Introduction To Language Development

Introduction to
Language Development
Second Edition
Introduction to
S e co n d E d i t i o n
Sandra Levey, PhD

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Levey, Sandra, author.

Title: Introduction to language development / Sandra Levey.
Description: Second edition. | San Diego, CA : Plural Publishing, Inc.,
[2019] | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017041445| ISBN 9781944883430 (alk. paper) | ISBN
1944883436 (alk. paper)
Subjects: | MESH: Language Development | Infant | Child | Adolescent
Classification: LCC P118 | NLM WS 105.5.C8 | DDC 616.85/5--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017041445
Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xi
Contributors xiii
1 An Introduction to Language Acquisition 1

Sandra Levey
Chapter Objectives 1
Communication, Speech, and Language 2
Form 12
Content 17
Use 19
Written Language 21
Cognition 21
Language Differences 25
Summary 26
Key Words 27
Study Questions 27
References 28
2 An Introduction to Theories of Language Development 33

Sandra Levey
Principles and Parameters Theory 34
Social Interaction Theory 36
Cognitive Theory 37
Emergentism 38
Summary 39
Factors and Approaches Drawn from Language 39
Development Theories
Key Words 42
Study Questions 42
References 42
v
vi Introduction to Language Development
3 The Brain and Cognitive, Speech, and Language Development 45

Denise Cruz and Sandra Levey
Skills Associated with the Brain 46
The Structure of the Neuron 48
The Central Nervous System and the Peripheral Nervous System 49
The Two Hemispheres of the Cerebrum: Right and Left Lobes 51
The Four Lobes of the Cerebrum and Speech, Language, and 52
Cognitive Functions
The Arcuate Fasciculus 55
Subcortical Structures and Functions 56
The Brainstem 58
Cognitive Functions and the Brain 59
Summary 61
Key Words 66
Study Questions 67
References 67
4 Infant and Toddler Language Development 69

Sandra Levey
An Overview of Infant and Toddler Language Development 69
Infant Perception and Production 71
Parent and Child Interaction 74
Early Language Development 75
Joint Attention and Joint Action 76
Phonological Development 77
Cognitive Development 77
The Development of Humor 79
Schemas 80
The Development of Play 82
Morphological Development 85
Morphophonology 90
Syntactic Development 90
Pronoun Acquisition 91
Verbs 94
The Development of Negative, Interrogative, and Imperative 96
Sentence Forms
Semantic Development 100
Pragmatic Development 104
Narrative Development 106
Summary 109
Key Words 109
Study Questions 110
References 111
vii
Contents
5 Preschool Language Development 119

Diana Almodovar and Sandra Levey
An Overview of Preschool Language Development 119
Cognitive Development 120
Linguistic Development 123
Syntactic Development 127
Semantics 132
Metalinguistic Awareness 138
Pragmatics 138
Humor 141
Summary 142
Key Words 143
Study Questions 143
References 144
6 Language Development in Middle and Late Childhood 149

and Adolescence
María R. Brea-Spahn and Sandra Levey
Language in Middle and Late Childhood and Adolescence: 150
Sources of Development
Metalinguistic Awareness 150
Semantics 155
Syntactic and Morphological Development 162
Pragmatic Development 167
Literacy Skills in Early, Middle, and Later Grades 170
Summary 174
Key Words 174
Study Questions 174
References 175
7 The Development of Literacy Skills 179

Sylvia F. Diehl
The Development of Literacy 180
Emergent Literacy 180
Development of Code-Related Literacy 181
Literacy Developmental Milestones (Meaning Related) 182
Supporting Literacy Development in the Preschool Years 184
Literacy Development in the Elementary School Years 187
Supporting Literacy Development in the Elementary School Years 195
Literacy Development in Adolescence 197
Supporting Adolescent Literacy Development 200
Summary 200
viii Introduction to Language Development
Key Words 201

Study Questions 201
References 201
8 Bilingual Children’s Language Development: 207

Assessment and Intervention
Brian A. Goldstein
Myth or Fact? 208
What’s in a Name? 208
Complexity in Defining Bilingual 209
Bilingual Speech and Language Acquisition 211
Language Development in Second-Language Acquisition 212
Transfer and Code-Mixing 213
Language Loss/Language Disorder 214
Assessment of Speech and Language Disorders in Bilingual Children 215
Intervention 218
Myth or Fact? Revisited 219
Summary 220
Key Words 220
Study Questions 220
References 221
9 Language Development and Hearing 227

Brian J. Fligor and Sandra Levey
An Overview of the Role of Hearing in Language Development 227
An Explanation of Hearing Abilities 228
Types of Hearing Loss 230
Normal Hearing Sensitivity in Children 234
Hearing Assessment 234
Sound Intensity and Frequency 235
The Impact of a Hearing Loss on Language Development 237
Age of Onset of Hearing Loss 238
Signs of a Hearing Loss 238
Intervention 239
Devices Used for Hearing Habilitation: FM Systems, Hearing Aids, 239
and Cochlear Implants
Summary 241
Key Words 242
Study Questions 243
References 243
Glossary 249
Index 273
Preface
The inspiration for this text began when instructors to involve students more fully
I was teaching undergraduate language in classroom discussion while develop-
acquisition courses. The goal was to ing critical thinking and using problem-
ensure that complex concepts were at the solving skills. Learning objectives are pro-
appropriate level for students’ under- vided to guide students’ learning. Within
standing. An additional goal was to each chapter, boxes, tables, figures, and
prepare students for future practice. To examples elaborate and clarify the infor-
address these goals, these are the features mation presented. Study questions appear
of the second edition: at the end of each chapter to ensure that
students understand and retain the infor-
◆ Updated to reflect current research mation presented in the text and class-
◆ Expanded focus on evidence-based room lectures. A comprehensive glos-
practice sary of the key words in each chapter
◆ Improved readability through the is included to help students locate and
use of boxes, explanations, and grasp the definitions of key terms. On the
definitions PluralPlus companion website, multiple-
◆ A greater number of figures and choice questions that address the material
tables for deeper comprehension in each chapter are available, along with
PowerPoint lecture slides for all chapters.
To help students better understand the Highlights of the second edition
process of language acquisition, this text include:
presents an integrated view of the vari-
ous factors that play an important role in ◆ A chapter that introduces theories
children’s acquisition of language: articu- of language development. Under-
lation, syntax, semantics, phonology, mor- standing the theoretical foundations
phology, pragmatics, hearing, cognition, of language development is an
and literacy. To prepare students for what essential prerequisite for future
follows, an introductory chapter presents evidence-based practice. This chapter
them with terminology and concepts that concludes with practical strategies
they will encounter in the following chap- that are drawn from these theories.
ters. To support students’ learning, each ◆ Several chapters include information
chapter begins with a case study and on the differences that can appear
learning objectives. Case studies allow when children are learning a new
ix
x Introduction to Language Development
language. The goal is for students are used to support success in math-
to be able to distinguish differences ematics skills and other academic
from disorders. This information is subjects in later grades.
essential, given that 5 million or more ◆ A chapter on bilingualism introduces
school-age children in the United students to an important area of
States alone are English-language knowledge, given the growing
learners. number of children in schools who
◆ A chapter on the brain in relation are learning a new language. This
to speech, language, and cognitive chapter describes socio-cultural
development is an important contri- factors related to bilingual language
bution to students’ knowledge, given acquisition, summarizes bilingual
the frequent interaction between language development, applies best
speech-language pathologists and practice principles for assessment,
other practitioners (e.g., neurologists, and describes cross-linguistic and
psychologists, doctors, occupational bilingual approaches to intervention.
therapists, physical therapists). ◆ A chapter on hearing loss introduces
◆ A chapter on literacy development students to the impact of hearing loss
offers strategies for the support of on language development. While
children’s literacy skills. The impor- students do enroll in an audiology
tance of literacy goes beyond reading course within their study program, this
and writing. Literacy skills are chapter focuses on the consequences of
intertwined with oral language and hearing loss for speech and language.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to David Munro for his help in developing the glossary and
careful review of citations and references. Thanks to Marissa and David
for their edits. Thanks to Celeste Roseberry-McKibbin, Susan Hocker,
and Deborah Rhein for their feedback on the chapters that fell within
the areas of their expertise.
xi
Contributors
Diana Almodovar, PhD, CCC-SLP Denise Cruz is a bilingual speech-

received her doctorate from The language pathologist and the Director of
Graduate Center, City University of New Clinical Education and Clinical Services
York. She is an Assistant Professor in at The Ruth Smadbeck Communica-
the Department of Speech, Language, tion & Learning Center, Marymount
Hearing Sciences, at Lehman College, Manhattan College. She has published
CUNY, where she teaches, serves as a and presented on topics that addressed
clinical educator, and conducts research bilingual language acquisition/speech
in childhood language impairments. perception. Clinical areas of practice
The focus of her research centers on and research interest include head and
phonological and semantic processing neck cancer, swallowing disorders,
during word retrieval in monolingual voice disorders, care of the professional
and English- Spanish bilingual children voice, transgender voice, and clinical
with language impairments. supervision.
María R. Brea-Spahn, PhD, CCC-SLP Sylvia F. Diehl, PhD, CCC-SLP is

received her doctorate in Psychology recently retired from the University
from the University of South Florida. of South Florida (USF) Department of
She is a Clinical Associate Professor Communication Sciences in Tampa,
and Director of the Bilingual Extension Florida. Dr. Diehl was team leader in the
Program in the Department of Commu- language/phonology clinic and member
nicative Sciences and Disorders at New of the USF Interdisciplinary Center
York University–Steinhardt. Her research for Evaluation and Intervention Team,
has focused on the interaction between which offers guidance to Florida Public
working memory, semantic knowledge, School Systems regarding children
and language-specific phonological with complex needs. She is the founder
patterns in bilingual children. Clinical of Friends with Sylvia at USF, which
areas of practice and investigation provides social communication inter-
include research on syntactic complexity vention along with parent training to
in narrative discourse, strategic writing children with autism spectrum disorder
instructional approaches, and family- (ASD). She is currently the president of
centered biliteracy instruction. Knowledge Counts, which has supported
xiii
xiv Introduction to Language Development
children with ASD and their families for and Disorders at La Salle University
over 30 years. in Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Goldstein is
well-published in communication devel-
Brian J. Fligor, ScD., PASC is Chief opment and disorders in Latino children
Development Officer at Lantos focusing on language development and
Technologies, Inc. in Wakefield, MA, disorders in monolingual Spanish and
and President of Boston Audiology Spanish-English bilingual children. He
Consultants, Inc. in Mansfield, MA. Dr. is a Fellow of the American Speech-
Fligor is the chair of the World Health Language-Hearing Association.
Organization working group on stan-
dards for the Make Listening Safe Sandra Levey, PhD is Professor
initiative to provide consumers, health Emerita in the City University of New
professionals, and manufacturers of York (CUNY), Lehman College. She
portable audio systems (headphones/ is the chair of the Multilingual and
MP3 players) guidance for lessening the Multicultural Affairs Committee of the
risk for noise-induced hearing loss from International Association of Logopedics
improper use. He has published peer- and Phoniatrics (IALP). Dr. Levey has
reviewed scientific papers and academic published and presented on bilingual/
book chapters, given invited presenta- multilingual children’s and adult’s
tions, and is author of Understanding perception, language acquisition, and
Childhood Hearing Loss (Rowman and reading skills, along with the multicul-
Littlefield Publishers, Baltimore, MD). tural aspects of noise-induced hearing
loss. She has received recognition
Brian A. Goldstein, PhD, CCC-SLP is from the American Speech-Language-
Provost/VP of Academic Affairs and Hearing Association as a Board Certified
Professor of Communication Sciences Specialist in Child Language.
To Aaron, who has an active interest in learning the definitions of new words;
to Micah, who loves to use words to make jokes and riddles; to Marissa, the
wordsmith, who creates beautiful and lyrical words and phrases; to Tania, the
researcher and writer, who has written a book of her own that examines the
impact of words on others; to Daniel, the musician, who loves the language
of music; and to David, my husband, for his many years of companionship.
1
An Introduction to
Language Acquisition
Sandra Levey
Case Study
Casey is a kindergartner who has stay, and “pay” instead of play). She also
communication difficulties. Casey does not has difficulty understanding directions
initiate conversations with other children when the teacher is asking the children to
in the class, and friends sometimes do not complete a task within the classroom.
understand her because of her difficulty Identify the areas of difficulty by whether
in producing some sounds and her habit they involve communication, speech, or
of leaving some sounds out of words (e.g., language.
“top” instead of stop, “tay” instead of
Chapter Objectives who are learning a second language. There

are a growing number of new language
This chapter presents an overview of chil- learners in classrooms across the world. For
dren’s language development, with a focus example, in one classroom of 30 students,
on the terminology and concepts that you 14 different languages were spoken. The
will encounter in the chapters that follow. ability to distinguish between a true com-
This chapter also presents a discussion of munication disorder versus a language dif-
differences. This is a term that refers to the ference (due to learning a new language)
language factors associated with children is essential to provide evidence-based
1
2 Introduction to Language Development
assessment and intervention. After reading competence involves the acquisition and
this chapter, you should understand: use of morphology, phonology, syntax, and
semantics (Gleason & Ratner, 2017).
◆ The distinction between communica-
tion (the process of information Morphology: In what way words and
exchange), speech (the production smaller units can be combined to form
of sounds), and language (meaning other words (go + ing = going)
conveyed by words, sentences, and Phonology: In what way sounds are
longer utterances) combined to form words (c + a + t = cat)
◆ The five components of language
(syntax, semantics, morphology, Syntax: The word combinations used
phonology, and pragmatics) to express meaning in sentence struc-
◆ The role of cognition in language tures (I + see + a + bird)
◆ Terminology found in later chapters Semantics: In what way words
in this text correspond to things and events in
◆ The differences that may appear when the world (It’s raining), how language
children are learning a new language reflects a speaker’s intent (I want to tell
you a story), or feelings (I’m feeling good
We begin this introduction to chil- today).
dren’s speech and language development
with a discussion of communication, fol- Communicative interaction involves the
lowed by a discussion of speech and lan- exchange of information between a sender
guage. This chapter also presents a brief (speaker) and a receiver (listener). In the
review of cognition and a discussion of exchange of information, the sender trans-
the connection between cognition and mits information (encodes) that the receiver
language. comprehends or understands (decodes).
Encoder/speaker I have a new toy!

Communication, Speech, Decoder/listener Can I play with it?
and Language
Receptive language is the ability to

Communication understand others, and expressive
language is the ability to express
Communication is the process of exchang-
and share thoughts, ideas, and
ing information through a speaker’s ideas,
feelings. Receptive language is the
thoughts, feelings, needs, or desires. We
understanding of spoken language,
possess the ability to communicate using
sometimes referred to as auditory
various modalities: verbal, written, gesture,
comprehension. It is the ability to
pantomime, drawing, or through sign lan-
understand language (the meanings
guage. The ability to communicate a mes-
of words, sentences, stories, and
sage successfully and to understand the
conversation); concepts (e.g., size,
concepts being communicated reflects com-
color, emotions, andtime); and direc-
municative competence. Communicative
tions (e.g., Put your books away and
competence involves the appropriate use
open your crayon box). Expressive
of language in interaction, while linguistic
1. An Introduction to Language Acquisition 3
in the productions of a question, a state-

language is the ability to convey ment, or to confirm that it is Jason who is
meaning and thoughts through the coming, and not someone else.
production of words and sentences,
retelling of events and stories, and Jason is COMING? Asking a question
engaging in conversation. to determine if Jason is coming
Jason IS coming. Making a statement
In addition to the verbal or spoken features
to confirm that Jason is coming
of communication, a listener must learn
to interpret the paralinguistic cues that JASON is coming? Asking if Jason is
accompany spoken language (Table 1–1). the person who is coming
Paralinguistic cues accompany spoken
language and often help the listener bet- Prosody is a communicative tool
ter understand a speaker’s meaning. For that involves duration (length), intensity
example, a speaker can use facial expres- (loudness), and frequency (pitch) when
sions to convey feelings. A speaker can producing words or longer utterances.
also use intonation to express a question For example, notice that you can express
(rising intonation across a spoken utter- sarcasm by producing the first syllable in
ance) or a statement (falling intonation the word with greater duration or length
across an utterance to confirm a fact). Pro- than the second syllable (i.e., REAlly?). In
duce each of the sentences that follow to other words, we can change the meaning
demonstrate the differences in intonation of an utterance using paralinguistic cues.
Table 1–1. Paralinguistic Cues
Affect Facial expressions

Gestures Head nods that indicate agreement or disagreement
Posture Body position
Physical Distance or proximity between a speaker and a listener
Intonation Voice or vocal pitch that marks the difference between a
statement (falling intonation) and a question (rising intonation)
Word stress Emphasis on a single syllable word or on syllables in a
multisyllabic word (e.g., banana)
Speech rate Fast, moderate, or slow, and pause or hesitation
and rhythm
Volume or Louder speech indicates anger or assertiveness
intensity
Pitch High or low pitch used by different speakers
Inflection Differences related to the context (exaggerated inflection when
reading to a child versus natural inflection in conversation
with an adult)
Prosody allows us to communicate differ- in children learning English as a new lan-

ent attitudes, such as sarcasm or sympa- guage (Hlavac, 2011, p. 3798):
thy, by changing the duration, intensity,
and frequency of our spoken language. Filled pauses: Like, you know
Another factor in communication
Paralinguistic markers: Laughter,
is the rhythm of speech. This involves
nervous coughing, gestures, facial
the rising and falling patterns across the
expressions
production of an utterance. For example,
a sentence may consist of the follow- Silent pauses: Lasting for a few
ing rhythm pattern (with rising patterns seconds, which may occur when a
shown in bolded syllables or words): new language learner is searching for
a particular word
I know you prefer the bigger cookie.
At times, the rhythm of speech is broken Speech and Articulation

by hesitation as a speaker tries to think of
a word. Hesitation is not always the sign Speech is defined as the verbal means of
of a disorder, as children learning a new communicating through articulation. Artic-
language often hesitate while searching ulation involves the production of speech
for a word in the language being learned. sounds by movement of the lips, tongue,
Examples follow of these patterns found and soft palate or velum (Figure 1–1). The
Figure 1–1. The movable articulators consist of the lips, tongue, and velum
(soft palate). Reproduced with permission from Language Development:
Understanding Language Diversity in the Classroom (p. 85), by S. Levey &
S. Polirstok (Eds.), 2011, Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
velum plays a role in the production of smallest units of sound that create a differ-
certain sounds. The larynx is a muscu- ence in meaning (e.g., /p/ vs. /b/ to dis-
lar organ that contains the vocal cords tinguish pea vs. bee). Note that the change
or folds (Figure 1–2). The vocal cords are of the initial phoneme in a word results in
stimulated by respiration (air from the a change in word meaning in the follow-
lungs). The vocal folds vibrate to produce ing examples.
phonation or voice (sound produced by
the vibration of the vocal folds). The respi- Sue-two /su/-/tu/
ratory system provides the support for
Tip-dip /tIp/-/dIp/
phonation (Figure 1–3).
Bat-cat /bæt/-/kæt/
Phonemes
Phonemes are the abstract representation
Notice that you bring your lips together of speech sounds (phones), with phonemes
to produce the sounds “p” and “b” when indicated by slashes (e.g., /p/ and /b/),
producing the initial sounds in the words as found in the words pat /pæt/ and bat
pat and bat. The sounds “p” and “b,” /bæt/. Consonant phonemes (Table 1–2)
along with many other sounds in English, and vowel phonemes (Table 1–3) are types
are termed phonemes. Phonemes are the of English phonemes that compose words.
Figure 1–2. The larynx. The vocal cords, also called the vocal folds, are
shown. The glottis is the space between the vocal folds. The epiglottis is
attached to the entrance of the larynx and is open for breathing and
closed during swallowing.The supraglottis is the area above the glottis, and
the subglottis is the area below. The trachea is a tube that extends from
the larynx to the bronchial tubes in the lungs, allowing air to flow to and
from the lungs. Reproduced with permission from Getty Images.
Figure 1–3. The respiratory system consists of the lungs and bron-
chus, which is one of the two tubes (bronchi) that carry air from throat
to lungs and air into the lungs. The pharynx is the place in the mouth
where the nasal passages connect to the mouth and throat. Reproduced
with permission from Getty Images.
6
Table 1–2. Consonant Phonemes of English
Phoneme Initial Medial Final

/p/ pot apple lap
/b/ boy table cab
/t/ tea attic cot
/d/ dot ladder sad
/k/ cap actor sick
/g/ go tiger leg
/m/ mop summer gum
/n/ nap tunnel fun
/ŋ/ hanger sang
/f/ fat taffy half
/v/ vest silver sleeve
/s/ sit passing bus
/z/ zoo buzzard fuzz
/θ/ threw bathtub bath
/ð/ they mother bathe
/ʃ/ shell pressure push
/Z/ measure beige
/l/ leave balloon tall
/r/ road farmer car
/j/ yet tri( )al
/w/ wet
/tS/ chin teacher teach
/dZ/ jam badger lodge
Note: The consonant phoneme /Z/ occurs only in medial and final
position, while the phoneme /w/ occurs only in initial position.
The consonant phoneme /j/ is the sound produced in the word
trial, i.e., tri /j/al). The /r/ in farmer and car (i.e., “er” and “ar”)
can be classified as rhotic diphthongs.
7
Table 1–3. Vowel Phonemes of English
Phoneme Word Phonetic Transcription

/i/ feet, eat, ski /fit/, /it/, /ski/
/E/ bet, met, friend /bEt/, /mEt/, /frEnd/
/e/ date, train, beige /det/, /tren/, /beZ/
/I/ hit, bit, sit /hIt/, /bIt/, /sIt/
/æ/ hat, ladder, mad /hæt/, /læd2/, /mæd/
/u/ you, tune, soon /ju/, /tun/, /sun/
/U/ took, should, cook /tUk/, /SUd/, /kUk/
/o/ go, shoulder, load /go/, /Sold2/, /lod/
/A/ on, cot, father /An/, /kAt/, fAD2/
/O/ paw, bought, taught /pO/, /bOt/, /tOt/
// sun, love, uncle /sn/, /lv/, /nkl/
/@/ about, cannon, undo /@bAUt/, /kæn@n/, /@ndu/
// fur, sir, burn /f/, /s/, /bn/
/2/ father, bother, burner /fAD2/, /bAD2/, /bn2/
There are also vowels that are classi- language. Note that there is not a one-to-
fied as rhotic diphthongs. These are pho- one correlation between graphemes and
nemes that occur in words such as ear, air, phonemes. For example, the phoneme
door, and car. These phonemes are a com- /f/ is the last sound in the word laugh,
bination of a vowel and the vowel /2/. while the word laugh is spelled with the
Although these sounds are combined, a graphemes -gh. It is also the first sound
rhotic diphthong is considered a single in the word physician, while the word
sound. Examples of these words and their physician is spelled with two graphemes
phonetic form appear below. ph-. Children must learn to recognize the
variations between written and spoken
/i2/ ear, deer, hear, near, appear language to develop basic reading skills.
/e2/ air, hair, care, pair, stair
/o2/ door, floor, more, wore Words are composed of one syllable
(e.g., bug, dog, cat, see, run), two sylla-
/A2/ car, cart, sorry, jar, far bles (e.g., cartoon, monkey, daytime,
many), or three or more (e.g., gorilla,
Orthography describes the symbols summertime, watermelon, elementary).
or alphabet letters (graphemes) of written
open (abducted) to produce unvoiced

