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Language Development

Understanding Language Acquisition

Biological Basis of Language

Imitation and Reinforcement

Social Interactions

Outline Learning Goals

Describe changes in semantics, syntax, pragmatics, and metalinguistic awareness from birth through

adolescence.

Explain the advantages and disadvantages of the methods of teaching English-language learners.

Describe the language differences that emerge from early childhood through the early school-age years.

Explain the factors that contribute to language development.

Development of Language Skills

Language Acquisition Through Early Childhood

Language Acquisition Through Adolescence

Bilingual Language Acquisition

Individual Differences in Language Acquisition

Applications: Encouraging Language Development in the Classroom

Summary Key Concepts Case Studies: Re

ﬂect and Evaluate

Describe ways teachers can support language development in the classroom.

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UNDERSTANDING LANGUAGE
ACQUISITION

Language development forms the basis of much school learning from
early childhood through secondary education. Language skills allow
children to form concepts, engage in pretend play, and interact
socially—all of which advance children’s cognitive development. In
elementary through secondary school, oral language skills enable
students to learn from lessons and lectures, to demonstrate knowledge
by answering questions, and to participate in discussions and group
activities. Oral language also provides a foundation for reading and
writing skills, as well as for acquisition of a second language in
English-language learners. Before we discuss the progression of
language development and its impact on school-age learners, let’s
explore the factors responsible for language acquisition.

Biological Basis of Language

Our brains are well designed for the production and acquisition of
language. The cerebrum, the largest portion of our brain, consists of
two halves called hemispheres. Although both hemispheres are
involved in language, in most individuals the left hemisphere has
more responsibility for many language functions and becomes
specialized for language functions early in infancy (Holowka &
Petitto, 2002; Obler & Gjerlow, 1999). When the left hemisphere is
damaged, the brain’s plasticity—its ability to adapt to environmental
experiences—allows the right hemisphere to take over many of the
functions of the left hemisphere, leading to relatively normal language
development (Stiles & Thal, 1993). Because plasticity decreases with
age, however, it is more difﬁcult for the right hemisphere to take on
language functions after infancy (Stiles, Bates, Thal, Trauner, &
Reilly, 2002).

Humans may acquire language so readily and easily because we

are genetically predisposed—that is, biologically ready—to acquire
language (Ritchie & Bhatia, 1999; Spelke & Newport, 1998). From
birth, infants prefer sounds that have characteristics of human speech:
sounds in the frequency range of 1,000–3,000 Hz and sounds with a
variation in frequencies rather than monotones (Schneider, Trehub, &
Bull, 1979).

The similarities among cultures in many features of language also

suggest an innate capacity for language:

1. Children across the world acquire language within a short period
of time and at roughly the same rate despite differences in cultures
(Kuhl, 2004). This is true both in cultures where children initiate and
participate in conversations with adults and in cultures that
discourage adults from conversing with children (Snow, 1986).

2. The sequence of language skills is similar across cultures for signed and
spoken languages (Kent &

Miulo, 1995; Petitto, Holowka, Sergio, & Ostry, 2001).
3. The sounds b, p, m, d, and n appear across many languages in
infants’ babbling, or repetitive consonant-vowel combinations (e.g.,
dadadadada) (Gopnik, Meltzoff, & Kuhl, 1999; Locke, 1983).

4. All signed and spoken languages share:

ﬁrst words such as juice, milk, and dog (Caselli et al., 1995; Marschark, West,

Nall, & Everhart,
1986); and

rules to indicate changes in tense and plurality and to organize

words into grammatical sentences (Goldin-Meadow & Morford,
1985; Goldin-Meadow & Mylander, 1983).

Imitation and Reinforcement

Language learning partly involves imitation and reinforcement
(Skinner, 1957). In response to adult modeling of language, children
will attempt to produce language by spontaneously imitating sounds,
words, and phrases. Parents also may encourage elicited imitation
when they ask the child to produce a word spoken by the adult (say
―bottle‖ instead of ―ba-ba‖). In many instances, children receive
positive reinforcement (a positive consequence for behavior) for their
efforts, as when a caregiver responds to infants’ babbling with more
dialogue or responds to a toddler’s request (―want milk‖).

Modeling and imitation vary by culture. In cultures that do not

encourage children to initiate conversations or to talk before a certain
age, children are expected to learn by listening and by observing adult
language (Schieffelin & Ochs, 1986). In the United States, elicited
imitation is not considered a crucial teaching method. Children
implicitly discover the usefulness of imitation as a way to expand
their communication skills. In recurrent, predictable events in their
lives, children often repeat an utterance previously spoken by an adult
during the same events (Snow & Goldﬁeld, 1983). However,

The brain and its development: See page 102.

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Positive reinforcement: See page 164.

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Communication During the First Year. Adults and infants show patterns of
behavior that foster the development of language.

Module 8:

Language

Development

imitation and parental reinforcement cannot entirely explain
children’s development of grammatically appropriate language
(James, 1990). Consider these ﬁndings:

Children produce sentences they have never heard adults say (―I

falled on the playground‖). Also, children use imitation much less
after age 2, even though they still have much more language to
acquire (Otto, 2006).

