LIFE-SPAN DEVELOPMENT

1. LIFE-SPAN DEVELOPMENT

2. Language Development What Is Language? How Language Develops Biological and Environmental Influences

3. 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

4. Language’s Rule Systems

5. How Language Develops Infancy Early Childhood Middle and Late Childhood Adolescence Adulthood and Aging

6. Infancy Babbling, gestures, and other vocalizations Crying - from birth Cooing - 1 to 2 months Babbling - around 6 months Gestures - 8 to 12 months

7. 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

8. 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

9. Variation in Language Milestones

10. Early Childhood Understanding Phonology and Morphology Children know morphological rules Plural and possessive forms of nouns Third-person singular and past-tense verbs Children abstract rules and apply them to novel situations Sometimes overgeneralize rules

11. Understanding Syntax Preschoolers learn and apply syntax rules Children show growing mastery of complex rules for how words should be ordered By elementary school years, children become skilled at using syntactical rules to construct lengthy and complex sentences

12. 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

13. Language Input and Young Children’s Vocabulary Development

14. Language Input and Young Children’s Vocabulary Development

15. Advances in Pragmatics

16. 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

17. 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

18. Reading 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

19. 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

20. National Reading Panel Most effective phonological awareness training Has two main skills: blending and segmentation Best when integrated with reading and writing; small groups more beneficial than whole class Children benefit from guided oral reading

21. Relation of Reading Achievement to Number of Pages Read Daily

22. Grammatical Proficiency and Age of Arrival in U.S.

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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

28. Biological Influences Evolution and the brain’s role in language Human language about 100,000 years old Particular regions of brain predisposed for language acquisition Most comprehend syntax in left hemisphere; emotion and intonation comprehended in right hemisphere Aphasia — language disorder resulting from brain damage; loss of ability to use words

29. Biological Influences 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

30. Broca’s and Wernicke’s Areas of the Brain

31. 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

32. 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

33. Environmental Influences Environmental influences Mother’s language linked to child’s vocabulary Child-directed speech — higher pitch for attention Parents, older children modify their speech Other strategies Recasting — rephrasing Expanding — restating Labeling — identifying objects by names

35. An Interactionist View of Language Language Has biological foundations Acquisition influenced by experiences Children acquire native language without explicit teaching; some without encouragement Bruner: parents and teachers help construct language acquisition support system (LASS) Resembles Vygotsky’s ZPD

36. The End