scholarly journals Input and uptake at 7 months predicts toddler vocabulary: the role of child-directed speech and infant processing skills in language development

2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 1158-1173 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROCHELLE S. NEWMAN ◽  
MEREDITH L. ROWE ◽  
NAN BERNSTEIN RATNER
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Development ◽  
Speech Segmentation ◽  
Experimental Paradigm ◽  
Language Outcomes ◽  
Maternal Input ◽  
Independent Effects ◽  
Maternal Child

ABSTRACTBoth the input directed to the child, and the child's ability to process that input, are likely to impact the child's language acquisition. We explore how these factors inter-relate by tracking the relationships among: (a) lexical properties of maternal child-directed speech to prelinguistic (7-month-old) infants (N = 121); (b) these infants' abilities to segment lexical targets from conversational child-directed utterances in an experimental paradigm; and (c) the children's vocabulary outcomes at age 2;0. Both repetitiveness in maternal input and the child's speech segmentation skills at age 0;7 predicted language outcomes at 2;0; moreover, while these factors were somewhat inter-related, they each had independent effects on toddler vocabulary skill, and there was no interaction between the two.

scholarly journals Bilingual language acquisition: The role of input and experience

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-2 ◽  
Author(s):  
JUBIN ABUTALEBI ◽  
HARALD CLAHSEN
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Development ◽  
Research Articles ◽  
Recent Attempt ◽  
Linguistic Categories

The question of how much language a child can learn by modelling the patterns she is exposed to in the environment represents an age-old and persistent controversy in language-acquisition research. On a number of occasions researchers felt confident enough to claim that the controversy had been resolved, in favour of their own viewpoint, of course. One such attempt was Skinner's (1957) behaviourist view of language development, which gave a prominent if not exclusive role to input and experience. After Chomsky's (1959) landmark review, however, Skinner's account was left in pieces and was not further pursued by many. A more recent attempt comes from usage-based accounts according to which children directly build linguistic categories and rules from the language they hear around them. Some believe that these accounts have resolved the controversy for good and have ‘overturned’ alternative less experience-driven approaches (e.g., Ibbotson & Tomasello, 2016; Dabrowska, 2015). Yet, casual inspection of recent research articles reveals that this announcement may be somewhat premature; see, for example, Everaert, Huybregts, Chomsky, Berwick and Bolhuis (2015), Boxell's (2016) rebuttal of Dabrowska (2015), and many acquisition studies published in the journal Language Acquisition.

scholarly journals The Effect of Older Sibling, Postnatal Maternal Stress, and Household Factors on Language Development in Two- to Four-Year-Old Children

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi Havron ◽  
Irena Lovcevic ◽  
Michelle Z.L Kee ◽  
Helen Chen ◽  
Yap Seng Chong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Family Structure ◽  
Maternal Stress ◽  
Household Size ◽  
Language Outcomes ◽  
Age Gap ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Older Siblings ◽  
Older Sibling

Previous literature has shown that family structure affects language development. Here, factors relating to older siblings (their presence in the house, sex and age gap), mothers (maternal stress) and household size and residential crowding were examined to systematically examine the different role of these factors. Data from mother-child dyads in a Singaporean birth cohort, (677-855 dyads; 52% males; 58-61% Chinese, 20-24% Malay, 17-19% Indian) collected when children were 24-, 48-, and 54-months old, were analysed. There was a negative effect of having an older sibling, moderated by the siblings’ age gap, but not by the older sibling’s sex, nor household size or residential crowding. Maternal stress affected language outcomes in some analyses but not others. Implications for understanding the effect of family structure on language development are discussed.

EXPLORING CROSSLINGUISTIC INFLUENCE IN GENDER MARKING IN SPANISH

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Aarnes Gudmestad ◽  
Amanda Edmonds
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Development ◽  
First Language ◽  
Methodological Framework ◽  
L1 Influence ◽  
Quantitative Analyses ◽  
Crosslinguistic Influence ◽  
Cross Language

Abstract In the current study, we examined the role of first-language (L1) influence on the additional-language development of grammatical gender marking in Spanish. The participants were L1 speakers of English or French (N = 215), who were learning Spanish and who were at three instructional levels. The data came from their use of gender marking in noun-modifier pairs in an argumentative essay. We adopted the unified methodological framework developed by Scott Jarvis and we applied insights from variationist second language acquisition to contribute to the discussion about whether learners’ L1 impacts variability in targetlike gender marking in additional-language Spanish. Specifically, we designed our study to investigate four types of evidence that Jarvis identified (intragroup homogeneity, intergroup heterogeneity, cross-language congruity, and intralingual contrasts), and we used variationist methods to account for other factors that are known to impact variable use of gender marking. The quantitative analyses supported each type of evidence, consequently demonstrating that these learners’ L1 influenced their variable use of gender marking in Spanish. We concluded by reflecting on the contributions that the current study has made to the understanding of gender marking in additional-language Spanish and to research on L1 influence more generally.

