CHAPTER 3

Linguistic and Literacy

Development of Children and
Adolescents
NATURAL HISTORY OF LANGUAGE
DEVELOPMENT
WHAT IS LANGUAGE?

• Language is a system of verbal and

written symbols with rules about how
those symbols can be strung together to
convey more complex meaning.
WHAT IS LANGUAGE?
• Communication
• Human Communication
• is the process of exchanging
information between individuals.
COMPONENTS OF LANGUAGE

Morphology
The structure of words and the
construction of word forms.
COMPONENTS OF LANGUAGE

Syntax
The order and combination of words
to form sentences.
Relationships among the elements
within a sentence.
COMPONENTS OF LANGUAGE
Phonology
The sound system of a language.
Rules that govern the sound
combinations.
COMPONENTS OF LANGUAGE
Semantics
The system that governs the meanings
of words and sentences.
COMPONENTS OF LANGUAGE
Pragmatics
The system that combines the above
language components in functional
and socially appropriate
communication.
A LANGUAGE DISORDER…
 may be evident in the process of hearing,
language, speech, or in a combination of all
three processes.
A LANGUAGE DISORDER…
is impaired comprehension and/or use of
spoken, written, and/or other symbol
systems.
A LANGUAGE DISORDER…
 can represent a deficit in receptive
language, expressive language, or a
combined expressive-receptive deficit.
How did really the language of a child
developed?
• There is no definite or exact sequence on
how a child can acquire language. But since
the birth of child psychology many had
developed theories or studies that led to
some information on how we as children
acquire language.
THEORIES OF LANGUAGE
DEVELOPMENT
• Behaviorism
• Cognitive
• Nativist
• Social Interactionism
• Neurobiological Research and Neural
Maturation
BEHAVIORISM THEORY
• Viewed babies as empty vessels which
language had to be put in to.
• Proposed by B.F. Skinner
• operant conditioning - child goes through
trial-and-error in language acquisition.
COGNITIVE THEORY
• Links exist between children’s motor
ability, play behavior, and language
development.
COGNITIVE THEORY
• Theory of Cognitive Development
• Proposed by Jean Piaget
• specific cognitive achievements are
fundamental to linguistic development.
• -Language development of a child is
universal
• -Children are lone learners
COGNITIVE THEORY
• Sociocultural Theory
• Cultural-historical
• Proposed by Lev Vygotsky
• Stressed the importance of a child's
cultural background as an effect to the
stages of language development.
COGNITIVE THEORY
• Sociocultural Theory
• “Tools of Intellectual Adaption”
– culture-provided tools that allow
children to use their basic mental
abilities in that is adaptive to the culture
in which they live.
COGNITIVE THEORY
• Sociocultural Theory
• 3 factors affecting learning
• individual learning
• influences adults and peers
• cultural beliefs and attitudes
NATIVISM THEORY
• Language acquisition is an innate structure,
or function, of the human brain.
• Proposed by Noam Chomsky
• Language Acquisition Device (LAD)
NATIVISM THEORY
• Language Acquisition Device (LAD)
– term for an innate language-processing
capacity that is programmed to recognize
the universal rules that underlie any
particular language that a child might hear.
NATIVISM THEORY
• Language Acquisition Device (LAD)
• Children do not need any kind of formal
teaching to learn to speak.
• Innate ability to learn language, a
biological brain mechanism
• Deemphasizes contribution of child’s
environment.
NATIVISM THEORY
• Optimal learning age
• 3 – 10 years old
‐ a child is the most likely to learn a
language in its entirety and grasp
fluency.
SOCIAL INTERACTIONISM
• Based on principle that communication
interaction plays a central role in children’s
acquisition of language.
• Proposed by Jerome Bruner
• Language Acquisition Support System
(LASS)
SOCIAL INTERACTIONISM
• Language Acquisition Support System
(LASS)
– term for the parental behaviors and
formatted events within which children
acquire language
– Refers to the importance of a child’s
social support network, which works in
conjunction with innate mechanisms to
encourage or suppress language
development.
SOCIAL INTERACTIONISM
• Scaffolding
– Breaking up the learning into parts and
then providing a tool, or structure, with
each part.
– Describe the way children often build on
the information they have already
mastered.
NEUROBIOLOGICAL RESEARCH
AND NEURAL MATURATION
• Language processing is concentrated into
two areas :
• Broca's area
• Wernicke's area
NEUROBIOLOGICAL RESEARCH
AND NEURAL MATURATION
• The brain becomes less capable of
reorganizing and adapting to new
environmental input as people age.
• Brain plasticity decreases with age.
ANTECEDENTS OF LANGUAGE
DEVELOPMENT
• Antecedents of the language development talks
about the ways or means which help the child to
prepare him/her in learning the language.
ANTECEDENTS OF LANGUAGE
DEVELOPMENT
• PSUEDODIALOGUES
• PROTODECLARATIVES
• PROTOIMPERATIVES
PSUEDODIALOGUES
• this is one of the early training devices.
• Characterized by the give and take of the