Reinforcement of children’s grammar is not necessary for

language development. Rather than correcting a child’s grammar,
parents tend to reinforce and correct children’s utterances based on
meaning or truth value (Brown & Hanlon, 1970). When a
school-age child announces ―I don’t got no more money,‖ a parent
might respond, ―Really, you don’t have any more money? Where
did you spend it?‖

We are motivated to learn to speak grammatically even though

ungrammatical statements can convey our message just as well
(Siegler & Alibali, 2005).

Social Interactions

Language acquisition is also a product of children’s early social
interactions with adults. Infants communicate and interact socially
even before they are able to produce language. They make different
babbling sounds in response to adults’ pitch and intonation, move in
rhythm to adults’ intonations, and vocalize more when adults stop
talking—a pattern similar to typical conversation (Ginsburg &
Kilbourne, 1988; Locke, 1995; Masataka, 1992).

Adults also behave in certain ways that elicit communication and

foster language development. They initiate communication in
response to infants’ eye contact, burping, or gurgling and respond to
infants’ babbling or ﬁrst attempts at saying words. Toward the end of
infants’ ﬁrst year, adults in many cultures encourage the development
of language skills with additional techniques, described in Table 8.1.
Caregiver techniques may not be universal, though (Harkness, 1977;
Ochs & Schieffelin, 1984). Therefore, while adult behaviors may not
be necessary for language acquisition, they can enhance language
development. Recent research suggests that several forms of
caregiver responsiveness contribute to infants’ development of
expressive language: using expansions, describing objects, asking
questions about objects (―What is that?‖), and using verbal prompts
(―Let’s feed the doll‖) (Tamis-LeMonda, Bornstein, & Baumwell,
2001).

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TA B L E 8 .1

Social Interaction Techniques of Caregivers

Caregiver technique Description

Outcome Example

Child-directed speech

(playing peek-a-boo) Where

— is—Tommy? (exaggerated intonation) Peek—a—boo— I—see—you!

Expansion Adults adding to

—or expanding—the child’s incomplete statement as a way to model more complex

language

Language directed to infants and children characterized by high pitch, exaggerated intonations, elongated vowels,
short and simple sentences, and repetition

Encourages the development of more complex grammar

Increases infants

’ attention to language, facilitating their comprehension and acquisition of language

Joint attention Adults labeling and talking about objects on which the child

’s attention is focused

Encourages vocabulary acquisition

An adult noticing an infant looking at a bird and saying: That

’s a bird. Do you hear it chirping?

When a child says doggie sleep, an adult saying: Yes, the doggie is sleeping. She

’s tired.

Encourages the development of more complex grammar

A child saying We go home? and the adult replying: No, we

’re going to the store.

Sources: Bloom, 1998; Brown & Bellugi, 1964; Butterworth, 2001; Campbell & Namy, 2003; Fernald, 1985; Karrass,
Braungart-Rieker, Mullins, & Lefever, 2002; Moore & Dunham, 1995; Rollins, 2003; Sachs, 1989; Scherer & Olswang, 1984.

Recasting Adults reproducing the child

’s utterance as a semantically similar expression that adds new

information to model more complex language

Adults’ behaviors may have long-term beneﬁts as well. Regardless of the family’s socioeconomic status or ethnic

group identity, parents who vary their speech, label objects, ask questions, respond to children’s questions, and
provide positive feedback for children’s participation in conversations are more likely to have children with
advanced language development (Hart & Risley, 1995). The amount of verbal interaction between caregivers and
their children is a signiﬁcant predictor of a child’s vocabulary, language skills, and reading comprehension at age
nine (Hart & Risley, 1999, 2003). Talking with children during activities and about activities should be a regular
part of the day both at home and in early-childhood classrooms.

Imagine a child growing up in another part of the world. How might his language development be similar to
that of a child in the United States. How might it be different?

DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE SKILLS

Language Acquisition Through Early Childhood

Babbling is the ﬁrst sign of an infant’s ability to produce language, beginning at about 6 months. Around age 8 to 12
months, infants can more easily communicate with adults through gestures and joint attention (adult labeling and
talking about objects the child is gazing at). They also become increasingly skilled at comprehending the meaning of
words and can respond appropriately to commands (Benedict, 1979; Morrisette, Ricard, & Gouin-Decarie, 1995).
With the acquisition of their ﬁrst words at about 1 year of age, children gradually acquire the ability to use
semantics, syntax, the pragmatics of language, and metalinguistic awareness.

SEMANTICS

Semantics (how words convey meaning) is evident in infants’ ﬁrst words. Their language is often

referred to as holophrastic speech, because they use single words to express a larger meaning. For

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example, ―juice‖ may mean ―The juice is all gone‖ or ―I spilled the
juice.‖ Children in the holophrastic stage will commit errors known
as:

overextensions, or using a word to cover a range of concepts,

such as saying ―kitty‖ to refer to all four-legged animals; and

underextensions, or limiting the use of a word to a subset of

objects it refers to, such as using ―kitty‖ only for the family cat.

