Change in maternal speech rate to preverbal infants over the first two years of life

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 1263-1275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniele RANERI ◽  
Katie VON HOLZEN ◽  
Rochelle NEWMAN ◽  
Nan BERNSTEIN RATNER
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Child Language ◽  
Speech Rate ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Language Outcomes ◽  
Time Periods ◽  
Children First ◽  
Maternal Speech ◽  
Preverbal Infants ◽  
Low Rate

AbstractAims: Although IDS is typically described as slower than adult-directed speech (ADS), potential impacts of slower speech on language development have not been examined. We explored whether IDS speech rates in 42 mother–infant dyads at four time periods predicted children's language outcomes at two years. Method: We correlated IDS speech rate with child language outcomes at two years, and contrasted outcomes in dyads displaying high/low rate profiles. Outcomes: Slower IDS rate at 7 months significantly correlated with vocabulary knowledge at two years. Slowed IDS may benefit child language learning even before children first speak.

Infant-directed speech (IDS) vowel clarity and child language outcomes

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 1140-1162 ◽  
Author(s):  
KELLY M. HARTMAN ◽  
NAN BERNSTEIN RATNER ◽  
ROCHELLE S. NEWMAN
Keyword(s):  
Child Language ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Vowel Duration ◽  
Language Outcomes ◽  
Vowel Production ◽  
Vowel Space ◽  
Maternal Speech

AbstractThere have been many studies examining the differences between infant-directed speech (IDS) and adult-directed speech (ADS). However, investigations asking whether mothers clarify vowel articulation in IDS have reached equivocal findings. Moreover, it is unclear whether maternal speech clarification has any effect on a child's developing language skills. This study examined vowel clarification in mothers’ IDS at 0;10–11, 1;6, and 2;0, as compared to their vowel production in ADS. Relationships between vowel space, vowel duration, and vowel variability and child language outcomes at two years were also explored. Results show that vowel space and vowel duration tended to be greater in IDS than in ADS, and that one measure of vowel clarity, a mother's vowel space at 1;6, was significantly related to receptive as well as expressive child language outcomes at two years of age.

The current status of the motherese hypothesis

1984 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lila R. Gleitman ◽  
Elissa L. Newport ◽  
Henry Gleitman
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Partial Correlation ◽  
Child Language ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Current Analysis ◽  
Linguistic Differences ◽  
Language Growth ◽  
Maternal Speech ◽  
Age Range

ABSTRACTPartially conflicting results from correlational studies of maternal speech style and its effects on child language learning motivate a comparative discussion of Newport, Gleitman & Gleitman (1977) and Furrow, Nelson & Benedict (1979), and a reanalysis of the original Newport et al. data. In the current analysis the data are from two groups of children equated for age, in response to the methodological questions raised by Furrow et al.; but, in line with the original Newport et al. analysis, linguistic differences between these age-equated children are handled by partial correlation. Under this new analysis the original results reported by Newport et al. are reproduced. In addition, however, most effects of the mother on the child's language growth are found to be restricted to a very young age group. Moreover, the new analysis suggests that increased complexity of maternal speech is positively correlated with child language growth in this age range. The findings are discussed in terms of a theoretical analysis of the Motherese Hypothesis; the conditions of both learner and environment in which ‘simplified’ data could aid a learner. Finally, the results of our past work, those of Furrow et al., and those of the present analysis, are discussed as they fit into, and add to, current theorizing about the language acquisition process.

scholarly journals Exploring Quantity and Diversity of Informal Digital Learning of English (IDLE): A Review of Selected Paper

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Nofita Sari Gowasa Nofita ◽  
Ratih Saltri Yudar ◽  
Mutia Sari Nursafira
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Linear Regression Analysis ◽  
Knowledge Score ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Unique Contribution ◽  
Digital Learning ◽  
Language Outcomes

This article reviews research on informal digital English (IDLE) learning that has increased in the field of English language teaching to other language speakers and computer-assisted language learning written by Ju Seong Lee (2019), entitled Quantity and Diversity of informal digital learning of English published by Language Learning & Technology. This present paper uses descriptive qualitative analysis in an attempt to understand how the quantity and diversity of IDLE can make a unique contribution to the English language outcomes of EFL learners from the researcher's perspective. Lee uses hierarchical linear regression analysis to show that IDLE Quantity, Age, and Major are significant predictors of two affective variables (Confidence and Pleasure), while IDLE Diversity and Major significantly predict productive language outcomes (Speaking and Productive Vocabulary Knowledge), score in the standard English Test (TOEIC), and one affective variable (Lack of Anxiety). This present article aims to review and discuss the findings on the strengths and the weaknesses found in Lee’s 2019 article. The article Lee made seems to possess a clear flow on how to explain these two types of education and make this article easy to understand. Therefore, the replication of Lee’s research is easy enough for similar research purposes.

scholarly journals Introduction: special issue on age effects in child language acquisition

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 473-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
ELMA BLOM ◽  
JOHANNE PARADIS
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Child Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Age Of Acquisition ◽  
Language Outcomes ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Child Language Acquisition ◽  
L1 And L2

While age of acquisition effects have been researched extensively in adult second language (L2) acquisition, there is less research focused on examining age of acquisition effects in child language learners. Importantly, for child learners, delays in exposure to language can occur not only for a second but also for a first language (L1). In regard to delays in exposure, it is a widespread assumption that these are detrimental to language outcomes, and that younger is always better for successful language learning. One of the aims of this special issue was to take a closer look at the evidence for this assumption with respect to language learning within the childhood years, both for delayed L1 and L2 exposure.

