Language Development Theories: Practical Implications

1. Language Development Theories: Practical Implications

2. I. INTRODUCTION** • Children begin developing language at birth as they interact with their caregivers. • Children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds are exposed to diverse experiences; this diversity creates the concepts to which children attach symbols, or words.

3. II. THE ROLE OF THE ENVIRONMENT IN LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT** • Development of language rests upon several major variables that interact with one another • 1. The child’s cultural and linguistic environment is a big influence upon language learning • 2. Each child has unique characteristics that she brings to the language learning situation

4. For a child to develop language optimally…

5. For example…

6. Youtube video: • Archer likes motherese

7. III. Theories of Language Acquisition** • A. Behaviorist Theory: • B.F. Skinner • Explains acquisition of verbal behavior • Verbal behaviors are learned under appropriate conditions of stimulation, response, and reinforcement • Breaks verbal behavior down into echoics, mands, tacts

10. In therapy, clinicians who use principles of the behaviorist theory:

11. For example:** • Target: The child will use the word earth in a sentence. • Appropriate antecedent event “What planet do we live on?” • Child: “We live on planet Earth.” • SLP: Right! Great! Here’s a

12. Youtube • Sheldon trains Penny

14. B. Social Interactionism Theory** • Language function, not structure, is emphasized • Language develops as a result of children’s social interactions with the important people in their lives • Vygotsky (Russian psychologist): language knowledge is acquired through social interaction with more competent and experienced members of the child’s culture

15. According to social interactionism theory:

17. Clinical Implications:

18. How would you motivate the following clients to talk?

19. C. Cognitive Theory** • Jean Piaget • Emphasizes cognition, or knowledge and mental processes • Language acquisition is made possible by cognition and general intellectual processes • Two forms: strong cognition hypothesis and weak cognition hypothesis

20. Strong cognition hypothesis:** language • Cognitive abilities are prerequisites to language skills • Language will absolutely not develop without these cognitive abilities • Page 41--stages of cognitive development; for the exam, just know what is on the PowerPoint for this chart Cognition

21. Weak cognition hypothesis:

22. Piaget’s stages of cognitive development: • Sensorimotor (birth-2 years)

23. Youtube video: • Lucille Piaget’s sensorimotor

24. Preoperational (2-7 years) Mommy!

25. Concrete Operations (7-11 years)** • Acquires conservation and classification skills • Child less egocentric, has ability to see others’ points of view

26. Youtube • A typical child on Piaget’s conservation tasks

27. Formal Operations (over 11 years)

28. Clinical implications of the cognitive theory: language cognition

29. Also….** • If cognitive skills are low, why bother with language therapy? It won’t help, because the foundation (cognition) is not there • Thus, children with (low) cognitive skills that are commensurate with their (low) language skills are denied therapy

30. Lastly…** • Clinicians must assess and treat cognitive precursors to language and facilitate development of these precursors before working on language itself • So, with a very young child, you would work on symbolic play and object permanence before you tried to have a child say her first word

31. D. Nativist Theory:** • Noam Chomsky • All children are born with a Language Acquisition Device (LAD) • This is a specialized processor that is a physiological part of the brain --Children have an innate capacity to acquire language

32. Hulit et al. 2015:

33. Chomsky introduced the concepts of:

34. surface structure Deep structure

35. Clinical implications of the nativist theory are scant:

36. Drawbacks:

37. E. Information Processing Theory

38. Phonological processing:** • Concerned with processes involved in a child’s ability to mentally manipulate phonological aspects of language • These include word rhyming, syllabication, etc.

39. Temporal auditory processing:** • Child’s ability to perceive the brief acoustic events that make up speech sounds and track changes in these events as they happen quickly in the speech of other people • Child’s capacity for and speed of processing • Children with problems can’t remember and repeat back digit strings, lists of real or nonsense words, etc.—esp. if fast

40. IV. Education, Language, and Literacy in the School-Age Years** • When a child enters kindergarten, she should have solid auditory-oral skills • These are strongly related to learning to read and write • A child’s emergent literacy skills or preliteracy skills are foundational to later reading and writing in school

41. Common Core State Standards--4 major goals:

42. **The overarching goal is to create students who are ready to succeed in a globally competitive, 21st century society

43. **Unlike No Child Left Behind (2002), there are no fiscal or other punitive consequences in the standards. •  Despite this, many professionals nationwide are trying hard to figure out how to help children achieve the standards

44. **The Common Core State Standards, enacted in 2010, have been adopted by 46 out of 50 states. • The standards address English Language Arts and Math

45. English Language Arts Consists of 4 Areas:

47. In grades 4-6:

49. New research is finding that for many children, esp. those who are at risk: (Clark, 2012, “Research on all-day kindergarten” www.education.com)

50. If we can provide early intervention for children with language impairments…** • We will prevent many future problems and help these children achieve their social, academic, and professional potential