SYNTAX

The    development    of syntax    (the    logical    combination of words
into meaningful sentences) begins with telegraphic speech, a way of
ordering two or three words according to the grammatical rules of the
child’s language (Brown    &    Fraser,    1963;    Tager-Flusberg,
1997).    Such speech is called telegraphic because it resembles a
telegram, consisting mostly of content words (nouns and verbs) and
omitting function words (articles, conjunctions, etc.). For example,

―sit ﬂoor mommy‖ conveys the request ―Sit on the ﬂoor with me,
mommy.‖ Children also develop several other forms of syntax
throughout early childhood, including:

morphemic inﬂections, or word endings (dogs, dog’s, running, baked),

negations (I can’t do it!),

questions (What is Mommy doing?), and

conjoining clauses (I went to a party and I ate cake).

Caregivers and early-childhood educators should not be concerned
about children’s overregularizations of past tense endings (for
example, saying ―winned‖ for ―won‖), because these are typical in
this stage of development and continue through school age (Brown,
1973; Otto, 2006).

PRAGMATICS

Pragmatics (knowledge about how to use language in
communicative contexts) emerges in toddler-hood as children learn to
use language to (Otto, 2006):

regulate others’ behaviors (―No!‖ or ―Daddy, look!‖),

imagine (as in pretend play),

learn about their environment by asking questions (―Why?‖ ―What’s this?‖), and

inform others (―I have a new baby sister‖).

Preschool children begin to use language for a wider range of
purposes, such as asking permission, invoking social rules, expressing
emotions, making judgments, joking and teasing, and making
requests (Owens, 1988).

METALINGUISTIC AWARENESS

Metalinguistic awareness, our knowledge about language and how it
works, is an important skill that emerges in early childhood and
develops throughout the early elementary grades. Some early signs of
metalinguistic awareness are:

adjusting speech to different listeners, as when children as

young as 2 years of age talk differently to a younger sibling than to
a parent (Warren-Leubecker & Bohannon, 1983);

pretend reading of books, as when preschoolers turn pages and

recite a story they have heard many times;

asking ―Are you making words?‖ to a parent typing on a computer; and

Module 8:

Language

Development

Holophrastic Speech.

―Juice‖ may mean ―Mommy, I want some more

juice.

‖

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―writing,‖ in which preschoolers make marks on paper

and ask an adult to read them (Schickedanz, York, Stewart, & White,
1990).

Phonological awareness, the knowledge that spoken words

contain smaller units of sound, is a form of meta-linguistic
awareness that is important for later reading acquisition. Words can
be divided into:

syllables, the largest units of sound (but-ter);

onsets and rimes; for example, in a word such as ―bat,‖ the onset

is the sound corresponding to the initial consonant (―b‖), and the
rime is the vowel and the remaining consonant sound (―at‖); and

phonemes, the smallest units of sound ( ―b,‖ ―a,‖ ―t‖ sounds in

the word ―bat‖).
During kindergarten and ﬁrst grade, children continue to develop
awareness of phonemes as they acquire experience with printed
words during reading instruction.

Phonological awareness and

knowledge    of    letter names enable children to make progress in
beginning reading instruction (Adams, 1990; Wagner, Torgesen, &
Rashotte, 1994). Phonological awareness helps children    acquire    the
skill    of decoding,    or    sounding    out (Liberman, Shankweiler, &
Liberman, 1989). Children with awareness of phonemes are able to
apply sounds to letters in printed words to help them identify new
words while reading. Direct instruction in awareness of phonemes can
help children learn to read and spell (National Reading Panel, 2000).
Preschool and kindergarten teachers also can teach phonological
awareness skills through fun activities such as songs, nursery rhymes,
and games. The guidelines in Table 8.2 can help early-childhood
educators determine whether a child is progressing adequately in
phonological awareness development.

Language Acquisition Through Adolescence

Contrary to the assumption that children have mastered language by
their ﬁfth birthday, language acquisition continues throughout
elementary school, with some language forms not mastered until
adolescence.

SEMANTICS

As elementary school students learn many concepts in and outside of
school, their vocabularies grow at a rate of several new words per
day—ranging from about 6,000 words in ﬁrst grade to as many as
40,000 words in ﬁfth grade (Anglin, 1993; Johnson & Anglin, 1995).

The understanding and use of ﬁgurative language, an aspect of
semantics, also evolves from elementary through high school
(Owens, 2005). By third grade, students appreciate puns and riddles
because they realize that words can have two meanings (McGhee,
1979; Pepicello & Weisberg, 1983). Elementary school students also
begin to understand similes (He eats like a pig), metaphors (She’s an
angel), proverbs (Haste makes waste), and idioms (Did the cat get
your tongue?), and they begin to realize that ﬁgures of speech are not
to be taken literally (―stealing‖ home base). However, children do not
master the more complex ﬁgurative language found in proverbs and
sophisticated forms of humor until late adolescence (Lund & Duchan,
1988; Nippold & Duthie, 2003). Middle school and high school
teachers should be aware that poetry and literature containing
ﬁgurative language will be challenging for many students.

SYNTAX

Children’s sentences become more elaborate and consist of more
complex grammatical structures in both oral and written language:

Metalinguistic Awareness. Preschoolers know how to hold a book, turn the
pages, and pretend to read.

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TA B L E 8 . 2

Benchmarks of Normal

Development in Phonological Awareness

Grade level

Average child

’s ability

Module 8:

Language

Development

Beginning kindergarten Can tell whether two words rhyme.