A syllable is composed of the onset, sounds (e.g., /p, t, k, f, s, h/). An unvoiced
which is the initial consonant or sound is produced when the vocal folds
consonants (e.g., cat, and star). In are in abducted (open) position and vocal
these examples, the onset consists fold vibration does not occur. A voiced
of the consonants “c” and “st.” sound is produced when the vocal folds
A syllable is also composed of the are adducted (closed) for vocal fold vibra-
rime, which consists of the vowel and tion to occur (Figure 1–4).
any final consonant or consonants Another factor in speech production
(e.g., cat, and star). In these examples, involves the movement of the velum (soft
the rime consists of the vowel and palate), shown in Figure 1–5. Nasal con-
consonants “at” and “ar.” sonants are produced when sounds exit
through the nasal cavity. The presence of
sound passing through the nasal cavity can
Speech Production
be observed by placing your fingers gently
Speech production involves drawing air on the side of your nose while producing
into the lungs. Voice is produced through the nasal consonant /m/, as in the word
the vibration of the vocal folds when this me. The consonant sounds that are pro-
airflow is directed upward from the lungs. duced with the airstream exiting through
The air flow from the lungs sets the vocal the nose are found in the words man /m/,
folds into vibration (opening and clos- nose /n/, and the last two sounds (ng)
ing). Vocal fold vibration results in voice in the word hang /ŋ/. To produce these
production. Voiced sounds are produced sounds, the velum is lowered so that air
when the vocal folds are brought together exits through the nose. All other conso-
(adducted) to produce these sounds (e.g., nants are produced with the velum raised,
/b, d, g, v, z, m, n/). The vocal folds are so that air exits the mouth or oral cavity.
Figure 1–4. The vocal folds in adducted (closed) and abducted (open)
position. Voicing occurs when the vocal folds are adducted. Unvoiced
sounds are produced when the vocal folds are abducted. Reproduced
with permission from Language Development: Understanding Lan-
guage Diversity in the Classroom (p. 83), by S. Levey & S. Polirstok
(Eds.), 2011, Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
It is important to understand that

phonemes differ across languages.
For example, there are English
vowels that are absent in Spanish,
while there are consonants in
Spanish that are absent in English.
The following words demonstrate
some of the English vowels absent
in Spanish: cot /A/, paw /O/, fit /I/,
and bet /E/. Children learning a
new language may not have a
concept or understanding of the
phonemes in the language being
learned. This indicates a difference
when a child is learning a new
language that contains new sounds
(or words) absent from his or her
native language.
Phonology
Phonology is the part of language that is

concerned with the combination of speech
sounds for word formation. For example,
we can combine the sounds or phonemes
associated with “c” /k/, “a” /æ/, and “t”
/t/ to form the word cat /kæt/. A dif-
ferent combination would result in act
/ækt/. Over time, children understand
the contrasts between sounds, such as
the differences between the sounds /p/
Figure 1–5. The velum is lowered to allow air and /b/. Children learn that these sound
to flow from the nasal cavity to produce the contrasts signal differences in meaning, as
nasal sounds, such as /m/ and /n/ and “ng” (e.g., shown in the following examples:
hang). The velum is raised for all other sounds.
This closes the passage between the oral cavity /p/ versus /b/ pin-bin
(mouth) and the nasal cavity (nose). Reproduced
with permission from Language Development: /t/ versus /d/ tip-dip
Understanding Language Diversity in the
/f/ versus /v/ fairy-very
Classroom (p. 88), by S. Levey & S. Polirstok
(Eds.), 2011, Los Angeles, CA: Sage. /k/ versus /g/ Kate-gate
Phonological Processes
Phonological rules govern the distri-
bution and sequencing of sounds in Phonological processes describe children’s
words. Distributional rules govern early productions of words. Phonologi-
the position of sounds in words. For cal processes label a child’s production
instance, the sequence ng can occur that differs from a target word produced
in word final (sing) or medial posi- by adults. These productions may reflect
tion (singer) in English. However, their perception (auditory interpreta-
this sequence does appear in initial tion) of target words that are produced by
position in other languages, such as adults or older language users. Phonolog-
the language Grebo, spoken in the ical processes are described in Chapter 5,
African country of Liberia. with examples of children’s early word
productions shown below.
Morphophonology “Nana” produced in place of banana
Another interesting aspect of phonology is “Dada” produced in place of daddy

that certain phonemes change because of “Gogi” produced in place of doggy
the effect of one sound on another. These
changes reflect the interaction between
phonology and morphemes (morphopho-
Language
nology). For example, the unvoiced pho-
neme /s/ changes to a voiced phoneme
Language is defined as the means for
/z/ when it follows a voiced consonant
human communication through the use
(e.g., /g/). However, the unvoiced pho-
of spoken words, written symbols, or
neme /s/ does not change when it follows
sign language. Note that symbols label
an unvoiced consonant (e.g., /t/). The fol-
things, actions, thoughts, and activities.
lowing examples show that the plural -s
Language is also defined as a shared
changes to the phoneme /z/ when it fol-
code that represents concepts through the
lows the voiced phoneme /g/.
use of arbitrary symbols. A shared code
means that speakers and listeners can
Dog + s = dogs /dOgz/
understand one another, based on a com-
Cat + s = cats /kæts/ mon or shared language. Language also
represents concepts or ideas through the
Produce the following words and note the use of arbitrary symbols. The term arbi-
differences that occur when the plural /s/ trary is used to label symbols that identify
follows a voiced sound (e.g., /g, d, b/) words, because there is no direct relation-
versus an unvoiced sound (e.g., k, t, p). ship between a word and its meaning. For
example, English speakers label the entity
cups cabs apple as “apple,” whereas this entity has
a different name across many other lan-
bats dads
guages: pomme (French), manzana (Span-
cakes bags ish), and æble (Danish).
The term generative is also used Nouns: mother, dog, home, book
to describe the nature of language. This
Proper nouns: Sue, New York, Sesame
describes a speaker’s ability to generate
Street
many types of sentences, including novel
sentences produced by children when they Pronouns: he, she, you, it, we, they
lack a word to identify a thing or an action
(I’m crackering my soup). Grammar is the The basic syntactic structure (sentence)
description of a language with respect to consists of a noun phrase (which must
its components. The components of lan- contain a noun) and a verb phrase (which
guage consist of form, content, and use must contain a verb). Children expand the
(Table 1–4). We begin with a discussion of length and increase the complexity of their
the component form, which includes syn- sentences by adding modifiers. Noun
tax, morphology, and phonology. modifiers include determiners and adjec-
tives. Examples of determiners include
articles (a, an, the); cardinal and ordinal
numbers (one, two, three and first, second,
Form third); demonstratives (that, these, those);
quantifiers (some of, every, each, most, all);
Syntax and possessives (my, your, his, her, its, our,
their). Adjectives include colors; sizes (big,
Syntax is the component of language that thin, large); shapes (round, square); quali-
involves rules for combining words to ties; and other descriptions (happy, new,
form sentences. A basic sentence is com- loud, sweet).
posed of subject + verb (e.g., Tania ran).
The subject of a sentence contains nouns Determiners: the girl, a book, an apple
or pronouns. Common nouns label a per-
Demonstratives: that book, one book,
son, place, or thing, while proper nouns
some books are yours, my book
label specific persons, places, and things.
Note that proper nouns are marked with Adjectives: big boys, new books, red
capital letters. apples, happy children are playing
Table 1–4. The Components of Language
Form Syntax Rules for sentence structure

Morphology Rules for forming word structure
Phonology Rules for combining sounds to
form words
Content Semantics Word, sentence, or longer
language meaning
Use Pragmatics Rules for the appropriate use of
language in social interaction
Verbs label actions, and there are two

classes of verbs: main verbs and auxil- S
iary verbs. Main verbs describe an action
(run, cry, eat, sleep, read, drink, fly), while
auxiliary verbs provide information that
NP VP
clarifies meaning (am, is, are, was, were, be,
been, have, has, had). There are also modal
auxiliary verbs that express mood (can,
could, shall, should, will, would, do, did, may,
DET N V NP
might). These verbs clarify speakers’ atti-
tudes when they produce utterances: a
fact (I did eat the cookies) or a desire (I could The boy threw DET N
eat the cookies when no one is looking).
a ball
Main verbs: They eat, drink, run, fell
Auxiliary verbs: They are reading, were Figure 1–6. This sample syntactic tree shows
reading, have read a sentence (S) that consists of a noun phrase
Modal auxiliary verbs: They can come, (NP) and a verb phrase (VP). The noun phrase
could come, should come contains a determiner (DET), such as the, a,
or an, and a noun (N). The VP contains a verb
Syntactic structure can also be expanded (V) and another NP. This noun phrase contains
by adding adverbs that modify verbs. another DET and an N. There are many kinds
Adverbs supply information on how, of sentences, and this is only one example of a
when, where, quantity (how much or how tree diagram.
long), and time (before, now).
How The girl ran quickly syntax emerges with the combination of
two words at about 18 months of age.
When We are going to the park
Syntactic development begins with sen-
tomorrow
tences that express a request (More cookie),
Where Put the book there notification (That doggy), and negation
(No bed). Syntactic development is dem-
Quantity He ate so much that he fell
onstrated when children produce sen-
asleep
tences with increased length and com-
Time They went to school before plexity. This occurs with the development
they watched TV of vocabulary skills and the inclusion of
grammatical morphemes that indicate
Prepositional phrases indicate place (on continued action (e.g., going) and plurals
the table, in the bowl, next to the chair). The (e.g., toys). Children’s early sentence pro-
sentence The boy threw a ball is represented ductions (Table 1–5) show the develop-
in a syntactic tree in Figure 1–6. ment of a variety of different structures
Children begin to produce single that appear at about 3 years of age (Bern-
words at about 12 months of age, while stein, 2011).
Table 1–5. Children’s Early Sentence (dog + s). Inflectional morphemes include
Production the plural -s attached to nouns to indicate
plurality, the possessive ’s to indicate pos-
Sentence Example session (mommy’s), the present progres-
sive -ing attached to verb stems to indicate
Declaratives I sleepy.
present and ongoing action (running), and
Interrogatives Where mommy? the past tense marker -ed to indicate a pre-
vious activity (walked).
Imperatives Gimme cookie.
Negatives No more milk. Cat → cats

Big → biggest
Quantity use I have two cars.
Run → running
Adjective use Gimme the big ball.
Adverb use Run fast. Derivational morphemes involve a prefix

(un-) or suffix (-ness). These morphemes
can change the meaning of a word (e.g.,
kind becoming un + kind). This class of
Morphology morphemes can also change a verb to a
noun (e.g., farm becomes farm + er), as
Morphology is concerned with the struc- shown in the examples that follow.
ture of words and the parts that com-
pose words. For example, the word cats Lucky → unlucky
is composed of two morphemes: the root
He farms → He is a farmer
morpheme cat and the plural morpheme
-s. Morphemes are the minimal distinc- Happy → happiness
tive units of words that determine mean-
ing. For example, the word cat cannot be Examples of free and bound morphemes
broken down into smaller units (c or at) are presented in Table 1–6.
or the meaning of the word cat would Grammatical morphemes consist of
be lost. conjunctions (and, but), articles (the, an, a),
Free morphemes are those that have and prepositions (in, under). These mor-
meaning by themselves (nouns, verbs, phemes have a grammatical function: to
adjectives, adverbs, and prepositions). Bound show the difference between one (one
morphemes occur only in combination cup) and more than one (two cups), to
with free morphemes (e.g., the past tense show possession (Jason’s computer), or to
form -ed, the plural form -s, and the ongo- show something that is exceptional (the
ing activity form -ing). Bound morphemes biggest dog I have ever seen). The role of
can be divided into two types: inflectional grammatical morphemes in word forma-
morphemes (e.g., -s, -est, -ing) and deri- tion can be found in Table 1–7. Note that
vational morphemes (e.g., -ful, -like, -ly, these morphemes mark number (plural-
un-, dis-). ity), time (past and progressive action),
Inflectional morphemes modify verb and other areas that clarify and expand the
tense (walk + ed) or indicate noun number meaning of spoken and written language.
Table 1–6. Free and Bound Morphemes
Morpheme Example
Free
Nouns car, boy, tree, book, girl
Verbs run, walk, eat, drink
Adverbs slowly, quickly, faster, fastest, late
Adjectives good, better, best; rich, richer; dirty
Bound
Derivational
Prefix: un-, non-, in-, pre-, trans- unlucky, nonstick, inappropriate,
preview, insufficient, transatlantic
Suffix: -ly, -ist, -er, -ness, -ment slowly, bicyclist, farmer, happiness,
contentment
Inflectional
Plural cats, dogs, horses
Possessive cat’s, mommy’s
Third person singular eats, drinks
Past tense walked (regular) and ate (irregular)
Past participle eaten
Present participle (present eating
progressive)
Comparative bigger
Superlative biggest
15
Table 1–7. The Role of Grammatical Morphemes
Morphemes Grammatical Function Example

Plural Marks more than one of a noun
Regular dogs, chairs
Irregular child/children
Possessive Marks possession or ownership mommy’s
Comparative Marks a comparison bigger, closer
Superlative Marks something as exceptional biggest, quickest
Third person singular Marks agreement with singular eats, walks, barks
third person (i.e., he, she, it)
Past tense Marks past action

Regular walked, barked
Irregular ate, threw, swam
Past participle Verb form used as an action;

follows be or have
Regular chosen, proven
Irregular drunk, sung
Present progressive Marks present action eating, singing, barking
Uncontractible auxiliary The be verb preceding other The dog is barking

verbs; examples are am, is, are,
was, were, been
Contractible copula The main copular verb is the I’m happy, he’s big (from
verb to be I am happy and he is big)
Contractible auxiliary The be verb contracted Baby’s crying (baby is

crying)
Irregular Verbs tense inflectional morpheme -ed (e.g., walk

+ ed) to form the past tense of irregular
To form the past tense of certain verbs, verbs. In a game that involved hide and
we can add -ed (e.g., walked, and, talked), seek, 3½-year-old Micah was asked if
whereas other verbs require changes in he had left the house. He answered, Yes,
consonants and vowels (eat/ate, throw/ I leaved. Aaron, age 4, was asked if he
threw, and catch/caught). Young children would like to see a movie. He said, I sawed
often overgeneralize the regular past- that movie. Examples of young children’s
irregular verb productions are shown in versations. Meaning is attached to entities

the following examples. (e.g., things and people) and to events or
activities that children encounter in the
I eated the cookie. world (walking, throwing, rain falling).
Semantics also refers to the relationship
I throwed the ball.
between entities and events, as shown in
I catched the ball. the following example that illustrates the
semantic relationship between children,
Over time, children learn the irregular ball, and dog (entities) and throwing (event
verbs and can say, I ate, threw, and caught. or action).
The irregular past-tense changes are dif-
ficult for children until the early elemen- The children are throwing a ball to
tary grade years (Proctor-Williams & Fey, the dog.
2007). Greater difficulty with the correct
production of irregular verbs is found for Semantic knowledge combines knowl-
children learning a second language, with edge of words with knowledge of the world.
greater accuracy over time with greater Word knowledge involves learning that
exposure and experience in learning a there are names for entities, such as peo-
new language (de Zeeuw, Schreuder, & ple, animals, and things (boy, dog, tree);
Verhoeven, 2013). actions and events (throw, drive, birth-
day party); and concepts that label feel-
ings (happy, sad, surprised), space (in, on,
There is a connection between
under), and time (soon, late, next). Young
irregular past-tense verb learning
children observe the connection between
and phonology (the rules for forming
spoken language and the entities or
words). Difficulty appears in the
events/actions they label. These experi-
change from /d/ to /t/ in final word
ences within the environment result in
position when forming irregular
their development of concepts (ideas or
past-tense verbs, such as the change
theories) about the things they see, hear,
in the present-tense verb (build) to
and experience. Conceptual knowledge is
the irregular past-tense verb (built)
the basis for children learning the words/
(Shipley, Maddox, & Driver, 1991).
labels for entities, actions, feelings, space,
Difficulty also appears with verbs
and time.
that involve an internal vowel change
Conceptual knowledge is what a
(ride to rode).
child knows and understands about ideas,
entities (people, animals, and things), and
actions (events that take place in the envi-
ronment) (Alt, Meyers, & Alt, 2013). Chil-
Content dren’s conceptual learning depends on
two factors: information from others in the
Semantics environment and innate cognitive learn-
ing skills (Gelman, 2009). Bracken and
Semantics is the component of language Panter (2011) describe the basic concepts
that describes meaning that is conveyed understood by young children (pp. 467–
by words, sentences, narratives, and con- 468), as shown in Table 1–8.
Table 1–8. Concepts Developed by Young Children
Colors Primary and basic color terms

Letters recognition Upper and lowercase letters
Counting recognition Numbers and the number of objects in a set
Size/dimension Big/little, tall/short, long/short, same/
comparisons different
Shape recognition Circle, square, triangle
Direction/position Under, over, near, far, in front of, behind
Self/social awareness Happy, sad, old, young, right, wrong
Quantity Lots, few, full, empty
Temporal/sequence First, last, morning, night, almost
Source: Reproduced with permission from Bracken, B. A. & Panter, J. E. (2011).
Basic Concepts Considered Part of the Bracken Basic Concept Scale Develop-
ment (Table 1, pp. 467–468). Psychology in the Schools, 48(5), 464–475. John Wiley
& Sons Ltd.
duced to label a cow, cat, or tiger. Young

Conceptual knowledge begins with children frequently use the perceptual
an understanding of spatial concepts characteristics of entities to extend the
at about 1 to 3 years of age (in, on, meaning beyond that entity (overexten-
under); understanding dimensional sion). Over time, children acquire a more
concepts at about 2 to 3 years of age refined set of features and word meanings.
(big/little); colors at 3 to 4 years of Children also may have a limited repre-
age; understanding temporal (time) sentation of an entity or a thing (underex-
concepts (yesterday, today, tomorrow), tension), viewing a word to have a very
understanding spatial/positional restricted meaning. For example, Daniel,
concepts (first, middle, last), and age 4, was amazed when he was told that
understanding concepts of difference the dog pictured on the front cover of a
or similarity at 4 to 5 years of age dog-training book was his dog’s grandfa-
(Lanza & Flahive, 2009). ther. He asked, Shanti’s grandfather was a
DOG? This represents restricted meaning,
given that Daniel believed that the word
Overextension and Underextension grandfather could only refer to a person
(not an animal). Over time, children learn
While children are developing their seman- that words can have multiple meanings.
tic knowledge, they may identify entities For example, the word block is first learned
with similar semantic features as hav- as the label for a toy (toy block), then as
ing the same label. For example, it is not a place (going around the block), then as a
uncommon to hear very young children verb (blocking the door), and later as a met-
call all four-legged animals doggie, pro- aphor (mental block).
Semantic Roles and Semantic Relations with others. Pragmatic language rules
are defined as the effective and appropri-
Children’s early semantic development ate use of language to accomplish social
consists of semantic roles, used to convey goals, manage turns and topics in conver-
meaning at the one-word stage of devel- sation, and express appropriate degrees
opment. Some examples of semantic roles of politeness, awareness of social roles,
are agent, action, and affected. and recognition of others’ conversational
needs (American Speech-Language-Hear-
Agent Initiator daddy, ing Association, 2014). The behaviors that
(doer) of an mommy, involve appropriate pragmatic interaction
action doggie include eye contact when someone is talk-
Action Event throw, kiss, ing to you and turn-taking as sender and
drink receiver when involved in a conversation.
Pragmatics encompasses a wide
Affected Entity ball, baby,
range of communicative functions. These
influenced water
functions include the reasons for com-
by an action
municating; the frequency of speaking
(turn- taking, maintaining the topic under
At around 2 to 3 years of age, chil- discussion, and making appropriate topic
dren begin to combine words to form changes); and the ability to modify the
some semantic relations (Bloom, Lahey, style of communication to adapt to dif-
Hood, Lifter, & Fiess, 1980), with better ferent listeners (e.g., adults vs. children)
learning of these relations occurring after and different contexts (e.g., formal vs.
age 5 (Deák & Wagner, 2013). Examples of informal social situations). Children learn
the semantic relations acquired early are pragmatic rules through observation of
presented below. others’ behaviors in their environment
and through insight into others’ feel-
Agent + initiator + Daddy throw ings and needs. Children must possess a
Action event theory of mind (TOM) that allows them
Action + event/act + Drink water to understand others’ internal thoughts
Affected entity acted and emotions. TOM describes children’s
upon ability to understand other individuals’
mental states (thoughts and feelings), a
Entity + entity + Doggy bed
crucial skill to support pragmatic inter-
Location place (dog in bed)
action (Abdelal, 2009). For example, a
TOM allows a child to recognize the men-
tal states of happiness, sadness, or other
Use internal states. In these cases, appropri-
ate interaction requires that we take these
mental states into account.
Pragmatics Appropriate pragmatics are cultur-
ally determined, with differing pragmatic
Pragmatics refers to the appropriate use rules existing across cultures (Tannen,
of language in social interaction, along 1984). For example, some cultures con-
with the rules that govern interaction sider it inappropriate to use the term
why, while other cultures consider it inap- The speech act request occurs when
propriate to speak to a stranger. One of someone produces a question, such as Can
the areas of pragmatic differences may I have some juice? Note that the request for
appear in the relationship between a juice takes the syntactic form of a question
speech-language pathologist and a fam- (Can I . . . ?) while requesting an action on
ily, given that there are cultural differ- the part of the listener (Give me juice). This
ences in individuals’ beliefs regarding is an indirect speech act that has the syn-
parent–child interaction patterns (Trem- tactic form of a question but has the mean-
bath, Balandin, & Rossi, 2005). Some ing of a request. The understanding of the
parents believe in structured learning word can is acquired early (e.g., Can I have
and might have doubts regarding a more a cookie?), although the understanding of
naturalistic or informal approach. Other most indirect speech acts is acquired later
parents may feel uncomfortable when (Evans, Stolzenberg, Lee, & Lyon, 2014),
asked to collaborate in a child’s interven- Over time, children learn to make requests
tion program, given that this role differs in a more pragmatic or appropriate man-
from their cultural experiences or beliefs. ner by using the word please and through
Consequently, it is important to become the use of indirect requests (Can you, could
aware of cultural differences when work- you, would you mind . . . ?). Children’s prag-
ing with parents from different cultural matic/social interaction skills become
backgrounds, along with being sensitive more appropriate over time through
to these differences. observation and better understanding of
others’ minds in terms of how they might
feel or react to a request or a comment.
Speech Acts
Children are able to make requests
A speech act labels a speaker’s intent in a more appropriate manner when their
or meaning when she or he produces language skills develop to include modal
a sentence in social interaction (Searle, auxiliary verbs (e.g., can, could, shall,
1983). These utterances are termed “acts” should, will, would, may, and might) to pro-
because they frequently have an effect or duce indirect speech acts (e.g., Can I have a
result in an action. Notice that the follow- snack?). The use of modal auxiliaries leads
ing examples, produced by Sara at age 3½, to more polite requests. Children begin
frequently request or result in some sort to use modal auxiliaries around age 5.
of action. Note that the older child’s approach to
making a request for a cookie is very indi-
Greeting: Hi rect in the following examples. Note that
the younger children’s requests are more
Promise: I promise I eat my beans direct.
Request: I need chocolate ice cream
2-year-old COOKIE!
Indirect request: Can I have a snack?
3-year-old Gimme cookie
Complaint: Why I can’t have snack?
5-year-old Can I have a cookie?
Invitation: Come play with me?
7-year-old Those cookies sure smell
Refusal: Don’t want lunch good!
Written Language seen words are not spelled correctly (e.g.,

knife or night). The development of writ-
ing is shown in the attempt to spell the
Written language is also a method of
word dragon at different stages of writing
communication, with a strong connection
development.
between writing skills and literacy (the
ability to read and understand written
text). Engaging children in writing games Kindergarten MPRMRHM
also prepares them for reading tasks in First grade GAGIN
early grades, as children’s early writing
skills are associated with the develop- Second grade DRAGUN
ment of literacy (Graham, Harris, & Fink,
2000). Children begin their writing with
scribbles and drawing, advance to writ-
Cognition
ing letters, and progress to writing their
names. Children’s written development
follows the following examples (Bern- Cognition involves knowledge and intel-
stein & Levey, 2002). Children first repre- lectual capacity (Levey, 2011). Cognition
sent syllables, frequently without vowels is a mental mechanism that allows a child
(girl written as GRL). Next, simple and to achieve the cognitive skills shown in
frequently seen words are spelled cor- Table 1–9 (Ferry, Hespos, & Gentner, 2015;
rectly (e.g., cat). However, less frequently Gentner, 2003). Cognitive skills involve
Table 1–9. Cognitive Abilities
Adapt to the environment Adjusting to different elements, situations, and events
Draw abstractions Forming ideas or concepts by extracting information from

experiences
Plan Thinking ahead to arrange a method for achieving a goal
Generalize experiences Forming conclusions for experiences and drawing on

information from prior experiences
Thought about objects/ Making sense of the things that one has experienced
events
Compare/contrast Evaluating differences and/or similarities

objects/events
Use symbols (words) Representing the label and meaning for objects and events
Language learning Acquisition of syntax, semantics, phonology, morphology,

and pragmatics
Store information Allowing later retrieval through working and long-term

memory for entities, objects, actions, and events
the ability to plan, adapt to new situa- this information in memory. Internalizing
tions, draw on previous experience, and information consists of the child adopting
to store information in memory. information and making it part of his or
There are two important factors her knowledge. Retrieving information is
associated with cognition: attention and the ability to recall the information that
working memory. Attention consists of has been stored.
the ability to focus on the essential fac-
tors in a specific context or task, along
with the ability to ignore distractions and Social Cognition
irrelevant information. Working memory,
also sometimes termed short-term memory, Social cognition allows us to determine
provides children with the ability to store what information is already known by
information encountered in a current a listener, what information is needed,
experience (Galotti, 2017). Working mem- and what possible misunderstandings
ory is essential for a child to be able to might occur. It is the development of a
store, internalize, and retrieve or remem- TOM (understanding others’ thoughts,
ber information. An example of working desires, goals, motives, and emotions or
memory is when we are asked to remem- feelings) that allows children to acquire
ber a series of spoken directions (e.g., first social cognition. Social cognition allows
. . . next . . . finally). Limited short-term children to interact appropriately with
memory skills may influence the acquisi- others and to see things from others’ point
tion of language skills (Gathercole & Bad- of view, given the knowledge of others’
deley, 1990; Montgomery, Magimairaj, & mental states.
Finney, 2010). Children with poor work- Social cognition is a cognitive pro-
ing memory skills have difficulty with cess that enables a child to recognize and
classroom tasks, such as the recall of spo- understand social signals (Frith, 2008).
ken directions and spoken sentences and Examples of social signals include facial
the identification of rhyming words in a expressions (fear or anxiety) that may
lengthy verbal task (Gathercole, Durling, warn the presence of danger and eye gaze
Evans, Jeffcock, & Stone, 2008). direction that may indicate the presence
of an interesting object or event. Social
cognition is an important skill in infants’
Working Memory cognitive development. It allows infants
to refer to mothers’ facial expressions to
Working memory is defined as the hold- determine whether it is safe (or not safe)
ing of information in mind, along with to approach a novel object.
updating this information when neces- In one study of social cognition,
sary to revise or add new information. infants were exposed to a situation in
For example, if an adult gives the child a which an object was caused to fall. In this
multi-step set of directions to follow (e.g., study, infants were shown two conditions
put on your shoes, go into my room, and when an object fell: there were adults who
get my purse), a child with poor work- had not seen the object fall and there were
ing memory will have difficulty keeping adults who had seen the object fall. Infants
the series of directions in mind. Storage as young as 12 months of age understood
of information allows children to save who needed help finding the object versus
who did not need help (Liszkowski, Car- ing), and keeping information in mind to
penter, & Tomasello, 2008). They pointed guide future actions (working memory)
more often for the adults who did not see (Carlson, Zelazo, & Faja, 2013). Execu-
where it fell to show them the location of tive functions also play a role in regu-
the fallen object. Social cognitive skills lating lower order cognitive processes
were demonstrated when infants pointed (Key-DeLyria & Altmann, 2016), such as
more frequently to the fallen object to initiation, planning, working memory,
assist the adults who did not see where attention, problem solving, and verbal
it fell. reasoning (Table 1–10). Executive func-
tions also play a role in the control and
regulation of cognitive flexibility (shifting
Executive Function between ideas or tasks) and the inhibition
of inappropriate actions. Children’s exec-
Executive function refers to the cognitive utive function abilities have been shown
abilities used to control and to coordi- to develop between 3 and 4 years of age
nate information for planning goals, con- (Willoughby, Wirth, & Blair, 2012).
trolling responses (inhibition), shifting Executive functions allow children to
between tasks (cognitive task or set shift- accomplish the following tasks, essential
Table 1–10. Cognitive Functions
Cognitive Function Examples