scholarly journals Listening to Mom in the NICU: effects of increased maternal speech exposure on language outcomes and white matter development in infants born very preterm

Trials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Edith Brignoni-Pérez ◽  
Maya Chan Morales ◽  
Virginia A. Marchman ◽  
Melissa Scala ◽  
Heidi M. Feldman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
White Matter ◽  
Structural Connectivity ◽  
Receptive Language ◽  
Secondary Outcome ◽  
Language Outcomes ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
Very Preterm ◽  
White Matter Development ◽  
Maternal Speech

Abstract Background Infants born very preterm (< 32 weeks gestational age (GA)) are at risk for developmental language delays. Poor language outcomes in children born preterm have been linked to neurobiological factors, including impaired development of the brain’s structural connectivity (white matter), and environmental factors, including decreased exposure to maternal speech in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Interventions that enhance preterm infants’ exposure to maternal speech show promise as potential strategies for improving short-term health outcomes. Intervention studies have yet to establish whether increased exposure to maternal speech in the NICU offers benefits beyond the newborn period for brain and language outcomes. Methods This randomized controlled trial assesses the long-term effects of increased maternal speech exposure on structural connectivity at 12 months of age (age adjusted for prematurity (AA)) and language outcomes between 12 and 18 months of age AA. Study participants (N = 42) will include infants born very preterm (24–31 weeks 6/7 days GA). Newborns are randomly assigned to the treatment (n = 21) or standard medical care (n = 21) group. Treatment consists of increased maternal speech exposure, accomplished by playing audio recordings of each baby’s own mother reading a children’s book via an iPod placed in their crib/incubator. Infants in the control group have the identical iPod setup but are not played recordings. The primary outcome will be measures of expressive and receptive language skills, obtained from a parent questionnaire collected at 12–18 months AA. The secondary outcome will be measures of white matter development, including the mean diffusivity and fractional anisotropy derived from diffusion magnetic resonance imaging scans performed at around 36 weeks postmenstrual age during the infants’ routine brain imaging session before hospital discharge and 12 months AA. Discussion The proposed study is expected to establish the potential impact of increased maternal speech exposure on long-term language outcomes and white matter development in infants born very preterm. If successful, the findings of this study may help to guide NICU clinical practice for promoting language and brain development. This clinical trial has the potential to advance theoretical understanding of how early language exposure directly changes brain structure for later language learning. Trial registration NIH Clinical Trials (ClinicalTrials.gov) NCT04193579. Retrospectively registered on 10 December 2019.

scholarly journals Does Mother Know Best? Maternal Knowledge Calibration Predicts Children’s Oral Language Development

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley M. Pinkham ◽  
Tanya Kaefer ◽  
Susan B. Neuman
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Oral Language ◽  
Domain Knowledge ◽  
Picture Book ◽  
Child Outcomes ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Maternal Knowledge ◽  
Language Outcomes ◽  
Transmission Of Knowledge ◽  
Knowledge Calibration

For young children, maternal testimony is an important source of knowledge. Research suggests that children privilege assertions expressed with certainty; however, adults frequently overestimate their knowledge, which may lead them to express certainty about incorrect information. This study addressed three questions. (1) To what extent do mothers convey domain knowledge when talking to their kindergartners? (2) Do mothers successfully calibrate their knowledge during these conversations? (3) Does mothers’ knowledge calibration predict their children’s language outcomes? Forty-nine mother-child dyads read a picture book about a familiar domain. Mothers’ assertions of domain knowledge were coded for accuracy and expressed certainty. Results revealed that mothers tended to overestimate their knowledge. Knowledge calibration accuracy positively predicted child outcomes. Successful calibration was associated with stronger vocabulary knowledge and listening comprehension, whereas poor knowledge calibration was associated with weaker child outcomes. Knowledge calibration may be a crucial factor in the successful transmission of knowledge during mother-child conversations and impact children’s language development.

Examining the Use of Vocabulary Learning Strategies among EFL Learners in Baghlan University of Afghanistan

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
English Language ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Social Strategies ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
New Words ◽  
Vocabulary Learning Strategies

Vocabulary learning is one of the problems in language learning skills. Tackling such problems is to provide useful and effective strategies for enhancing students’ VLSs. Therefore, this study aims to survey vocabulary learning strategies (VLSs) utilized among English as a Foreign Language learners (EFL) in Baghlan University of Afghanistan, and to study the high and least frequently used VLSs that contributes to the learners’ vocabulary knowledge. This study utilizes a descriptive quantitative research method with 67 EFL learners who participated in the survey questionnaire adopted from Oxford (1990) taxonomy of VLS from different faculties of Baghlan University. The findings indicated that EFL learners preferably utilize VLSs at a medium level, and the highly used vocabulary learning strategies are the social strategies through which they ask the native speakers, teachers, and classmates for the meanings of new words in English language conversation. Determination, cognitive, and memory strategies are respectively followed by the learners. Whereas, metacognitive strategies are the least used strategies among EFL learners, the reason is that they only focus on the materials related to examination; explore anything about the new words for learning, and rarely think of their improvement in vocabulary learning.

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