Can generate a rhyme for a simple word (e.g., cat or dot). Or can
easily be taught to do these tasks.
End of kindergarten Can isolate and pronounce the beginning

sound in a word (e.g., /n/ in nose or /f/ in fudge).
Can blend the sounds in two phoneme words [e.g., boy (/b/-/oi/) or me (/m/-/e/)].

Midway through

ﬁrst grade Can isolate and pronounce all the sounds in two- and three-phoneme

words.

Can blend the sounds in four-phoneme words containing initial consonant
blends.

End of

ﬁrst grade Can isolate and pronounce the sounds in four-phoneme words containing initial

blends.

Can blend the sounds in four- and

ﬁve-phoneme words containing

initial and

ﬁnal blends.

Reprinted with permission from J. K. Torgesen & P. G. Mathes (2000). A basic guide to
understanding and teaching phonological awareness. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.

By age 10 or 11, students begin to produce subordinate clauses with complex conjunctions such as

―because,‖ ―if,‖ and ―then‖ (Hulit & Howard, 2006; Wing & Scholnick, 1981).

They begin to understand and use embedded sentences around

age 7 (I saw a movie that you would really like). By age 12, they
begin to understand embedding that occurs in the middle of
sentences (The dog that chased the cat ran away) (Abrahamsen &
Rigrodsky, 1984).

Between ages 8 and 11, they also become better at understanding and producing passive sentences

(Baldie, 1976; Horgan, 1978). For example, in the sentence ―The
boy was loved by the girl,‖ younger children have difﬁculty
determining who is the subject and who is the object of the loving.

Secondary education teachers should expect adolescents to

continue to have difﬁculty with some aspects of syntax, particularly
when writing. Even adults have difﬁculty producing the syntactic
forms who/whom/that and I/me in oral language (Otto, 2006).
Adolescent writers also have problems using pronouns to refer to
nouns in their writing. Teachers commonly see errors in adolescents’
writing such as those shown in Figure 8.1.

PRAGMATICS

Elementary school students become more aware of the intent of
indirect requests and the appropriate responses to such requests
(Menyuk, 1988; Owens, 2005). Indirect requests are a more polite
way of requesting an action from another person, such as ―Can you
turn off the TV?‖ rather than ―Please turn off the TV.‖ While
preschoolers tend to respond literally by simply saying yes,
6-year-olds begin to respond appropriately to many types of indirect
requests, with complete mastery occurring by adolescence
(Cherry-Wilkinson & Dollaghan, 1979). By adolescence, most
pragmatic skills related to common social experiences are well
developed (Berko Gleason, Hay, & Cain, 1988).

METALINGUISTIC AWARENESS

While knowledge about language and how it works dramatically
increases between ages ﬁve and eight, development continues

throughout adulthood (Bernstein, 1989). Students in upper elementary
through secondary grades are better able to understand words with
multiple meanings, to know when words are used incorrectly in
sentences, and to understand how to construct sentences of varying
types (active, passive, etc.). They also become better able to use
reading and writing strategies, such as consulting a dictionary or
thesaurus, monitoring their comprehension, and planning and revising
their writing.

How would you promote students

’ development of semantics,

syntax, pragmatics, and metalinguistic awareness in the grade
you intend to teach?

Reading and writing strategies: See page 219.

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Figure 8.1: Syntax. Even though adolescents

’ syntax continues to expand,

they still may have dif

ﬁculty with complex forms in their writing, as shown here.

The girl that sits next to me was absent today.

Everyone should get no homework on their birthday.

Bilingual Language Acquisition

Even though native English-speaking children and bilingual children
(children speaking two languages) may have very different cultural
and social experiences, they learn language in a very similar way
(Bialystok, 2001):

Children who acquire two languages from birth follow the same

overall pattern and reach the same developmental milestones at the
same rate as monolingual children (Genesee, Paradis, & Crago,
2004; Nicoladis & Genesee, 1997).

Bilingual children say their ﬁrst words and acquire a 50-word

vocabulary at approximately the same age as monolingual children
(Nicoladis & Genesee, 1997).

Bilingual children have at least as large a vocabulary as

monolingual children when vocabularies from both languages are
combined (Nicoladis & Genesee, 1996; Pearson, 1998).

Becoming bilingual involves developing two separate language

systems that interact with and complement each other. Even before
children produce their ﬁrst words, they have the capacity to
differentiate between two languages, including sign languages
(Petitto, Katereles, et al., 2001). Code mixing, using words or phrases
from one language as a substitute in the other language, is normal for

bilingual children and adults and does not suggest confusion between
the two languages (Genesee et al., 2004; Nicoladis & Genesee, 1997).
It allows individuals to use competencies in each language to
communicate in a way that is more complete than if either language
were used alone (Genesee et al., 2004). Elementary school children
also are able to transfer their native-language competence in
phonological awareness, vocabulary, and word recognition skills to
their second language (Carlo & Royer, 1999; Cisero & Royer, 1995;
Proctor, August, Carlo, & Snow, 2006). Experts disagree, however,
about which instructional method is most effective for facilitating
English language proﬁciency in English-language learners. Table 8.3
describes the aim of each instructional method.

