Input to interaction to instruction: three key shifts in the history of child language research

ABSTRACTIn the early years of theJournal of Child Language, there was considerable disagreement about the role of language input or adult–child interaction in children's language acquisition. The view that quantity and quality of input to language-learning children is relevant to their language development has now become widely accepted as a principle guiding advice to parents and the design of early childhood education programs, even if it is not yet uncontested in the field of language development. The focus on variation in the language input to children acquires particular educational relevance when we consider variation in access to academic language – features of language particularly valued in school and related to success in reading and writing. Just as many children benefit from language environments that are intentionally designed to ensure adequate quantity and quality of input, even more probably need explicit instruction in the features of language that characterize its use for academic purposes

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First language development: a usage-based perspective on past and current research

Journal of Child Language ◽

10.1017/s0305000914000282 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 41 (S1) ◽

pp. 48-63 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

ELENA LIEVEN

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Development ◽

Language Development ◽

Language Learning ◽

Child Language ◽

First Language ◽

Computational Modelling ◽

Systematic Errors ◽

The Past ◽

Language Research ◽

The Relationship

ABSTRACTI first outline three major developments in child language research over the past forty years: the use of computational modelling to reveal the structure of information in the input; the focus on quantifying productivity and abstraction; and developments in the explanation of systematic errors. Next, I turn to what I consider to be major outstanding issues: how the network of constructions builds up and the relationship between social and cognitive development and language learning. Finally, I briefly consider a number of other areas of importance to a psychologically realistic understanding of children's language development.

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Foundations of Language Development in Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Infants

The Oxford Handbook of Deaf Studies in Learning and Cognition ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190054045.013.31 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 19-32

Author(s):

Dani Levine ◽

Daniela Avelar ◽

Roberta Michnick Golinkoff ◽

Kathy Hirsh-Pasek ◽

Derek M. Houston

Keyword(s):

Language Development ◽

Language Learning ◽

Cochlear Implants ◽

Hearing Aids ◽

Hard Of Hearing ◽

Social Processes ◽

Effective Interventions ◽

Hearing Devices ◽

Language Input ◽

Hearing Children

Copious evidence indicates that, even in the first year of life, children’s language development is beginning and is impacted by a wide array of cognitive and social processes. The extent to which these processes are dependent on early language input is a critical concern for most deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children, who, unlike hearing children, are usually not immersed in a language-rich environment until effective interventions, such as hearing aids or cochlear implants, are implemented. Importantly, some cognitive and social processes are not dependent on the early availability of language input and begin to develop before children are fitted for hearing aids or cochlear implants. Interventions involving parent training may be helpful for enhancing social underpinnings of language and for maximizing DHH children’s language learning once effective hearing devices are in place. Similarly, cognitive training for DHH children may also provide benefit to bolster language development.

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Type/Token Ratios: what do they really tell us?

Journal of Child Language ◽

10.1017/s0305000900012885 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 201-209 ◽

Cited By ~ 100

Author(s):

Brian Richards

Keyword(s):

Language Development ◽

Sample Size ◽

Linear Relationship ◽

Child Language ◽

Lexical Diversity ◽

Diversity Measure ◽

Closed Class ◽

Language Research ◽

Non Linear

ABSTRACTType/Token Ratios have been extensively used in child language research as an index of lexical diversity. This paper shows that the measure has frequently failed to discriminate between children at widely different stages of language development, and that the ratio may in fact fall as children get older. It is suggested here that such effects are caused by a negative, though non-linear, relationship between sample size (i.e. number of tokens) and Type/Token Ratio. Effects of open and closed class items are considered and an alternative Verbal Diversity measure is examined. Standardization of the number of tokens before computing Type/Token Ratios is recommended.

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Quantity and quality of language input in bilingual language development.

Bilingualism across the lifespan: Factors moderating language proficiency. ◽

10.1037/14939-007 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 103-121 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Sharon Unsworth

Keyword(s):

Language Development ◽

Bilingual Language Development ◽

Language Input

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Strategies to Transform the Foreign Language Classroom and Increase Learning Outcomes with the Flipped Model

Implementation and Critical Assessment of the Flipped Classroom Experience - Advances in Educational Technologies and Instructional Design ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-7464-6.ch004 ◽

2015 ◽

pp. 60-73 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Esperanza Granados-Bezi

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Language Development ◽

Foreign Language ◽

Language Learning ◽

Learning Outcomes ◽

Colleges And Universities ◽

Higher Learning ◽

Quality Of Higher Education ◽

Language Classroom

The scaffolds of American colleges and universities can no longer protect our institutions from the winds of change that penetrate their walls and appear to be threatening their foundations. They also seem incapable of protecting faculties from persistent criticism due to unsatisfactory performance and reluctance to modify educational approaches to meet society's current demands. This chapter reviews some of the most common concerns pertaining not only to the quality of higher education in general but also to that of foreign language teaching in particular. It analyzes the reasons that there is a general sense of dissatisfaction with the results of traditional practices to language learning and discusses the benefits of implementing the flipped model to enhance the quality of instruction. In addition, it underlines the importance of adopting innovative technologies to increase language development in a world in which instructors are expected to be more productive and students have to reach higher learning outcomes.

