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LIFE SPAN DEVELOPMENT A TOPICAL APPROACH –
2025|2026 UPDATE|QS AND AS|A+ RATED
Language
- Definition: Systematic, meaningful arrangements of symbols used to communicate. a. It has several formal characteristics that must be mastered as linguistic competence is developed. b. It is closely tied to the way infants think and how they understand the world. Phonology
- Definition: The Basic sounds of language, called phonemes, that can be combined to produce words and sentences. Morphemes
- Definition: The smallest language unit that has meaning. a. --s for plural b. --ed for the past tense
Semantics The rules that govern the meaning of words and sentences. Linguistic comprehension
- Definition: The understanding of speech. a. Comprehension precedes production Linguistic production
- Definition: The use of language to communicate. a. Comprehension precedes production General Rule Comprehension precedes production. (ie: kids understand before they speak) Prelinguistic Communication
Babbling
- Definition: Making speechlike but meaningless sounds 2 months- year. a. Babbling is a universal phenomenon. b. Babbling begins with easy sounds (b, p) and proceeds to more complex sounds (d, t). c. By the age of 6 months, babbling differs according to the language to which the infant is exposed.
- Infants who cannot hear and are exposed to sign language babble with their hands instead of their voices. First Words
- Are generally spoken between 10 and 14 months of age. a. By 15 months, the average child has a vocabulary of 10 words. b. The one-word stage ends around 18 months. c. Between the ages of 16 and 24 months, a child's vocabulary explodes from about 50 to 400 words. d. First words typically label objects or people regularly present in the babies' lives. e. First words are typically HOLOPHRASES, one-word utterances that depend on the particular context in which they are used to determine meaning.
f. Cultural differences are revealed in vocabulary development, such as the age at which children use nouns. Differentiation By six months, babbling is distinct to language infant is exposed to First Words - Timing Generally 10-14 months First Words - Holophrases One word utterances that stand for whole phrases. Mom-could mean pick me up, Mom. First Words - Language "Explosion" In a few weeks between 16 and 24 months, vocab increases from an average 50 words to 400 words.
Over-extension - Linguistic Inaccuracies Words used too broadly, overgeneralizing their meaning. Doggy - all furry animals. Language Advances: Preschool Years
- Between the ages of 2 and 3, sentence length increases.
- SYNTAX, the ways words and phrases are combined to form sentences, doubles each month.
- There are enormous leaps in the number of words children use. By age 6, a typical child's vocabulary is around 14,000 words, and is acquired at a rate of nearly 1 new word every 2 hours, 24 hours per day. a. They manage this feat through a process known as FAST MAPPING, instances in which new words are associated with their meaning after only a brief encounter. b. By age 3, children use plurals and possessive forms of nouns (boys/boy's), employ the past tense (adding -ed), use articles (the, a), and can ask and answer complex questions ("Where did you say my book is?"). c. Preschoolers begin to acquire the principles of GRAMMAR, the system of rules that determine how our thoughts can be expressed. d. They also grow in PRAGMATIC ability, the aspect of language related to communicating effectively and appropriately with others. e. The ability permits children to understand basics of conversations.
- Private Speech and Social Speech a. Preschoolers engage mostly in PRIVATE SPEECH, speech by children that is spoken and directed to themselves. b. Use of private speech allows children to practice the practical skills required in conversation. c. Vygotsky argues that private speech facilitates children's thinking, and helps them to control their behavior, solve problems, and reflect. d. Twenty to sixty percent of what children say is private speech. e. SOCIAL SPEECH, speech directed toward another person and meant to be understood by that person, increases. Rapid Bloom - Preschool Years From late 2's to mid 3's, sentence length increases, and syntax becomes more complex. Syntax - Preschool Years The ways words and phrases are combined to create sentences Fast Mapping - Preschool Years
- Vocabulary continues to increase during the school years. a. School-aged children's mastery of grammar improves, as does their pronunciation. b. Certain phonemes—units of sound—remain troublesome (j, v, h, zh). c. School-aged children may have difficulty decoding sentences when the meaning depends on intonation, or tone of voice. d. Children become more competent in their use of pragmatics, the rules governing the use of language to communicate in a social context.