Executive Functions
Inhibition The conscious or unconscious restraint of a
behavior or an impulse to act
Initiation Beginning an activity or thought process
Planning The ability to list steps needed to attain a goal
or complete a task
Working memory The capacity to hold and process information
Attention Sustained focus on a task and the ability to
disregard distractions
Discrimination The recognition of differences
Problem solving The ability to define and solve a problem in
an efficient manner
Verbal reasoning The ability to understand facts and concepts
or ideas expressed in words and to manipulate
this information to solve a problem
Theory of mind The ability to understand others’ thoughts,

feelings, and ideas
as children become older and enter aca- The ability to understand some-
demic contexts: one else’s mind does not emerge until
around 4 years of age (Baillargeon et al.,
Keep track of time 2010; Hale & Tager-Flusberg, 2003; Miller,
Plan 2006). However, 3- to 4-year-old children
possess the understanding that others’
Accomplish tasks within time limits desires and beliefs are associated with cer-
Apply previously learned information tain emotions, such as happiness, sadness,
to solve current problems surprise, and other emotional reactions
(Lane, Wellman, Olson, LaBounty, & Kerr,
Analyze information 2010). The true understanding of the men-
Request help when needed tal state verbs that are associated with the
human mind appears around 31 months
(Bartsch & Wellman, 1995), with the pro-
Theory of Mind duction of think and know. The mental
state verbs that emerge at 36 months are
Another aspect of cognitive development think, remember, forgot, thought, and pre-
is the theory of mind. TOM describes the tend (Nielson & Dissanayake, 2000). The
ability to understand the mental states of following mental terms were produced by
others (Baron-Cohen, 1993, 1996; Peter- Micah, at age 3, when he heard his baby
son, 2014), along with understanding and brother crying.
predicting how someone else will act and
explaining why a person acted in a cer- I think his feelings are hurt. I know what
tain manner. Mental states consist of our to do. I can fix it.
thoughts, feelings, emotions, reactions
to events, and ideas. TOM allows a child
to appreciate others’ mental states (Bail- A TOM marks the cognitive abilities
largeon, Scott, & He, 2010; Miller, 2006). of typically developing children,
Children’s TOM can develop through shown in the ability to take another
exposure to conversations that contain person’s perspective or point of view
mental state verbs (Astington, 1990; into consideration (Paul, Landa, &
Ruffman, Slade, & Crowe, 2002), such as Simmons, 2014).
thinks, knows, and believes.
Narratives play a role in learning men-
He thinks he will get a new bike. tal state verbs (Laing Gillam et al., 2015).
He knows where I put the car. Narratives require that children under-
stand characters’ feelings and actions,
He believes that I will share my candy. which can be described with mental state
verbs such as thinks, worries, and feels (de
Failure to develop a theory of mind Villiers & de Villiers, 2003). Narratives
is a factor in certain disorders, such introduce children to characters’ feel-
as autism (Baron-Cohen, 1996; ings, beliefs, and thoughts, along with the
Laing Gillam, Hartzheim, Studenka, language associated with these concepts.
Simonsmeir, & Gillam, 2015; Whyte, For example, in a story such as “Goldi-
Nelson, & Scherf, 2014). locks and the Three Bears,” children must
understand the motivations that guide the
characters’ behavior, along with under- a knife, cut as sharing profits, cut as mov-
standing the characters’ feelings that ing ahead of someone in a line); to become
result from the problematic situations aware of antonyms (add-subtract), syn-
(e.g., the broken chair, the missing por- onyms (afraid-scared), and homonyms
ridge, and someone sleeping in the baby (ate-eight); and to become aware of syn-
bear’s bed). tax (e.g., the awareness to rewrite a task
to make it more understandable).
Metacognition and
Metalinguistic Abilities Verbal Reasoning
Metacognition consists of a child’s self- Verbal reasoning consists of the ability to

knowledge of his or her own language make inferences about new experiences,
and thought processes. Metacognition transfer what has been learned across dif-
refers to the mental processes used to ferent experiences, and identify relevant
plan, monitor, and analyze one’s think- information when making comparisons.
ing and behaviors. Metacognitive strate- Children’s development of analogical rea-
gies consist of processes used to regulate soning allows them to notice correspon-
and self-monitor cognitive abilities, such dences and make inferences about simi-
as planning and checking outcomes of a lar facts or experiences across contexts
task. This allows children to determine (Morrison, Doumas, & Richland, 2010).
what they need to do to complete a goal A typical analogical reasoning task is pre-
and how successful they are at completing senting a child with the items cat, kitten,
this goal. This skill provides children with and dog (“Cat is to kitten as dog is to?”).
the skills needed for successful academic A successful response to this analogy task
progress, such as preparing for class and requires the production of a relational
completing class assignments. Metacogni- similarity, such as puppy. Children’s ana-
tion allows children to be aware of their logical reasoning plays a role in problem
learning abilities, what strategies may solving (Richland, Chan, Morrison, & Au,
help to remember details from directions 2010). For example, when a child notes
or a lecture, and what strategies are most that a stool can be the tool to reach a toy,
successful in solving problems or making the child can understand that a ladder is a
decisions. tool to reach something high. This reflects
Metalinguistic abilities involve the analogical reasoning through drawing the
ability to think overtly about language; connection between approaches to solv-
manipulate the structural features of lan- ing a problem.
guage at the phoneme, word, or sentence
level; and focus on the language form
(Finestack, 2014). Metalinguistic abilities
allow a child to think and talk about lan-
Language Differences
guage, along with the ability to use lan-
guage to talk about language (Bernstein There has been a growing awareness of
& Levey, 2002). Metalinguistic awareness bilingual cultural and language differ-
allows a child to become aware of syl- ences over the last decade (Beverly-Ducker
lables and phonemes in words, rhymes, & Polovoy, 2009). Over this period, there
and ambiguous words (e.g., cut as using have been efforts to improve the quality
of speech, language, and hearing services primary language is not English are cur-
for diverse language speakers. Given the rently enrolled in kindergarten to twelfth-
increased diversity in classrooms across grade programs in the United States and
the world, speech-language pathologists other countries across the globe.
must become aware that “differences”
(i.e., dialect or language differences from
One of the language productions that
a speaker’s dialect or language) do not
may be seen with children learning
imply “disorders” or “deficiencies.”
a new language is the use of the
word “do” as a general all-purpose
A dialect is a variation of a particular (GAP) verb, when the correct verb is
language that is distinguished by absent in a child’s language ability
phonology, grammar, or vocabulary. (Paradis, 2016). In this case, a child
Each dialect spoken is considered a may produce the sentence I do base-
legitimate rule-governed language ball instead of I played baseball. The
system. In the United States, examples use of the GAP verb disappears as
of dialects include African American the language skills of new language
English, Appalachian English, and learners develop over time.
Standard American English. Varia-
tions in the use of language are an
important reflection of an individu-
al’s cultural identity, which derives Summary
from sociocultural, sociolinguistic,
and historical roots (DeJarnette,
In this chapter, we have reviewed the fol-
Rivers, & Hyter, 2015; Rickford &
lowing components of language:
Rickford, 2000; Rickford & Rickford,
1976; Smitherman, 2000).
◆ We reviewed the components of
speech and language and the relation-
Practitioners must also be aware of ship between language and cognition.
the positive aspects of bilingual or mul- ◆ We learned that there is a close
tilingual learning. For example, children relationship between the components
from bilingual homes who become pro- of language: A speaker’s meaning
ficient in both their native and second (semantics) must be conveyed in the
languages have improved educational appropriate sentence form (syntax),
outcomes in terms of school completion with the correct morphemes assigned
rates, grades, achievement test scores, to indicate past tense (morphology),
educational aspiration, and personal with the correct phonetic patterns
adjustment (Bedore, 2010). Research also assigned (phonology), and the appro-
shows that typically developing children priate manner of interaction between
draw on the correspondence between a speaker and a listener (pragmatics).
their native language and the language ◆ We also learned that children form
being learned to support learning a new hypotheses or theories of how
language (Siu & Ho, 2015). It is essential to language works, as when children
acquire the knowledge of bilingual differ- produce the word eated. This shows
ences, given that so many children whose that children have acquired grammar
but have not yet learned the correct Morphophonology

application of the rules.
Orthography
◆ We discussed the distinction between
a disorder and a linguistic difference. Overextension
Overgeneralize
Chapter 2 explores the theories that
account for children’s language acquisi- Paralinguistic
tion and development to aid in the under- Perception
standing of how children acquire and
develop language. Phonation
Phonemes
Phonological processes
Key Words
Phonology
Cognition Pragmatics
Communication Prosody
Communicative competence Rhotic diphthongs

Semantic features
Content
Semantic relations
Decode
Semantics
Dialect
Social cognition
Encode
Speech
Executive function
Speech act
Form
Syntax
Generative
Theory of mind
Grammar
Underextension
Graphemes
Use
Indirect speech act
Language
Linguistic competence Study Questions
Metacognition
1. What is the difference between
Metalinguistic abilities communication, speech, and
language?
Modal auxiliary verbs
2. Describe the importance of metalin-
Morphemes
guistic abilities in a child’s language
Morphology development.
3. Explain why morphology is The development of a theory of mind,

an important part of sentence and its dysfunction. In S. Baron-Cohen, H.
development. Tager-Flusberg, & D. J. Cohen (Eds.), Under-
standing other minds: Perspectives from autism
4. Describe and give an example of the (pp. 59–82). New York, NY: Oxford Univer-
connection between morphology and sity Press.
phonology. Baron-Cohen, S. (1996). Mind blindness: An essay
on autism and theory of mind. Cambridge,
5. Explain why a child may say I eated MA: MIT Press.
a cookie. Bartsch, K., & Wellman, H. M. (1995). Children
talk about the mind. Oxford, UK: Oxford Uni-
versity Press.
Bedore, L. M. (2010). Choosing the language of
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2
An Introduction to Theories
of Language Development
Sandra Levey
Case Study
A child is part of a family that has moved is spoken. Based on one of the theories
to a new country. The first language presented in this chapter, what are some
spoken by this child is Japanese, but now of the methods that can be used to support
the child must enter a school where English this child’s learning a new language?
The theories we review in this chapter ◆ The factors that best support chil-
offer explanations of children’s language dren’s language development
development. These theories also offer
insights into how practitioners might
best provide support for children with Chapter Objectives
language disorders. After you have read
this chapter, you should understand the
following topics: The theories of language acquisition pre-
sented in this chapter can be placed into
◆ The role of innate skills in language four main categories: principles and
acquisition parameters theory, social interaction the-
◆ The role of the environment in ory, cognitive theory, and emergentism.
language acquisition Understanding these theories is essen-
◆ The interaction between innate skills tial, as language development theories
and the environment in language offer approaches that can be used to sup-
development port children with language difficulties.
33
A summary of the main points of these with the brain prewired to provide
theories is presented in Table 2–1. children with the capacity to learn lan-
guage. The term prewired means that
human infants are born with a brain
equipped with the ability to learn lan-
Principles and
guage. This innate brain mechanism is
Parameters Theory termed the language acquisition device
(LAD) (Namy, 2001). The LAD is the part
Chomsky (Berwick & Chomsky, 2016; of the human mind that provides chil-
Chomsky, 1957, 1965) argues that lan- dren with the ability to grasp the basic
guage acquisition is based on an innate structure of a language’s syntax (sentence
(inborn) structure in the human brain, forms).The LAD contains principles and
Table 2–1. Language Development Theories
Theory Description
Principles An innate language acquisition device (LAD) allows children to
and establish grammatical information from spoken language. The
Parameters LAD consists of innate language principles that are common to all
languages (e.g., a noun occurs in all sentences across all languages)
and parameters that can be set for the grammatical rules for a
particular language. Through hypothesis testing, children use
information from spoken language in the child’s environment. Thus,
parameter setting is the process that allows children to produce the
correct grammatical forms for different languages.
Social Social interaction within the environment provides the essential
Interaction information for language development. Language develops through
experience with language as it is used in the environment. Language
information is gained from interaction with peers and adults with
more advanced language skills.
Cognitive Language acquisition emerges through cognitive skills, such as
object permanence (the ability to produce words for entities or things
that are absent). Play is viewed an essential vehicle for language
development. Children form schemas, consisting of psychological
structures that allow children to attach meaning to entities (e.g., living
things), objects, and actions or events in their environment.
Emergentism Language learning is based on the “emergent” effect of cognitive,
social, pragmatic, and attentional factors. Language develops through
pattern-finding for language used across different situations. Patterns
involve regularities, such as the use of the word “more” to obtain
additional items. Children are also viewed as sensitive and alert to the
frequency of words that are used in spoken language. For example,
they become aware of the frequent use of wh-words (e.g., what, where,
why) to form questions.
2. An Introduction to Theories of Language Development 35
parameters that facilitate a child’s lan- verb (SOV) language. The word-order dif-
guage development. ference between these languages is shown
below (Smith, 2012).
◆ Principles are innate language
general rules that include the general John put the book on the table.
principles that apply to all languages,
John-gahon-woteiburu-niokimashi.ta
such as the principle that a sentence
[John book table put].
must contain a subject (e.g., The dog
ate my cookie) and a verb (e.g., The dog Parameter setting provides the language
ate my cookie). learner with the ability to set the correct
◆ Parameters are language-specific rules parameters for that language spoken in
that apply to the specific syntactic the environment (e.g., SVO or SOV).
structure for different languages, In this theory, the basic mechanism
such as the word-order rules that for syntactic development is based on
differ across languages. For example, an operation termed merge (Berwick &
subject-verb-object (SVO) word order Chomsky, 2016). Merge combines two
is a rule for English but not for other syntactic objects (e.g., noun and verb) to
languages, which use different word create a new object (noun + verb), as in the
orders to form sentences. following example.
SVO is the word order used in Noun: Dogs

English, Swahili, and romance Verb: Bark
languages (e.g., Spanish, Portuguese,
French, Italian, and Romanian); SOV Noun + verb: Dogs bark
is the word order used in Korean,
Persian, and Turkish; VSO is the The process continues with the combina-
word order used in Arabic and tion of additional objects to form longer
Hawaiian; VOS is the word order utterances, as shown in the following
used in Fijian and Malagasy; and examples. This process is presented to
OSV is the word order used in Warao explain children’s development of more
(spoken in Venezuela, Guyana, and lengthy and complex sentence structures.
Suriname).
Read books: verb + noun
Parameters can be viewed as switches that I read books: noun + verb + direct
can be turned “on” or “off,” with the lan- object noun
guage spoken in the environment acting I read new books: noun + verb +
as a trigger for these switches. Exposure adjective + noun
to the language spoken in the environ-
ment will allow the child to set the correct In summary, children are born with
parameter (structure) for a specific lan- an innate mechanism that provides them
guage (e.g., SVO or OVS). Both English with the ability to learn the structure (syn-
and Japanese involve different settings tax) of a language. There are innate prin-
for this parameter: English is an SVO lan- ciples that apply to rules that govern all
guage, while Japanese is a subject-object- languages across the world. Parameters
are set by exposure to the sentence struc- and events. One example is learning the
ture of the language spoken in the child’s word “cut.” At first, a child perceives
environment. the word cut when someone is talking
about cutting paper, bread, cake, or hair.
Later, the word cut is heard when some-
one says, He cut class today or They cut
Social Interaction
jobs in our department. Thus, the environ-
Theory ment contains actions and events that
allow children to expand their vocabulary
Social interaction theory is based on knowledge.
the hypothesis that children’s language Social interaction theory is based on
acquisition emerges through interaction the idea that more experienced language
with others and through experience with users play a role in developing higher-
the language used in the external environ- order functions. Vygotsky (1935) used the
ment (Bates, 1976; Bates & MacWhinney, term zone of proximal development to
1982; Piaget, 1954; Vygotsky, 1935). Chil- describe the distance between a child’s
dren possess the desire to interact with actual developmental level (determined
others, and language acquisition and by independent problem solving) and
development emerge from these social his or her level of potential development.
interactions. Within social interaction, The zone of proximal development is the
adults and children with greater knowl- distance between what children can do by
edge provide guidance for children’s themselves (retrospective mental devel-
language acquisition and development. opment) and the concepts or skills that
Language learning takes place with expo- they can learn with assistance from adults
sure to language as more experienced or children with more advanced language
language users label, describe, and dis- skills (prospective mental development).
cuss entities (e.g., people, things, and ani- In this theory, social interaction is the
mals); actions (swimming, drinking, and vehicle that facilitates the development of
cutting); events (parties, football games, language skills for children to reach pro-
and parades); and others’ states of mind spective mental and language develop-
(feelings, beliefs, and knowledge). ment goals. Communicative interaction in
Language emerges within the envi- a social context activates children’s inter-
ronment through play, conversation, nal developmental processes, especially
observation, and experience with the through tasks that demand conscious
use of language in daily activities, such reflection or problem solving (Vygotsky,
as shopping, school, cooking, and play. 1988). Scaffolding is the approach fre-
Children also use these daily activities quently used by adults to support learn-
to develop play schemes that require ing language (Table 2–2). Examples of
language used by more advanced users scaffolds are conversational recasts, used
(e.g., a pretend birthday party, visit to the to add new information to a child’s utter-
doctor, or grocery shopping). Learning ance while preserving the child’s mean-
the meaning of spoken language emerges ing. In the examples shown below, note
as children learn how words/sentences that the adult provides the correct irregu-
are used to represent entities, actions, lar verb form (ate), the auxiliary verb (are),
Table 2–2. Scaffolds
Expansions to extend the length of an Child: Baby run

utterance Adult: That’s right. The baby is running.
Extensions to extend the length of an Child: The boy cry
utterance while adding information Adult: The boy is crying because he fell down.
Recasts are models of the correct target
forms of a child’s incorrect production.
Syntactic recasts Child: That doggie
Adult: Yes, that is a doggie.
Semantic recasts Child: That apple
Adult: That’s a peach.
Phonological recasts Child: Wannanana
Adult: You want a banana.
Cloze procedures (sentence completion) use Adult: You said, “I want to____.”
an open-ended phrase that stimulates a
child’s language skills, with the goal to
elicit the target word (play).
Models are used when a child requires an Adult: You could say, I want milk.
example of an appropriate response.
the inflectional morpheme (-ing), and the (Cleave et al., 2015). As shown in Table 2–2,
preposition (to). a scaffold may provide syntactic, semantic,
and/or phonological information.
Child I eated In summary, language develops
through social interaction. Within the
Adult You ate
context of social interaction, children gain
Child I go play information from adults and children with
greater knowledge. Scaffolds play a role in
Adult Yes, you are going to play
language development, with more experi-
enced speakers providing correct models
Scaffolds provide an effective ap-
of the child’s intended language goal.
proach to developing children’s language
skills (Cleave, Becker, Curran, Owen Van
Horne, & Fey, 2015). With scaffolds, chil-
dren can learn the correct target form of
Cognitive Theory
words and more complex language struc-
tures. Many studies have shown that the use Cognitive theory is based on the idea
of scaffolds, such as recasts, play a positive that language acquisition and cognition
role in children’s language development are connected (Piaget, 1954). A cognitive
approach to learning and human develop- activities and experiences in a child’s envi-
ment places greater emphasis on mental ronment (e.g., taking care of a baby, shop-
or internal factors than on environmental ping, cooking, going to school, or going to
or external factors (Heo, Han, Koch, & the doctor). Children learn the language
Aydin, 2011). that is used to label these experiences (e.g.,
In children’s early cognitive develop- diapering, paying at checkout, putting your
ment, schemas (psychological structures) coat in the cubby). Children’s play also
allow children to understand, attach supports the development of the language
meaning, and organize knowledge about aspects of social skills, such as turn-taking,
entities they are exposed to in the envi- cooperation with other children in devel-
ronment. A schema can be defined as a oping and interacting in a play scheme,
mental representation of a child’s expe- and learning how to initiate and terminate
riences in the environment, allowing the this interaction (Galotti, 2017).
child to develop the word or words to In summary, innate cognitive abilities
describe these experiences. These mental allow children to learn language gained
representations are internalized or stored through interaction and experience within
in memory for future events. the external environment. Certain cogni-
Schemas develop when a child is first tive skills support language develop-
exposed to a particular entity, such as the ment, such as the ability to form schemas
word dog used to describe this animal. The or concepts (ideas) about how things look
child then forms a schema for the label dog and how things work. Schemas provide
that includes a description (e.g., tail, four- children with the language used to label
legged, and furry). Frequently, children things, actions, and events that they are
use the schema that identifies a dog to exposed to in their environment.
label other entities that share similar char-
acteristics. For example, young children
frequently identify cows, cats, and other
furry and four-legged animals as doggy.
Emergentism
Over time, children learn the correct labels
for these animals, along with other labels Emergentism posits that language devel-
that share similar characteristics. opment emerges from the “emergent”
In Piaget’s (1954) theory, certain cog- effects of social, pragmatic, and cognitive
nitive abilities are viewed to play a role as factors (Bates & MacWhinney, 1982, 1988;
prerequisites for language development. Behrens, 2009; Hirsh-Pasek, Golinkoff, &
For example, object permanence is the Hollich, 1999; Poll, 2011; Seidenberg &
ability to produce words for entities or Elman, 1999).
events that are out of sight. Once children
achieve this cognitive ability, at around ◆ Social skills emerge from children’s
10 months of age, they understand that innate desires to interact with others.
entities (e.g., mommy) and objects (e.g., ◆ Pragmatic skills involve interaction,
ball) exist even when they cannot be seen such as eye contact and appropriate
or heard. Piaget also emphasized the role communication.
of play as essential in learning language ◆ Cognitive skills involve the ability
(Mooney, 2013). Play represents the imita- to remember information, maintain
tion and the use of language that identifies attention to tasks, understand
language, and understand others’ pragmatic factors, while pattern finding

feelings and thoughts. allows children to find similarities in the
way words, phrases, and sentences are
Language development also emerges used and combined across different utter-
from children’s pattern finding. Pattern ances and different situations. Patterns are
finding describes children’s sensitivity based on the consistent use of language
to regularities in the patterns of adults’ to label certain actions. These patterns are
utterances (Tomasello, 2003), such as stored in children’s memory for later lan-
spoken language patterns across differ- guage use, such as the use of Wh-words to
ent situations. One example is the pat- form questions.
tern used with the word more, associated
with the meaning of additional items or
Language processing refers to the
amounts (e.g., more milk, cookies, or blocks).
way we use words to communi-
Children are sensitive to these repeated
cate ideas and feelings, and how
patterns, with the word more shown in
communication is understood. This
early language production. Children
is a process of the brain that allows
also acquire the patterns associated with
individuals to create and understand
forming questions, as speakers use Wh-
language.
words (e.g., what, where, and why) to form
questions. This is an example of another
pattern that contributes to children’s lan-
guage development, while early produc-
tions do not follow the structure of adults’
Summary
productions:
The theories presented in this chapter
What you do? have provided explanations of language
acquisition and development. As pre-
Where you go?
sented in the introduction to this chapter,
Why he cry? there is a connection between language
development theories and practice, as
Children’s pattern sensitivity is also seen practitioners may employ the factors pre-
in their early production of the past-tense sented in theories to address children’s
form of the words eat and throw (e.g., eated needs. The following section presents the
and throwed). This is because the regular factors and approaches drawn from the
past-tense verb form of -ed (walked, talked, theories presented in this chapter.
baked) is produced far more frequently
than the irregular past-tense forms of ate
and threw. Subsequently, children’s active Factors and Approaches
language processing leads to later pro-
Drawn from Language
duction of the correct irregular past-tense
forms, given greater experience and longer
Development Theories
exposure to spoken language (Poll, 2011).
In summary, emergentism proposes The application of principles and param-
that language learning is based on the eters involves the following approaches
“emergent” effect of cognitive, social, and (Wilson, 2008).
◆ Complete grammatical sentence ◆ More experienced language users

models: children require complete play a role in developing children’s
correct grammatical models, i.e., language, as interaction between
sentences that contain all elements. these language users and chil-
These elements could consist of dren activates children’s internal
determiners (e.g., the, a, an), pronouns learning skills (Vygotsky, 1935,
(e.g., she, he, we, they, him, her, our, 1988). Communicative interaction
their), auxiliary verbs (e.g., is, am, are, with others is an essential factor in
was, were), and locative terms (e.g., in, children’s language development.
on, under, between, behind). Children must be engaged in problem
◆ Syntax structure: the use of subject- solving with adult guidance to
verb-object order for English-speaking stimulate the development of thought.
children is essential to provide a Scaffolding is the process to guide this
model of the use of nouns and verbs development.
to construct sentences. ◆ Recasts: the use of scaffolds includes
◆ Wh-questions: these questions can be recasts, used to ensure that a child
used to elicit utterances (e.g., Who is produces a full grammatical utter-
sitting on the chair/What is he doing?). ance. For example, if the child omits
In contrast, yes/no questions (e.g., the auxiliary verb (e.g., I going), an
Is that a dog?) will only elicit the adult can recast the utterance to
single word yes or no. The use of provide a model of the inclusion of
Wh-questions will encourage the this element (e.g., I am going).
child to produce a longer and more
complex utterance. The application of cognitive theory
offers the following methods for devel-
Social interaction theory offers the follow- oping language abilities, along with the
ing approaches to support children’s lan- development of the social use of language
guage development. in play.
◆ Language emerges from a child’s ◆ Piaget (1954) proposed that play

desire to communicate with others supports children’s language develop-
in the environment. Thus, language ment, as play involves the imitation
emerges from the innate desire for of daily and familiar activities in
social interaction and to engage in a child’s environment. Thus, the
communication. Learning occurs language used in these activities can
when adults provide labels for be used in the children’s pretend
objects, actions, and events (e.g., apple, play schemes, with the use of more
running, parade). sophisticated language skills than
◆ It is important to create situations in ordinary contexts (e.g., playing
that engage a child in social interac- the role of an adult or another entity
tion. This can be developed in a play that differs from the child’s actual
scheme, in explaining a game, a identity).
conversation that addresses a child’s ◆ Play and language: children learn to
interest, and other types of social use objects in a symbolic manner in
schemes. pretend play, allowing them to func-
tion at a higher cognitive level than progress in children with delayed

in ordinary contexts. For example, language development (Poll, 2011).
cognitive skills are activated when ◆ Active engagement: active engage-
children use objects to represent other ment can be achieved through
entities, such as the use of a doll to activities that are based on a child’s
represent a real baby with the feelings interests. This approach is most
and needs of a living entity (e.g., successful in eliciting children’s
crying, hungry, sick). production of sentences. In these
◆ Pretend play and active engagement: activities, scaffolds can be used
play schemes frequently consist of to provide a model of the correct
reconstructing familiar activities (e.g., language target, with some examples
going to school, going on a doctor of scaffolds shown in Table 2–2.
visit, or shopping) with the use of Conversational recasts are an example
language used by more advanced of this approach, with the adult
language users in these actual activi- providing the correct language form
ties. The familiar context ensures that in a positive manner while main-
the child will be able to understand the taining the child’s meaning.
context and increases the likelihood of
producing utterances. In summary, there are similar factors
that appear across the theories discussed
Emergentism has provided approaches in this chapter, which are suggested to play
that play a role in children’s language a role in children’s language development.
acquisition and development (Poll, 2011).
◆ The use of scaffolds to provide a
◆ Input: there is a need for frequent positive model of the correct language
and abundant input to activate target
and strengthen language learning. ◆ Play as a vehicle to develop language
The quantity of input is the crucial skills
element, consisting of the amount and ◆ Focus on children’s interests to attain
the number of inputs. For example, engagement in all tasks
if a child lacks the use of plurals ◆ Interactive tasks that include frequent
(e.g., cats), frequent and abundant and abundant input to target chil-
examples of plurals are necessary for dren’s communicative interaction,
learning. If a child requires models such as interactive book reading,
of the correct sentence structure, discussion of readings, and the elicita-
greater input can be achieved tion of children’s interpretation of
using storybooks that contain the characters’ behaviors and feelings
sentence structures that will support to encourage the use of mental state
their learning. Book reading can be verbs (e.g., think, believe, feel).
followed by conversational exchanges
about the storybook (e.g., What do The goal of this chapter was to pro-
you think will happen . . . why do you vide an understanding of the theories that
think she . . . what would you do if . . . ?). offer explanations of language acquisition,
Research shows that shared book along with the methods that may play a
reading may provide support for role in children’s language learning.
Key Words in supporting children’s language

