1. Slide 1 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. LIFE-SPAN DEVELOPMENT 9 A Topical Approach to John W. Santrock Language Development

2. Slide 2 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Defining Language Form of communication, whether spoken, written, or signed, based on system of symbols –Infinite generativity — ability to produce an endless number of meaningful sentences using a finite set of words and rules What is Language?

3. Slide 3 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Language’s Rule Systems What is Language? Phonology Morphology Syntax Sound system of language; how the sounds are used and combined – phoneme is smallest unit of sound morphemes are units of meaning involved in word formation 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

4. Slide 4 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Infancy Babbling, gestures, and other vocalizations – Crying - from birth – Cooing - 1 to 2 months – Babbling - around 6 months – Gestures - 8 to 12 months How Language Develops

5. Slide 5 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Infancy Recognizing Language Sounds –‘Citizens of the world’ – Newborns recognize sound changes – Can recognize own language sounds at 6 months First Words – Receptive vocabulary considerably exceeds spoken vocabulary – Timing of first word and vocabulary spurt varies How Language Develops

6. Slide 6 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Infancy Two-Word Utterances – Begins between 18 to 24 months – Child relies heavily on gesture, tone, context – Telegraphic speech — use of short and precise words without grammatical markers How Language Develops

7. Slide 7 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Family Environment Mother’s education level is positively correlated to number of books in home Single-parent and welfare families had fewer books than two-parent and affluent families Kindergartener had better language skills if parents read to them 3 or more times a week How Language Develops

8. Slide 8 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Advances in Pragmatics 4 to 5 Years Old 4 Years Old 3 Years Old Change speech style to suit the social situation Develop remarkable sensitivity to needs of others in conversation Improve ability to talk about things not physically present, improved displacement How Language Develops

9. Slide 9 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Advances in Semantics Speaking vocabulary: ranges from 8,000 to 14,000 words for 6-year-olds –Rate of 5 to 8 words per day from ages 1 to 6 –Some estimate 6-year-old learns 22 words a day –Entering elementary school with small vocabulary places child at risk for reading problems –Quantity of parent talk linked to child’s vocabulary growth and SES of family How Language Develops

10. Slide 10 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Middle and Late Childhood Vocabulary and grammar – Reading and writing assumes prominent role – Preschoolers usually respond with one word first – Elementary school children Increasingly understand, use complex grammar Metalinguistic awareness greatly improves How Language Develops

11. Slide 11 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Reading How Language Develops Before learning to read, children learn – To use language to describe things not present – The alphabetic principle: letters represent sound Whole language approach – Instruction should parallel child’s natural language learning; reading should be whole and meaningful Basic-skills-and-phonics approach – Instruction should teach phonics and its basic rules; reading should involve simplified materials

12. Slide 12 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Literacy 2- to 3-year-olds emerge from scribbling to begin printing letters Most 4-year-olds can print their names –Reversed letters may not predict literacy problems –Children often invent spellings –Adults should encourage early writing –Literacy gets better with repeated practice **Children benefit from guided oral reading

13. Slide 13 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Middle and Late Childhood Bilingualism — ability to speak two languages – Learning second language easier for children – Children’s ability to pronounce second language with correct accent decreases with age; sharp drop after age 10 to 12 – Has positive effect on children’s cognitive development How Language Develops

14. Slide 14 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Adolescence Increased use and understanding of – Sophisticated words – Analysis and abstract thinking – Metaphors — implied comparison of unlike things –Satire — use of irony, derision, or wit to expose folly or wickedness How Language Develops

15. Slide 15 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Adolescence Adolescents are much better at organizing ideas and writing Dialect — variety of language distinguished by vocabulary, grammar, or pronunciation –Adolescent dialect with peers often uses jargon or slang –Usually used to indicate group membership How Language Develops

16. Slide 16 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Adulthood Distinct personal linguistic style is part of special identity Vocabulary often continues to increase throughout adult years until late adulthood – Little decline among healthier older adults Non-language factors may be cause of decline in language skills in older adults How Language Develops

17. Slide 17 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Adulthood Some decrements common in late adulthood – Inability to distinguish speech sounds – Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon – Alzheimer’s disease Language does not change Word-finding difficulties are early warning signs How Language Develops

18. Slide 18 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Biological Influences Aphasia — language disorder resulting from brain damage; loss of ability to use words Evolution and the brain’s role in language –Broca’s area — area of brain’s left frontal lobe involved in speech production –Wernicke’s area — area of brain’s left hemisphere involved in language comprehension If damaged — fluent incomprehensible speech produced Biological and Environmental Influences

19. Slide 19 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Broca’s and Wernicke’s Areas of the Brain Fig. 9.10

20. Slide 20 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Language Acquisition Device Chomsky – Humans biologically prewired for language – Language acquisition device (LAD): biological endowment to detect features and rules of language – Theoretical, not physical part of brain – Evidence of uniformity in language milestones across languages and cultures Biological and Environmental Influences

21. Slide 21 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Environmental Influences Behavioral View –Language is complex learned skill, reinforced –Problems with behavioral view: Cannot explain people creating novel sentences Children can learn syntax of native language without reinforcement Fails to explain language’s extensive orderliness Biological and Environmental Influences

22. Slide 22 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Influencing A Child’s Language Development Infants –Be active conversational partner –Talk as if the infant understands –Use a comfortable language style Toddlers –Continue being active conversational partner –Remember to listen –Use a comfortable language style but expand utterances –Avoid sexual stereotypes –Don’t make normative comparisons

23. Slide 23 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The End 9