Transitional bilingual education, which emphasizes the

development of native language skills, was popular for almost 30
years. Because native language skills transfer to the second language,
students experience greater academic success when they are given
instruction in their native language in the early elementary grades
(García, 1992; Marsh, Hau, & Kong, 2002). In contrast, students
struggle academically in English immersion classrooms without any
instructional modiﬁ cations because they

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Module 8:

Language

Development

TA B L E 8 . 3

Content instruction in native language; English as a Second Language instruction.

Bilingual Instructional Approaches

Instructional method Aim Language of

instruction

Transitional bilingual education

To ensure that English-language learners do not fall behind academically by initially teaching school subjects in their
native language .

To facilitate a rapid transition to English-language instruction.

Structured English immersion

Two-way bilingual immersion

To facilitate acquisition of two languages in English-language learners and native English-speaking students.

All instruction in English in classes separate from native-English speakers typically for one year.

Once students are pro

ﬁcient, they transition to content instruction in English, usually around grades three through ﬁve.

English immersion To make English-language learners

ﬂuent in English as soon as possible.

All instruction in English in classes with native English-speaking peers.

Generally no modi

ﬁcations in instruction or materials.

Curricula and teaching methods designed to accommodate students who are learning the language.

Minimal use of native language.

Once students are

―reasonably proﬁcient‖ in English, they are transitioned into classes conducted in English with native

English-speaking peers.

Instruction and class-work in both languages, with the non-English language used at least 50% of the time.

Instruction in English and a non-English language for native English speakers and students who speak a non-English

language (e.g., Spanish).

Only one language is used, without translation, during periods of instruction.

Sources: Crawford, 1997; Kogan, 2001; Lessow-Hurley, 2000; Lindholm-Leary, 2004

–2005.

ﬁnd it difﬁcult to understand the teacher and to demonstrate their knowledge (DaSilva Iddlings, 2005; Gutiérrez,
Baquedano-López, & Asato, 2001).

Recent passage of the English Acquisition Act has shifted the bilingual education debate toward favoring

immersion approaches, especially structured English immersion and two-way bilingual immersion, described in
Table 8.3. Some recent research on two-way bilingual immersion (TWBI) offers intriguing results:

In three- and four-year-olds, TWBI improved the Spanish language skills of both the English-language learners

and monolingual children without any loss in English-language skills (Barnett, Yarosz, Thomas, Jung, & Blanco,
2007).

English-language learners and native English-speaking students who attended TWBI programs since the early

elementary grades have shown oral language, reading, and writing proﬁciency in both languages in the upper
elementary grades (Howard, Sugarman, & Christian, 2003; Serrano & Howard, 2003). They have also scored at
or above grade level in reading and math in both languages in middle school (Collier & Thomas, 2004;
Lindholm-Leary, 2001).

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Two-Way Bilingual
Immersion. This bilingual instructional method leads to bene

ﬁcial academic

and nonacademic outcomes for native English speakers and English-language
learners.

High school students who were enrolled in TWBI programs since

elementary school, especially those from Hispanic backgrounds,
have reported very positive attitudes about school (Lindholm-Leary,
2001).

Individual Differences in Language Acquisition

Typical language development varies considerably among young
children in terms of the rate of acquisition and the style of acquiring
words. Infants begin producing their ﬁrst words at about 8 to 18
months, and telegraphic speech at about 18 months to 3 years.
Children between ages 1 and 2 years typically have a vocabulary of
20 to 170 words (de Boysson-Bardies, 1999; Morrow, 1989).
However, even these are rough estimates—as some 2-year-olds may
have fewer than 10 words, while others have as many as 668 words in
their oral vocabulary (Fenson et al., 1994).

Children’s distinct approaches to acquiring words may indicate

that they have different ideas about pragmatics (Flavell, Miller, &
Miller, 2002). Some children who acquire many words for the names
of people and objects (milk, dog, cup) have a referential style that
focuses on the informational aspect of language. Others who build a
vocabulary of words used in social relationships (no, yes, want,
please, love you) have an expressive style that focuses on the
interpersonal aspect of language. Differences, however, are a matter
of degree rather than kind, as all children learn both types of words
(Goldﬁeld & Snow, 2005).

Girls typically are faster than boys at acquiring ﬁrst words, tend to

have larger vocabularies, and are more likely to have a referential
style of acquisition (Flavell et al., 2002). Differences are small,
however, and there are many exceptions. As with other cognitive
abilities, males and females appear to be more alike than different.

As children continue to develop through the preschool years and

into the early elementary grades, many experience language problems
involving articulation of sounds or lack of ﬂuent speech that they

eventually overcome. Others, however, experience more pervasive
language difﬁculties. Children from toddler through the preschool
years produce many common articulation errors, as shown in Table
8.4 (Kostelnik, Soderman, & Whiren, 2004; McLean &
Snyder-McLean, 1999). An articulation disorder is diagnosed when
a familiar adult cannot understand children’s speech at age 3 or when
articulation errors are still evident at age 8 (Patterson & Wright,
1990). Like articulation errors,

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Common Articulation Problems in Early Childhood

Articulation problem

Example

TA B L E 8 . 4

Substituting one sound for another that is similar in manner of articulation

Saying free for three Other, similar substitutions are s for sh sound, w for l sound, and th for s sound (a lisp).