development.
Cognition 4. Explain the role of play in children’s
language development.
Cognitive theory
Emergentism
Innate References
Language acquisition device (LAD)
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Language processing
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Bates, E., & MacWhinney, B. (1982). Function-
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Bates, E., & MacWhinney, B. (1988). What is
Principles
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Behrens, H. (2009). Usage-based and emer-
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Retrospective mental development Linguistics, 47(2), 383–411.
Berwick, R. C., & Chomsky, N. (2016). Why only
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Scaffolds
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Van Horne, A. J., & Fey, M. E. (2015). The
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Infancy through adolescence (2nd ed.). Los
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1. What is one main difference
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between these theories of language
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conversational recasts, are important guage development: looking for the miss-
ing piece. Developmental Neuropsychology, Smith, M. (2012). Testing the head directional-
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3
The Brain and Cognitive,
Speech, and Language
Development
Denise Cruz and Sandra Levey
Case Study
Sammy is a 3-year-old child who engages upset. He pays attention when the class-
in communicative interaction with other room teacher is reading a story and does
children in his preschool class. He follows not interrupt her storytelling. The other
multiple-step directions (e.g., put away children enjoy playing with him, as he is
your toys, find your place on the rug, and able to think of new play activities. After
choose a book). He can also understand and reading this chapter, you will understand
respond to feedback from his teacher and the role of the brain in communication, in
when he has difficulty sharing toys with the ability to understand and follow verbal
other children. He is also able to understand directions, and in the ability to understand
other children’s emotions when they are others’ feelings, thoughts, and emotions.
Chapter Objectives is often interaction between an SLP and

other practitioners (e.g., neurologists,
A speech-language pathologist (SLP) psychologists, doctors, occupational ther-
must develop an understanding of the apists, physical therapists). Knowledge
functions of the brain, given that there of the brain and the terminology used to
45
describe the brain provide an SLP with By 5 years of age, the structure of a child’s
the ability to appropriately interact with brain approximates that of an adult (Mild-
these other professionals. The SLP must ner, 2008).
also have a good understanding of the We have gained a better understand-
neurological systems that relate to speech, ing of the skills of the brain through tech-
language, and cognitive abilities. This nological advances that allow investigators
knowledge provides an SLP with a better to view the activity of the brain while an
understanding of the nervous system and individual is processing information or
the role of the brain in language develop- engaged in different tasks (Booth, Wood,
ment, along with understanding the lan- Lu, Houk, & Bitan, 2007; Brownsett &
guage difficulties associated with disor- Wise, 2010; Buccino et al., 2001; Mottonen,
ders. Given that the brain represents the Jarvelainen, Sams, & Hari, 2004; Watkins
path to the acquisition and development & Paus, 2004; Watkins, Strafella, & Paus,
of speech and language abilities, engag- 2003). The electrophysiological tests that
ing children’s interest and participation in examine language and cognitive process-
tasks is essential so that their brains are ing are presented in Table 3–1. Through
activated for learning. After reading this these methods, we have learned that the
chapter, you should have a basic under- brain is organized into networks that
standing and appreciation of: support speech, language, and cognitive
abilities.
◆ The components and divisions of the One of the methods to measure brain
human nervous system function is real-time functional magnetic
◆ The role of the brain in speech and resonance imaging (rtfMRI). This method
language abilities examines changes in regional cerebral
◆ The role of the brain in cognitive and blood flow to measure oxygen levels in
executive functions the brain. This reveals which areas of the
brain are active in certain cognitive or
language tasks. For example, there was
increased activity and blood flow to the
Skills Associated
frontal regions of the brain when chil-
with the Brain dren were asked questions about a story
character’s state of mind (e.g., what the
Early language development is influ- character thought, felt, desired, or believed)
enced by a child’s environmental experi- (Baron-Cohen et al., 1994). This increased
ences and the stimulation that comes from activity appeared when children were
interaction with language and events in asked to think about someone else’s state
the environment (Levey & West, 2011). of mind (e.g., What is she thinking?), while
Based on a child’s experiences, specific this activity did not appear when asked to
neural pathways develop. Neural path- answer questions regarding simple physi-
ways associated with behaviors that are cal actions (e.g., What is he doing?).
repeated more frequently will be strength- The frontal areas of the brain are
ened and reinforced. Consequently, rich involved in cognitive tasks that require
and frequent interaction plays a positive making decisions, solving problems, and
role in children’s language development. making judgments about others’ men-
3. The Brain and Cognitive, Speech, and Language Development 47
Table 3–1. Electrophysiological Tests that Examine Language and Cognitive Processing
Event Related Potentials (ERPs) Measures a brain response during a sensory,

cognitive, or motor task
Magnetoencephalography (MEG) Provides information regarding brain activity
during perceptual or cognitive processing tasks
(Eysenck & Keane, 2015; Kemmerer, 2015)
Positron Emission Tomography Allows the visualization of brain function by
(PET) monitoring blood flow and glucose metabolism.
Active brain regions will metabolize more
glucose. This technique is used to examine
mental functions during cognitive and language
tasks (Webb, 2017).
Functional Magnetic Resonance Detects changes in neural activity by tracking
Imaging (fMRI) changes in blood oxygenation (Beeson, 2010;
Eysenck & Keane, 2015). Functional MRI images
allow for mapping increased neural activity
during tests that examine language and cognitive
processing.
tal states (e.g., what others are thinking, brain to alter or make changes in its struc-
feeling, or expecting). A theory of mind ture when exposed to new information
(TOM) provides children with the ability or new experiences. The brain possesses
to understand others’ mental states. This the ability to reorganize pathways, create
allows the child to interact appropriately new connections, and in some cases even
with others through an understanding of create new neurons in response to these
their internal thoughts, feelings, needs, experiences. The development of the
and intentions. The findings of the rtfMRI brain continues through adolescence and
study show that children’s brains are early adulthood. The changes that occur
more active when they are asked to con- during puberty and adolescence support
sider others’ mental states. the essential skills for executive functions
The human brain makes it possible (e.g., attention, memory, reasoning, logic,
for a child to develop the ability to plan, and problem solving).
organize, and learn. Exposure to new
information and events leads to the abil- Neuro refers to neurons (nerve cells
ity of the brain to reorganize its structure that are the building blocks of the
in response to these experiences. Brain brain and nervous system) and plas-
plasticity, also known as neuroplasticity, ticity refers to the brain’s malleability,
describes the ability of the brain to change defined as the ability to change in
and adapt when an individual is exposed response to new experiences and new
to new experiences (Cherry, 2016). Neu- information.
roplasticity is the lifelong ability of the
The Structure of
labels for these experiences (e.g.,
the Neuron
doggie, music, sweet, perfume, soft),
their vocabulary skills develop. Their
We begin with a discussion of the func- motor skills allow them to engage
tion of the neuron, the basic functional in actions, along with learning the
unit of the nervous system (Webb, 2017). labels for these experiences (e.g.,
Neurons underlie all neural behavior that throw, break, roll).
play a role in speech, language, and hear-
ing abilities (Figure 3–1). A neuron is a
nerve cell that receives and sends electri- Interneurons are a third type of neu-
cal signals within the body, consisting of rons, located in the CNS (brain and spinal
sensory neurons and motor neurons. cord). Interneurons act as a link between
sensory (sensation) and motor (move-
◆ Sensory neurons are nerve cells that ment) neurons. They transmit signals
transmit information to the central through the use of neurotransmitters.
nervous system (the spinal cord or Neurotransmitters are the chemicals that
brain) that includes sensations: sight, allow the transmission of signals from one
hearing, taste, smell, and touch. neuron to the next across a synaptic cleft
◆ Motor neurons transmit “directions” (the space between two neurons).
to muscles for movement. Neurons have three structural com-
ponents: the soma (cell body), an axon,
Sensory neurons provide the ability and a branching complex of dendrites
of children to see, hear, taste, smell, (see Figure 3–1).
and touch things in the environment.
◆ The soma, or cell body, maintains the
When they are provided with the
function of the neuron. The cell body
Figure 3–1. The structure of the neuron, including the cell body (soma), dendrites,
axon, myelin sheath, and axon (terminal buttons). Reproduced with permission from
Getty Images.
also integrates and transmits informa- structures in the brain that perceive sensa-
tion to other cells. tions (e.g., pain, pressure, sounds, temper-
◆ An axon is the projection of a nerve cell ature). Connections between nerve cells
that conducts impulses from the neuron. transmit sensory and motor information.
◆ A dendrite is a projection of the Some nerve fibers are covered with
neuron that gathers information from a white sheath or cover called myelin,
other neurons and directs that infor- shown in Figure 3–1. Myelin sheaths are
mation to the cell body. critical to neural transmission. Myelin
sheaths allow the rapid transmission of
Dendrites bring information to the an electrical impulse along the myelinated
cell body and axons take information away nerve fiber. For example, transmission of
from the cell body. Information from one the electrical impulse along a myelin-
neuron moves to another neuron across a ated fiber is 50 times faster than along an
synapse or synaptic cleft (Figure 3–2). The unmyelinated fiber (Webb, 2017).
synapse is the structure that allows a neu-
ron to transmit a signal to other neurons.
The signal moves across the synaptic cleft, The Central Nervous
which is the region between two commu-
System and the Peripheral
nicating neurons. The process of nerve
transmission moves from neuron to neu-
Nervous System
ron across the synaptic cleft, leading to the
contraction of a muscle fiber, the secretion The human nervous system consists of
of a gland, or the response of specialized the central nervous system (CNS) and the
Figure 3–2. A schematic of a synapse illustrating the transmission of a signal from

the terminal buttons of one neuron to the receptors on the dendrites of a second
neuron. Reproduced with permission from Language Development: Understand-
ing Language Diversity in the Classroom, by S. Levey & S. Polirstok (Eds.), 2011,
Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
peripheral nervous system (PNS). The the body parts to the brain. The brain pro-
CNS consists of the brain and the spinal cesses and interprets the sensory informa-
cord. The function of the CNS is to pro- tion that is received from the spinal cord.
cess information and determine appropri-
ate responses. The PNS consists of nerve
fibers that branch off the spinal cord and The Peripheral Nervous System
extend throughout the body. The PNS is
composed of sensory and motor neurons The PNS comprises portions of the ner-
that gather sensory information (sensa- vous system found outside the brain and
tions such as touch and temperature) and spinal cord. The PNS consists of spinal
to control motor (movement) actions of nerves and cranial nerves. Cranial nerves
the human body. play an important role in speech, lan-
guage, and hearing processes. Cranial
nerves relay information between the
The Central Nervous System brain and body. Spinal nerves transmit
motor and sensory information to and
The CNS consists of the brain and the from the CNS. Sensory nerves transmit
spinal cord, as shown in Figure 3–3. The sensory information (e.g., pain, touch,
nerves that exit the brain transmit sen- temperature) and motor information that
sory or motor information that controls control accurate voluntary movements.
our speech, language, and hearing abili-
ties. The spinal cord consists of nerves
The PNS consists of two parts: the
that innervate (stimulate or send nerve
somatic nervous system and the auto-
impulses to) parts of the body and send
nomic nervous system. The somatic
sensory information (sensations) from
nervous system carries motor (move-
ment) and sensory (e.g., hearing,
touch, sight) information to and from
the CNS. The autonomic nervous
system innervates muscles and
glands for involuntary actions (e.g.,
gland secretions) and is responsible
for the control of visceral functions
(e.g., heart, digestion, respiration).
Some cranial nerves have motor

functions, some have sensory functions,
and others have both sensory and motor
functions. Cranial nerves II, III, IV, and VI
are related to vision. The cranial nerves
involved in speech, language, hearing,
and swallowing functions are presented
in Table 3–2. As shown in Table 3–2, the
cranial nerves that are involved in speech
Figure 3–3. The brain and spinal cord. Repro- production consist of tongue movement,
duced with permission from Getty Images. lip closure, and movement of the velum
Table 3–2. Cranial Nerves Associated with Speech and Language Processes
V. Trigeminal nerve Innervation of speech production muscles.

Flattening and tensing of the soft palate (velum) and
tongue retraction.
VII. Facial nerve Facial expression.

Lip closure.
VIII. Vestibulocochlear nerve Sound sensitivity: information from internal ear to

the nervous system.
Sensitivity to changes in equilibrium (balance).
IX. Glossopharyngeal nerve Functions related to the tongue and the pharynx.
Sensory information relative to swallowing.
X. Vagus nerve Innervation to muscles of velum (soft palate).

Innervation to intrinsic laryngeal muscles
(attachments inside the larynx).
Sensory information from larynx.
XI. Spinal accessory nerve Body posture.
XII. Hypoglossal nerve Innervation of the intrinsic (internal) and extrinsic

(external) muscles of the tongue.
(soft palate), described in Chapter 1. This bral hemispheres that consist of the right
table also shows the cranial nerves that and the left lobes of the brain. The two
are involved in hearing. cerebral hemispheres are connected by the
corpus callosum that connects the right
and left cerebral hemispheres (Figure 3–4).
The cerebrum is the largest part
The role of the corpus callosum is to allow
of the brain and is covered by the
the transfer of sensory, motor, and cogni-
cerebral cortex. The cerebral cortex is
tive information between hemispheres.
the outer layer of neural tissue that
The right side of the brain contrib-
surrounds the brain.
utes to attention, memory, reasoning, and
problem solving, areas essential to com-
munication (American Speech Language
The Two Hemispheres of Hearing Association, 2007). The role of the
right hemisphere consists of the following
the Cerebrum:
functions (Webb, 2017, p. 196):
Right and Left Lobes
◆ Visual processing allows individuals
The cerebrum is the largest part of the to see and to understand objects,
brain. The cerebrum consists of two cere- space, and entities (e.g., people,
The functions of the left hemisphere

of the brain contribute to logical thought,
critical thinking skills, reasoning, under-
standing and producing language, and
memory for spoken and written language
(Cherry, 2017). In addition, the left hemi-
sphere appears to be responsible for cat-
egorical perception (Kemmerer, 2015;
Liebenthal et al., 2010). Categorical per-
ception refers to the ability to discrimi-
nate (tell the difference) between similar
sounds (e.g., f-v, s-z, t-d).
Behaviors that appear in left brain

disorders consist of communication
Figure 3–4. The corpus callosum. Reproduced difficulties that affect receptive
with permission from Getty Images. language (understanding of spoken
language). The signs of left brain
damage may show problems with
speech, writing, and memory.
animals, insects, and other living
things).
◆ Visual perception is what you see and
understand by using your eyes and
The Four Lobes of
brain.
◆ The ability to understand and
the Cerebrum and
produce facial and vocal emotions Speech, Language, and
(e.g., a happy or sad voice or facial Cognitive Functions
expression).
◆ The ability to pay attention and shift Each hemisphere of the cerebrum is divided
attention to a new event or activity or into four lobes: frontal, temporal, parietal,
a different speaker in a conversation. and occipital (Figure 3–5). These four lobes
provide motor and sensory functions. The
Behaviors that appear in right brain sensory functions consist of vision, hear-
hemisphere disorders consist of diffi- ing, touch, and olfaction (smell). The fron-
culty picking up on contextual cues tal lobe contributes to conscious thought,
(what is happening in the environ- the parietal lobe to spatial reasoning, the
ment), inhibiting impulsive responses occipital lobe to visual processing, and the
(difficulty with urges in behaviors or temporal lobe to language processing and
communication), and understanding facial recognition.
more abstract language (e.g., figurative
language, such as jokes and riddles; It is important to consider the
and implied meaning) and emotional sensory functions of the brain in
responses (Webb, 2017, p. 221). relation to language. As children
Figure 3–5. Locations and functions of the four primary lobes of the
brain: frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital. Reproduced with permis-
sion from Getty Images.
Berker, & Smith, 1986). This area became

learn language, they are exposed to known as Broca’s area. Broca’s area acti-
the words that describe the things vates the articulators for speech produc-
they see, along with the things they tion (e.g., lips, and tongue). Broca’s area
smell (e.g., smoke, flowers, burnt toast, plays a role in fluent and well-articulated
and perfume). speech (Webb, 2017, p. 20). The following
language functions are associated with
this area of the brain (Webb, 2017):
The Frontal Lobe
◆ Semantic processing: Understanding
The frontal lobe is involved in motor the meaning of words, sentences, or
(movement) and cognitive functions (plan- conversations
ning, reasoning, and memory). Broca’s ◆ Syntactic processing: Understanding
area is located in the left frontal lobe of the the structure of sentences (e.g., ques-
brain (Figure 3–6). Early information on tion versus request)
the role of the brain in language was found ◆ Phonological processing: Under-
in the behaviors associated with language standing the phonological structure or
disorders. In 1861, Pierre Paul Broca (1824– the sound structure of words
1880) found that loss of the ability to pro- ◆ Motor control: Movements that
duce words was associated with damage allow the production of speech and
to the left front side of the brain (Berker, language
Figure 3–6. Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas of the brain are shown, along with
the primary auditory cortex, also known as Heschl’s gyrus. Reproduced with
permission from Getty Images.
The frontal lobe has three divisions, with The Parietal Lobe
each responsible for a particular function:
Positron emission tomography (PET)
◆ Prefrontal: The prefrontal cortex was used to examine the language abili-
covers the front part of the frontal ties associated with the parietal lobe.
lobe. It is responsible for the cogni- Functional neuroimaging results indi-
tive functions of working memory cated extensive parietal activity associ-
and decision making, the executive ated with the sensorimotor control of
functions for generating and carrying writing. This involved the planning, exe-
out action plans, and the modification cution, and monitoring of writing, even if
of plans when considering potential only the forming of a single letter (Brown-
outcomes and past experiences sett & Wise, 2010). The ability to grasp
◆ Premotor: Responsible for planning the visual and spatial aspects of writing
and executing movements (e.g., the formation of letters that create
◆ Motor: Responsible for voluntary words) is provided by the parietal lobe
(deliberate) movement (Glass, 2016).
The Temporal Lobe of movement and color) are interpreted in

the occipital lobe. The importance of this
The temporal lobe is the center of audi- area of the brain is shown when young
tory processing in the brain. Auditory children are exposed to novel objects or
processing refers to the ability of the brain actions. More experienced language users
to recognize and understand sounds. In provide labels or names for the novel
1876, Karl Wernicke (1848–1905) found events, contributing to children’s vocabu-
that the temporal lobe of the brain plays lary development.
a role in the comprehension (understand-
ing) of spoken language. This area became
known as Wernicke’s area (shown in Fig-
ure 3–6). The language functions of this The Arcuate Fasciculus
area of the brain are speech reception and
the comprehension or understanding of The arcuate fasciculus is a bundle of
spoken language (Webb, 2017). nerve fibers that connects Broca’s and
Heschl’s gyrus, named for Richard L. Wernicke’s areas, linking the speech and
Heschl, 1824–1881, is labeled as the pri- language areas in the brain (Figure 3–7).
mary auditory area in Figure 3–6. Heschl’s The arcuate fasciculus connects Wer-
gyrus plays a role in processing linguis- nicke’s area (speech and language com-
tic information. Auditory information is prehension) to Broca’s area (speech and
relayed to Heschl’s gyrus in the auditory language production) to create a connec-
cortex. Here, linguistic information is fil- tion between the recognition of words and
tered from nonessential sounds and sent
to Wernicke’s area, where the linguistic
analysis of auditory information takes
place (linguistic analysis of the spoken
language that is heard). Heschl’s gyrus
plays an important role in understanding
speech by decoding phonetic differences
(Skipper & Small, 2006). The ability to
decode phonetic differences is essential
in determining the distinctions among
speech sounds (e.g., /p/ vs. /b/).
The Occipital Lobe
The occipital lobe is critical to the inter-

pretation of visual sensory information.
The occipital lobe makes sense of visual
information so that we are able to under- Figure 3–7. The arcuate fasciculus connects
stand what we see. The primary visual Wernicke’s area in the temporal lobe with Bro-
cortex is located here. Visual stimuli ca’s area in the frontal lobe. Reproduced with
(visual-spatial processing, discrimination permission from Getty Images.
the production of words. Communication include the thalamus and hypothala-

consists of the following pattern: mus (Figure 3–8), along with the basal
ganglia (Figure 3–9) and limbic system
The concept of an intended message is (Figure 3–10). These areas play a role in
formed in the brain. motor control, memory, and basic func-
This message to be conveyed is tions of the human body. Their function is
constructed in Wernicke’s area. described in Table 3–3.
The basal ganglia and cerebellum
The intended message is transmitted have been found to play a role in reading
through the arcuate fasciculus. and language processing, with abnormal
Broca’s area programs the verbal cerebellar activity in patients with devel-
output of the message. opmental dyslexia and language impair-
ment (Booth et al., 2007). The limbic sys-
tem plays a role in memory. The memory
function of the brain is essential for lan-
Subcortical Structures
guage development, given that memory
and Functions plays a role in learning and storing new
words in memory. Memory also plays an
Subcortical areas of the brain are those important role in academic success.
areas below the cerebral cortex (the outer The cerebellum is located at the base
layer of the brain). These subcortical areas of the cerebrum (shown in Figure 3–8).
Thalamus
T
Hypothalamus
Figure 3–8. The thalamus and hypothalamus. Reproduced with permis-

sion from Getty Images.
Basal ganglia
B
Figure 3–9. The basal ganglia. Reproduced with permission from

Getty Images.
Figure 3–10. The limbic system. Reproduced with

permission from Getty Images.
57
Table 3–3. Subcortical Structures of the Brain
Basal ganglia Motor control of muscle tone and posture; organization

and guidance of complex motor functions
Limbic system Self-preservation, emotions, memory, olfaction (the
sensory function associated with smell or scents)
Thalamus The chief sensory integrator in the brain and can be
considered a relay station, conveying sensory and
motor information to and from the cerebral cortex. All
information (traveling to the brain), with the exception
of olfaction (sense of smell), is routed through the
thalamus. The thalamus also regulates sleep, emotion,
and arousal.
Hypothalamus Associated with basic functions, such as eating and
temperature
The cerebellum plays a role in the perfor- a role in respiration that supports phona-
mance of voluntary actions (actions based tion for speech production. The brainstem
on purpose and intent), such as writing is also involved in basic functions of the
and speech production. The cerebellum body (e.g., breathing, swallowing, heart
is associated with motor control for con- rate, blood pressure, and consciousness).
nected speech efforts (Webb, 2017). For The brainstem consists of the medulla
example, the cerebellum is responsible for oblongata (also called the myelencepha-
the coordination of respiration, articula- lon), the pons, and the midbrain (called the
tion, and the muscles involved with pho- mesencephalon). The roles of these areas in
nation (voice production). speech and language are shown below.
Medulla oblongata: Respiration

Linguistic disorders were found to
(breathing) to support vocal
result from impaired cerebellar func-
production
tion (De Smet et al., 2007). These
disorders consist of fluency, naming Pons: Swallowing, hearing, facial
and word-finding difficulties, reading expression, and sensation
difficulties, writing problems, and
Midbrain: Relay station for auditory
higher-level language deficits.
and visual information, control of
respiratory muscles and the speech
and articulation functions (vocal folds,
palate, tongue, lips, and mandible
The Brainstem or jaw)
The role of the brainstem is to control mes- While respiration and hearing are
sages between the brain and the rest of the essential components of speech and lan-
body (Figure 3–11). The brainstem plays guage abilities, children must also learn
Figure 3–11. The brainstem. Reproduced with permission from Getty Images.
the meaning of others’ facial expressions thoughts about experiences) and

(e.g., happy,or sad). The interpretation of to generalize experiences and store
facial expression is essential in interac- common experiences and results
tions with others. across varied outcomes (e.g., use of
prior or past experiences to predict
consequences)
◆ The ability to maintain hierarchies of
Cognitive Functions
abstraction to store information (e.g.,
and the Brain thoughts about your pet dog, dogs in
general, and other living things)
Cognition includes the cognitive skills ◆ The ability to arrive at a conclu-
that distinguish humans from other living sion, given certain facts or pieces of
entities (Gentner, 2003, p. 195). information
◆ The ability to compare and contrast
◆ The ability to create abstractions objects and entities for similarities and
(e.g., inner language used to create differences
◆ The ability to learn that symbols two innate or inborn neurological abilities
represent numerical, spatial, and (Wilson & Foglia, 2011): sensory skills and
conceptual information (e.g., motor skills. The sensory skill of visual
numbers, locations in space, concepts perception allows infants to perceive objects
about time, and other abstract ideas) and events in the environment. The motor
skills allow infants to explore these objects
The cognitive and communicative factors and events as they interact in activities
that are associated with the brain can be within the environment. This is a dynamic
found in Table 3–4. and active process in which infants orga-
nize and develop their cognitive skills
over time, given greater experience with
Embodied Cognition adults, peers, objects, and events in the
environment. These experiences contain
Embodied cognition views children’s the language used to label the object and
cognitive development as depending on actions that are present in the environment
Table 3–4. Cognitive Factors in Communication and Associated Areas of the Brain
Attention and Requires arousal (alertness) and perception of sensory input

information Attentional capacity: the amount of information that can be held
processing
Selective engagement
Prefrontal cortex, which is also involved in planning and other
executive functions
Memory Retention and recall of experience changes over time
Visual and auditory storage:
Short-term memory (temporary storage)
Long-term memory (permanent storage)
Hippocampus and amygdala
Reasoning and Problem solving: evaluation based on reasoning to produce a
problem solving conclusion
Prefrontal and subcortical areas (areas below the cortex)
Metacognition and Metacognition involves the ability to recognize when to use
executive functions reason and problem-solving skills to solve problems with
cognitive strategies.
Executive functions involve anticipation, goal direction,
planning, monitoring of events, and feedback interpretation.
The frontal lobes carry out metacognitive and executive function
processes.
Source: Reproduced with permission from Neurology for the Speech-Language Pathologist (p. 199), by
W. G. Webb, 2017, St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.
(e.g., spill, drink, throw, run, and wipe). The Executive Functions
interaction between sensory and motor
skills provides the essential support for Executive functions consist of attention
language development. and memory, along with the ability to
plan, organize, and learn from prior expe-
riences. For example, children with intact
Mirror Neurons executive functions can learn from prior
errors and can correct these errors when
At 1 to 3 days after birth, infants’ innate reviewing their work or when given new
or inborn sensorimotor skills are demon- assignments within the classroom. Execu-
strated by their perception and physical tive functions are involved in the develop-
imitation of adults’ tongue protrusion and ment of academic skills, such as abstract
mouth opening (Meltzoff & Moore, 1983). thought (drawing conclusions from writ-
What is most interesting is that imitation ten text), the ability to revise plans (to
of the adult’s movements occurs even correct errors), to initiate action (to pre-
though infants are totally unaware of their pare for exams and assignments), to reject
own facial structure or physical move- inappropriate actions (to interact appro-
ment. Cognitive neuroscience explains priately with peers), and to learn from
these early behaviors through the role of past mistakes. Executive functions also
mirror neurons (Jackson, Brunet, Melt- consist of critical thinking skills. Exam-
zoff, & Decety, 2006; Lamm & Majdandžić, ples of executive functions are described
2015). in Table 3–5.
Mirror neurons are a type of neuron
in the brain that fires when individuals
Children who have executive func-
perceive the facial expressions or actions
tion difficulties may be disorganized
of others (e.g., sadness, or yawning).
and forgetful and have poor critical
These neurons provide an inner simu-
thinking skills. Children with execu-
lation or mirror of the actions that we
tive function difficulties may also
observe, allowing the brain to symbolize
be disinhibited (lack the ability to
and understand the actions of others (Riz-
restrain from impulsive actions),
zolatti & Craighero, 2004). Mirror neurons
resulting in inappropriate social
may play a role in interpreting another
behaviors (e.g., interrupting; or
person’s emotions or feelings, laying the
aggressive behavior toward other
foundation for such higher-order social
children).
processes as empathy (sympathy, compas-
sion, and understanding) and a theory of
mind. Theory of mind describes the ability
to understand someone else’s mind and
mental state (e.g., happy, sad, worried).
Summary
Theory of mind is expressed in language by
the use of mental state verbs that describe The case study presented at the begin-
the human mind (e.g., what someone ning of this chapter describes a typically
thinks, knows, or believes). Mirror neu- developing 3-year-old whose behaviors
rons also play an important role in speech suggest intact brain structures and typi-
perception (Eysenck & Keane, 2015). cal development.
Table 3–5. Examples of Executive Functions
Attention Active and alert processing of a situation

