chapter 6 Flashcards
Language comprehension
refers to an individual’s ability to understand the linguistic information contained in a message that is almost always augmented by the message’s specific nonlinguistic context.
Context:
What is going on at the time?
Who is speaking?
What was previously said?
What visual information is available?
Listener’s world knowledge
Fast Mapping
Children rely heavily on context to infer a new word’s meaning to then use it spontaneously.
Children who are successful ‘fast mappers’ have an advantage in vocabulary learning.
Comprehension and Production: Single Words
Up through age 2, comprehension is highly context‐dependent.
The mother monitors the child’s input to check the accuracy of fit and provide feedback.
The child’s comprehension and production are fine‐tuned at the same time.
Within the first 50 words, comprehension seems to precede production.
Toddlers rely on basic semantic relations, use of objects, and routines for comprehension
Strategies for Comprehension: Verbs
Strategy 1: Do‐what‐you‐usually‐do (Regardless of what the caregiver says the young child will think of the items possible functions and does an action at random)
Strategy 2: Act‐on‐the‐object‐in‐ the‐way‐mentioned. (Notes the action word and does the action)
What happens when a toddler (12-24 months) is exposed to a new word for the first time?
The child hears the word
Auditory Cue
The child’s memory about the sounds and syllables of the word are activated
Phonological representation
Activation from the phonological level is spread to the word meaning level
Semantic level
Reference Principle
Reference: words stand for entities to which they refer.
E.g., cup and spoon-different referents.
Extendibility Principle
Extendibility: one symbol can stand for more than one referent.
E.g., my pet cat Luna and all other cats are “cat”
Whole Object Principle
Whole‐object: assumes that a label refers to a whole entity.
Rather than a part or an attribute. E.g., table before leg, top, and drawer.
Categorical Assumption
The categorical assumption: a label can be extended to related entities.
E.g., Cup can be used to label all the things you can pour liquid in
Novel name‐nameless assumption
Children assume that novel symbols are linked to previously unnamed referents.
Conventionality assumption
The conventionality assumption : Children expect meanings to be expressed in a consistent and conventional way.
E.g., a car is always going to be called a car.
Toddler Strategies for Expressive Language
Use of evocative utterances
Hypothesis testing and interrogative utterances
Selective imitation
Evocative utterances:
Children name objects that provoke nice emotions and interest to them
Hypothesis testing and interrogative utterances
are more direct methods of acquiring linguistic knowledge.
Erroneously labeling something and seeking feedback (doggy?)
Asking questions (what’s that?)
Selective Imitation
Imitation is a whole or partial repetition of an utterance of another speaker.
Imitation does not occur with every word or expression.
Role of Selective Imitation
Selective implies that the child decides what to imitate.
At the single-word level, selective imitation is important for vocabulary growth.
Imitation is less useful for language learning as language becomes more complex.
Bootstrapping
Children use what they know about language to help them decipher what they don’t know.
Semantic Bootstrapping
When children use semantics to decode syntax
Intention‐reading
is a social cognitive skill for understanding language behavior of others.
The child attempts to comprehend the intention of an utterance
Pattern‐finding
enables us to find common threads in disparate information.
Self-talk and Parallel-talk
How to do the technique: Copy what the child is doing and describe what you are doing “self talk” or narrate what the child is doing “parallel talk”
Imitation
How to do the technique: Copy what the child says. If the child imitates your imitation say something else!
Expansion
Take what the child says and add grammatical markers and semantic detail that would make it an acceptable adult utterance
Expansion
Child: Red
Clinician: Yes, the block is red
Extension
Add a comment that adds semantic information to a remark made by the child
Child: Red
Clinician: Yes, we have many different colors
Build Up and Breakdown
Expand the child’s utterance
Breakdown the utterance into a series of sequential utterances
Who can benefit: All children, shows them different ways of saying the same message
How to do the technique: 2 steps
Step 1: Expand on what the child is saying
Step 2: Break down the sentence into smaller parts
Child: Red
Clinician:
Here you have the red block.
The block is red.
Red block.
Turnabout
A turnabout is a response to the previous utterance, with a response required.
Importance of Play
Play is fun
Topics are shared
Games have structure
Play has variation in the order of elements like grammar does
Games contain turn‐taking
Play and language develop interdependently and demonstrate underlying cognitive developments
DEVELOPMENT OF PLAY AND LANGUAGE
Unoccupied play
Parallel play
Associative play
Cooperative play
Unoccupied play (0-3 months)
Newborns (0-3 months) move their arms and legs to explore
They look at objects placed at closed proximity
Prefer black and white images
Onlooker Play and Parallel Play
Onlooker play (2yrs)
The infant looks at other children playing but does not engage yet
Parallel Play (2yrs+)
Refers to interactions in which toddlers may enjoy playing near other children but may not interact.
Associative Play
Play/interaction with others and imagination increases.
At first, a child’s play role represents himself or herself; later roles are projected on other persons and dolls.
Unstructured toys, such as play telephones, kitchen sets, tools, medical kits, and dress-up clothes are favorites and encourage imaginative dramatic play.
Cooperative Play (4+ years)
Increased role-play .
Initially, pre-schoolers prefer functionally explicit props, such as a phone, car, or cup
As children mature and participate in more frequent imaginative play, they use more ambiguous props, such as blocks or stones, that can represent other entities.
Solitary Play (0-2 yrs)
Development of sensorimotor and visual cortex areas of the brain is reflected in play.
Through sight, sound, touch, taste, smell, babies learn about the world. (hence putting everything in their mouths)