Substituting across manners of articulation, using a sound produced with the teeth for a sound produced at the back
of the mouth
Omitting sounds, sometimes whole syllables Saying mote for remote or puter for computer
Producing sound distortions Saying run as wun
Mispronouncing consonant blends Saying pasketti for spaghetti

Module 8:

Language

Development

Saying tookie for cookie

dysﬂuency (a lack of ﬂuency in speech production) typically is outgrown by the ﬁrst year of elementary school
(Weir & Bianchet, 2004). Dysﬂuency involves several types of errors including (Gottwald, Goldbach, & Isack,
1985; Swan, 1993):

repetition of syllables, words, or phrases (that . . . that doll);

interjections (I saw . . . uh . . . a school bus);

pauses (Mommy, I want . . . some juice);

revisions (I went . . . we went to the doctor); and

sound prolongation (r----abbit).

Children may experience dysﬂuency due to a heightened emotional state or hurried speech or, more likely, from
experimentation with their rapidly expanding phonetic, syntactic, semantic, morphemic, and pragmatic knowledge
(Otto, 2006).

Stuttering is a most common speech dysﬂuency. Approximately 80% of children who develop stuttering

overcome it within 18 to 24 months after its onset (Ratner, 2004). Stuttering involves an involuntary repetition of
isolated sounds or syllables, prolonged speech sounds, or a complete halt in the ﬂow of speech (Cook, Tessier, &
Armbruster, 1987). Speech problems that may indicate the onset of stuttering are (Otto, 2006; Yairi & Ambrose,
2005):

sound and syllable repetitions that persist over time,

repetition of part of a word more than twice or repetition of two sounds or syllables in 100 words, and

frequent sound prolongations or sound prolongations of more than one second.

Unlike students with articulation problems or dysﬂuency, students with speciﬁc language impairment experience

considerable delays in overall language development. Children with speciﬁc language impairment (SLI) have
difﬁculties in receptive and expressive language, resulting in language development that is signiﬁcantly below age
level despite normal hearing, average nonverbal intelligence, and an absence of developmental disabilities (Bishop,
1997; Montgomery, 2002). Compared to normally developing children, children with SLI have smaller vocabularies,
produce simpler sentences with more grammatical errors, and have difﬁculty with the pragmatic aspect of language
(problems understanding others or being understood in conversations) (Fey, Long, & Finestack, 2003; Yont, Hewitt,
& Miccio, 2002). SLI usually is ﬁrst identiﬁed in the preschool years when a child shows difﬁculty in conversational
settings. In elementary school, language impairment may be observed when children experience difﬁculty in
comprehending and composing both oral and written language or in interacting with peers (Fey et al., 2003).

How would you respond to a parent who is concerned that her two-year-old produces only a few words? A
parent concerned about her eight-year-old

’s stuttering?

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144

cluster two

the developing learner

APPLICATIONS:
ENCOURAGING
LANGUAGE
DEVELOPMENT IN THE
CLASSROOM

A responsive curriculum that recognizes language experiences as the
foundation for academic learning will lead to beneﬁcial student
outcomes (García, 1992). Let’s consider some general guidelines.

Talk, sing, and read to young children. Caregivers and early

childhood educators can support language development by talking
with children, singing songs with them, and reading to them.

Stimulating verbal interactions promote expressive language skills and

vocabulary development

(Hart & Risely, 2003; Tamis-LeMonda et al., 2001).

Singing songs encourages attention to rhythm, repetition, and expressive

intonation (Squibb &

Deitz, 2000). The rhymes in songs also promote the development of
phonological awareness by calling attention to the component
sounds in words (Maclean, Bryant, & Bradley, 1987).

Native English-speaking and bilingual children who are read to

three or more times per week, have books in the home, and make
frequent trips to the library have more advanced vocabulary and
emergent literacy skills than children without these experiences
(DeTemple, 2001; Payne, Whitehurst, & Angell, 1994; Santiago,
1994).

Preschoolers and kindergartners with speciﬁc language

impairment can learn to communicate their thoughts, questions, and
ideas with storybook sharing (McNeill & Fowler, 1996). During
storybook sharing, a teacher elicits responses from children about
what is being read, uses expansion to elaborate on their comments,
and praises them for appropriate comments about the content or
about their interest in what was read or illustrated.

Encourage the development of listening skills. During class

discussions and conversations, teachers can model effective listening
strategies such as active listening, which involves listening in a
non-defensive way and responding by clarifying the message rather
than criticizing (Farris, Fuhler, & Walther, 2004; Wolvin & Coakley,
1985). Students need listening skills to help them understand oral
directions and explanations of concepts, listen during class
discussions, and listen to peers during collaborative group work.

Provide vocabulary instruction. Not only does reading practice

inﬂuence vocabulary acquisition, but increased vocabulary
knowledge contributes to students’ reading comprehension (Miller &
Gildea, 1987; Nagy & Herman, 1987; Stanovich, 1986). Teachers
can foster vocabulary development through direct instruction with
repeated exposure to words in varying contexts, as well as through
indirect methods such as reading and class discussions (National
Reading Panel, 2000).

Provide opportunities for oral and written language use.