Discrimination Identification of differences based on some feature or features
Reasoning Forming conclusions, inferences, or judgments
Logic Reasoning or drawing conclusions from facts or evidence
Organization Mentally classifying/categorizing thoughts, tasks, or objects
Memory Recall of information
Transfer Generalization of knowledge to apply to new situations
Metacognition Knowledge and awareness of language and thought
Problem solving The thought processes involved in solving a problem
Planning Monitoring, evaluating, and updating actions
Mental flexibility The ability to shift to a different thought or action in response to
situational changes
Response inhibition The ability to suppress irrelevant or interfering information (not
relevant to the situation) and impulses
Generativity The ability to generate novel ideas and behaviors
Self-monitoring The ability to monitor one’s thoughts and actions
◆ Sammy is able to understand and shows the presence of a theory of

follow directions, showing intact mind (TOM) (Rhodes & Brandone,
auditory comprehension. This ability 2014), an ability that is basically
is provided by the left temporal lobe. established in the human brain (Otti,
◆ The ability to form memories is Wohlschlaeger, & Noll-Hussong,
provided by the participation of two 2015). Functional magnetic resonance
subcortical regions: the hippocampus imaging (fMRI) shows activity in two
and the amygdala (Webb, 2017), areas of the brain when individuals
shown in Figure 3–12. are presented with TOM tasks: the
◆ The ability to maintain attention to area where the temporal and parietal
spoken language is correlated with lobes meet and the right frontal gyrus.
activity in the temporal parietal ◆ The ability to understand other
junction (TPJ) (Hasenkamp, 2014). children’s emotions is associated with
This is the area in which the temporal the identification of facial expressions
and parietal lobes of the brain meet (e.g., happiness, sadness). This ability
(Figure 3–13). is provided by the medial temporal
◆ Sammy’s ability to understand other gyrus (Cheng, Rolls, Gu, Zhang, &
children’s emotions and mental states Feng, 2015), shown in Figure 3–14.
Figure 3–12. The hippocampus and the amygdala are also indicated. The amyg-
dala plays a role in the processing of emotions. The hippocampus is located in the
temporal lobe and is associated with memory. Reproduced with permission from
Getty Images.
63
TPJ
Figure 3–13. The ability to maintain attention to spoken language is

correlated with activity in the temporal parietal junction (TPJ), the area
in which the temporal and parietal lobes of the brain meet (Hasenkamp,
2014). Reproduced with permission from Getty Images.
Medial (middle)
temporal gyrus
Figure 3–14. Medial temporal gyrus. Reproduced with permission from Getty Images.
64
Sammy possesses the ability to take ad- are learned through interaction with oth-
vantage of the sensory information in the ers in the environment. However, the
environment. For example, he is sensitive brain provides the basic ability to develop
to what he sees and hears (e.g., spoken these behaviors.
language, facial expressions, and other To further explain the role of the brain,
input that provides him with information the functions of the brain can be found in
on others’ meaning and feelings). His Figure 3–15. A review of the speech, cogni-
cognitive skills allow him to engage in tive, and language functions of the brain
appropriate interaction with his teacher can be found in Table 3–6.
and peers. In summary, many behaviors
Figure 3–15. The description of the functions of the brain, segregated by the lobes of the brain.
Reproduced with permission from Getty Images.
Table 3–6. Brain and Language Functions
Frontal lobe Planning and execution of motor activities (movement); cognitive

functions (planning, reasoning, working memory; decision making);
semantic processing (understanding the meaning of words,
sentences, or conversations); syntactic processing (understanding
the structure of sentences); phonological processing (understanding
the phonological structure or the sound structures of words); and
motor control (movements that allow the production of speech and
language)
Parietal lobe Planning, execution, and monitoring writing
Temporal lobe Speech reception and the comprehension or understanding of spoken
language
Occipital lobe Visual sensory information; makes sense of visual information
Brainstem Consists of the medulla oblongata (respiration for breathing and
support for vocal production); pons (swallowing, hearing, facial
expression, and sensation); and midbrain (relay station for auditory
and visual information, control of respiratory muscles and the speech
and articulation functions of the vocal folds, palate, tongue, lips, and
mandible or jaw
Cerebellum Motor control for connected speech efforts; important for the
performance of voluntary actions (actions based on purpose and
intent)
Key Words Cerebrum

Cognition
Abstract thought
Corpus callosum
Arcuate fasciculus
Cranial nerves
Autonomic nervous system
Dendrites
Axon
Disinhibited
Basal ganglia
Dyslexia
Brainstem
Embodied cognition
Broca’s area
Functional magnetic resonance imaging
Categorical perception (fMRI)
Central nervous system (CNS) Heschl’s gyrus
Cerebellum Hypothalamus
Interneurons 3. Explain the importance of the

knowledge of the human neuro-
Limbic system
logical system when working with
Mirror neurons individuals with speech or language
difficulties.
Motor
4. Describe the role of the brain related
Motor neurons to cognitive abilities.
Myelin 5. Explain the importance of executive
Neuron functions in children’s academic
progress.
Nervous system
Neuroplasticity
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Study Questions
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4
Infant and Toddler
Sandra Levey
Case Study
Aaron is a 4-year-old who produces the in the puddle” (rather than the correct
past tense of some verbs in the following production of “I stood in the puddle”).
manner: “Mommy comed home yesterday” Provide an explanation of why phonology
(rather than the correct production of “He plays a role in these productions of
came home yesterday”) and “I standed irregular past tense verbs.
Chapter Objectives An Overview of Infant

and Toddler Language
This chapter describes children’s lan- Development
guage development from birth to 3 years
of age. After reading this chapter, you Newborn infants possess a powerful
should understand: innate learning mechanism that equips
them for language acquisition (Berwick
◆ Language development from birth to & Chomsky, 2016; Chomsky, 1957, 1965;
3 years of age Gopnik, Meltzoff, & Kuhl, 1999). Infants
◆ The factors that play a role in chil- possess innate perceptual abilities that
dren’s language development prepare them for interaction with people
◆ Differences associated with second- and the task of learning language, while
language learners of English language development progresses as
69
children are exposed to spoken language months of age, showing recognition that
in the environment (Barna & Legerstee, this part of the human face conveys social
2005). Infants are equipped with the information (Carter, Davis, Klin, & Volk-
ability to process information. Process- mar, 2005). At 2 months of age, infants
ing is the mental ability that allows the are able to imitate human facial gestures
infant to be aware of, to perceive, and to (Legerstee, 2000) while not truly aware of
understand spoken language, along with their own faces. At 9 weeks of age, infants
understanding speakers’ ideas and feel- fixate more consistently on an adult’s eyes
ings. Highlights of children’s language when the adult is speaking than when the
development, from birth through age 3, adult is silent (Beier & Spelke, 2012).
are described in Table 4–1. Infants possess the ability to use ges-
tures to communicate with others before
they are able to produce meaningful words.
The term innate refers to abilities
Further language development is based
present in the human brain at birth.
on experience and interaction with peo-
Innate abilities are not acquired or
ple, things, and actions in the environ-
learned through experience after
ment. Communication begins to emerge
birth. Perceptual abilities refer to the
in infancy, when 3-month-olds produce
mechanisms that allow the infant to
speech-like sounds in response to adults’
process and interpret sensory infor-
vocalizations (Gleason & Ratner, 2017).
mation (i.e., what is seen, smelled,
Between 9 and 12 months, children follow
touched, taste, and heard).
the direction of an adult’s gaze, imitate
others’ actions and movements, and use
Soon after birth, infants show a preference gestures to gain adults’ attention and inter-
for animate (living) entities, an ability est (Tomasello, Carpenter, & Liszkowski,
that allows them to detect and recognize 2007). These early behaviors precede lan-
human faces versus objects that do not guage production while demonstrating
resemble human faces (Simion & Di Gior- the early ability to communicate through
gio, 2015). Newborn infants have been gesture and sound production.
shown to process their mother’s faces and By the end of the first year of life,
to store this information in memory for infants understand many spoken words
later recognition (Bushnell, 2001). Infants and produce their first words. By 18 to
focus on a speaker’s eyes as early as 2 24 months, children begin to produce sim-
ple two-word utterances. This marks the
emergence of syntax or sentence forma-
Table 4–1. Infants’ Innate Perceptual Skills tion. By age 3, children produce sentences
that express questions and comments.
Visual perception Sight Children’s language skills mirror those
Auditory perception Hearing of adults by 4 years of age, with the pro-
duction of adult sentence forms (Owens,
Gustatory perception Taste 2016). The process of language acquisition
Olfactory perception Smell is unique to humans because only human
beings can generate or create new words
Somatosensory perception Touch
(texting) and novel utterances, such as
4. Infant and Toddler Language Development 71
nexterday, produced by 2½-year-old Guy intonations, providing the early ability to

when lacking the term tomorrow. understand the difference between state-
In summary, language develops over ments (falling intonation) and questions
time, given more experience with and (rising intonation). This provides children
exposure to it. Children learn language with the ability to recognize the difference
through exposure to that used in the envi- between a statement and a question. As
ronment, with more experienced speakers early as 3 months of age, infants engage
using language to identify objects, liv- in vocal turn-taking in response to sounds
ing entities, and actions in the children’s produced by adults (Owens, 2016). These
environment. Although children possess are the early abilities that precede more
the innate ability to learn language, lan- advanced language abilities.
guage develops through experience with
language as it used. Children also possess
Auditory perception involves the
the unique ability to construct methods of
ability to perceive and understand
communication when they lack the word
sounds that are associated with
to communicate meaning, such as the use
spoken language. In spoken
of the word nexterday to express the con-
language, intonation is the use of
cept of tomorrow. This reflects the creative
fluctuating or changing vocal pitch
abilities of the human mind.
(rising and falling), such as the
production of a question with rising
intonation (I want to know where
Infant Perception you are GOING?) or a statement
and Production (He is REALLY nice).
Infant Perception By 5 months of age, infants begin to

imitate some sounds. Although infants
The examination of infants’ perception respond to their names by 5 months of
tells us a great deal about the human mind. age (Mandel, Jusczyk, & Pisoni, 1995),
Within minutes after birth, infants exhibit they often confuse their names with
sensitivity to face-like objects, suggesting words that have the same number of syl-
an innate ability to recognize other human lables (e.g., mommy and monkey). Between
individuals (Wilkinson et al., 2014). In 5 and 8 months, infants recognize the dif-
addition, 4-day-old infants show a pref- ference between a human voice and non-
erence for looking at their mothers’ faces, social or nonhuman stimuli (e.g., whis-
rather than at less familiar faces (Bushnell, tles, and horns) (Legerstee, Anderson, &
Sai, & Mullin, 1989). Infants’ auditory per- Schaffer, 1998). At about 6 months of age,
ception also reflects their early learning infants become more sensitive to changes
skills. For example, the infant’s mother’s between sounds. For example, they react
voice plays a role in the recognition of her to the change when a series of stop-
face (Sai, 2005). At 1 to 4 months, infants plosive sounds, such as /b-b-b-b-b-b/,
can detect intonational changes in speech is followed by a series of unvoiced stop-
patterns (Jusczyk, 1992). By 8 months, plosive sounds, such as /p-p-p-p-p-p)
infants can distinguish rising from falling (Hillenbrand, 1983). Their reaction to
the differences in sounds shows that were acting her/himself. Mirror neurons
language-relevant abilities are present at also allow us to receive and interpret facial
an early age, providing the later ability to expressions. Mirror neurons “mirror” the
understand that sounds mark differences things that are sensed or perceived in the
in words (e.g., bad vs. pad). environment, allowing infants to mirror
Children also begin to understand the things they observe (Gruber, 2016).
differences in adults’ facial expressions. This is found in infants’ imitation of
Between 6 and 12 months, infants choose adults’ facial expressions (e.g., frowning,
an object based on an adult’s positive or smiling) and facial movements (e.g., stick-
negative facial expression (Moses, Bald- ing out their tongues). Understanding the
win, Rosicky, & Tidball, 2002), choosing inner mental state of others is proposed to
the object that matches the adult’s posi- depend on the activation of these mirror
tive facial expression. A theory of mind neurons, allowing the infant to perceive
(TOM), described in Chapter 1, provides the inner mental states of others (Acharya
children with the ability to interpret oth- & Shukla, 2012; Keysers, Kaas, & Gazzola,
ers’ facial expressions that reflect their 2010; Lamm & Majdandžić, 2015). These
feelings or thoughts. inner states can consist of surprise, hap-
piness, fear, or other emotional states that
may be reflected in an individual’s face.
A TOM is the ability to interpret or
These mirror neurons may also facilitate
understand another person’s mental
emergence of a TOM, allowing the devel-
state (e.g., happiness, sadness, fear),
opment of the ability to interpret or under-
intent (the goal of carrying out an
stand another’s feelings or thoughts.
action or a plan), beliefs (attitudes or
An interesting aspect of develop-
ideas), desires (goals), or knowledge
ment appears after 7 months of age, when
(information). It is the ability to step
infants exhibit sustained and voluntary
into someone else’s shoes to understand
focus, rather than passive responses to
this person’s mind, thoughts, and
things in the environment (Columbo,
feelings. The early ability to recog-
Kapa, & Curtindale, 2011). At about
nize facial expressions is the sign of a
7 months of age, infants spend a greater
developing, but still primitive, TOM.
amount of time looking at things that
capture their interest (Galotti, 2017). This
Infants have been shown to imitate sustained attention pattern reflects goal-
adults’ facial movements, such as sticking directed attention, an essential skill for
out their tongues. This imitation behav- learning language (Oakes, Kannass, &
ior is interesting, given that infants are Shaddy, 2002). For example, the ability to
not aware of their own faces or tongues. maintain attention allows the infant to fol-
Examination of the role of the brain in low longer examples of spoken language,
infants’ perception has provided an expla- such as a story. By the end of the first year,
nation of infants’ responses to adults’ infants understand many words. Between
facial expressions. The discovery of mir- 7 and 12 months, children recognize words
ror neurons in the brain has led to the for common objects and can understand
theory that these neurons play a role in and respond to simple requests for actions
perception. Mirror neurons “mirror” the (e.g., Find your bunny. Give mommy your
behavior of others, as though the observer cup. Don’t spill your milk).
In summary, infants possess innate Infant Production

learning abilities that prepare them for
the acquisition of language. These abili- Newborn infants’ productions move
ties consist of the early ability to per- through various stages of development
ceive sounds, to understand some famil- (Oller, 1980; Patten et al., 2014), as presented
iar words, and to recognize differences in Table 4–2. At 5 to 10 months, infants
in facial expressions. Infants are able to begin to babble, producing basic canoni-
interpret a speaker’s intent or meaning cal syllables. These productions consist
by the recognition of facial expression, of a series of the same consonant-vowel
indicating the early emergence of a TOM (CV) syllables (e.g., ba-ba-ba-ba-ba) and
(understanding the inner thoughts or feel- are termed reduplicated babbling. The
ings of other individuals). Next, we exam- next stage consists of nonreduplicated or
ine infants’ sound production. variegated babbling, with the production
Table 4–2. Infants’ Productions: Stages of Development
Reflexive stage Vegetative sounds such as burping and coughing

(0–2 months) Cooing and gooing
Crying, fussing
Syllable shapes may be produced, such as consonant-vowel-
consonant vowel (CVCV) forms and vowels (e.g., wawa, ah).
Quasi-resonant nuclei (partial vowel production)
Control of Fully resonant nuclei (true vowel production)
phonation Vocalizations with a vowel-like segment are combined with a
(1–4 months) consonant-like segment
Laughter
Expansion Isolated vowel production or a series of two or more vowels
(3–8 months) Marginal babbling (a series of consonants and vowels or isolated
consonants and vowels)
Basic canonical Reduplicated babbling consists of a series of the same consonant-
syllables vowel (CV) syllables, such as ba-ba-ba-ba.
(5–10 months) Nonreduplicated or variegated babbling consists of a series of
different CV sequences, such as ba-bi-bu-bu.
Advanced forms Complex syllables such as CV (up), CVC (cat), and CVCC (milk)
(10–18 months) Multisyllabic strings with variations in stress or intonation
(emphasis on a syllable or changing emphasis on an utterance)
Jargon: a syllable series with two different consonants and vowels
with changes in stress and intonation, syllables that have the
intonational patterns of adult language, such as the pattern of
questions or statements
of varied CV syllables (e.g., ba-bi-ba-bi- Jargon may also appear in children’s

bu). The onset of canonical babbling has productions when they begin to produce
been found to develop no later than 10 real words, with a combination of a jargon
months of age in typically developing word and a real word (e.g., Dawa go?). Jar-
infants (Patten et al., 2014). A delay in gon is a child’s speech production that is
canonical babbling after 10 months of age very similar to adults’ speech production
may be a predictor of language delay or a in intonation and rhythm.
developmental disability.
Beginning at about 9 months of age,
infants produce consistent vocal patterns
Parent and Child
that function as words. These vocaliza-
tions are called protowords or phoneti-
Interaction
cally consistent forms (PCFs), which are
often accompanied by gestures. PCFs Parent-to-child or adult-to-child interac-
are used by infants to convey consistent tion plays a significant role in children’s
meaning; for instance, doggy is used only language development. This interaction
to label dogs, uh to request a food item is characterized by the adult’s production
(such as a drink), or mama to only label of shorter sentences, simplified syntactic
the child’s mother. structures, slowed speech rate, pauses
between separate utterances, and a greater
number of prompts (questions and com-
Resonance is the quality of speech mands) (Bernstein & Levey, 2009). This
that is shaped as it passes through style of interaction ensures that children
the oral cavity (mouth) and nasal can better comprehend spoken language.
cavity (nose). Infants produce speech Adults also provide children with scaf-
sounds with a less open oral cavity folds (discussed in Chapter 2), when chil-
posture than adults. Thus, the reso- dren produce a word that differs from the
nance of each of these productions adult target or from a word that a child
is termed a quasi-resonant nucleus. has not yet learned.
These early sound productions are
not well formed, but productions Child: I eated
become more similar to the resonance
Adult: That’s right, you ate
patterns of adults over time.
Child: Nana
Words appear at 12 months, starting Adult: That’s a banana
with the production of words that iden-
Child: Where he go
tify familiar entities in the child’s environ-
ment: animate (alive) and inanimate (not Adult: Where did he go?
alive).
Two factors that have been found
Animate entities: mommy, doggie, to play a role in children’s vocabulary
birdie, cow, kitty development are more frequent input
(more communication more often) and
Inanimate entities: cookie, car, shoe, the diversity of words used in interaction
ball, cup (a greater number of different words or
different topics) (Ruston & Schwanenflu- ties (e.g., ball), animate entities (mommy,
gel, 2010). The amount of talk that chil- and doggie), and actions (go and throw).
dren hear from speakers in their environ- One of the characteristics of vocabulary
ments is a predictor of vocabulary size development is that early words are
(Shneidman, Arroyo, Levine, & Goldin- remarkably similar for children across all
Meadow, 2012), while vocabulary growth languages (e.g., the words for book, cookie,
is related to the diversity of words pro- ball, dog, cat, eye, nose, bed, mommy, and
duced by caregivers (Pan, Rowe, Singer, shoes) (Rescorla, Alley, & Christine, 2001,
& Snow, 2005). A study of Spanish-speak- p. 605). These early productions take the
ing children’s vocabulary development form of consonant-vowel (CV) and vowel-
found that more spoken language input consonant (VC) productions with later
at 18 months resulted in larger receptive production of consonant-vowel-conso-
and expressive vocabulary at 24 months nant (CVC) forms.
(Hurtado, Marchman, & Fernald, 2008),
providing evidence that more frequent CV go
and abundant input acts to activate and
VC up
strengthen language learning (Poll, 2011).
Children rely on contextual informa- CVC cup
tion (language produced in the environ-
ment in specific situations) to learn the Children’s early words are not always
meaning and use of new words. For exam- accurate phonemic representations, a
ple, a child may listen to a conversation production that corresponds to the form
about a broken piece of furniture and the consistent with a target word produced
methods required for repair (e.g., broken, fix, by adults. For example, one young child
hammer). In this encounter, the child may attempted to produce the target word baby
learn the vocabulary terms as they apply to with attempts consisting of bih and bihbi,
this context. Later, the child will use these along with the correct phonemic repre-
words to apply to new contexts, such as sentation of the target word baby dur-
conversation about a broken toy (e.g., bro- ing these repeated attempts to produce
ken, fix). Children acquire many new words the target word (Sosa & Stoel-Gammon,
through incidental learning (Akhtar, Jip- 2006). Phonemic representation is variable
son, & Callanan, 2001). In incidental learn- when children begin to combine words to
ing, children learn new words through produce two-word utterances, as in the
exposure to communicative events, such as example of a child’s production I waai for
conversation. This is the opposite of delib- the target utterance I want ice cream. Pho-
erate learning, where children are purpose- nemic representation accuracy increases
fully taught new words. when children acquire 150 to 200 words
(Maekawa & Storkel, 2006).
Two-word utterances, such as push
it and more cookie, appear at about 18
Early Language
months. By 24 to 36 months, children can
Development produce longer utterances as their vocab-
ulary increases (e.g., I want more cookies and
At about 12 months, children begin to pro- milk). By age 3, greater phonemic accuracy
duce words that represent inanimate enti- appears when children use language to
communicate feelings, observations, and demonstrating how to manipulate a toy.

needs. Children’s productions are now Notice that the adult produces the words
more intelligible or understandable. and the phrases look, push, and it’s your
turn to elicit the infant’s interest and to
encourage participation in the task.
Joint Attention
Look — produced to draw the infant’s
and Joint Action attention and visual gaze toward the
toy (joint attention results)
Joint attention (the infant and another
Push — produced to demonstrate how
person sharing the same direction of eye
to open a slot in the toy
gaze) and joint action (two individu-
als sharing action on the same object or It’s your turn — produced to engage
task) are essential components of early the infant in turn-taking (joint action
word learning (Tomasello, 1998). In these results)
interactive contexts, infants are supplied
with the language associated with the Between 9 and 12 months, children notice
adults’ actions and the labels of objects. where adults are looking (gaze follow-
The most significant feature of joint atten- ing), use adults as social reference points
tion and joint action is that children’s first (social referencing), and model adults’
words are produced in these contexts. actions and language productions (imita-
There is also a high correlation (connection) (Tomasello, 2003, p. 21). At this point
tion) between the amount of time spent of development, children begin to under-
in joint attention tasks and the infant’s stand that adults have inner thoughts and
vocabulary development (Tomasello & goals (Gleason & Bernstein Ratner, 2017).
Todd, 1983). During joint attention tasks, These early social skills are presented in
infants’ visual attention to objects and Table 4–3.
activities increases between birth and 10
weeks of age, with infants spending a
Infants are able to interpret an
greater amount of time engaged in activi-
adult’s attitude toward an object by
ties (Columbo, Kapa, & Curtindale, 2011).
viewing the adult’s facial expressions
The following is an example of an infant’s
of pleasure or displeasure (Barna
joint interaction with an adult who is
Table 4–3. Infants’ Early Social Skills
Gaze Occurs when an infant follows the direction and focus of the
following adult’s eye gaze
Social Occurs when an infant identifies the feelings of the adult
referencing toward an object or an event and later uses this information
for his or her own feelings toward the object or event
Imitation Occurs when an infant uses an adult’s actions or words for
his or her own productions or actions
the initial weak syllable (ba-) and produce

