Language

PhonologyThe way speech sounds are produced

SemanticsThe meaning of words

SyntaxCombining words into sentences

PragmaticsUsing language in a social context

Phonology Every Language has its own set of speech

sounds [some of which are shared with other languages]

Sounds making up a language are called phonemes

Phonological development requires the child to separate out the sounds they hear in the speech about them and string them meaningfully together

Unsurprisingly the process takes some time

Phonology As early as 1 month infants can distinguish between sounds –

firstly consonants and secondly vowels at about 2 months They can separate the consonant sounds at this early stage but

not the sounds in between [Categorical Speech Perception] suggesting infants are born with an innate mechanism for perceiving the sounds of language

By one month infants begin cooing, oo vowel sounds By six months they are babbling –stringing consonants and vowels

together – echolalia -dadadadadadada Meaningful units of sound [words] in speech takes longer to pick

up. At the end of the first year they are able to pick up individual words

Usually these are in the form of consonant/vowel patterns such as mama [the word for mother in many languages including English, Spanish, Northern Chinese and Russian] [amma is also commonly found as in Taiwanese and Navajo] and dada or papa for the father

Semantic Development First words between the ages of 10-13 months Some new words are related to cognitive development [object

permanence for example all gone or uh oh! About 3 new words a month between 12-18 months After 18 months there is a naming explosion, they may learn 20

words a week at this stage. Fast Mapping occurs [single occurrence naming which gives rise

to3 constraints]

1. Whole –object constraint: they assume the name refers to the whole object

2. Taxonomic constraint: a known class generalisation, dog refers to all dogs

3. Mutually exclusive constraint: If shown two objects, and knowing only the name of one, they will assume the unnamed object is referred to by any given word, even a nonsense word

Vocabulary Growth in the Second Year

Vocabulary Growth in the First 6 Years

Age Years/Months Size of Vocabulary [Words]

1-0 3

1-6 22

2-0 272

2-6 446

3-0 896

4-0 1540

5-0 2072

6-0 14000

First Words Mobile things are named

before immobile ones Overextension and

Underextension – Doggie By 18 months the child

begins to form very simple sentences – often grammatically incorrect – sit chair, cow moo, more milk, bye bye car. Nevertheless the meanings are always remarkably clear

Syntactic Development

From the third year there is a rapid increase in the length, complexity and grammatical correctness of sentences

Order becomes important‘Kiss mummy’ is seen as very different to ‘Mummy kiss’Usually not taught but picked up by the children themselves

Overregularization of grammatical rules can occur as they are unsure of how to apply them

Goed, wented, ated, feets or comed are possible examples

Developing Grammar

18-27 months Give juice, daddy read,put down, take off

27-36 months Daddy can read, I won’t do it

30-48 months John promised Mary to mow the lawn

Often understanding verb rules can take children years to master. During the school years grammatical development is linked to the child’s expanding knowledge base, experience with language and new cognitive achievements.Fundamental grammar is in place by age 5 but specific aspects continue to be developed well into the school years

PragmaticsBecoming an Effective

Communicator To be able to maintain a conversation: This involves

engaging a listener’s attention and responding appropriately to feedback [Decentring is key]

To be able to use speech registers: Appropriately adjusting the level of speech to the audience

To be able to distinguish between what a speaker says and what they really mean: the say-mean distinction

To be able to distinguish the context in which the language occurs –conversational implicature [How was your date? He had nice shoes]

To interpret non-literal language: Is the window open actually meaning close the window

Critical Periods in Language Development

Most basic skills appear between 18 months and 5 years.As with motor development the age-dependent nature of language learning suggests a maturational processLenneberg suggests that the critical period for language learning is between 18 months and adolescence when the brain is particularly adept at acquiring linguistic abilityLocke[1993] suggests 4 reasons for this

1. Second Language Learning2. Late Exposure of Deaf Children3. Effects of Brain Damage at Different Ages4. Children Reared in Isolation

3 Principle Theories of Language Acquisition

1. Behavioural ApproachesBased on the ideas of B.F.

Skinner2. Nativist Approaches

Based on the ideas of Noam Chomsky

3. Social Interaction ApproachesBased on the ideas of Jerome

Bruner

Behavioural ApproachesOriginating from Skinner’s ‘Verbal Behaviour’ [1957]Firmly based in NURTUREChildren learn language through Operant

ConditioningWhereby an individual acquires a particular behaviour

pattern by being rewarded for performing it, or punished for not performing it.