- One of the most significant developments in middle childhood is the increase in METALINGUISTIC AWARENESS, an understanding of one's own use of language. a. Language helps children to achieve comprehension when confronted with incomplete or unclear information. b. Increased sophistication helps school-aged children control behaviors as they learn negotiation strategies and self-regulation. Pragmatics
- Definition: The rules governing the use of language to communicate in a social context. Intonation
- Definition: Tone of voice. Metalinguistic Awareness
- Definition: An understanding of one's own use of language. a. One of the most significant developments in middle childhood is the increase in ____ ____. Middle Childhood Speech The use of passive voice and conditional sentences increases. Understanding of syntax grows (ex: Give me lollipop, I will stop biting.) Pragmatics - Middle Childhood The rules governing the use of language in a social context. Meta-linguistic Awareness - Middle Childhood An understanding of one's own use of language. Explicit understanding of rules governing language. Helps children achieve comprehension by asking for clarification.
d. Support for Chomsky's approach comes from recent findings identifying a specific gene related to speech production. e. Recent research suggests that infants' and adults' speech processing is similar, suggesting an evolutionary basis for language. f. Critics argue that since primates can be taught to talk, the uniqueness of human linguistic capacity is called into question. g. Critics also suggest that although humans may be genetically primed to use language, social experience must be accounted for. h. An alternative approach combines both schools of thought. i. Theorists argue that neither learning theory nor nativist theory fully explains language acquisition. Universal Grammar Languages share a similar underlying structure, universal. Language Acquisition Device (LAD)
- Definition: The brain is wired with a neural system of the brain hypothesized to permit the understanding of language. Support
Gene related to speech production. Language processing in infants uses same brain structures used by adults. The Interactionist Perspective
- Suggests that language development is produced through a combination of genetically determined predispositions and environmental events. Sensitive Stage Critical Stage How are language and thought related?
- Language shapes thought
- Thought shapes language
- Thought and language influence one another
- Research supports all 3 views
- Critics argue that while language could cause particular thoughts, it is also possible that thoughts produce specific language.
- This view that thinking shapes language is consistent with Piagetian views of development. Thought and Language Influence one another
- Some prefer this interactionist perspective to either of the other two views.
- Lev Vygotsky (1962) argued that though language and thinking develop independently, they are intertwined and influence each other. -Language and thought are intertwined and influence one another. Infant Directed Speech
- Definition: A type of speech directed towards infants, characterized by short, simple sentences.
- Previously called motherese a. Pitch of voice rises
b. intonation may be varied takes on musical quality c. repetition of words d. Topics restricted to concrete items comprehensible to infants e. amusing sounds (not just words) f. similar to telegraphic speech with litle formal structure g. typically only used during first year
- This pattern begins to show more adult qualities as infants get older.
- Speech around 1-year-old babies is comprised of longer, more complex sentences.
- Speech is still slow and deliberate.
- Pitch still varies to focus attention on particularly important words.
- Infants seem more receptive to this type of speech.
- Use of this type of speech is related to the early appearance of words and linguistic competence. separate words carefully, short and simple sentences. Effects: Infants exposed to a great deal of this speech master language milestones earlier.
- An increasing body of evidence suggests that family income and poverty impact children's general cognitive development and behavior. a. The longer children live in poverty, the more severe the effects: greater limitations in educational resources and less psychological support from parents to family members. English Language Learners: Bilingual Education vs. Immersion
- English language learners (ELLs), students who enter school with little or no English proficiency, may have slow academic progress and be isolated from their peers.
- Educators are challenged by children speaking little or no English.
- One approach is bilingual education, in which children are initially taught in their native language, while at the same time learning English.
- An alternative approach is to immerse students in English-only education.
- Being bilingual may have cognitive advantages. a. greater cognitive flexibility b. higher self-esteem c. greater metalinguistic awareness: understanding the rules of language more explicitly than students who speak only one language d. higher scores on IQ tests, according to some research
- Instruction in a native language may enhance instruction in a second language. Social speech is the term for speech directed toward another person and meant to be understood by that person. True of False? True Linguistic production will always precede linguistic comprehension. True or False? True Most children are unable to demonstrate social speech, until they are at least ten years of age. True or False? False. The preschool years mark the growth of social speech. At approximately 3 years old, a child can follow the principles of grammar most of the time. True or False? True