& Legerstee, 2005), along with the second strong syllable (e.g., -NAna).
awareness of the adult’s direction It is important that all children receive
of eye gaze. One study found that audiological assessment to rule out hear-
12-month-old infants chose a specific ing loss, which may affect their perception
toy by noting the adults’ direction of the sounds in words.
of eye gaze (Phillips, Wellman, & Phonological awareness is a factor
Spelke, 2002). in children’s literacy development. This
is defined as a child’s awareness of the
sounds in words, along with the struc-
ture of words (e.g., sounds and syllables).
Phonological Children first become aware of words, fol-
Development lowed by syllable awareness. The aware-
ness that spoken words consist of sylla-
Phonological development describes chil- bles appears at 3 to 4 years of age. Later,
dren’s acquisition of the sounds that form children recognize rhyme, a skill that indi-
words. Phonological processes or patterns cates the awareness of sounds that com-
describe the manner in which young chil- pose words. For example, children are
dren first produce certain words. The able to recognize that the words key and
most common phonological patterns bee rhyme when they are able to perceive
found for younger children are syllable the similarity between the sounds that
omission, reduplication, and final conso- occur in these words. Later skills show
nant deletion. the development of phoneme awareness,
emerging about 6 to 7 years of age (e.g.,
Banana nana Syllable omission the ability to recognize the sounds that
compose a word).
Daddy dada Reduplication
Bus Final consonant
bu ◆ Word awareness begins with the
deletion ability to identify and isolate the indi-
vidual words in a sentence, through
Most phonological patterns generally pointing to the individual words that
disappear by 3 years of age. Unstressed compose the sentence (e.g., the boy ran
syllable omission or deletion (e.g., nana = three words).
produced for the target word banana) ◆ Syllable awareness consists of recog-
reflects children’s bias toward a strong or nition of the syllables that compose
stressed syllable in the initial position of words (e.g., hot + dog = hotdog).
words (e.g., banana, MONkey, MAma,
BUnny) (Levey & Schwartz, 2002). Notice
that the word banana is produced with
Cognitive Development
stronger emphasis on the second syl-
lable (e.g., baNAna). In this example, the
first syllable is weak (receives no stress Cognition refers to mental abilities and
or emphasis) and the second syllable is includes perception, attention, memory,
strong (receives main or primary stress or thought, categorization skills, and reason-
emphasis). Consequently, children omit ing (Galotti, 2017).
◆ Perception involves awareness of

sensory stimuli (smell, touch, taste, A cognitive mechanism for the ability
sounds, and vision). to assign meaning to auditory infor-
◆ Attention involves mental focus on a mation is termed language processing.
task or on an activity. Language processing involves
◆ Memory involves the ability to retain attaching meaning to the sounds that
and to recall information. form words, sentences, conversation,
◆ Thought involves using our minds to and stories. A child with a language
consider or reason about something. processing disorder cannot assign
◆ Categorization skills involve placing meaning to auditory information.
things or ideas into classes or groups.
◆ Reasoning involves a logical manner Some of the specific cognitive skills
of thinking about something that are essential for language development
include working memory (Bates & Elman,
At 9 months of age, infants develop the 1996; Osman & Sullivan, 2014; Seidenberg
understanding that others have thoughts, & Elman, 1999), attentional skills, language
goals, and feelings (Gleason & Bern- processing skills, and a TOM.
stein Ratner, 2017). When infants begin
to understand that they can influence ◆ Working memory is a system that
an adult’s responses to their needs or allows encoding, storing, processing,
requests, they begin to use pointing to and rehearsal of information
draw the adult’s attention. The infant’s (Baddeley, 2003; Baddeley & Larsen,
goal could be a question (What is that 2007), essential for language learning
over there? I don’t know its name), a request and academic success and progress.
(Let’s go that way, I see another baby), or ◆ Attentional skills involve the ability to
an attempt to gain the adult’s attention focus on a conversation or a task.
(Look, it’s a doggie). The cognitive factors ◆ Language processing applies to the
that play an essential role are presented functions performed in the brain that
in Table 4–4. allow children to understand spoken
Table 4–4. Cognitive Skills
Perception involves the ability to interpret or understand sensory

information through taste, smell, sight, hearing, or touch.
Attention involves mental focus on a specific task, with selective attention
marking the absence of distraction.
Memory involves the ability to store information, along with the ability to
retrieve or to recall the stored information.
Thought involves the mental manipulation or management of information.
Reasoning involves the process of thinking about a fact, event, or an idea in
a logical way to formulate a conclusion or a judgment to make a choice of
different possibilities or options.
language, along with a speaker’s tal state verbs mean (e.g., happy, upset,
ideas and feelings. puzzled). Children learn to understand a
◆ Theory of mind is defined as a child’s speaker’s intent (meaning) when observ-
understanding of others’ thoughts, ing the use of these mental state verbs
feelings, and intentions. in different contexts (Mazzone, 2009). At
age 2, children begin to use terms that label
Working memory stores the active physiological states, emotional states, and
information that has occurred in a cur- desires with terms such as happy and sad.
rent experience (Galotti, 2017), such as The earliest psychological state words
a birthday party or watching a movie. that appear in children’s speech are the
Verbal working memory is the amount following (Bartsch & Wellman, 1995; Lee
of memory a child has when given ver- & Rescorla, 2008).
bal language information or directions
(Newbury, Klee, Stokes, & Moran, 2016). Physiological words: sleepy and
Working memory allows children to think hungry
or talk about these experiences at a later
Desire words: want and need
time. Preschool-aged children might be
able to store three or four pieces of infor- Emotional words: happy and sad
mation (Galotti, 2017), such as go to your
cubby, take out your blanket, and come to the Children’s use of mental state verbs in-
rug. Children’s working memory pro- creases during the third year of language
vides them with the ability to be success- learning, with the use of terms such as
ful in learning. think and know. Know is an early occurring
term, followed by the words think, believe,
and mean (Shatz, Wellman, & Silber, 1983).
Working memory allows the child
to temporarily hold, process, and
manipulate information (e.g., hold
or keep this information in mind, The Development
think about and understand the of Humor
information that has been given, and
think about how to manipulate this
The social environment plays a role in
information or use it in the future).
the development of humor (Hoicka,
2014). Infants begin to laugh at about 3
As discussed earlier, a TOM involves to 4 months of age, indicating an early
understanding a speaker ’s meaning, response to humorous behaviors or events
thoughts, feelings, and emotions, or what (Reddy, 2008). Infants repeat actions that
a speaker intends to do. Children learn elicit adults’ laughter (Reddy, 2001), such
the words that identify a speaker’s inner as making funny faces, playing peek-a-
mental state through conversation, when boo, and making noises and movements
speakers describe their lives and feelings (such as kicking their legs) designed to
using mental state verbs, such as think, elicit a response. In the first year of life, the
know, and believe (Harris, de Rosnay, & response to humor generally involves non-
Pons, 2005). Often, facial expressions give verbal stimuli (e.g., adults use of a squeaky
children a clue about what these men- voice), tactile stimuli (e.g., bouncing
a baby on the adult’s knee or lap), and mas are formed when children first are
other actions frequently performed exposed to an entity. This initial exposure
by adults to elicit children’s laughter allows them to identify the characteristics
(Hoicka, 2014). At about 12 months of of this entity, store these characteristics,
age, children enjoy silly actions, such as and associate a name or label with the
watching someone misuse an item (e.g., entity.
putting a bowl on his head to represent a
hat). Falsehoods consist of using an object
A schema is a cognitive system for
to represent another object (e.g., using a
understanding knowledge about
shoe to be a hat on a head). As early as 15
concepts. Concepts represent things
months of age, children can understand
and living entities, along with the
that falsehoods are meant to be jokes.
relationship these concepts have with
Preschoolers develop more sophisticated
other things, actions, and events.
understanding and use of humor.
There are instances when children

encounter something that does not fit into
Schemas
an existing schema, such as when children
are told that a penguin is a bird. Most chil-
A schema is an organized representation dren do not believe that a penguin is a
of knowledge. In children’s early cognitive bird, as they do not see it fly. To accept
development, a schema allows them to the penguin as a bird, the schema for bird
process information and organize knowl- must change. Adaptation is the process of
edge about the world (Piaget, 1954). Sche- changing a schema in response to a new
mas also provide children with the ability entity. Assimilation is a cognitive process
to construct a representation of the enti- that involves fitting this new entity into
ties and events that appear around them an existing schema, and accommodation
(Witt, 1998). Schemas develop when chil- involves changing an existing schema to
dren first encounter a thing or event, as in make the new entity fit. Equilibrium (cog-
the following example. nitive balance) is the goal that is achieved
through assimilation or accommodation.
Children first encounter a bird in the Piaget’s (1973) stages were part of an
park, such as a pigeon. They form influential theory that contributed to our
a schema that represents this entity current understanding of children’s devel-
based on the perception of the entity’s opment. In this theory, the sensorimotor
structural attributes: two legs, feath- stage is the first stage of cognitive devel-
ers, movable parts (legs and wings), opment, occurring between birth and
and the ability to fly. 2 years of age. In this stage, infants dis-
cover the environment and learn through
These schemas are psychological struc- sensory perception and motor activity.
tures that allow a child to organize knowl- Infants learn through their sensory abili-
edge about objects, entities (e.g., humans, ties (taste, smell, sight, hearing, and touch)
animals, and insects), concepts (e.g., ideas, and their motor abilities (e.g., movements
beliefs, and thoughts), and actions. Sche- used to explore the environment or their
own bodies). The preoperational stage fol- movement to meaningful or intentional

lows, at ages 2 to 7 years, with children goal-directed behaviors reflects practical
forming ideas based on their perceptions. intelligence.
The concrete operational stage follows, at
ages 7 to 12 years, with reasoning skills
Practical intelligence has been
emerging along with more logical think-
defined as the knowledge needed to
ing patterns. The formal operations stage
achieve or accomplish a goal. This
follows through adulthood, with children
is knowledge that was not explicitly
now able to reason and employ abstract
taught or talked about to the infant
thought. Abstract thought involves the
(Sternberg et al., 2001). Instead, it is
ability to reason, consider all aspects of
knowledge that is possessed by the
a situation, and think about things in a
infant. The skills involved with prac-
logical manner. Young children begin to
tical intelligence can be thought of as
develop abstract thinking skills through
applied to practical skills (e.g., what
their pretend play when they use an object
an infant must do to obtain a goal or
to represent something else (e.g., a block to
solve a problem).
represent a phone).
Deferred imitation appears between

Stimuli are things or events that
12 and 18 months of age. This occurs when
excite or stimulate infants’ sight,
children observe an activity, establish this
sound, touch, taste, or smell. Stimuli
action in their memory, and imitate the
cause a response, as these are things
action at a later time. Symbolic functions
or events that interest or excite the
appear with the production of first words,
infant. For example, infants are
when words are used to represent an
stimulated by things (look longer at
entity (e.g., dog to represent the thing that
them) that are dynamic or moving as
is furry, has four legs, and barks) or activ-
opposed to attempts at stimulation
ity (e.g., drink to represent drinking from
that are static or unmoving (Shaddy
a cup). Children produce their first words
& Columbo, 2004).
when the entity is present in the environ-
ment (referent present). However, they
At 8 to 12 months, infants can antici- achieve symbolic knowledge when using
pate events. They are also able to establish the word to label an entity absent from the
goals and a method to obtain their goals environment (referent absent), showing
(means-end behavior). They understand that children have established an internal
that an object remains the same even when representation of this entity.
it is viewed from a different perspective, At 18 to 24 months, representational
such as upside-down (object constancy). thought appears when children under-
Infants understand that actions have a stand the world through mental opera-
cause (causality) and remember that an tions rather than actions. Now they can
object exists when it is absent from their solve problems through thought rather
sight (object permanence). Intentional or than physical means. For example, a child
goal-directed behaviors also appear, such now considers how to solve a problem in
as pulling a string to acquire a toy. The her mind, before using physical means to
solve the problem. Prior to the appearance Pretend play appears at around 12
of representational thought, a child will months of age, when children pretend to
attempt physical means before mentally sleep or to drink from a cup. Play with
considering solutions. We next examine dolls or adventure figures develops after
children’s play, along with the connection age 2, with a child able to use different
between play and children’s language voices in pretend play at about 4 years
development. of age (Galotti, 2017). The correlation
between play and early language devel-
opment involves four factors (Weisberg,
Zosh, Hirsh-Pasek, & Golinkoff, 2013),
The Development of Play shown in Table 4–5.
Children first engage in pretend play
There is a close relationship between pre- by using their own daily activities (e.g.,
tend play and the development of lan- preschool or familiar experienced activi-
guage (Patterson & Westby, 1998), given ties). Next, they engage in pretend play
that symbolic or pretend play and lan- that involves others’ activities, using
guage are dependent on representational dolls and stuffed animals to create play
skills (Orr & Geva, 2015). Representa- schemes that involve playing house,
tional skills appear when a child uses taking care of a baby, going to work, or
items to represent real objects (e.g., toy events that take place at school. Creating
blocks to represent a phone) and when a roles for other children in a play scheme
child uses words to represent things in the reflects decentration, defined as the abil-
world (e.g., the word block to represent a ity to consider multiple aspects of a situa-
toy block). Pretend (symbolic) play dem- tion (e.g., other children’s roles in the play
onstrates the ability to decontextualize scheme and the actions involved in the
(to separate an object from its immediate play scheme). When children use symbols
context). This occurs when a child uses a (e.g., a block to stand for a car, telephone,
block to represent a train or telephone and or loaf of bread), this represents a semi-
uses words to represent a thing, even when otic function. This occurs when a sign (a
the thing (block) is not the thing itself (e.g., word, image, sound, or gesture) is used to
train or telephone). create meaning.
Table 4–5. The Correlation between Play and Early Language Development
Symbolic The use of props for real objects (e.g., a block for bread
thought or for a telephone)
Social Collaboration among children to create a play scheme
interaction (e.g., going shopping) that also involves creating roles
(e.g., shopper and vendor)
Language input Peer and adult interaction in play involving language use
Engagement Children’s interaction within the play scheme
events that children have observed in

Semiotics explores how signs (words) their own environments (Table 4–6). Note
create meaning. For example, when that language skills advance throughout
children create an imaginary world the stages of play development, as more
in pretend play, they use objects (e.g., complex play requires the use of more
a block) to stand for or represent complex language (e.g., If I could . . . If
items in this play scheme (e.g., cars, you would . . . We might . . . ). Children
tea, a market, a train). use their language skills to develop more
complex play schemes and to explain
Early pretend play depends on real these schemes to other children to engage
objects as props to support the play their participation.
scheme. Late in the second year of life, There are two factors that play a role
children are less dependent on props. in children’s pretend play: causal cog-
This reflects increased cognitive skills as nition and counterfactual reasoning
children can mentally construct a play (Gopnik & Walker, 2013). Causal cogni-
scheme (imaginative play without props) tion allows children to understand the
and are able to use language to construct relationship between cause and effect,
the play scheme (language used to cre- such as what object causes another object
ate the play scheme and events involved to move, make noise, or light up. These
in this scheme). For example, a child can skills also play a role in children’s under-
now symbolically create a play scheme standing of how another individual’s
using one object to represent another (e.g., desires, emotions, and beliefs are the cause
cardboard box for stove) and use words to of their actions (Gopnik, Sobel, Schulz, &
create the pretend play scheme (e.g., . . . Glymour, 2001). For example, children can
now you are the daddy and you just came understand why another child might be
home from work . . . ). upset when something he or she treasures
The opportunity for pretend play dif- is broken, such as a favorite toy. Causal
fers depending on the external environ- cognitive skills also allow children to
ment. Some contemporary playgrounds make predictions about the future, based
consist of anchored structures, natural ele- on cause and effect (e.g., if I spill my drink
ments, and paths for riding bikes. These on the sofa, I am going to get into trouble)
types of playground may have mazes, and to provide causal explanations (e.g.,
slides built into stonework, climbing I think he is crying because someone took
devices, climbing walls, and tunnels. In his ball).
contrast, traditional playgrounds consist
of swings and slides. The richer environ-
ment of the contemporary playground Multicultural Differences and Play
was found to enhance the complexity
of children’s pretend play, allowing for The language and themes in pretend
richer social interaction (Li, Hestenes, & play differ across cultures (Hwa-Froelich,
Wang, 2016). 2004). The type of play in a culture is
There are stages that characterize chil- dependent on parents’ cultural beliefs
dren’s play development (Westby, 1980), and goals regarding a child’s develop-
with early play schemes drawn from ment (Vandermaas-Peeler, 2002). In some
Table 4–6. Children’s Play Development
Stage I (9 to 12 months) Means-end skills allow children to use methods to achieve

goals, such as pulling a string to play with a toy. Object
permanence allows children to find a hidden object.
Stage II (13 to 17 months) Children explore and discover the mode of operation of a
toy (e.g., levers or other movable parts).
Stage III (17 to 19 months) Children begin to engage in pretend play (e.g., pretending
to sleep or other daily activities).
Stage IV (19 to 22 months) Symbolic play continues to emerge, defined by the child
using one thing to represent something else (e.g., a block
as a telephone or a box used to represent a car). Play
schemes can also include feeding a doll, putting the doll
to bed, and general care of the doll, which represents a
live baby.
Stage V (24 months) Children engage in play schemes that represent daily
activities that they have observed (e.g., shopping or
playing house).
Stage VI (2½ years) More varied experiences appear in play (e.g., trips to the
doctor).
Stage VII (3 years) Play schemas continue to use props (realistic objects), while
play consists of sequenced events (e.g., getting breakfast,
going shopping, putting baby in bed to nap, and other
activities that represent the sequence of these events).
Stage VIII (3 to 3½ years) Realistic props, previously used in play, are replaced by
the use of imagination to create a play scheme. Children
may use blocks to create an enclosure (e.g., a house,
school, barn) or a row of chairs to represent a bus.
Stage IX (4 years) Hypothetical events (not yet experienced) are used to
create play schemes and projects (e.g., building a city,
a farm, an airport or some other scheme that requires
materials). Children begin to take account of future events
(e.g., what would happen if . . . ), resulting in behaviors
that require planning to create the play scheme (e.g., a
barn yard that will keep the animals from running away).
Stage X (5 years) Collaborative play appears as interaction involves
imaginative play schemes (e.g., a super hero, home
making, a classroom play scheme). Children are now able
to coordinate multiple activities within a play event by
creating roles for other children in the play scheme (e.g.,
the teacher, the bus driver, and the children).
Source: Reproduced with permission from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association,
from C. E. Westby (1980). Assessment of cognitive and language abilities through play. Language,
Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 11, 154–168.
84
cultures, parents engage in play with their broken down into smaller parts (e.g., ha
children, while older siblings engage in or at), as this would lead to the loss of the
play in other cultures. Across cultures, meaning of the word hat. Children’s mor-
parents provide varying degrees of sup- phological development is presented in
port and guidance. For example, Italian Table 4–7.
mothers were found to consider play a
child’s activity not requiring the need for
Children’s sentence length is also
adult intervention, while American moth-
expanded by the inclusion of articles
ers take a more active role in their chil-
(e.g., a, an, the), prepositions (in,
dren’s play (Chessa et al., 2012).
on, under), pronouns (I, me, he), and
A study of the beliefs and attitudes
auxiliary verbs (am, is, are).
of Greek and Cypriot parents found play
was valued for their children’s develop-
ment (Shiakou & Belsky, 2013). However,
education was also highly valued, with Morphosyntactic Development
children reported to spend greater time
with academic lessons than play at home. Morphosyntactic development describes
An investigation of New York City immi- the relationship between morphemes and
grant Indo-Caribbean parents’ attitudes sentences, given that children’s sentences
toward play found that 67% of mothers expand when they begin to attach mor-
and 48% of fathers believed that play con- phemes to words. For example, the addi-
tributed to cognitive abilities, social skills, tion of the inflectional morphemes -ed and
and emotional development (Roopnarine -ing to the word walk adds meaning by
& Jin, 2012). indicating that an action has occurred in
In summary, it is important to con- the past (past tense -ed) or that an action is
sider that cultural differences are an im- now occurring and ongoing in the present
portant factor when assessing children’s (present progressive -ing).
play, given the variability in the attitudes
toward and styles of play across cultures. Walk + ed (regular past tense inflec-
It is also important to respect parents’ tional morpheme): walked
goals and cultural beliefs when planning
interventions for children from multilin- Walk + ing (present progressive inflec-
guistic and multicultural backgrounds. tional morpheme): walking
Children’s morphosyntactic development

goes through the stages (Bernstein, 2011;
Morphological
Bernstein & Levey, 2009) shown in Table 4–8.
Development
Morphology is concerned with the struc- Mean Length of Utterance

ture or organization of words, and mor-
phemes are the minimal (smallest) mean- Mean length of utterance (MLU) is the
ingful units of words. For example, the average number of morphemes in chil-
lexical morpheme hat /hæt/ cannot be dren’s utterances (Lund & Duchan, 1993).
Table 4–7. The Order of Development of Children’s Grammatical Morphemes*
Age of Mastery
Grammatical Morpheme Example (months)
Present progressive verb ending –ing Going, playing 19–28
Preposition in Put in cup 27–30
Preposition on Put on shoes 27–30
Regular plural -s Want blocks 24–33
Past irregular verbs came, fell, went, broke He broke it 25–46
Possessive ’s Mommy’s shoe 26–40
Uncontractible copula (be as main verb) am, He was nice 27–39
is, are, was, were, be, been
Articles a, an, the The boy ran home 28–46
Past regular -ed He walked home 26–48
Third person singular regular -s He walks 26–46
Third person singular irregular has, does He does walk 28–50
Uncontractible auxiliary (be verbs preceding The boy is walking 29–48
another verb)
Contractible copula I’m happy 29–49
Contractible auxiliary I’m jumping 30–50
*Used correctly 90% of the time in obligatory or required contexts.
Source: Reproduced with permission from A First Language: The Early Stages, by Roger Brown. Cam-
bridge, MA: Harvard University Press, Copyright 1973 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College.
Table 4–8. Children’s Morphosyntactic Development
I. The production of single-word utterances (e.g., cookie, milk, and juice) expands to
include two-word utterances (more cookie, drink milk, and gimme juice).
II. The appearance of grammatical morphemes (e.g., -ing, plural -s), and prepositions
(in and on). Utterances such as I eating, put shoe on, and see cats are characteristic
of this stage. Children begin to produce additional grammatical morphemes (e.g.,
present progressive -ing, plural -s, possessive ’s, and regular past-tense -ed).
III. Children’s utterance length continues to grow as they produce simple declarative
sentences (That’s my ball), imperatives (Don’t take my ball), Wh- questions (Where’s
my toy?), and simple negative sentences (No wanna go).
IV. Children’s language expands to contain complex constructions. In this stage,
children produce compound sentences (Daddy is working and Mommy is reading)
and complex sentences (That boy, who is in my school, is my friend), with
embedded clauses (e.g., The man, who drives the bus, is nice).
86
For example, the word walk is a single tion. African American English (AAE)
morpheme, whereas walked (walk + ed) and is an example of a language that omits
walking (walk + ing) are each composed of redundant (unnecessary) elements, such
two morphemes when an inflectional as omitting the plural when the adjec-
morpheme is added (i.e., -ed and -ing). We tive (three) already signals plurality (e.g.,
calculate MLU by counting the number of three boy). When we omit the redundant
morphemes in each utterance produced, elements, note the differences in MLU
usually assessing at least 50 separate between the first and second exam-
utterances. After counting all morphemes, ples below that illustrate the difference
we divide the number of morphemes by between MAE and AAE.
the number of utterances. For example,
if a child produces 150 morphemes in 50 MAE: I saw three boys = 5 morphemes
utterances, the MLU would be 3.0 (e.g., (I, saw, three, boy, -s)
150 morphemes divided by 50 utterances).
AAE: I saw three boy = 4 morphemes
(I, saw, three, boy)
The method for calculating the
number of morphemes in children’s
utterances involves counting some Given that this may be a rule in certain
two- and three-word phrases as only languages, it is important not to use MAE
a single word, as children do not as the measure of typical or atypical devel-
perceive these two- and three-word opment when working with children who
utterances to consist of multiple speak other languages or dialects. It would
words. For example, they do not be an error to consider morphological dif-
view big bird as a bird that is big. ferences across dialects or languages as
Instead, they view some multiple signs of a disorder. Instead, these are dif-
word names as a single word, such ferences that contribute to the interesting
as Big Bird, Cookie Monster, and New variability across languages and dialects.
York City. The morphological and syntactic dif-
ferences between MAE and AAE speakers
shown in Table 4–9 derive from the many
contributions to AAE from West African
Morphological Differences languages (e.g., Bambara, Ewe, Fanta,
Twi, Mende, Wolof, and Yoruba), along
It is important to understand that lan- with contributions from Native American
guages and dialects differ in morphemes, languages, French, and English. Again, it
so it is only appropriate to use these exam- is important to understand that the dif-
ples of MLU to assess English-speaking ferences found in language dialects and
children. Using Mainstream American English-learning children signal differences
English (MAE) as a model for calculating and not disorders.
the MLU of the speakers of different dia- There are also differences between
lects or languages may incorrectly signal the morphological patterns found in
a disorder. For example, one of the rules native Spanish-speaking children learn-
found in several languages and dialects ing English and native English-speaking
is to omit elements that repeat informa- children (Table 4–10).
Table 4–9. Characteristics of African American English Morphology and Syntax
AAE Feature/ Mainstream American

Characteristic English Sample AAE Utterance
Omission of noun That’s the woman’s car. That the woman car.
possessive It’s John’s pencil It John pencil.
Omission of noun plural He has 2 boxes of apples. He got 2 box of apple.

