Week One

Question 1

In what areas does school aged children’s language develop?

Answer 1

• Pragmatics
• Semantics
• Syntax and Morphology
• Metalinguistics

Question 2

In which areas does language develop most significantly?

Answer 2

Pragmatics and semantics

Question 3

How much of syntax and morphology is developed by age 5?

Answer 3

90%

Question 4

What pragmatic areas develop in school aged children?

Answer 4

• Conversational abilities
• Language users
• Registers
• Narrative development

Question 5

What is prgamatics?

Answer 5

knowing what to say, to whom and when

e.g.,
What: how much detail/specificity
Whom: age, social status, shared knowledge (children whine to their parents but not to their teachers)
When:

Question 6

How do you know if a child is successful in pragmatic language?

Answer 6

A child who can coordinate many pragmatic abilities within a wide range of communicative contexts

Question 7

Conversational abilities: Repair

How does the ability to repair a conversation develop?

Answer 7

9 year olds have the ability to identify where a breakdown has occurred and repair through rephrasing, defining, adding context

Question 8

Conversational abilities: Topic introduction and maintenance

How does topic introduction and maintenance develop?

Answer 8

They can introduce a topic and sustain it for several turns, change or close.

Shading: moving from one topic to another with continuity

Using a question to introduce a topic

Question 9

Conversational abilities: Roles

How do roles in conversations develop?

Answer 9

They become more aware of the roles/power of the people they talk to. Often responding more briefly and simply to adults questions compared to peers.

Question 10

Conversational abilities: Perspectives

How does perspectives develop?

Answer 10

Theory of mind (knowledge that others think, feel and have different experiences to you) develops and an improved awareness of the perspectives of others.
Helps with conflict resolution

Question 11

Conversational abilities: Indirect questions

How do indirect questions develop?

Answer 11

Increased use of indirect questions and hinting

Question 12

how do Language uses develop?

Answer 12

Due to the demands at school, children are required to develop more sophisticated uses of language i.e., explaining, describing, reporting, debating, synthesizing

Question 13

How does registers (styles) develop?

Answer 13

Children become more adept at matching their style to the person who is listening

i.e., more whining to parents than other adults.

Question 14

What are the four types of narrative?

Answer 14

1. Recount: Past experiences of the child (observed, participated or read) and is usually requested by an adult
2. Eventcast: Explantation of a current or anticipated event, often used in play
3. Accounts: Spontaneous narratives in which children share their experiences, not requested by adults
4. Stories: fictional stories with a known pattern in which the main character typically must overcome a problem

Children can produce all by 5-6 years, but become more sophisticated with age

Question 15

What is story grammar?

Answer 15

The predictable way in which stories are organised

Question 16

define a setting in story grammar

Answer 16

main characters, places, time

Question 17

Define an episode in story grammar

Answer 17

A problem, action, consequence, internal reaction

Question 18

How do older children’s narratives develop?

Answer 18

• Fewer unresolved problems
• Less extraneous detail
• More changes in time and place
• More introduction
• Greater concern for motivation and internal reactions
• More complex episode structure
• Closer adherence to story grammar model

Question 19

What are the differences in Western narratives vs. Māori narratives?

Answer 19

Western narratives are linear with explicit detail (it is up to the speaker to make sure everyone understands) and clear story elements whereas a Māori story is cyclical with more implied meanings and may leave out story elements (unresolved ending…). There is more reliance on shared context.

Question 20

What semantic areas develop in school aged children?

Answer 20

• Vocabulary
• Word Associations
• Word definitions
• Multiple meanings
• Figurative language
• Jokes

Question 21

how does vocabulary develop?

Answer 21

Increases with age
Reading plays the largest role

Question 22

How do definitions develop?

Answer 22

They become more dictionary-like

Question 23

How do multiple meanings develop?

Answer 23

Begin to develop more abstract or psychological meanings e.g., low, sweet, cold, high

Homophones, homographs, homonyms

Question 24

How does figurative language develop?

Answer 24

At aground age 4-5 there is the development of understanding from concrete nouns to abstract e.g., love, freedom, time.

Also abstract ideas like animal rights

Help with understanding idioms, similes, metaphors

Question 25

How do jokes develop?

Answer 25

Move from being sound based — double meaning —- overt —- abstract/subtle

Question 26

How does syntax and morphological language develop?

Answer 26

• Noun Phrase development
• Verb Phrase development
• More complex sentences
• More complex conjunctions

Question 27

What is the metalinguistic ability for preschool aged children?

Answer 27

• Can talk about sounds and words
• Emerging phonological awareness
• Check if the listener has understood
• Correct others
• Adjust style of language for listener

Question 28

What is the metalinguistic ability for school aged children?

Answer 28

• Identify and manipulate linguistic units
• Judge whether grammar is correct or not
• Judge utterances as appropriate
• Provide definitions
• construct puns, riddles, humour