conversation between the child and the
mother or other person.
• Adults maintain the flow of conversation.
• Example: oooglie oooglie googlie googlie
PROTODECLARATIVES
• the child uses gestures to make a
description about the statement.
PROTOIMPERATIVE
• the child still uses gestures but these
gestures are used to let someone do for
him/her. Make statements about the things
and let someone do it for him/her.
STAGES OF LANGUAGE
DEVELOPMENT
STAGES OF LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
• Hearing and Understanding Development
• Speech Development
• Grammatical Growth
• Vocabulary stage
HEARING AND UNDERSTANDING
DEVELOPMENT
• Birth-3 Months
• Startles to loud sounds
• Seems to recognize your voice and quiets
if crying
• Increases or decreases sucking behavior
in response to sound
INFANT
• 4-6 Months
• Moves eyes in direction of sounds
• Responds to changes in tone of your
voice
• Notices toys that make sounds or music
TODDLER
• 7 Months-1 Year
• Turns and looks in direction of sounds
• Listens when spoken to
• Recognizes words for common items
• Begins to respond to requests
TODDLER
• 1 – 2 years
• Points to a few body parts when asked.
• Follows simple commands and
understands simple questions
• Listens to simple stories, songs, and
rhymes.
• Points to pictures in a book when named.
TODDLER
• 2 – 3 years
• Understands differences in meaning
• Follows two requests
• Listens to and enjoys hearing stories for
longer periods of time
PRESCHOOLER
• 3 – 4 years
• Hears you when you call from another
room.
• Hears television or radio at the same
loudness level as other family members.
• Answers simple "who?", "what?",
"where?", and "why?" questions.
PRESCHOOLER
• 4 – 6 years
• Pays attention to a short story and
answers simple questions about them.
• Hears and understands most of what is
said at home and in school.
SCHOOL AGE
• 6 – 7 years
• Understand opposite analogies easily
SCHOOL AGE
• 7 – 12 years
• Begins to use reference books.
• Demonstrates effective listening skills by
exhibiting appropriate body language.
SPEECH DEVELOPMENT
INFANT
• Birth-3 Months
• Undifferentiated o differentiated crying
• Babbling – random vocal play , speech-
like with many different sounds,
including p, b and m
• Smile
INFANT
• 4-6 Months
• Lallation – non-random play and self-
imitation
• Echolalia – practice imitating clusters of
sounds, repeating a word or phrase over
and over
INFANT
• 4-6 Months
• Chuckles and laughs
• Vocalizes excitement and displeasure
• Makes gurgling sounds
TODDLER
• 7 Months -1 Year
• Babbling has both long and short groups
of sounds
• Uses speech or non-crying sounds to get
and keep attention
TODDLER
• 7 Months-1 Year
• Uses gestures to communication
• Imitates different speech sounds
• Has one or two words around first
birthday, although sounds may not be
clear
TODDLER
• 1 – 2 years
• Says more words every month.
• Uses some one- or two- word questions
• Puts two words together
• Uses many different consonant sounds at
the beginning of words.
TODDLER
• 2 – 3 years
• Has a word for almost everything.
• Uses two- or three- words to talk about
and ask for things.
• Uses k, g, f, t, d, and n sounds.
TODDLER
• 2 – 3 years
• Speech is understood by familiar listeners
most of the time.
• Often asks for or directs attention to
objects by naming them.
PRESCHOOL
• 3- 4 years old
• Talks about activities at school or at
friends' homes.
• People outside of the family usually
understand child's speech.
• Usually talks easily without repeating
syllables or words.
PRESCHOOL
• 4 – 6 years old
• Uses sentences that give lots of details
• Tells stories that stick to topic.
• Communicates easily with other children
and adults.
PRESCHOOL
• 4 – 6 years old
• Says most sounds correctly except a few
like l, s, r, v, z, ch, sh, th.
• Says rhyming words.
• Names some letters and numbers.
• Uses the same grammar as the rest of the
family.
SCHOOL AGE
• 6 – 7 years
• Should have mastered the consonants s-z,
r, voiceless th, ch, wh, and the soft g
SCHOOL AGE
• 6 – 7 years
• Understands such terms as: alike,
different, beginning, end, etc
• Should be able to tell time to quarter hour
• Should be able to do simple reading and
to write or print many words
SCHOOL AGE
• 7 – 12 years
• Enjoys reading aloud.
• Adjusts language and vocabulary to fit an
audience, topic, or purpose.
• Gives precise directions and instructions
for more complex activities and tasks.
SCHOOL AGE
• Tells and retells stories in a formal
storytelling format using descriptive
language, story elements, and voice to
create interest and mood.
• Uses a variety of simple and compound
sentences of varied lengths.
GRAMMATICAL GROWTH
STAGES OF GRAMMATICAL GROWTH
• Infant
• The earliest stage is hardly like grammar
at all, as it consists of utterances of only
one word long, for example ‘dada’ or
‘mama’.
• Approximately 60% of these words have
a naming function and 20% express and
action.
STAGES OF GRAMMATICAL GROWTH
• Toddler
• Holophrastic stage (around 12-18
months)
- children put the equivalent of a whole
sentence into a single word.