She gives me 5 cents. She give me 5 cent.
Omission of third person She walks to school. She walk to school.

singular present tense The man works in his The man work in his yard.
marker yard.
Omission of “to be” forms, She is a nice lady. She a nice lady.
such as “is, are” They are going to a movie. They going to a movie.
Present tense “is” may be They are having fun. They is having fun.
used regardless of person/ You are a smart man. You is a smart man.
number
Utterances with “to be” You are playing ball. You is playing ball.
may not show person They are having a picnic. They is having a picnic.
number agreement with
past and present forms
Present tense forms of I have been here for 2 I been here for 2 hours.
auxiliary “have” are hours. He done it again.
omitted He has done it again.
Past tense endings may be He lived in California. He live in California.

omitted She cracked the nut. She crack the nut.
Past “was” may be used They were shopping. They was shopping.
regardless of number You were helping me. You was helping me.
and person
Multiple negatives (each We don’t have any more. We don’t have no more.
additional negative form I don’t want any cake. I don’t never want no
adds emphasis to the cake.
I don’t like broccoli.
negative meaning)
I don’t never like broccoli.
“None” may be She doesn’t want any. She don’t want none.
substituted for “any”
88
Table 4–9. continued
AAE Feature/ Mainstream American

Characteristic English Sample AAE Utterance
Perfective construction; I had the mumps last year. I been had the mumps last
“been” may be used to I have known her for year.
indicate that an action took years. I been known her.
place in the distant past
“Done” may be combined He fixed the stove. He done fixed the stove.
with a past tense form to She tried to paint it. She done tried to paint it.
indicate that an action was
started and completed
The form “be” may be Today she is working. Today she be working.
used as the main verb We are singing. We be singing.
Distributive “be” may be He is often cheerful. He be cheerful.

used to indicate actions She’s kind sometimes. She be kind.
and events over time
A pronoun may be used to My brother surprised me. My brother, he surprise

restate the subject My dog has fleas. me.
My dog, he got fleas.
“Them” may be Those cars are antiques. Them cars, they be

substituted for “those” Where’d you get those antique.
books? Where you got them
books?
Future tense “is, are” may She is going to help us. She gonna help us.
be replaced by “gonna” They are going to be there. They gonna be there.
“At” is used at the end of Where is the house? Where is the house at?
“where” questions Where is the store? Where is the store at?
Additional auxiliaries are I might have done it. I might could have done it.
often used
“Does” replaced by “do” She does funny things. She do funny things.
It does make sense. It do make sense.
Source: Reproduced with permission from Roseberry-McKibbin, C. (2014). Examples of Acceptable
Utterances by Speakers of African American English (Table 4.1 on pages 77–78). Oceanside, CA: Aca-
demic Communication Associates.
89
Table 4–10. Morphological Differences Between Native English Speakers and

Spanish-English Speakers
Native English Speakers Spanish-English Speakers

Past tense (-ed) (regular) Yesterday, I painted. Yesterday I paint.
Plurals (-s) The flowers are pretty. The flower are pretty.
Possessive (’s) My friend’s coat. My friend coat.
Negative She does not walk. She no walk.
Interrogative (question Is Juan coming? Juan is coming?
inversion)
Source: Reproduced with permission from Bernstein, D. K. (2011). Morphological Differences: MAE
and Spanish-English Speakers (Table 8.9 on p. 157). San Diego, CA: Sage Publications.
Morphophonology We next review children’s syntactic

development, beginning with the pro-
duction of two-word utterances to form
Morphophonology describes the connec-
simple sentences (e.g., Want cookie). By the
tion between morphemes and phonol-
end of the stages described in this chapter,
ogy. Morphophonological rules apply to
children begin to produce longer utter-
changes in phonemes due to their sound
ances with a wider set of meanings.
environment (the sounds that surround
another sound by coming before or fol-
lowing that sound). For example, note
that the production of the final plural Syntactic Development
sound -s varies, depending on the sound
that it follows.
Syntax describes rules for producing
sentences through the combination of
Cat + s = cats /kæts/
words (e.g., The + apple + is + on + the +
Dog + s = dogs /dOgz/ table). As described in Chapter 1, syntax
emerges when children begin to produce
As described in Chapter 1, the plural -s two-word utterances at about 18 months
remains intact as the unvoiced fricative of age. At this stage of syntactic develop-
/s/ when following the unvoiced stop- ment, children produce utterances that
plosive /t/ in the word cat. However, the indicate requests and observations of the
sound /s/ changes to the voiced frica- world (e.g., pick up, see doggy, push ball, all
tive /z/ when it follows the voiced stop- gone doggy, wanna snack, sock off, daddy go).
plosive /g/ in the word dog. This is an In early sentence production, chil-
example of the interaction between mor- dren omit the subject in the noun phrase,
phemes and phonology described as producing sentences such as Want cookie.
morphophonology. Dropping the subject pronoun (pro-drop)
occurs less frequently at around age 2½, the external state refers to that which is
when children’s utterances increase to physical or what you can see. Internal
around three-word lengths (MacWhin- states are characterized by emotions (e.g.,
ney & Snow, 1985; Valian, Hoeffner, & likes, dislikes, or fears), visceral states by
Aubry, 1996). Note that there are lan- bodily status (e.g., hunger, fatigue, thirst),
guages that generally allow for omitting and cognitive states by how the world is
the subject pronoun, as shown in the fol- being processed, thought about, or under-
lowing examples of pro-drop languages stood (e.g., knowing, believing, thinking,
(Italian and Spanish) and non-pro-drop understanding, recognizing, and remem-
languages (English and French). Thus, the bering) (Oosterwijk et al., 2015).
differences shown in Table 4–11 must be
considered when working with multilin-
gual speakers.
Children’s early sentence produc-
Pronoun Acquisition
tions are composed of nouns (dogs, boys,
snow) and verbs (bark, run, falls). Nouns Pronouns first appear at 31 to 34 months
label entities (e.g., people, animals, and of age. There is an association between
things) and verbs label actions (e.g., run, children’s perspective-taking and correct
eat, sleep). There is also a class of verbs pronoun use (Ricard, Girouard, & Deca-
termed mental state verbs (e.g., frighten, rie, 1999). Perspective-taking involves
like, disappoint) that refer to a person’s understanding that the points of view of
mental state. Children’s production of others differ from the child’s own. Thus,
mental state verbs is an indicator of their the correct use of the pronouns you and
ability to understand others’ mental or I requires understanding that perspective
internal states. The term internal or mental (viewpoint) changes, depending on who
state refers to what an individual knows, is speaking at that time. Younger children
thinks, feels, believes, and other types frequently confuse pronouns, producing
of mental activities. The internal mental sentence such as Pick you up (meaning to
state refers to the speaker’s mind, while say, Pick me up).
Table 4–11. Pro-Drop Differences Across The speech-language pathologist

Languages (SLP) sat across from Tania, planning
to work on the pronouns you and
Italian Vado al cinema stasera. I. When the SLP used the pronoun
I, little Tania was confused, given
(I) go to the cinema tonight.
that she was also expected to use the
Spanish Salieron a las ocho. pronoun I to refer to herself. The SLP
(They) left at eight. realized the problem and moved to
sit next to Tania to solve
English I go to the cinema tonight.
the confusion between these pronouns.
French Nous sommes partis à huit
heures.
An example of a pronoun error is found in
We left at eight o’clock.
Micah’s production of the utterance I want
me to pick you up, when requesting to be The Development of

picked up at age 2½. Children must be Nouns and Verbs
able to shift roles and see another’s per-
spective or point of view to acquire the Nouns
difference between these pronouns (Per-
ner, 1991). Nouns comprise the largest category of
The pronouns that refer to self (I, words in a child’s early vocabulary. Nouns
mine, my, and me) emerge early, whereas label a person, place, or thing. When
those that refer to others (he, she, and they) children acquire words, almost half are
emerge later. Children acquire objective nouns, one-quarter are verbs and adjec-
pronouns (him, her, and them) before they tives, and one-quarter are function words
acquire possessive pronouns (mine, yours, (e.g., prepositions, pronouns, determin-
his, hers, ours, and theirs). The reflexive ers, conjunctions, and auxiliary verbs)
pronouns (himself, herself, ourselves, and (Bates et al., 1994). A description of these
themselves) are generally not mastered elements is presented in Table 4–13.
until 5 years of age. Table 4–12 presents
the general order of pronoun acquisition
The definite article the refers to a
(Moorehead & Ingram, 1973).
specific entity that has already been
referred to in conversation, while
Objective pronouns are those that are the indefinite article a refers to a
the object or recipient of the action nonspecific entity. Children may have
(Give the book to him). Possessive difficulty distinguishing between these
pronouns indicate possession (That two article types until age 4 or later.
book is hers). Reflexive pronouns refer
to someone’s self (I did it myself, she/he
did it her/himself, they did it themselves). Children’s earliest words are shown in
the examples below (Gleason & Bernstein
Table 4–12. Pronouns
Stage Pronoun
Level I I
Level II my, it, me, mine
Level III you, your, she, them
Level IV we, he, they, us, you, him, his, theirs
Level V her, its, our, herself, himself, ourselves,
yourselves, themselves
Source: Reproduced with permission from the American
Speech-Language-Hearing Association, from D. Moore-
head & D. Ingram (1973). The development of base syntax
in normal and linguistically deviant children. Journal of
Speech and Hearing Research, 16, 330–352.
Table 4–13. Elements that Compose Sentence Formation
Prepositions Provide information about where (in, on, under), when

(after), or descriptive information (with)
Pronouns Take the place of nouns (e.g., I, he, she, we, they)
Determiners Express the definiteness and specificity of a noun (a book

vs. the book)
Conjunctions Connect words and sentences (toys and games; apples or

oranges)
Auxiliary verbs Used with a main verb to show the verb’s tense or to
form a negative or question (e.g., am, is, are, were, was)
Ratner, 2017, p. 85). Note that these early

words reflect children’s experiences and A student clinician in the U.S. was
that the environment plays a role in their administering a vocabulary test to a
learning. child from one of the African coun-
tries. The child was presented with
Food and drink: Apple, banana, cookie, a picture of a baseball and labeled it
cheese, juice, milk as soccer ball. The student clinician
was confused by the child’s response.
Body parts and clothing: Diaper, ear, The clinical supervisor explained that
eye, foot, hair, hand, hat, mouth, nose, shoe soccer was played in most parts of
the world, while baseball was not.
Household/outdoor objects: Blanket,
chair, cup, door, flower, keys, spoon, tree, TV
Children’s early acquisition of nouns
People: Baby, daddy, grandma, grandpa,
is associated with two factors: their
mommy
semantic properties (the description of an
Toys and vehicles: Ball, balloon, bike, entity or thing) and concrete object refer-
boat, book, bubbles, toy ence (the physical characteristics that can
be perceived). Consequently, children
Families that have immigrated from regions learn nouns based on the characteristics
that differ in foods, animals, and the envi- of a thing, such as the shape and color of
ronment will not share the same vocabu- a piece of fruit (e.g., apples). Nouns are
lary expected by those unaware of these mapped onto perceptual qualities (e.g.,
differences. For example, a child who shape and use). These perceptual skills
has lived in a desert region may not have allow children to label things such as chair,
seen some of the animals experienced by door, tree, and dog.
a child who has lived in a city. Thus, we Verbs are more complex than nouns
should not expect that the vocabulary because they convey the meaning associ-
items produced by children from different ated with actions or events and lack the
language backgrounds will be the same. characteristics associated with nouns. For
example, it is easier for a child to learn the with: car, ball, teddy bear, and doll. When an
noun cup before understanding run. Learn- adult places a new object within this array
ing verbs requires exposure to actions of toys (a bunny) and asks the child to
and events, along with understanding of “Look at the bunny,” the child will look at
these activities (e.g., Dogs bark). Consider the novel object, the bunny. Children use
the difficulty of distinguishing among the this strategy until about 17 to 22 months
verbs walk, jog, and run. It may be difficult of age (Hansen & Markman, 2009), hold-
for children to distinguish between these ing to the principle that each referent or
actions, whereas apple is relatively easy to thing can only have one name.
identify and remember.
The semantic properties of a word Verbs

play a role in learning. Nouns
appear early, as they refer to the The first verbs produced by young chil-
concrete aspects of things that we can dren describe simple actions (Bloom,
perceive, such as people, animals, Lightbown, & Hood, 1978), such as eat,
and objects in the environment. read, do, and fix. These verbs are followed
Concrete object reference refers to by put, go, and sit. Later acquired verbs
the characteristics of things that we include the mental verbs want, have, and
can perceive, such as an apple that is know. When children first learn verbs,
usually red and round. they use them in the context in which
they were initially acquired (Tomasello,
1992, 2003). For example, if children learn
cut when watching someone cut paper,
Word Learning and the they use the verb only for cutting paper.
Mutual Exclusivity Bias Children extend the meaning of this verb
beyond the learning context to apply to
Children’s word-learning has been ex-
another type of cutting, such as finger-
plained by various factors. One of the
nails or bread, when they are exposed to
explanations of learning new words is the
more examples of the use of this word.
mutual exclusivity bias. When children
There is a connection between verb
are presented with a new word and a new
learning and children’s awareness of syn-
object (e.g., bunny), they gaze at the only
tactic structure (Gleitman & Gleitman,
object in the room that is new to them and
1992). For example, certain verbs, such as
the object for which they have no name.
hit, are transitive verbs that require a direct
object noun to complete their meaning. In
When children hear a new word, contrast, the verb cry is an intransitive verb
they apply the new label to an that does not require a direct object noun
unfamiliar object that has not been to complete its meaning. Transitive verbs
previously named. express a relationship between two things
(e.g., Daddy hit the ball). In contrast, cry
does not express a relationship between
For example, picture a scene that contains two things, as we cannot cry something
several objects that the child is familiar in the way we can hit something. The fol-
lowing examples demonstrate these dif-

ferences between intransitive and transi- The verb walk is not marked for tense
tive clauses: or time. When we add the auxiliary
verb is, we can mark it as expressing
Transitive: Subject + verb + object: the present tense of an ongoing
She wanted an apple. action (i.e., He is walking).
Intransitive: Subject + verb: She cried.

The auxiliary modal verbs will, shall,
may, might, can, could, must, ought to, should,
There is more complexity involved would, used to, and need to are used to
in constructing a sentence that express certain attitudes, such as disap-
requires a direct object (He hit the proval (You might have asked before taking a
ball) versus a sentence that does not cookie), possibility (I may give you a cookie
require a direct object (She sneezed). tomorrow), or ability (I can throw a ball far).
Consequently, intransitive forms first Children begin to use modal auxiliaries
appear in children’s productions around age 2 to 3, with the earlier produc-
(e.g., cry, smile, frown), followed later tion and understanding of the modal verb
by transitive forms (e.g., want, kick, can (Leonard, Deevy, Wong, Stokes, &
like). Note that the transitive forms Fletcher, 2007; Richards, 1990). The acqui-
require a direct object (I want a cookie, sition of auxiliary verbs for the majority of
I kick the ball, I like cookies). children follows this pattern of develop-
ment (Wells, 1979).
The regular past tense of a verb is Early acquisition: do, can, will, going to
formed by adding -ed (e.g., walked, talked,
voted). Children often overgeneralize the Preschool-age acquisition: have to,
regular verb form (add -ed) to produce an shall, could
irregular verb, as shown in the following
examples of the irregular verb form tar- There are certain verb contrasts that
gets ate, threw, and went. present children with difficulty, such as
ask versus tell (Macaulay, 2006). The verbs
I eated it ask and tell may present difficulty until
children reach school age. At age 3½,
I throwed the ball Micah said that he was going to ask his
I goed there mother that he had hurt his arm.
Auxiliary verbs (e.g., am, is, are, was, were,

be, and been) are also termed helping verbs The Phonological Features
because they are used in conjunction with of Irregular Verb Forms
main verbs to express time or tense.
Children’s difficulty with the correct pro-
He is walking duction of irregular verb forms is asso-
ciated with the phonological changes
We are eating
required by certain verbs (Shipley, Mad-
They were here yesterday dox, & Driver, 1991, p. 118). For example,
note that some irregular past tense verbs Watch me go down the hill
do not change in the present tense form Yesterday, I went down the hill
to the past tense form (e.g., I am going to
cut the bread / Yesterday, I cut the bread). Overgeneralization occurs most often
In contrast, other verbs undergo greater with irregular past tense verbs with inter-
change between present and past tense nal vowel change (e.g., take/took) and
forms (e.g., catch / caught). In this case, the final change from /d/ to /t/ (e.g., build/
change consists of the consonant “ch” to built). In this case, children produce the
the consonant “t,” along with the change past tense forms as taked and builded. The
of the vowel “ae” to the vowel “au.” The minimal difference in voicing between
interaction between phonology and irreg- these sounds (e.g., /d/ voiced and /t/
ular verb form production is shown in the unvoiced) may present children with per-
examples in Table 4–14. Children have no ceptual difficulties in noting this change.
difficulty with the production of the no The irregular past tense verbs go/went may
change category (e.g., cut/cut and hit/hit), be produced correctly at 3½ to 4 years of
given that these verbs do not change from age, see/saw at 4 to 4½, and eat/ate by 4½
present to past tense form. to 5. Children may not master the change
from /d/ to /t/ until 9 years of age.
Watch me cut the paper In summary, children’s accuracy
Yesterday, I cut the paper is greater for no change verbs (e.g., hit/
hit). The greatest difficulty appears with
Greater difficulty appears in the verbs change from /d/ to /t/ (e.g., bend/bent,
that require more complex sound changes build/built, and send/sent). These difficul-
from the present to past form changes ties are found in phonological changes in
(e.g., caught, ate, went). some verbs to past tense. Regular verbs
present less difficulty, as the child merely
Watch me catch the ball adds -ed to the root forms walk, talk, and
Yesterday, I caught the ball bake (walked, talked, baked).
Watch me eat the cookie
Yesterday, I ate the cookie
The Development of
Negative, Interrogative,
Table 4–14. The Relationship Between and Imperative
Phonology and Verb Changes Sentence Forms
No change in vowels or cut/cut
consonants Negative Sentence Forms
Internal vowel change of come/came
// to /e/ Children at the one- and two-word utter-
ance stage express three types of negation.
Internal vowel change sweep/swept
with final change from Nonexistence to indicate disappear-
/p/ to /t/
ance: All gone juice
Final consonant change build/built
Rejection to indicate not wanting
from /d/ to /t/
something: No milk
Denial to indicate an untruth: Not lachian English (Wolfram & Christian,

book 1976), and West Texas English (Foreman,
1999). Despite the double negative, we
Three phases of negative construc- interpret the sentence as being negated
tion development have been described only once. It is important for practitioners
(Bellugi, 1967; Bloom, 1991; Klima & Bell- to understand that double negation does
ugi, 1966). Table 4–15 presents the devel- not reflect a language disorder, as it is an
opment of negative sentence forms. accepted rule across many languages and
Indefinite negative words such as dialects. An example of negative concord
nobody, no one, and nothing present young is shown below.
language learners with difficulty. Younger
children often say, I want anything, when Nobody don’t like me
they mean, I want nothing (Seymour &
Roeper, 1999). Older school-age children
might say, I don’t got no books, and even Examples of negative concord
adults might say, I don’t see nobody. include Nobody ain’t doin’ nothing
We may also find that children who wrong, found in West Texas English
are learning English as a new language (Foreman, 1999) and I don’t never
or English dialect speakers may produce have no problems, found in African
sentences that include negative concord American English (Green, 2002).
(double negatives). Negative concord con-
sists of the use of more than one negative
element in a sentence. Negative concord is
Interrogative Sentence Forms
often considered ungrammatical if the lis-
tener is unaware that negative concord is
Yes/no questions (Do you want a cookie?)
considered grammatically correct across
require that the listener simply answer the
many languages and dialects (Peccei, 1999;
question with either a yes or a no word.
Zanuttini, 2014). Negative concord is a
To form yes/no questions, children must
standard feature in Portuguese, English,
learn to invert (reverse) the subject (the
Persian, Russian, Spanish, Neapolitan, and
boy) and the auxiliary verb (is), as shown
Italian. Examples of the use of negative
in the following example.
concord in English dialects have been
found in American English speakers of
Declarative sentence: The boy is
Alabama White English (Feagin, 1979),
eating.
African American English (Labov, 1972;
Green, 2002; White-Sustaita, 2010), Appa- Inversion: Is the boy eating?
Table 4–15. Negative Sentence Development
First stage Children produce the negative element outside the sentence (No bed).
Second stage Children embed the negative element no (I no want milk) while also
producing the negative form not (That not cookie).
Third stage The negative contractible forms can’t and don’t emerge (I don’t have a
cookie) when MLU reaches 4.0.
Wh-questions (beginning with who, It is necessary to perform two opera-

what, when, where, why, or how) require tions to produce a Wh-question. The more
more information than a yes/no response. complex process of forming Wh-questions
Answering why, how, and when questions explains children’s ability to perform this
require greater knowledge than is pres- operation only at a later stage of language
ent in the immediate context (e.g., Why development. The operations in produc-
was the doggie bad?). Children must look ing a Wh-question are the following:
for this information from another context
or previous discourse or discussion (e.g., 1. Transpose (reverse the order of) the
why, how, and when did something hap- subject (The boy) and the auxiliary
pen). Discourse is a continuous stretch of verb (is).
speech, such as conversation. In conver- 2. Add the Wh-form to the beginning of
sation, discourse is constructed between the sentence.
participants, with each taking a turn and
responding to what the other has said The following sequence demonstrates
(Leahy, 2004, p. 71). The complexity and these operations.
order of acquisition of Wh-questions are
presented in Table 4–16. Declarative sentence: The boy is
eating.
The learning of Wh-words occurs Inversion: Is the boy eating?
when children can engage in conver-
sations with adults or more advanced Add the Wh-form: What is the boy
language users about past and future eating?
events, which will help children to
think about themselves at different Four phases of development characterize
points in time (Hudson, 2006). question development (Bloom, 1991; Klima
& Bellugi, 1966), as shown in Table 4–17.
Table 4–16. Wh-Question Complexity
• What questions require knowledge of an object (e.g., What is that?).

• What doing questions require knowledge of an action or event (e.g., What did he do?).
• Where questions require knowledge of location (e.g., Where is my ball?).
• Who questions require knowledge of identity (e.g., Who took my book?).
• When questions require knowledge of temporal (time) information (e.g., When do
you eat breakfast?).
• Why questions require knowledge of causation (e.g., Why is she crying?).
• How questions require knowledge of the way something works (How does this
work?), the way something happened (How did he get that bruise?), the quality of an
experience (How was your vacation?), or the extent or degree of something (How far,
how long, how many, how much, and how old?).
Table 4–17. Four Phases of Question Sentence Development
Phase 1 Rising intonation and some Wh-forms Cookie now?

occur between 27 and 30 months of age. Go car?
Younger children simply attach a Wh- Where daddy?
word to an assertion. What dat?
Where and what questions are the more Question asked: Why do you eat
prominent Wh-questions produced, with breakfast?
difficulty understanding why questions Child’s response: Cereal
(treating them as what questions).
Phase 2 Between 27 and about 34 months, Where my car?

children understand and respond to what, What you doing?
who, and where questions, while auxiliary
verbs may be absent.
Phase 3 Between 31 and 40 months, there is Where you?

limited use of inversion in Wh-questions Where you are?
until children reach 3.5 MLU (O’Grady, Where are you?
1997).
At this stage, children are able to invert We are going? Inversion absent
the subject and verb to produce yes/no Are we going? Inversion present
questions.
Phase 4 Inversion in positive Wh-questions What is the man doing?

appears at about 35 months (MLU 3.5+).
Children now invert the subject and the
auxiliary verb when asking positive Wh-
questions.
Difficulty appears with inversion when Why I can’t have cookie?
producing negative Wh-questions.
Imperative Sentence Forms ment, children’s production of two-word

imperative utterances takes the following
Imperative sentences consist of requests, forms.
demands, and commands for a listener
to perform an action to satisfy a speak- Eat cookie!
er’s intent (goals and meaning). Impera-
tives have the following syntactic struc- No bed!
ture: uninflected verbs (no morphemes
attached) and the subject you omitted More complex imperative sentence forms
(e.g., Come here!). At the prelinguistic appear as children approach age 3.
level, children express imperatives by
pointing and gesturing. Later in develop- Throw the ball to me.
Semantic Development ulary skills are assessed for describing a

picture of a ball. This child is in the process
Semantics describes how meaning is con- of learning English as a second language.
veyed through words, sentences, and dis-
course. Vocabulary development begins at “Striped” . . . “round” . . . “grande” . . .
about 12 months, when children produce “rossa”
words that label familiar entities, actions,
and objects in the environment. This dem- If this child were scored for only English,
onstrates the connection between chil- the score would be “2.” If credited for the
dren’s vocabulary development and their child’s native language (Spanish) and sec-
environmental experiences. ond language (English), the score would
be “4.” If only one language is considered,
the child’s true vocabulary knowledge
Vocabulary Development would not be considered.
Young children frequently use the
Children have an expressive vocabulary of perceptual characteristics of entities to
one or more words at 12 months and a 200- extend the meaning beyond that entity
to 300-word vocabulary at 24 months. By (overextension), such as labeling all four-
age 6, a child’s vocabulary consists of 10,000 legged animals doggie. Overextensions
words (Anglin, 1993). Children’s receptive derive from the perceptual or functional
vocabulary generally exceeds their expres- characteristics of the target word (Peccei,
sive vocabulary, and they can understand 1999), such as the number of legs on the
at least 50 words when their expressive animal. Functional characteristics form
vocabulary consists of approximately 10 the basis for a child using the word hat
words. Some children’s vocabulary shows to label a hat, scarf, ribbon, or hairbrush,
a vocabulary burst, vocabulary spurt, or nam- given the similar function of putting
ing explosion when they acquire a 50-word something on or near your head.
vocabulary during the second year of life. Frequently, children also produce
However, not all children show this pat- overextensions when lacking the appro-
tern of rapid vocabulary growth (Ganger priate word. In this case, they produce
& Brent, 2004). Consequently, the variation a word such as doggy for another four-
in children’s development must be consid- legged animal, as a way of asking what’s
ered in assessment. that? Children also sometimes make up
There is also variation in vocabu- words when they lack a word to describe
lary development for children learning things, such as the phrase, I’m crackering
a second language. This requires that all my soup (Clark, 1981) to describe putting
languages spoken be considered when crackers in their soup. Overextension
assessing vocabulary skills. In this case, occurs until about 3 years of age, when
a child’s true vocabulary knowledge is children’s vocabulary skills increase (Bern-
scored, rather than the language that is stein & Levey, 2009).
being learned. This approach to assess- Underextension can also appear in
ment is termed conceptual scoring (Gross, children’s word productions when they
Buac, & Kaushanskaya, 2014). An exam- have a restricted definition of a word. For
ple of this type of scoring follows when a example, Daniel was horrified when told
Spanish/English-speaking child’s vocab- that the picture of his dog’s grandfather
was on the cover of a dog manual, asking tal to language development (Göksun,
Is Shanti’s grandfather a dog? Children may Hirsh-Pasek, & Golinkoff, 2009), given
also deny that their mother’s high heels that these terms allow children to express
are shoes, pointing to their own and saying greater meaning.
No, dis shoe. Exposure to spatial relational terms
also acts to facilitate children’s encoding
and mapping of spatial relations in the
Relational Terms world (Loewenstein & Gentner, 2005). For
example, understanding locative relations
Semantic development includes the acqui- allows children to describe the spatial
sition of relational terms. Relational terms relation between objects, such as the cup is
mark the relationship of things. Examples on the table. Children who have acquired
consist of existence (all gone) or recurrence relational terms are also better at notic-
(more). Relational terms also describe tem- ing, using, and maintaining memories of
poral relations (time), physical relations similar relationships in the environment
(descriptions), locative relations (loca- (Loewenstein & Gentner, 2001), such as
tion), and kinship terms (family relations) the use of all gone to refer to entities that
(Table 4–18). have disappeared (e.g., Cookies all gone!).
An investigation of early relational The locational relation terms that
words produced by children from 12 to children learn by 3 years of age are in, on,
20 months showed the production of that and under (Johnston, 1988). Children learn
used to indicate an object of interest, along relational terms that are less complex to
with the relational use of gone to indicate conceptualize, such as big/little, tall/short,
disappearance (Gopnik, 1988). When chil- and high/low, before thick/thin, wide/narrow,
dren are aware that something is absent, and deep/shallow (Owens, 2016). In addi-
they will code the meaning of recurrence, tion, the relational terms in, on, under, and
produced when children have finished all next to are learned in that order, followed
the juice in their cups and ask for more. by the more complex spatial concepts in
Learning relational terms is fundamen- back/in front of, above, and below.
Table 4–18. Relational Terms
Temporal relations before, after, first, next, last

Dimensional relations big/little, tall/short, long/short, large/small, high/low,
thick/thin, wide/narrow, deep/shallow
Quantitative relations more, less
Object relations all gone, more
Physical relations hot/cold
Locative relations in, on, under, next to, behind
Spatial relations close/far, up, down, open, in front of/behind, beside
Kinship relations mother, brother, cousin
Children understand the temporal-

