Words in discourse: a dialectical approach to the acquisition of meaning and use

1994 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 367-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Levy ◽  
Katherine Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Observational Data ◽  
Word Learning ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Private Speech ◽  
Lexical Acquisition ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Dialectical Approach ◽  
Dialectical Process

ABSTRACTWord learning by young children is viewed as a problem of deriving meaning from the use of forms in discourse contexts. Uses of causal and temporal terms in private speech by a child studied longitudinally from 1;9 to 3;0 are analysed from this perspective. Evidence is presented that words are first constrained to uses in specific discourse contexts, and later used more flexibly and with greater control over the semantics of the terms. Derivation of meaning from discourse is described as a dialectical process, and as such it is claimed to be more consistent with the full range of observational data, and with theories of word learning applicable to older children and adults, than other current theories of lexical acquisition in early childhood.

Taboo language awareness in early childhood

2018 ◽  
pp. 95-107
Author(s):  
Timothy B. Jay
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Language Awareness ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Ethical Problems ◽  
Research With Children ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Taboo Words ◽  
Meaningful Research ◽  
Over Time

This chapter investigates the emergence of English-speaking children’s taboo lexicon (taboo words, swear words, insults, and offensive words) between one and twelve years of age. It describes how the lexicon of taboo words children use shift over time to become more adult-like by age twelve. Less is reported regarding the question of what these taboo words mean to the children who say them. Judgments of ‘good’ words versus ‘bad’ words demonstrate that young children are more likely to judge mild words as bad than older children and adults. The methodological and ethical problems related to research on children’s use of taboo words are outlined as well as suggestions for conducting meaningful research with children in the future.

The building blocks of coding: a comparison of early childhood coding toys

2019 ◽  
Vol 120 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 505-518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jody Clarke-Midura ◽  
Victor R. Lee ◽  
Jessica F. Shumway ◽  
Megan M. Hamilton
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Interface Design ◽  
Computational Thinking ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Block Based ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Toy Design

Purpose This paper aims to be a think piece that promotes discussion around the design of coding toys for children. In particular, the authors examine three different toys that have some sort of block-based coding interface. The authors juxtapose three different design features and the demands they place on young children learning to code. To examine the toys, the authors apply a framework developed based on Gibson’s theory of affordances and Palmer’s external representations. The authors look specifically at the toys: interface design, intended play scenario and representational conventions for computational ideas. Design/methodology/approach As a research team, the authors have been playing with toys, observing their own children play with the toys and using them in kindergarten classrooms. In this paper, the authors reflect specifically on the design of the toys and the demands they place on children. Findings The authors make no claims about whether one toy/design approach is superior to another. However, the differences that the authors articulate should serve as a provocation for researchers and designers to be mindful about what demands and expectations they place on young children as they learn to code and use code to learn in any given system. Research limitations/implications As mentioned above, the authors want to start a discussion about design of these toys and how they shape children's experience with coding. Originality/value There is a push to get coding and computational thinking into K-12, but there is not enough research on what this looks like in early childhood. Further, while research is starting to emerge on block-based programming vs text-based for older children and adults, little research has been done on the representational form of code for young children. The authors hope to start a discussion on design of coding toys for children.

Why does relational binding improve across early childhood? Testing the effects of interference and sleep-filled delays

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan L. Benear ◽  
Chi Ngo ◽  
Ingrid R. Olson ◽  
Nora Newcombe
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Developmental Period ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Spatiotemporal Information ◽  
Episodic Memories ◽  
Over Time

Episodic memory consists of distinctive experiences, with specific spatiotemporal information about what happened maintained over time. These memories typically share overlapping elements in distinctive combinations. In this study, we evaluated: (1) whether overlapping elements pose a differential challenge for younger children; and (2) whether a sleep-filled delay stabilizes or even improves children’s episodic memories, and if so, whether effects vary by age. We compared memory for unique and overlapping pairs of visual stimuli, presented once to 4- and 6-year-old children, tested immediately and after a 24-hour delay. As expected, older children outperformed younger children, and both age groups performed worse on overlapping pairs. However, overlapping elements were not differentially problematic for young children, and a sleep-filled delay in testing resulted in decrements in memory performance, for both age groups on both pair types. Despite overall differences in accuracy, important aspects of episodic memory are similar across this key developmental period.