As when a child may imitate adult speech [mama] and be rewarded with a smile or approving language tone. Subsequent repetitions may then occur to further reinforce the response

This idea is no longer held to be credible

Nativist ApproachesNoam ChomskyCritically reviewed Skinner’s book in ‘Language’ in

1958Firmly based in NATURELanguage learning is based on the child’s inborn

ability and not related to external influences such as parental modelling [goed is not used by adults]

Human beings arrive in the world with a Language Acquisition Device [LAD] enabling us to easily develop linguistic skills. We are born with a universal grammar where we have a set of rules for learning the intricacies of grammatical language.

Much criticism , especially of universal grammar, has been made of the theory

Social Interaction Approaches

Based on Jerome Bruner’s ‘Child’s Talk’ [1983]Attempting to synthesise the nature/nurture debateWe are biologically set up to acquire linguistic skills

but more attention needs to be paid to the social debate.

Bruner proposed a Language Acquisition Support System [LASS]

Learning about language takes place in the context of familiar everyday routines and is made easy by the way mothers and other adults carefully present language to children

The LASS works hand in hand with the LAD

Physical Development Quiz

Eighteen Months Walk well and sit safely Can climb onto an adult

chair, turn and sit Squat and stand from this

position Kneel upright Walk up and downstairs with

help [Crawl backwards downstairs without help]

Run steadily but cannot avoid obstacles

Build three or more brick towers

Can use a spoon Hold a pencil in whole hand or

between thumb and first two fingers [Primitive Tripod Grasp]

Two Years Run safely avoiding

obstacles Climb onto furniture Throw a ball overhand but

not catch it Push and pull large wheeled

toys Kick a ball [2½ years] Stand on tiptoe[2½ years] Hold pencil in preferred hand

using improved tripod grasp Build 7 or more tower Turn single pages Drink confidently from a cup

Three Years Can jump from a low step Walk backwards and sideways Walk on tiptoe and on one foot Ride a tricycle using pedals Throw over-arm and catch with

arms outstretched Build 10 brick tower Control a pencil using thumb

and first two fingers [Dynamic Tripod Grasp]

Cut with scissors Eat with fork or spoon Stand at an easel and paint

with a large brush

Four Years Have a good sense of

balance and may be able to walk along a line

Stand, walk and run on tiptoe

Kick, catch, throw and bounce a ball

Enjoy climbing on trees or apparatus

Skilfully ride a tricycle Can thread small beads

onto lace Hold a pencil in an adult

fashion

Five Years Run, dodge, skip and climb Have good balance – on one

foot for 10 seconds May ride a bike without

stabilisers Hop on each foot Use a variety of play

equipment, such as slides Touch toes without bending

knees Interlock jigsaw pieces

[normal size] Construct models with kits such

as Duplo Count on fingers of one

hand using the finger of another

Six Years Gain in strength and

ability, use school apparatus with confidence

Catch and throw with accuracy

Use a two wheeled bike, possibly without stabilisers

Skip in time to music alternating their feet

Use a dynamic tripod grasp as an adult would

Build a high straight tower

Seven Years Expert at riding or

rollerblading Can use play apparatus with

skill Increased stamina, shown in swimming, gymnastics and running

Can control speed and direction in running

Can catch and throw in one hand

Competent in writing and improve handwriting

Sew with a large needle Draw a full person

Eight to Twelve Years Increased body strength

and co-ordination Skip freely Ride a bike Enjoy energetic games and

sports Participate in

competitive sports Physically girls can be up

to 2 years ahead of boys Body proportions begin to

resemble an adult Control small muscles,

writing and drawing with greater dexterity

Adolescence 12-16 YearsPhysical Development in an adolescent is often referred to as puberty

Both SexesPubic hair, sweat, oil glandsBoysVoice breaking, penile

erections, chest hair etcGirlsBreasts develop,

menstruation etc

Overview of Physical Development

Children’s physical growth makes new behaviours possible Children’s growth determines their potential experiences

within their everyday life Confident physical skills support co-operative play

between children Children’s growth affects the responses of other people A sense of physical competence, or incompetence, affects

a child’s sense of self-esteem Children need to be active in childhood, because regular

and lively physical activity builds muscle strength, lung capacity and bone density

Physical confidence, through plenty of practice in large and fine movements, is crucial for the mastery of body control

[Lindon 2005]

Physical Development in School

Foundation Stage

http://teachfind.com/node/311