scholarly journals The place of silence in second language acquisition

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 26
Author(s):  
Dat Bao
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Development ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Silent Period ◽  
Input Output ◽  
Silent Mode

The article examines the role of silence in learners’ language development by discussing current theories in second language acquisition and by connecting them to the silence phenomenon. A number of important constructs in SLA are brought up as they have potential to be associated with the silent mode of learning, namely the silent period, input, output, communicative competence, among others. The discussion also highlights a few theoretical gaps in SLA discourse that are related to silence. 

scholarly journals To Raise a Bilingual or a Monolingual Child: Concerns of an Immigrant Mother

2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-37
Author(s):  
Tayebeh Sohrabi
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Development ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Immigrant Families ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Support Network ◽  
Immigrant Parents ◽  
Different Cultures

The number of immigrant families in Canada and other Western countries has increased in the last several decades. Immigrant families face challenges in bringing up their children in a new country, such as different expectations from two different cultures, being away from their family and immediate support network, financial problems, and language limitations. One of the main concerns of most immigrant parents is their child's language acquisition. Language development is the most significant predictor of children’s success in school and later life. Regarding the vital role of language development in each aspect of life, it is essential to explore this growing population's experiences and challenges related to their children’s language acquisition. This qualitative study benefited from a narrative inquiry for representing and interpreting an immigrant mother's experiences and challenges in bringing up a bilingual child in Canada. This paper addresses the multiple conflicts affecting immigrant parents' decision to bring up a bilingual or monolingual child. Some of immigrant parents' main concerns, including passing on their accents, code-switching, language delays, limited social interactions and using screen time for teaching language are discussed in this paper.   

Aspects of later language development*

1993 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 15-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Collins
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Development ◽  
Structural Requirements ◽  
Early Literature ◽  
Increased Sensitivity

Abstract This paper reports some findings of a study of six year old and ten year old children which suggests that the process of language acquisition is by no means complete at the age of five (a popular misconception in some of the early literature). In particular, it is suggested that the later years are marked by an increase in the complexity of structures at group/phrase level. The study did not reveal significant developments at clause level, but several were noted at discourse level, including an increased sensitivity to the role of topic-selection in developing the shape of a text, and to the broader structural requirements of different genres.

scholarly journals The Influence of Early Temperament on Language Development: The Moderating Role of Maternal Input

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Spinelli ◽  
Mirco Fasolo ◽  
Prachi E. Shah ◽  
Giuliana Genovese ◽  
Tiziana Aureli
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Maternal Input ◽  
Moderating Role

Event knowledge and early language acquisition

1993 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 591-606 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Jeffrey Farrar ◽  
Margaret J. Friend ◽  
James N. Forbes
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Development ◽  
Early Language ◽  
Action Verb ◽  
Event Knowledge ◽  
Observation Period

ABSTRACTThe role of event knowledge in early language acquisition was investigated. Thirteen two-year-olds were observed interacting with their mothers over a five-week period. During weekly observational sessions, dyads interacted in both a familiar-event context and an unfamiliar-event context. Events were represented by complex toys (e.g. airport, marina, etc.). In the familiar-event, dyads interacted with the same event-toy during each observation period. In the unfamiliar-event, these same dyads interacted with a different novel toy during each observation period. The results indicated that children's increasing event knowledge facilitated their language development. Specifically, children's lexical type use, action verb use, and MLU increased in the familiar-event, but remained unchanged in the unfamiliar-event. Event knowledge also facilitated children's lexical token use. Results are discussed in terms of the role of event knowledge in language acquisition.

scholarly journals The Effect of Older Sibling, Postnatal Maternal Stress, and Household Factors on Language Development in Two- to Four-Year-Old Children

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi Havron ◽  
Irena Lovcevic ◽  
Michelle Z.L Kee ◽  
Helen Chen ◽  
Yap Seng Chong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Family Structure ◽  
Maternal Stress ◽  
Household Size ◽  
Language Outcomes ◽  
Age Gap ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Older Siblings ◽  
Older Sibling

Previous literature has shown that family structure affects language development. Here, factors relating to older siblings (their presence in the house, sex and age gap), mothers (maternal stress) and household size and residential crowding were examined to systematically examine the different role of these factors. Data from mother-child dyads in a Singaporean birth cohort, (677-855 dyads; 52% males; 58-61% Chinese, 20-24% Malay, 17-19% Indian) collected when children were 24-, 48-, and 54-months old, were analysed. There was a negative effect of having an older sibling, moderated by the siblings’ age gap, but not by the older sibling’s sex, nor household size or residential crowding. Maternal stress affected language outcomes in some analyses but not others. Implications for understanding the effect of family structure on language development are discussed.

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