Naturalistic language sampling in typically developing children
Marc H Bornstein1, Kathleen M Painter, Jaihyun Park
1National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Suite 8030, 6705 Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892-7971, USA. Marc_H_Bornstein@nih.gov
Journal of Child Language
|July 12, 2002
Summary
Children
Area of Science:
- Child language acquisition
- Developmental psychology
- Linguistic development
Background:
- Understanding child language development requires examining naturalistic speech samples.
- Previous research highlights the impact of context on language production in young children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare language features (utterances, word roots, MLU) in two-year-olds across three distinct home situations.
- To investigate the influence of social interaction and maternal judgment on children's language output.
Main Methods:
- Naturalistic observation of 30 two-year-olds in home environments.
- Three conditions: solitary play (mother nearby), interactive play, and "optimal" language situation (mother-selected).
- Analysis of total utterances, word roots, and Mean Length of Utterance (MLU).
Main Results:
- Children produced more utterances, word roots, and higher MLU during interaction versus solitary play.
- The "optimal" language situation yielded the highest levels of all measured language features.
- Girls exhibited more word roots and longer MLU than boys, particularly in the "optimal" setting.
- Children's relative language performance (rank order) remained consistent across situations.
Conclusions:
- Context significantly impacts young children's language production, with interactive and "optimal" settings fostering greater output.
- Maternal selection of an "optimal" situation effectively elicits richer language samples.
- Gender differences in early language development are observable.
- Findings underscore the importance of considering sampling methods for representative child language assessment.
Related Concept Videos
02:30Naturalistic Observations
If you want to understand how behavior occurs, one of the best ways to gain information is to simply observe the behavior in its natural context. However, people might change their behavior in unexpected ways if they know they are being observed. How do researchers obtain accurate information when people tend to hide their natural behavior? As an example, imagine that your professor asks everyone in your class to raise their hand if they always wash their hands after using the restroom. Chances...
01:24Components of Language
Language, whether spoken, signed, or written, consists of specific components: lexicon and grammar. The lexicon is the vocabulary of a language, comprising its words. Grammar is the set of rules used to convey meaning through the lexicon. For example, English grammar adds “-ed” to most verbs to indicate past tense. Words are formed by combining phonemes, which are the basic sound units of a language. Different languages have different sets of phonemes (e.g., “ah” vs. “eh”). Phonemes combine to...
01:22Language Development
Children master language quickly and with relative ease, supported by both biological predisposition and reinforcement. B. F. Skinner (1957) proposed that language is learned through reinforcement, while Noam Chomsky (1965) argued that language acquisition mechanisms are biologically determined.
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...
01:27Language and Cognition
Language serves as a bridge between ideas and communication, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Psychologists have long debated whether language shapes thought or vice versa. This discussion gained grip with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s, who proposed that language determines thought, a concept known as linguistic determinism. They suggested that the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers think and perceive reality.
01:21The Nativist Approach
The nativist approach to infant cognitive development proposes that infants are born with inherent knowledge structures that allow them to interpret the world almost immediately. This perspective contrasts with earlier developmental theories, such as those proposed by Jean Piaget, which emphasized a more gradual acquisition of cognitive abilities through interaction with the environment. One key concept in this approach is object permanence — the understanding that objects continue to exist...