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Anti-representationalism in language development research: A commentary on Ambridge (2020)

First Language ◽

10.1177/0142723720905918 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 40 (5-6) ◽

pp. 592-595

Author(s):

Melina L. Knabe ◽

Haley A. Vlach

Keyword(s):

Language Development ◽

Language Learning ◽

Child Language ◽

Development Research ◽

Widespread Agreement ◽

Critical Process

Ambridge argues that there is widespread agreement among child language researchers that learners store linguistic abstractions. In this commentary the authors first argue that this assumption is incorrect; anti-representationalist/exemplar views are pervasive in theories of child language. Next, the authors outline what has been learned from this body of work, including insights into mechanisms underlying language learning. Interestingly, some of these mechanisms are at odds with counterarguments in Ambridge, such as the finding that forgetting is a critical process of language.

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Early language experience and underspecified phonological representations

Applied Psycholinguistics ◽

10.1017/s0142716417000285 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 38 (6) ◽

pp. 1325-1329

Author(s):

Cynthia R. Hunter ◽

David B. Pisoni

Keyword(s):

Language Development ◽

Clinical Importance ◽

Future Research ◽

Phonological Development ◽

Language Experience ◽

Early Language ◽

Phonological Representations ◽

Language Input ◽

First Year Of Life

Taking as a premise that phonological working memory (PWM) influences later language development, in their keynote article, Pierce, Genesee, Delcenserie, and Morgan aim to specify the relations between early language input and the development of PWM in terms of separable influences of timing, quantity, and quality of early language input. We concur that prior work has established that PWM and language development have reciprocal influences on one another during development (e.g., Baddeley, Gathercole, & Papagno, 1998; Gathercole, 2006; Gathercole, Hitch, Service, & Martin, 1997; Metsala & Chisolm, 2010). The goal of the keynote article was to describe how early language experience may influence the development of PWM. Pierce et al. argue that this can be done by comparing the development of PWM across groups of children with differing language experiences during early childhood, specifically (a) delayed exposure to language, (b) impoverished language input, or (c) enriched language input. The authors suggest that this comparison may contribute to establishing that individual differences in PWM are due, in part, to early language experience. Sensitive periods for phonological development that are open roughly in the first year of life are discussed, and it is suggested that the quantity and quality of early language input shapes the quality of phonological representations. Efforts to specify mechanisms by which early language input may influence the development of PWM have both theoretical and, potentially, clinical importance. Considering this, Pierce et al.’s article, which aims to create a platform for future research in terms of the timing, quantity, and quality of early language input, is a valuable contribution.

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The Effect of Professional Development on Multilingual Education in Early Childhood in Luxembourg

Review of European Studies ◽

10.5539/res.v10n4p148 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 148 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Claudine Kirsch ◽

Gabrijela Aleksić

Keyword(s):

Professional Development ◽

Early Childhood ◽

Language Learning ◽

Early Years ◽

Language Diversity ◽

Childhood Education ◽

Multilingual Education ◽

Paired Samples ◽

Shed Light

While multilingual programmes have been implemented in early childhood education in several countries, professionals have shown to be unsure of how to deal with language diversity and promote home languages. Therefore, there is a need for professional development. The present article discusses the outcomes of a professional course on multilingual education in early childhood delivered to 46 early-years practitioners in Luxembourg. Using a questionnaire administered prior to and after the course as well as interviews, we examined the influence of the training on attitudes to multilingual education and activities to develop Luxembourgish and home languages. The analysis drew on content analysis, paired samples t-test and correlational analysis. The findings show that the course positively influenced the professionals’ knowledge about multilingualism and language learning, their attitudes towards home languages, their interest in organising activities in the children’s home languages and the implementation of these activities. The results shed light on special interest areas such as the quality of input that future professional development courses could focus on.

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AN INTRODUCTION TO CHILD LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT. Susan H. Foster-Cohen. London: Longman, 1999. Pp. xv + 232. £13.99 paper.

Studies in Second Language Acquisition ◽

10.1017/s0272263101243058 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 23 (3) ◽

pp. 420-422

Author(s):

Usha Lakshmanan

Keyword(s):

Language Acquisition ◽

Language Development ◽

Child Language ◽

Language Research ◽

Child Language Acquisition ◽

Key Issues ◽

Theory Of Language ◽

Single Approach

This book is an excellent introduction to the field of child language development. It demonstrates the need for both a theory of language development and reliable speech and comprehension data in child language research. As Foster-Cohen states in the preface to the book, the adoption of only a single approach, as opposed to a combination of different approaches, is unlikely to lead to a productive understanding of child language acquisition. The book successfully adopts the perspectives of both the empiricist and the rationalist traditions in its treatment of key issues.

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