Explicit grammar instruction and practice (e.g., writing
stories, essays, and journals) help students develop oral language
skills such as vocabulary, knowledge of morphology, syntax, and
semantics. Also, collaborative group activities, social interaction,
and discussions can provide better opportunities for students to
develop language and literacy skills than large group lessons,
lectures, and independent activities or seatwork (Raphael & Hiebert,
1996).
Be sensitive to individual differences among students.
Rather than explicitly correcting language, teachers should
focus on supporting language acquisition in all students by asking
questions, clarifying, and expanding on students’ utterances.
Open-ended questioning helps elicit language participation from
students with speciﬁc language impairment and builds their
self-conﬁdence

Reading. Reading to children regularly helps promote language and literacy
skills.

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module eight

language development

145

Collaborative Activities. Social interaction and collaboration help students develop language skills.

and their competencies in responding to questions (McNeill & Fowler, 1996). Teachers also can encourage positive
classroom experiences and promote language development in students who stutter or exhibit dysﬂuency by using the
guidelines summarized in Table 8.5.

In addition, showing sensitivity to the needs of English-language learners will promote their En glish-language

acquisition and improve their academic achievement. Teachers need to recognize that the interaction styles of
English-language learners may be different from the type of language they are

TA B L E 8 .5

Guidelines for Promoting Language Development in Students with

Dys

ﬂuency

Early childhood teachers should: Elementary school teachers should:

Reduce conversational demands on children by modeling slow, smooth speech.

Monitor social interactions so that peers do not tease or embarrass a student who stutters, and encourage all
students to take turns when speaking.

Avoid telling children to slow down, start over, think, or take a deep breath, because these indicate that their speech
is unacceptable, potentially increasing their anxiety and dys

ﬂuency.

Include group singing, choral responses, or choral reading in curricula, because these provide opportunities for
children who stutter to participate in

ﬂuent speech. Recent neurological research has shown that choral speech is

activated differently in the brain than speech that occurs in conversations.

Module 8:

Language

Development

Speak with students in an unhurried way.

Maintain eye contact and be patient so children do not feel that the teacher is uncomfortable talking with them.

Convey that they are listening to the content of students

’ utterances (rather than their grammar) by using appropriate

eye contact, body language, and feedback.
Inform all students to take their time and think about their answers rather than answering questions in a hurry.

Discourage other children from interrupting or trying to

ﬁnish an utterance for a child who is having difﬁculty talking.

Encourage all students to practice reading in pairs (taking turns or in unison) and to practice reading their stories at
home before reading them orally to the class.

Sources: Büchel & Sommer, 2004; Scott, 2007; Weir & Bianchet, 2004.

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146

cluster two

the developing learner

expected to use in the classroom (Crago, 1992; Genesee & Nicoladis,
1995). For example, while native English-speaking children know
that it is appropriate to initiate conversations with adults, compete
verbally with other children, make eye contact during conversations,
and demonstrate their knowledge, some Native American children are
expected to remain silent in the presence of adults and to not make
eye contact. Their behavior could be misinterpreted as a language
delay or a lack of knowledge (Nicoladis & Genesee, 1997). Also,
when teachers accept students’ use of their native language for
understanding content and answering questions, bilingual learners
show positive attitudes toward both languages, leading to better
linguistic, academic, and social achievement (Bhatnagar, 1980; Brisk,
1991; Jalava, 1988).

Think about the grade level of students you expect to teach. How
can you use the guidelines in Table 8.5 to promote language
development in your students?

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key concepts

147

Summary

Explain the factors that contribute to language development. Humans    are    biologically    ready    to
learn language, and our brains are well equipped to produce and acquire language. Language acquisition
also requires    experiences    that    facilitate    language    learning. Caregivers model language for
children, and children receive    reinforcement    for    their    language    attempts. Caregivers also engage in
verbal and nonverbal interactions    that    teach    children    about    language.    While cultures vary in their
emphasis of techniques used to support language development, children in all cultures develop language
at about the same rate.
Describe    changes    in    semantics,    syntax,    pragmatics, and    metalinguistic    awareness
from    birth    through adolescence. Children    rapidly    acquire    language    skills during    early
childhood.    They    begin    to    babble    at    6 months    and    acquire

ﬁrst words at about 1 year

of age. From ages 2 to 5, children

’s syntax expands. Toddlers and preschoolers also acquire pragmatics

by using their emerging language skills to achieve different goals. Preschoolers develop metalinguistic
awareness as they begin to understand how reading, writing, and the sounds of their language
work. From elementary through high school, students

’ semantic knowledge continues to expand

as their vocabularies rapidly increase and they begin to understand

ﬁgurative language. Students’

sentences also become more elaborate and consist of more complex grammatical structures.
Pragmatics    and    metalinguistic    awareness improve through adolescence as students become better
able to understand and use their language skills in reading, writing, and social interactions.
Explain    the    advantages    and    disadvantages    of    the methods of teaching English-language
learners. Transitional bilingual programs encourage academic success because native-language skills
facilitate acquisition of English-language    skills    and    students    do    not    fall    behind academically.
English-language learners struggle in English-immersion methods that have no curricular modi

ﬁcations to

help them learn content in English. Structured English immersion improves on traditional immersion by
providing appropriate support to accommodate the needs of students learning the language. Two-way
bilingual immersion results in academic success in both languages and in positive attitudes toward school
for students of all language backgrounds.
Describe the language differences that emerge from early childhood through the early school-age

years. Children exhibit differences in their rate of language development and in how they acquire
words. Girls typically are faster than boys to acquire

ﬁrst words and tend to have larger vocabularies.

