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A Topical Approach to
Life-Span Development 6e
What is Language?
• Defining language
Chapter Nine:
– Form of communication, whether spoken, written,
or signed, based on system of symbols
Language Development
• Infinite generativity: ability to produce an endless
number of meaningful sentences using a finite set of
words and rules
John W. Santrock
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Language’s Rule Systems
How Language Develops
• Infancy
Phonology
Sound system of language; how the sounds are
used, combined — phoneme: smallest unit of
sound
Morphology
Morphemes: units of meaning in word formation
Syntax
Ways words are combined to form acceptable
phrases and sentences
Semantics
Meanings of words and sentences
Pragmatics
Appropriate use of language in context; can be
very complex
– Babbling, gestures, and other vocalizations
• Crying present at birth
• Cooing: occurs at 2 to 4 months of age
• Babbling: begins at about 6 months of age, strings of
consonant-vowel combinations
• http://youtu.be/RuMdIxKnqz8
• Gestures: begin 8 to 12 months of age, pointing and
showing, lack of pointing is a significant indicator of
problem in the infant’ communication system
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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How Language Develops
How Language Develops
• Infants recognizing language sounds
– “Citizens of the world”, birth to about 6 months
• Newborns recognize sound changes
– Over the next 6 months, better at recognizing own
language sounds
• First words
– First spoken word occurs between 10 and 15
months,
– Asian children learn verbs earlier than children
learning English
– Receptive exceeds spoken vocabulary
– Timing of first word, vocabulary spurt varies p.279
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Two-word utterances (18-24 months of age)
– Telegraphic speech
The use of short and precise words without
grammatical markers such as articles, auxiliary
verbs and other connectives.
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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How Language Develops
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How Language Develops
• Early childhood
• Early childhood
– Complex sentences at 2 to 3 years of age
– Become more sensitive to language sounds;
• capable of producing all the vowel sounds and
most of the consonant sounds by 3 years
– morphology rules, some overgeneralizations
– Learn and apply syntax rules (e.g. wh- questions);
auxiliary-inversion rule takes longer
– Vocabulary development is dramatic to age 6
• One new word every waking hour
• 14,000 words by entering first grade
• Fast mapping
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Figure 9.6 - Language Input and Young
Children’s Vocabulary Development
How Language Develops
• SES is linked to language development
– Welfare parents talk less to their children
• Provide less elaboration
• Talk less about past events
– Maternal language and literacy skills positively
related to child’s vocabulary; not talkativeness
• Use of diverse vocabulary
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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How Language Develops
• Advances in pragmatics
– Young children start engaging in extended
discourse
• Learn cultural rules, politeness, and become sensitive to
adapting their speech to the setting
• Able to talk about things that are not here
– Age 4 to 5: can change speech style at will
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How Language Develops
• Middle and late childhood
– New skills learned when entering school
• Alphabetic principle P.284
– Vocabulary and grammar
• From age 6 to 11 — 14,000 to 40,000 words
• Able to understand and use complex grammar
– “the boy who kissed his mother wore a hat.”
• More polite, formal when with adults
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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How Language Develops
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How Language Develops
• Middle and late childhood
• Teaching a child to read
– Development of metalingusitic awareness
– Child with large vocabulary learns to read easier
– Vocabulary development linked to comprehension
– Whole language approach
• Knowledge about language;
– Also make progress in understanding how to use
language in culturally appropriate ways;
• Recognize whole words or even entire sentences
• Reading should be whole, meaningful
• Reading materials should be in their complete form
– Phonics approach
• Instruction should teach phonics and its basic rules
• Reading should involve simplified materials
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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How Language Develops
How Language Develops
• Middle and late childhood
– Concerns about students’ writing competence
• Middle and late childhood
• Grades 4 to 12: about 70% are low-achieving
• High school grads: 50% not ready for college-level
writing
• Good writing results from good teaching efforts
– Strategy instruction
– Summarization
– Peer assistance
– Setting goals
– Writing
• 2- to 3-year-olds emerge from scribbling to begin printing
letters
• Most 4-year-olds can print their names; most 5-year-olds
can reproduce letters, words
– Reversed letters are normal
– Adults should encourage early writing
» Printing errors are a natural part
» Corrections should be selective and made in
positive ways
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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How Language Develops
• Bilingualism and second language learning
• Native-like accent best learned before age 12
• United States: many miss out on benefits of bilingualism
– Better performance on tests of control of attention,
concept formation, analytical reasoning, cognitive
flexibility, and cognitive complexity.
• It takes immigrant children approximately three to five
years to develop speaking proficiency and seven years
to develop reading proficiency in English.
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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