• Two-word stage (18 months to 2 years)
- children put 2 words together to make
one sentence structure.
STAGES OF GRAMMATICAL GROWTH
• Preschooler
• Telegraphic stage (3 to 4 years old)
- is filling simple sentence patterns by
adding extra elements of clause structure
and making the elements more complex
s. simple words like determiners e.g. the,
are left out but the sentence is still
understood.
STAGES OF GRAMMATICAL GROWTH
• Preschooler
• 4 and beyond
- the children are ‘sorting out’ their
grammar. They have learnt the forms of
the irregular nouns and the verbs.
VOCABULARY STAGES
VOCABULARY STAGES
• Labeling
– The first stage and involves making
the link between the sounds of particular
words and the objects to which they
refer e.g. understanding that “mama”
refers to the child’s mother.
VOCABULARY STAGES
• Packaging
– This entails understanding a word’s
range of meaning. This is when Over
extension and Under extension become a
hurdle in the development of the
language.
VOCABULARY STAGES
• Packaging
• Over extension
- Children may generalize their first
words to refer to items beyond their
usual scope of application.
• Under extension
- Children may fail to associate
connections between similar objects
VOCABULARY STAGES
• Network Building
– This involves grasping the connections
between words; understanding that some
words are opposite in meaning.
VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT
• Infant
- 0-6 months
- vocalization with intonation
- 6-12 months
- Uses one or more words with meaning
(this may be a fragment of a word)
VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT
• Toddler
- 1 – 1 ½ year old
– Has vocabulary of approximately 5-20
words. Vocabulary made up chiefly of
nouns
- 1 ½ to 2 years old
- Vocabulary of approximately 150-300
words. Approximately 2/3 of what child
says is intelligible.
VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT
• Toddler
- 2 to 3 years old
- Has in the neighborhood of 900-1000
words. About 90% of what child says
should be intelligible
VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT
• Preschooler
- 3-6 years old
- Much repetition of words, phrases,
syllables, and even sounds
- Speech is completely intelligible and
socially useful
VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT
• School Age
- Develops vocabulary from textbooks
and personal reading.
- Gives precise directions and
instructions for more complex activities and
tasks.
- Tells and retells stories in a formal
storytelling format using descriptive language,
story elements, and voice to create interest and
mood.
ADOLESCENT
ADOLESCENT
• Our brains may be automatically wired to
learn languages, but the ability does not last
into adulthood in the same way that it exists
during development.
ADOLESCENT
• After the age of ten or twelve, the general
functional connections have been
established and fixed for the speech cortex.
• By the onset of puberty, language
acquisition has typically been solidified.
ADOLESCENT
• Around age 12, it becomes more difficult to
learn a language in the same way a native
speaker would.
RECOGNIZING PROBLEMS
RECOGNIZING PROBLEMS
• Look for poor eye contact and lack of
attention and focus.
• Listen to how they pronounce words. Are
they hard to understand?
• Can they understand simple directions?
• Are they having trouble with basic social
skills?
RECOGNIZING PROBLEMS
• Does your child not seem to be interested in
having you read to them?
• Do they repeat what you say or say the same thing
over and over?
• Do they lack empathy for the feelings of others?
• Do they avoid conversations?
RECOGNIZING PROBLEMS
• Do they avoid conversations?
• Are they only interested in talking or reading
about one subject?
• Is your preschooler not engaging in fantasy
play? Do they lack a sense of humor?
REFERENCE:
• Language Theory and Language Development Power Point Presentation. Slide Share. Pearson – Language
Disorders in Children, 2011.
• Taxler, M. J. (2012). Introduction to Psycholinguists: Understanding Language Science. West Sussex: Wiley
Publishers.
• Crabtree, E. (1999). Noam Chomsky
• Sabahat, A. (2012). Crucial differences between a behaviourist and a nativist view of first language acquisition.
• http://www.mimersbrunn.se/Language_Acquisition_5528.htm
• Skinner, B.F. (1957). Verbal Behavior. Acton, MA: Copley Publishing Group.
• http://www.biography.com/people/bf-skinner-9485671#synopsis
• Patsy M. Lightbown; Nina Spada. How Languages Are Learned. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
• Encyclopedia of Childhood and Adolescence, Apr 06, 2001 by Jill De Villiers, Ph.D. Smith College
• http://www.ehow.com/about_6469505_major-theories-language-development.html
• http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/course/85-211b/language_acq.html
• http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g2602/is_0003/ai_2602000341/pg_6/?tag=content;col1
• http://www.duke.edu/~pk10/language/psych.htm
• http://languagedevelopment.tripod.com/id15.html
• American Speech-Language Hearing Association ©2012
THANK YOU