Early Childhood Corner: Achieving Numerical Understanding for All Young Children

2001 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. 522-526
Author(s):  
Karen C. Fuson ◽  
Laura Grandau ◽  
Patricia A. Sugiyama
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Informal Learning ◽  
Day Care ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Learning Activities ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Peer Modeling ◽  
Daily Routines ◽  
School Settings

Young children aged 3 to 7 can learn a great deal about numbers. In a home or daycare environment, this learning can occur as children experience daily routines. Young children will learn to count, match, see, and compare numbers if caregivers or older children count, show objects, and point out small numbers of things. Such informal teaching can be done while children play, eat, get dressed, go up and down stairs, jump, and otherwise move through the day. These activities are engaging and fun but need to be encouraged and modeled by adults or more advanced children in the group. In larger day-care or school settings, numerical understanding results from similar informal learning opportunities combined with more structured experiences that enable all children to engage in supported learning activities with adult and peer modeling and help.

scholarly journals Toward a Theory-Predicated Definition of Digital Literacy for Early Childhood

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth R. Kazakoff
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Digital Literacy ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Second Grade ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Developmental Needs ◽  
Technological Tools ◽  
Definition Of

Though young children are frequent users of digital technology, there is no comprehensive definition of early childhood digital literacy. Currently, digital literacy and related terms are defined with much older children and adults in mind. This paper aims to lay groundwork for redefining digital literacy in an early childhood context. Taking into account the unique developmental needs of early childhood when discussing digital literacy can provide a gateway to developing technological tools and curricula to prepare children in kindergarten through second grade to be more effective users of digital technologies throughout their lives.

Internet Safety

2011 ◽  
pp. 289-314
Author(s):  
Andrea Peach ◽  
Susan Bell ◽  
Alexandru Spatariu
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Relational Aggression ◽  
Mobile Technology ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Internet Safety ◽  
Safety Issues ◽  
School Aged Children ◽  
The Media

Preschool and young school-aged children use the internet at high rates, and with this access, parents and educators worry about safety issues. Reports of cyberbullying, child predators, inappropriate internet content, and violations of privacy, such as identity theft saturate the media (Dowell, Burgess, & Cavanaugh, 2009). This chapter will explore the roots of cyberbullying, including relational aggression and bullying in early childhood, will examine issues in internet safety that pertain to young children, and will differentiate the issues with young children from those that plague older children. Resources for working with children, parents, and educators will be reviewed, and future safety issues of internet and other mobile technology will be discussed.

Bilingual and monolingual children's use of two lexical acquisition heuristics

1993 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
William E. Merriman ◽  
Vesna Kutlesic
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Word Learning ◽  
The United States ◽  
Lexical Acquisition ◽  
Necessary Condition ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Mutual Exclusivity ◽  
Training Assessment

ABSTRACTChildren's heuristics for word learning have been the focus of much research, but little is known about bilinguals' and monolinguals' comparative use of them. In this study, 36 Serbian/ English bilinguals and 42 English monolinguals, who were between 5 and 8 years old and lived in the same neighborhoods in the United States, received a successive name training assessment of two heuristics: criterial use of highlighted features and preservation of mutual exclusivity. Older children employed both heuristics more often than younger ones. Monolinguals were more likely than bilinguals to interpret a highlighted feature as a necessary condition for applying a new English object name, but the groups did not differ in their tendency to maintain mutual exclusivity between the extensions of two novel English labels.

scholarly journals Differentiating word learning processes may yield new insights – a commentary on Stoel-Gammon's ‘Relationships between lexical and phonological development in young children’

2010 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
HOLLY L. STORKEL
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Word Learning ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
Lexical Acquisition ◽  
Phonological Development ◽  
Connectionist Models ◽  
Lexical Development ◽  
Learning Research ◽  
The Relationship

Stoel-Gammon (this issue) states that ‘from birth to age 2 ; 6, the developing phonological system affects lexical acquisition to a greater degree than lexical factors affect phonological development’ (this issue). This conclusion is based on a wealth of data; however, the available data are somewhat limited in scope, focusing on rather holistic measures of the phonological and lexical systems (e.g. production accuracy, number of words known). Stoel-Gammon suggests a number of important avenues to pursue, but does not discuss a critical one that is emerging in the broader literature on word learning. Specifically, recent connectionist models and adult word learning research provide evidence that greater differentiation of the cognitive processes that underlie word learning yields new insights (Leach & Samuel, 2007). This approach may be fruitful for future investigations of the relationship between phonological and lexical development in young children.

Look at the gato! Code-switching in speech to toddlers

2014 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 1073-1101 ◽  
Author(s):  
AMELIE BAIL ◽  
GIOVANNA MORINI ◽  
ROCHELLE S. NEWMAN
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Word Learning ◽  
Detrimental Effect ◽  
Code Switching ◽  
Lexical Acquisition ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Play Session ◽  
Mixed Language ◽  
Repeated Words

AbstractWe examined code-switching (CS) in the speech of twenty-four bilingual caregivers when speaking with their 18- to 24-month-old children. All parents CS at least once in a short play session, and some code-switched quite often (over 1/3 of utterances). This CS included both inter-sentential and intra-sentential switches, suggesting that at least some children are frequently exposed to mixed-language sentences. However, we found no evidence that this exposure to CS had any detrimental effect on children's word learning: children's overall vocabulary size did not relate to parental inter-sentential CS behavior, and was positively related to within-sentence CS. Parents often repeated words across their two languages, but this did not appear to increase the likelihood of children having translation equivalents in their vocabulary. In short, parents appear to CS fairly often to young children, even within sentences, but there is no evidence that this delays child lexical acquisition.

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