Language Development and Linguistic Diversity

Kathryn Oswood, Linda Jodock, Star Miller

Personal Outcome

To understand how children learn language

To investigate the positive and negative impacts of second-language learning

To better serve students with language disorders

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Biological FoundationsLanguage is predominantly associated with the left hemisphere of the brain. Wernicke’s Area

Affects comprehension in speech that is heard and text that is read.

Broca’s Area Affects the production of language through speaking or writing.

Individual differences in language ability are due to genetics.Critical Periods for Language Development Lenneberg proposed that language must be acquired before

adolescence.

Speed of Acquisition Relative to the Amount of Input for Language Development Children acquire language with little intervention

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Language AcquisitionComprehension and production of language involves a variety of skills. Speech Perception Speech Production and Phonological

Development Lexical Development Semantic Development Grammatical and Syntactical Development Pragmatic Development Metalinguistic Development

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Prelinguistic Development

Speech PerceptionPhonemes

See Table 7.1 for vowel and consonant phonemes in English

Speech ProductionBabbling

Prelinguistic Development: Speech Perception and Production

Phonological Impairment

Language Development: Deafness

Semantic DevelopmentReferential StyleOne-word utterances that refer to objects

Expressive StyleOne-word expressions of emotion, feeling,

and action

Vocabulary GrowthFast Mapping

A child understands a word in one exposureExtended Mapping

A child understands a word after multiple exposures

Semantic Development

Semantic Development

Syntactic DevelopmentMorphemes Small units of language that convey

meaning. Unbound morphemes

Words that can stand alone• Dog, fire, tractor

Bound morphemes Cannot stand alone

• Prefixes, suffixes

MLU Mean Length of Utterance

The length of a child’s utterances calculated in morphemes.

See Figure 7.2, page 196

Syntactic DevelopmentStage 1 Telegraphic Speech

“Doggie run”

Stage 2 Overregularization

“”goed” instead of “went”

Stage 3 Use of negatives

“I not eating”

Stage 4 and 5 Compound and complex sentences and passive

constructions “The teddy and the doll are going to play.” “You bettern’t do that.”

Syntactic Development

Syntactic Development

Pragmatic Development

The ability to understand the perspective of others contributes to the ability to communicate with others in dialogue.

Pragmatic Development

Metalinguistic Awareness

Metasyntax Discrimination of syntactically correct sentences

from incorrect ones

Metalexical / Metasemantic Understanding the nature of a word

Metaphonological Awareness that words are composed of separable

sounds

Alphabetic Principle Understanding that letters represent sounds

Metalinguistic Awareness

Bilingualism and Cognitive Development

Nature and Effects on Bilinguals

Social Consequences of Education

Effective Classroom Practices

Cognitive Differences in Deaf and Hearing-Normal Individuals

Connection to Learning Theory: Stages versus Continuous Development

Connection to Learning Theory:Nature versus Nurture

Connection to Learning Theory:Lasting versus Transient

Lack of exposure to language of any kind, oral or sign, will negatively impact language development. Early exposure is essential.

Conclusions

Recommendations: Speech and Language Pathologist

Recommendations: ELL

Recommendations for Further Reading

References

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