Young children commonly exhibit articulation errors and

ﬂuency problems. A speciﬁc language

impairment is identi

ﬁed in the preschool and early elementary grades when a child’s receptive

or expressive language development is signi

ﬁcantly below age level despite normal hearing, average

nonverbal intelligence, and lack of developmental disabilities.
Describe    ways    teachers    can    support    language    development    in    the    classroom.
Teachers    can    promote language development by showing sensitivity to differences    in    children

’s

language patterns, both with students who have language disorders and with students from different
language backgrounds. They can support all students

’ language capabilities by asking questions,

clarifying, and expanding on students

’ utterances rather than explicitly correcting language usage.

Teachers also can model active listening strategies, incorporate vocabulary instruction into their curricula,
and provide opportunities for oral and written language practice to encourage language acquisition in all
students.

Key Concepts

active listening articulation disorder babbling child-directed speech code mixing decoding dys

ﬂuency English

immersion expansion

holophrastic speech joint attention metalinguistic awareness morphemic in

ﬂections overextensions

overregularizations phonological awareness pragmatics recasting

semantics speci

ﬁc language impairment (SLI) structured English immersion syntax telegraphic speech transitional

bilingual education two-way bilingual immersion underextensions

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148

case studies: re

ﬂect and evaluate

, ,

Case Studies:

Refl ect and Evaluate

Early Childhood:

“Fire Safety”

These questions refer to the case study on page 94.
1. Identify examples of expansion and recasting in the case study.

2. Identify theoverregularizations of past-tense verbs in the case study. Is this
typical of preschool children

’s language development? Based on research on

language development, explain why correcting children

’s overregularizations and

other grammatical errors may not be necessary.

3. Angela read a rhyming book about

ﬁre safety. Explain how calling

attention to rhymes can help promote phonological awareness and
later reading development. In what other ways can preschool
teachers promote the development of phonological awareness?

4. Story reading is a common practice in preschools. Explain how it helps foster
language development.

5. Imagine that Miyu, a 4-year-old girl who recently immigrated to
the United States from Japan and speaks little English, enrolled at
Rolling Hills Preschool. Based on the research on bilingual two-way
immersion programs, explain why it would be bene

ﬁcial for the

English-speaking preschoolers to learn Japanese while Miyu is
learning English at preschool (assuming there is a
Japanese-speaking bilingual teacher).
6. Suppose a parent approaches Grace with a concern that her
child has a language disorder. Many of the child

’s utterances are not

understandable because he substitutes the

―s‖ sound for the ―sh‖

sound (saying see for she). What would you say to the parent about
these articulation errors? How could you enhance the child

’s

language development in the preschool classroom?

Elementary School:

“Project Night”

These questions refer to the case study on page 96.

1. Carlos included writing a poem as a project option. Based on
school-age children

’s language development, explain why poetry

might be challenging for

ﬁfth-grade students.

2. How does Carlos attempt to promote language development in
his students? What changes could he make to the project unit to
further support language development?

3. How well does Carlos support the language development of his bilingual
students?

4. How do the

―research teams‖ help students develop more sophisticated

language skills?

5. Based on your reading of the module, would you make any
modi

ﬁcations to the research teams activity for students with a

speci

ﬁc language impairment or for English-language learners?

Middle School:

“Frogs”

These questions refer to the case study on page 98.

1. Describe the language achievements of children in the
school-age years. Based on the information in the case, identify
weaknesses in the eighth-grade students

’ language skills.

2. What changes can Morgan make to the dissection lab to foster
language development in her eighth-grade students?

3. What speci

ﬁc changes to her teaching can Morgan make to

support the language development of bilingual students in her class?
4. How can Morgan support the language development of students,
like Tyler, who have language impairments? Try to think of
modi

ﬁcations you would make as a teacher to the biology lab activity

and to your teaching in general.
5. Morgan is attending a required workshop on children

’s language

development but is frustrated at having to learn about the acquisition
of language skills in young children.

―What does this have to do with

my adolescent students?

‖ she thinks. Based on your reading of the

module, explain to Morgan how learning about language
development from infancy onward can improve her understanding of
adolescent language development.

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case studies: re

ﬂect and evaluate

149

, ,

High School:

“The Substitute”

These questions refer to the case study on page 100.

  1. Describe the language achievements of students from
elementary through high school. Why might reading material such
as A Tale of Two Cities be challenging for adolescents?
  2. What techniques did Mr. Matthews use to foster language
development in his students? What other recommendations would
you suggest to Mr. Matthews?
  3. What recommendations would you suggest to Mr. Matthews for
supporting the language skills of bilingual students like Demeri?
  4. What if some of the students in this case had language
impairments? What recommendations would you suggest to Mr.
Matthews for supporting the language skills of students with
language impairments in his British literature class?
  5. Imagine that you are at a school board meeting regarding
bilingual education. Make a persuasive argument for K

–12 two-way

bilingual immersion (TWBI) based on the particular bene

ﬁts to

adolescents who have participated in TWBI programs.

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