79 research outputs found
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Child-directed speech: relation to socioeconomic status, knowledge of child development and child vocabulary skill
This study sought to determine why American parents from different
socioeconomic backgrounds communicate in different ways with their
children. Forty-seven parent–child dyads were videotaped engaging
in naturalistic interactions in the home for ninety minutes at
child age 2;6. Transcripts of these interactions provided measures
of child-directed speech. Children’s vocabulary comprehension skills
were measured using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test at 2;6 and
one year later at 3;6. Results indicate that: (1) child-directed speech
with toddlers aged 2;6 predicts child vocabulary skill one year later,
controlling for earlier toddler vocabulary skill ; (2) child-directed
speech relates to socioeconomic status as measured by income
and education; and (3) the relation between socioeconomic status and
child-directed speech is mediated by parental knowledge of child
development. Potential mechanisms through which parental knowledge
influences communicative behavior are discussed
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Decontextualized Language Input and Preschoolers' Vocabulary Development
This article discusses the importance of using decontextualized
language, or language that is removed from the here and now including
pretend, narrative, and explanatory talk, with preschool children. The
literature on parents’ use of decontextualized language is reviewed and
results of a longitudinal study of parent decontextualized language input
in relation to child vocabulary development are explained. The main
findings are that parents who provide their preschool children with more
explanations and narrative utterances about past or future events in the
input have children with larger vocabularies 1 year later, even with
quantity of parent input and child prior vocabulary skill controlled.
Recommendations for how to engage children in decontextualized
language conversations are provided
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A Longitudinal Investigation of the Role of Quantity and Quality of Child-Directed Speech in Vocabulary Development
Quantity and quality of caregiver input was examined longitudinally in a sample of 50 parent–child dyads to
determine which aspects of input contribute most to children’s vocabulary skill across early development. Measures
of input gleaned from parent–child interactions at child ages 18, 30, and 42 months were examined in
relation to children’s vocabulary skill on a standardized measure 1 year later (e.g., 30, 42, and 54 months).
Results show that controlling for socioeconomic status, input quantity, and children’s previous vocabulary skill;
using a diverse and sophisticated vocabulary with toddlers; and using decontextualized language (e.g., narrative)
with preschoolers explains additional variation in later vocabulary ability. The differential effects of various
aspects of the communicative environment at several points in early vocabulary development are discussed
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Parental goals and talk with toddlers
Myriad studies support a relation between parental beliefs and
behaviours. This study adds to the literature by focusing on the
specific relationship between parental goals and their communication
with toddlers. Do parents with different goals talk about different
topics with their children? Parents’ goals for their 30-month olds
were gathered using semi-structured interviews with 47 primary
caregivers, whereas the topics of conversations that took place during
interactions were investigated via coding videotapes of observations
in the home. Parents’ short- and long-term goals spanned several
areas, including educational, social–emotional, developmental and
pragmatic goals. Parental utterances most frequently focused on
pragmatic issues, followed by play and academic topics. Parents who
mentioned long-term educational goals devoted more of their talk to
academic topics and less to pragmatic topics, controlling for socioeconomic
status. Thus, parental goals differ and these differences
relate to the conversations parents engage in with their children
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A comparison of preschool children's discussions with parents during picture book and chapter book reading
Discussions that occur during book reading between parents and preschool children relate to children’s language development, especially discussions during picture books that include extended discourse, a form of abstract language. While a recent report shows increased chapter book reading among families with preschool children, it is unknown whether chapter books also facilitate these types of conversations. Further, the substantial variation in preschoolers’ language ability raises the question of whether chapter book reading may be beneficial for all children of this age. The current study
examined the discussions between five-year-old children (N = 33) and their parents while reading both a picture book and the first chapter of a chapter book. Findings are discussed in terms of the variation observed in the amount and types of discussion, how chapter book discussions compare to picture book discussions, and finally, how children’s narrative skill can serve as an indicator of children’s ability to participate in discussions, especially during chapter book reading
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Differences in Early Gesture Explain SES Disparities in Child Vocabulary Size at School Entry
Children from low–socioeconomic status (SES) families, on average, arrive at school with smaller
vocabularies than children from high-SES families. In an effort to identify precursors to, and
possible remedies for, this inequality, we videotaped 50 children from families with a range of
different SES interacting with parents at 14 months and assessed their vocabulary skills at 54
months. We found that children from high-SES families frequently used gesture to communicate at
14 months, a relation that was explained by parent gesture use (with speech controlled). In turn,
the fact that children from high-SES families have large vocabularies at 54 months was explained
by children’s gesture use at 14 months. Thus, differences in early gesture help to explain the
disparities in vocabulary that children bring with them to school
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Early gesture selectively predicts later language learning
The gestures children produce predict the early stages of spoken language development. Here we ask whether gesture is a global
predictor of language learning, or whether particular gestures predict particular language outcomes. We observed 52 children
interacting with their caregivers at home, and found that gesture use at 18 months
selectively
predicted lexical versus syntactic
skills at 42 months, even with early child speech controlled. Specifically, number of different meanings conveyed in gesture at
18 months predicted vocabulary at 42 months, but number of gesture+speech combinations did not. In contrast, number of
gesture
+
speech combinations, particularly those conveying sentence-like ideas, produced at 18 months predicted sentence
complexity at 42 months, but meanings conveyed in gesture did not. We can thus predict particular milestones in vocabulary
and sentence complexity at age 3 and a half by watching how children move their hands two years earlier
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Maternal Literacy and Child Health in Less-Developed Countries: Evidence, Processes, and Limitations
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A Comparison of Fathers' and Mothers' Talk to Toddlers in Low-income Families
The purpose of this study was to provide descriptive information about low-income
fathers’ and mothers’ talk to toddlers and to re-examine the bridge hypothesis
(Gleason, 1975) in light of current changes in family structure and childcare responsibilities.
Thirty-three father–child and mother–child dyads were videotaped during
semi-structured free play at home. Fathers’ and mothers’ talk to children did not differ
in amount, diversity of vocabulary, or linguistic complexity as measured by mean
length of utterance. However, fathers produced more wh-questions and explicit clarification
requests, thus presenting more conversational challenges to children. Resident
fathers employed more direct forms of prohibitives. Results suggest the need
for closer examination of factors related to child-directed speech in varying family
configurations
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Learning words by hand: Gesture's role in predicting vocabulary development
Children vary widely in how quickly their vocabularies grow. Can looking at
early gesture use in children and parents help us predict this variability? We
videotaped 53 English-speaking parent-child dyads in their homes during
their daily activities for 90-minutes every four months between child age 14
and 34 months. At 42 months, children were given the Peabody Picture
Vocabulary Test (PPVT). We found that child gesture use at 14 months was a
significant predictor of vocabulary size at 42 months, above and beyond the
effects of parent and child word use at 14 months. Parent gesture use at 14
months was not directly related to vocabulary development, but did
relate to child gesture use at 14 months which, in turn, predicted
child vocabulary. These relations hold even when background factors such
as socio-economic status are controlled. The findings underscore the
importance of examining early gesture when predicting child vocabulary
development
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