Concepts are mental representations order sentence structures before and after
of things and living entities (objects, earlier than the duration terms since and
ideas, people, animals, times) that until (Feagans, 1980). Duration terms
children perceive and experience are not fully understood before 7 years
(Galotti, 2017). There are five classes of age. Younger children also have diffi-
of concepts: spatial (location), culty understanding the relational terms
temporal (time), quantity (number), more, less, long, and short. Understand-
quality (description), and social- ing the relational terms in front of, behind,
emotional (feelings). and beside depends on an object that has
a clearly defined front, back, or side. It
is important to understand that chil-
The temporal concepts that refer to
dren first understand spatial concepts by
a sequence of events (before and after) are
using their own bodies as reference (e.g.,
learned late. Younger children rely on the
in front of and in back of the child’s body).
order of mention for understanding the
Consequently, this aspect of learning spa-
terms before and after (Bever, 1970). This
tial terms should be considered when
means that children interpret the first
addressing learning these concepts.
thing mentioned in a sentence as the first
object of action. Consequently, they mis-
interpret the following direction that asks
Cultural Differences and
the child to first put the toy in the box.
Relational Terms
Before you put the ball in the box, put the
Cultural differences also play a role in
toy in the box.
understanding certain relational terms.
Children from different language back-
Given that ball was mentioned first, chil-
grounds may use varied methods or
dren interpret this sentence to mean put
schemas to create concepts of space and
the ball in the box first and put the toy in
objects in that space. For example, some
the box second. Children begin to better
cultures schematize a table in the follow-
understand syntactic structure in the later
ing manner: Table top plus legs. In other
preschool stages, with less reliance on the
words, a table is conceptualized to resem-
order of mention (Owens, 2012).
ble a solid object with top and sides. This
There are two classes of tempo-
schema was found for Atsugewi speak-
ral relations: temporal order (after and
ers (a native American tribal language of
before) and temporal duration (since and
Northern California), who view the table
until). Examples of these relational terms
with top and four sides (Talmy, 1983). In
follow.
contrast, other cultures may schematize
a table as having only a table top, with
Temporal order
nothing else under or on the sides of the
He came into the class after John.
table. In this case, the table has only a sin-
She went into the room before John.
gle dimension (the top) and the legs are
Temporal duration disregarded when conceptualizing a table.
He has been here since the room opened. Consequently, children’s description of the
She will stay until it gets dark outside. path of a ball thrown under a table may
result in two different answers: through Children’s early understanding of

the table (given the concept of a table with kinship reveals difficulty understand-
legs) or under the table (given the concept ing reciprocity. In other words, children
of a table with only a top). Consequently, it have difficulty understand that the kin-
is important to consider that there may be ship term brother applies to both the child
linguistic differences in the schematization and to the child’s brother. Later, children
of space across cultures. understand that to have a brother means
that you might be a brother too. Most kinship
terms are established by age 10.
Kinship Relationship Terms
Another category of relationship terms Semantic Roles and

refers to kinship or a child’s relationship Semantic Relations
to family members. Piaget’s early study
(1928) was replicated 34 years later (Elkind, Another area of development is children’s
1962), with similar results for children’s production of semantic roles (Bernstein &
understanding of kinship relations. The Levey, 2009). These semantic roles include
order of the acquisition of kinship terms agent, action, object/affected, location, posses-
follows (Owens, 2016): sion, rejection, disappearance, nonexistence,
and denial. At 12 to 18 months, seman-
Mother, father, brother, sister tic roles are expressed in children’s one-
word speech productions, as presented in
Daughter, son, grandmother,
Table 4–19.
grandfather
At about 18 months, children begin to
Uncle, aunt, cousin produce two-word utterances. When they
Table 4–19. Semantic Roles: Produced at the One-word Stage of Language Development
Semantic Role Definition Example

Agent Doer of an action daddy (pointing to daddy kicking a ball)
Action Event kick (pointing to daddy kicking a ball)
Affected Entity acted upon ball (pointing to ball that was kicked)
Location Place bed (indicating that the dog is in his bed)
Possessor Owner mommy’s (while pointing to her shoe)
Possession Entity owned shoe (while bringing mommy’s shoe to her)
Attribute Characteristic hot (while pointing to stove)
Recurrence Repetition more (while pointing to cookie plate)
Negation Rejection no (going to bed rejected)
Source: Reproduced with permission from Levey, S. (2011). Semantic roles (Table 7.1, p. 127). Los
Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.
acquire at least 20 words, they combine communication. Examples of these three

semantic roles (e.g., mommy and go) to pragmatic factors follow in Table 4–21.
create semantic relations: agent (mommy)
+ action (go). Examples of these seman-
tic relations are presented in Table 4–20 Early Pragmatic Development
(Levey, 2011).
Semantic relations describe the rela- Infants are capable of producing inten-
tionship between things, such as mommy tional communication to indicate their
go or doggy barking. These examples de- wants and needs. Infants communicate
scribe the relationship between the agents intentionality with gesture and/or vocal-
(mommy and doggy) and the actions (going ization coupled with eye contact (James,
and barking). Semantic relations mark chil- 1990). Infants begin communication
dren’s productions of new meanings and through the use of gesture, with reaching
expanded ways to express meaning. for a desired object used as a signal for a
request and pointing as a signal to indicate
some interest in an item in the environ-
ment (Owens, 2016). Infants frequently
Pragmatic Development combine a gesture (e.g., pointing) with
verbalization (e.g., doggy). Capone (2007)
Pragmatics involves the use of language in points out that gesture and language
interaction, adapting the language used for originate in the same neural regions of
different listeners and situations, and fol- the brain, suggesting that gestures are
lowing certain rules to achieve successful an indication of a child’s future language
development.
Children at the one-word stage use
Table 4–20. Semantic Relations language to regulate others’ behaviors,
establish joint attention, and engage in
Semantic Relations Examples social interaction (James, 1990). A child’s
Agent + action Mommy kiss early attempt to communicate an inten-
tion (meaning or request) consists of the
Action + affected Kick ball following functions (Bernstein & Levey,
Action + location Sleep bed 2009; Halliday, 1975).
Entity + location Baby bed Instrumental function, used to obtain

Possessor + possession Mommy shoe a goal and to have wants and needs
met (the child holds out a cup and
Entity + attribute Doggy big
says more)
Nomination That car
Regulatory function, used to control
Recurrence More juice others’ behaviors (the child gives a
Negation No bed ball to an adult to request play and
says ball)
Source: Reproduced with permission from Levey,
S. (2011). Semantic Relations (Table 3.5, p. 46). Los Interaction function, used to obtain
Angeles, CA: Sage Publications. joint attention (the child calls mama)
Table 4–21. Pragmatic Factors in Language Interaction
Language use Greetings: Hello, goodbye, how are you?

Informing: I’m going home now.
Demanding: I want to play with your new doll.
Promising: I promise to share my new toy with you.
Requesting: Can I play with your new doll?
Adapting and Talking differently to a baby than to an adult and to a teacher

accommodating to than to a friend
different listeners
Giving enough information so that the listener understands
what you are talking about, how or why something happened,
or how to play a game
Following rules in Taking turns in conversation as speaker and listener

conversation
Introducing topics of conversation that are relevant to the topic
at hand
Staying on topic
Making conversational repairs when communication
breakdowns occur
Learning to interpret signals (e.g., when someone is bored with
the conversation or anxious to add something to the conversation)
Appropriate distance between speaker and listener
Eye contact
Personal function, used to express Conversational abilities appear at about

feelings or attitudes (the child says 2 years of age, with the child able to en-
yum while eating a cookie) gage in a short number of turns as speaker
and listener. Verbal responses increase at
Children’s pragmatic requests develop 2 years of age, with an increase in verbal
over time, as shown in the following interaction at 3 years of age (Owens, 2016).
examples of children requesting a cookie:
1 year Waa (and reaching) Speech Acts

1½ years Cookie
A speaker’s intent or meaning can be
2 years Wannacookie categorized as a speech act (Cameron-
Faulkner, 2014; Searle, 1983). The term
3 years Cookie please
speech act refers to a speaker’s goal or
7 years That cookie sure looks yummy intention (meaning) when producing a
word, sentence, or longer utterance. Speech indirect speech acts at about 3 years of age
acts are called acts for two reasons: first, (Bucciarelli, Colle, & Bara, 2003). The pro-
because speech is considered an action or duction of indirect speech acts appears at
act and second, because speech acts can about 30 months, when children acquire
have some sort of action or effect on a lis- the modal auxiliary can, with later pro-
tener. Examples of speech acts are state- duction of the modal auxiliaries will, shall,
ments (I’m hungry), requests (Give me a and could (Wells, 1979).
hug), warnings (Watch out for the crack in
the sidewalk), advice (Take your umbrella
because it looks like rain), commands (Put
on your shoes), and promises (I promise to
Narrative Development
clean my room). To understand a speech
act, the listener must understand the Narrative plays a role in social interaction,
speaker’s intention (meaning or goal). effective communication, and the develop-
There are five speech act categories that ment of literacy skills and is a good pre-
label a speaker’s intent (meaning or goal) dictor of subsequent literacy achievement.
when producing a sentence (Cameron- The sequence of children’s narrative devel-
Faulkner, 2014, p. 39). These speech act opment follows the following stages (Bliss
categories are shown in Table 4–22. & McCabe, 2011), shown in Table 4–23.
Speech acts can be direct (e.g., Pass
the salt) or indirect (e.g., Can you pass the
A narrative can consist of telling a story,
salt?). Note that the indirect speech act has
recounting something that happened
the syntactic form of a question (i.e., Can
in a story, or giving a description of
you . . . ?) but has the intention or mean-
something that has happened.
ing that an action be performed by the
listener (i.e., pass the salt). Indirect speech
acts convey a request in a manner that Vocabulary skills play an essential role in
is more appropriate or polite, given that narrative development, giving children a
the request for action is conveyed in a wide variety of words to describe events.
subtle manner through the use of modal Narrative also becomes more organized
auxiliaries (e.g., can, could, would, should, as children learn connectives, such as and
couldn’t). Children begin to understand then, therefore, however, and nevertheless.
Table 4–22. Five Speech Act Categories
Representatives: assertion or statements This is a pretty flower.

Directives: commands or requests Please put all of your toys away.
Commissives: promises or threats I promise to mail the letter today.
Expressives: thanks, compliments, Thank you for your gift.
accusations
Declaratives: official acts I declare you husband and wife.
Table 4–23. The Stages of Narrative Development
A one-event narrative has only one I played. (when asked what he did in
specific past tense action. school that day)
A two-event narrative is characterized by I dropped my cookie. Mommy gave me new

two actions. cookie.
A leap-frog narrative includes events that I went to the zoo. My brother got popcorn.
are not sequenced appropriately and/ I went on the subway.
or omits major events so that the listener
must infer a logical causal sequence and
any missing events.
A chronological narrative contains a We went to the ball game. I ate a hot dog. It
chronological sequence or listing of was raining. We went inside. I didn’t get wet.
events without much coherence and/
or evaluation; so it sounds like a travel
itinerary.
A classic narrative is complete with I went to the lake house and played Wii. We
information on characters involved, what went bowling and I won three games but
happened, where the event happened, we had to leave ’cause Grampa got tired of
when it happened, and the elements of playing. We went to Tanzy’s for lunch and
cause and effect. had curly fries. I spilled my drink but nobody
got mad. We came back to the lake house and
watched a movie.
Source: Reproduced with permission from Bliss, L. S., & McCabe, A. (2011). Language Development:
Understanding Diversity in the Classroom (p. 213). Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.
The man climbed up the ladder. And

then he started to paint the star. The narrative story or grammar
model describes the rules for
He wanted to stay and play. However, recounting the events in a story:
he had to go home to eat dinner. setting (where the story took place),
event or events (what happened),
She was full from eating all the
sequence (the order of events), and
popcorn. Nevertheless, she managed
conclusions (what were the results).
to eat some candy.
It is essential that children develop an

The Narrative Grammar Model understanding of this structure because
this knowledge helps them better under-
The narrative grammar model describes stand and remember elements of the sto-
the structure of stories in children’s books ries read to them at home or at school.
(Stein & Glenn, 1979). Exposure to narratives in storybooks
allows children to internalize this struc- aware of these differences to provide evi-
ture. Once in preschool, this internalized dence-based assessment and intervention.
structure helps them achieve better under- Chinese children’s narratives were found
standing of stories. Children are not able to focus on social engagement, morals,
to produce a complete episode, including and authority themes (Wang & Leicht-
all elements of the narrative structure, man, 2000). Narratives included char-
until age 7 or 8. Internal responses (words acters helping one another and positive
that describe the characters’ feelings) are relationships among characters. American
largely absent in younger children (Apel English-speaking children were found to
& Masterson, 1998). An example of narra- focus on characters’ personal likes and
tive structure is shown in Table 4–24. The dislikes, along with avoidances.
description of a logical sequence of events Some children may produce topic-
appears in children’s narratives by 3 to 5 associating narratives (Bliss & McCabe,
years of age (Owens, 2016). 2011). These narratives are characterized
by relatively lengthy descriptions of sev-
eral situations in one narrative, with situa-
Multicultural Differences tions linked semantically (through mean-
and Narratives ing) rather than chronologically (through
a sequence of events). Some characteris-
There are cultural differences across lan- tics found in Spanish-speaking children’s
guages in children’s narrative production. narratives are broad topic maintenance,
Speech-language pathologists must be conversationally focused narrative, infor-
Table 4–24. Narrative Structure
Setting Introduction of characters, time, Winnie the Pooh looked into his
and place honey pot.
Initiating event Problem His honey pot was empty.
Internal Character’s feelings about the He felt sad — and hungry.
response initiating event
Internal plan Statement about fixing the problem “I should fill my pot again.”
Attempt Action to solve problem He went out to search for more
honey to fill his pot.
Consequence Event or events following the He found a bee’s nest and the
attempt friendly bees said, “We’ll share
our honey with you.”
Resolution or The final state of affairs following Winnie the Pooh said, “Thank
reaction the attempt you” and went home with a full
pot of honey.
Ending A statement ending the story Winnie the Pooh was happy and
he also had made new friends.
mation presented by descriptive state- ◆ The role of innate cognitive skills in

ments, and redundant subjects of utter- children’s language development
ances (Bliss & McCabe, 2011). An example ◆ Children’s phonological, morpho-
of a narrative style, produced by Chinese- logical, syntactic, semantic, and
and Korean-speaking children, shows pragmatic development
the omission of a redundant element, i.e., ◆ Multilinguistic differences found in
the repeated use of the subject pronoun I diverse dialects and languages
(Minami & McCabe, 1991):
The highlights of children’s hear-
I went to school . . . found a dollar . . . ing, understanding, and talking can be
gave it to my mother . . . found in Appendix 4–A. Chapter 5 traces
the development of language as children
develop their language skills beyond
In summary, it is essential to consider
age 3, during the preschool stage of lan-
cultural differences in narratives when
guage development.
assessing children from different lan-
guage backgrounds. Rules differ and the
richness of these differences are positive
across languages. Key Words
Accommodation
Summary Adaptation
Assimilation
We have traced the development of chil-
dren’s language, beginning at birth and Auditory perception
continuing to age 3. In this period of Causal cognition
development, children produce their first
words, establish a theory of mind, under- Causality
stand many types of Wh-questions, begin Cognition
to produce narratives, express requests in
a more appropriate and polite manner, and Counterfactual reasoning
engage in more complex play schemes. In Decentration
this chapter, we have learned:
Deferred imitation
◆ What infant perception tells us about Denial
the human mind
Discourse
◆ The role of the theory of mind in
language development Equilibrium
◆ The development of infants’ produc-
Incidental learning
tions, beginning with the babbling
stage Innate
◆ The important role of joint atten-
Instrumental function
tion and joint action in language
development Intention
Intentional Processing
Interaction function Recurrence
Jargon Reduplicated babbling
Joint action Referent absent
Joint attention Referent present
Means-end behavior Reflexive pronouns
Mean length utterance (MLU) Regulatory function

Rejection
Mental state verbs
Relational terms
Mirror neurons
Representational thought
Morphemes
Schemas
Morphology
Semantic relations
Morphophonology
Semantic roles
Morphosyntactic development
Semiotic function
Mutual exclusivity bias
Speech act
Narrative
Symbolic functions
Nonexistence
Syntax
Object constancy
Theory of mind (TOM)
Object permanence Underextension
Overextension Variegated babbling
Overgeneralization Working memory
Overgeneralize
Perception
Study Questions
Perceptual
Personal function 1. Discuss the importance of the theory
of mind in children’s language
Perspective-taking
development.
Phonemic representations
2. Explain why joint attention and joint
Phonetically consistent forms interaction play a role in children’s
Phonological awareness
3. Explain why children may have
Practical intelligence
difficulty with understanding the
Pragmatics pronouns you and I.
4. Describe the connection between Bates, E., Marchman, V., Thal, D., Fenson, L.,
play and language in children’s Dale, P., Reznick, . . . Hartung, J. (1994). De-
development. velopmental and stylistic variation in the
composition of early vocabulary. Journal of
5. Explain the production of the Child Language, 21(1), 85–124.
irregular past tense verbs as comed Beier, J. S., & Spelke, E. S. (2012). Infants’
and standed. developing understanding of social gaze.
Child Development, 83(2), 486–496.
Bellugi, U. (1967). The acquisition of negation
(Doctoral dissertation). Cambridge, MA:
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Appendix 4–A
Highlights of Children’s Language Development
Birth to One Year
Hearing and Understanding Talking

Birth–3 Months Birth–3 Months
◆ Startles to loud sounds ◆ Makes pleasure sounds (cooing,
◆ Quiets or smiles when spoken to gooing)
◆ Seems to recognize your voice and ◆ Cries differently for different needs
quiets if crying ◆ Smiles when sees you
◆ Increases or decreases sucking
behavior in response to sound
4–6 Months 4–6 Months
◆ Moves eyes in direction of sounds ◆ Babbling sounds more speech-
◆ Responds to changes in tone of your like, with many different sounds,
voice including p, b, and m
◆ Notices toys that make sounds ◆ Chuckles and laughs
◆ Pays attention to music ◆ Vocalizes excitement and displeasure
◆ Makes gurgling sounds when left
alone and when playing with you
7 Months–1 Year 7 Months–1 Year
◆ Enjoys games like peek-a-boo and ◆ Babbling has both long and
pat-a-cake short groups of sounds, such as
◆ Turns and looks in direction of “tataupupbibibibi”
sounds ◆ Uses speech or noncrying sounds to
◆ Listens when spoken to get and keep attention
◆ Recognizes words for common items ◆ Uses gestures to communicate
like “cup,” “shoe,” “book,” and (waving, holding arms to be picked
“juice” up)
◆ Begins to respond to requests (e.g., ◆ Imitates different speech sounds
“Come here” or “Want more?”) ◆ Has one or two words (hi, dog,
dada, mama) around first birthday,
although sounds may not be clear
continues
APPENDIX 4–A. continued
One to Two Years

◆ Points to a few body parts when ◆ Says more words every month
asked ◆ Uses some one- or two-word ques-
◆ Follows simple commands and tions (“Where kitty?” “Go bye-bye?”
understands simple questions (“Roll “What’s that?”)
the ball,” “Kiss the baby,” “Where’s ◆ Puts two words together (“more
your shoe?”) cookie,” “no juice,” “mommy book”)
◆ Listens to simple stories, songs, and ◆ Uses many different consonant
rhymes sounds at the beginning of words
◆ Points to pictures in a book when
named
Two to Three Years
Talking Hearing and Understanding

◆ Has a word for almost everything ◆ Understands differences in meaning
◆ Uses two or three words to talk (“go-stop,” “in-on,” “big-little,”
about and ask for things “up-down”)
◆ Uses k, g, f, t, d, and n sounds ◆ Follows two requests (“Get the book
◆ Speech understood by familiar and put it on the table”)
listeners most of the time ◆ Listens to and enjoys hearing stories
◆ Often asks for or directs attention to for longer periods of time
objects by naming them
Source: Reproduced with permission from How does your child hear and talk? Available from the
website of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association: http://www/asha.org/public/
speech/development/chart.htm. All rights reserved.
5
Preschool Language
Development
Diana Almodovar and Sandra Levey
Case Study
José is 3 years of age and enrolled in a play with peers, such as asking if he can
preschool class. He produces lengthy share a toy rather than crying or grab-
sentences and is able to understand and bing. After reading this chapter, you
remember lengthy directions (e.g., go into will understand the changes that occur
the garage, get the broom, and give it to when children enter the preschool stage of
grandpa). He also engages in appropriate language development.
Chapter Objectives ◆ The major changes in children’s

cognitive skills that play a role in
This chapter describes preschoolers’ lan- language development
guage development. Children’s develop-
mental milestones during this stage can
be found in Appendix 5–A. After reading An Overview of
this chapter, you will understand: Preschool Language
◆ Language development during the Development
preschool stage (3 to 5 years of age)
◆ The major changes in vocabulary, From age 3, children demonstrate a tre-
syntax, morphology, semantics, and mendous amount of linguistic and cogni-
pragmatics that occur during this tive growth. By age 5, typically developing
period of development children have acquired roughly 90% of
119
their syntax, their connected speech is ideas in the mind that explain the world
intelligible, and they can maintain conver- (Goswami, 2009). Concepts allow children
sations for longer periods of time. Their to represent information in an efficient
play becomes more complex, with more manner by grouping information under
elaborate imaginative and dramatic play general categories (e.g., cat, tail, legs, fur).
evident. Their overall social, language, Concepts are organized in the following
and play skills reflect their advanced hierarchy:
stages of cognitive development. Dur-
ing this stage, children begin to develop Subordinate level: German Shepherd
the requisite skills for academic success,
Basic level: dog
such as reading and writing. We begin
with a review of preschoolers’ cognitive Superordinate level: mammal
development.
The subordinate level is the most specific,
however, preschoolers tend to learn basic
level terms before superordinate or sub-
Cognitive Development ordinate (Galotti, 2017). Children who
develop an interest in a particular area,
One of the most important cognitive such as dinosaurs, are more likely to learn
developments in the preschool years is the higher-level terms that refer to this
the emergence of symbolic thought. Sym- interest (e.g., Brachiosaurus, Tyrannosaurus,
bolic thought is the ability to mentally and Diplodocus).
represent objects, actions, and events.
Children’s symbolic thought is applied
in play. For example, children may use Theory of Mind
a wooden block to represent many other
objects (e.g., a baby bottle, a telephone, or One of the most important components of
a loaf of bread). Children express sym- cognitive development is the acquisition
bolic thought when they engage in pre- of a theory of mind (TOM), introduced
tend play and model the actions of adults in Chapter 1. TOM describes a child’s abil-
when creating a play scheme. In this play ity to understand someone else’s mental
scheme, they may take on the role of these state (Rhodes & Brandone, 2014). When
adults, while imitating the actions that children acquire a TOM, they have a bet-
they have observed in their environment ter understanding of others’ thoughts,
(e.g., caring for a baby, shopping). beliefs, and feelings (Baron-Cohen, 1993,
1996; Wellman, 2014). A TOM provides
the ability to predict how someone will
Conceptual Development act and to explain why a person acted in
a certain manner. Children also are able
Conceptual development consists of men- to describe the motivation that supports
tal representations of things in the world. people’s actions using mental state verbs
Concepts consist of properties (e.g., happi- (e.g., think, know, feel, and believe). Growth
ness, color, hunger) or abstract ideas (e.g., in the use of mental state verbs occurs
truth or, fairness). Concepts are sets of between the ages of 3 and 5.
5. Preschool Language Development 121
Children with a TOM are able to presence of a TOM. Children can solve this
express their own feelings and thoughts type of false belief task by age 5 (Rhodes
while also able to interpret those of oth- & Brandone, 2014). The absence of a TOM
ers. This leads to improved interaction is shown if a child reports that Sally will
and conversation with peers and others look for her marble in the box.
because children are better able to under-
stand others’ intentions or meaning dur-
ing these events. TOM is also essential for Executive Functions
understanding stories because children
are able to then understand a character’s Executive functions are another cognitive
actions (e.g., why the wolf dressed as Little factor that plays a role in children’s devel-
Red Riding Hood’s grandmother). Narra- opment. Executive functions are mental
tive knowledge helps children develop processes that include planning, gener-
a TOM because stories often contain ating goal-directed behavior, organizing,
information about a character’s feelings, maintaining attention, using working
beliefs, and thoughts, along with the lan- memory, managing time and space, and
guage associated with these concepts (e.g., problem solving. Without executive func-
Little Red Riding Hood was afraid because tions, strategic problem-solving skills are
she didn’t know . . . the bears were upset absent (Baddeley, 1997, 2003; Baddeley &
because they thought . . . ). Larson, 2007). Strategic problem-solving
Conversation also plays a role in skills consist of identifying a problem,
developing a TOM, given that adults fre- planning a solution, executing a plan, and
quently converse about others’ beliefs and evaluating the results. At the preschool
mental states, along with possible expla- stage of cognitive development, children
nations for others’ actions. Children also may not consider all aspects of a problem
develop an understanding of false beliefs when planning a solution (Galotti, 2017).
when exposed to conversations about
others’ mental states (Gola, 2012). A false
belief is a misconception about some- Working Memory
thing that results from poor reasoning.
An example of a false belief task that has Working memory, described in earlier
been used to assess the presence of a TOM chapters, allows children to retain infor-
is presented below. mation for processing and facilitates the
temporary maintenance and manipula-
A child, Sally, leaves a marble in her tion of information. Working memory
basket and goes outside to play. While allows children to store information in
she is playing outside, another child, their minds to make this information avail-
Anne, moves the marble from the bas- able for processing in long-term memory.
ket to a box. Anne is asked, when Sally Consequently, children with intact work-
comes back, where will she look for ing memory are able to retain lengthier
her marble? directions and remember past events.
The ability to consider stored informa-
If children report that Sally will look for tion allows children to anticipate what
her marble in her basket, this indicates the might happen in the future, especially
when there are similarities between cur- food will taste good if eaten with a pink
rent and prior experiences. Anticipation spoon) (Ryan, 2017). At age 3, children
denotes the ability to predict the occur- still practice magical thinking and may
rence of an event, because it is preceded take adult comments literally, such as an
by a particular cause. An example is that adult saying, Your nose is running. A child
a juice cup may spill if placed too close may interpret this in a concrete man-
to the end of the table. Subsequently, chil- ner and say the following: My nose can’t
dren are now able to predict what might run because it doesn’t have any legs. Chil-
happen next in current or future situations. dren begin to understand the difference
between fantasy and reality as they move
through the preschool period, but some
Divergent Thought fantasy continues to age 7 or 8, such as the
belief in the existence of mythical figures
Cognitive development also includes (e.g., Superman).
divergent thinking. Divergent thought
is essential for creative thought and prob-
lem solving, allowing children to gener- Expanded Symbolic Play Skills
ate a number of solutions to a particular
dilemma. For example, when one child Children’s growing cognitive skills also
wants to take another child’s toy (a fre- appear in expanded symbolic play. Sym-
quent occurrence in children’s experi- bolic play emerges when children use
ences), this ability allows children to objects to represent other things (e.g.,
think of an appropriate response, rather a box to represent a train) and use lan-
than a physical tug-of-war over the toy. guage to describe the activities associated
Divergent thinking is essential for chil- with the play scheme (e.g., Let’s all get on
dren’s imaginative thought (Addis, Pan, the train). Play skills expand at about 30
Musicaro, & Schacter, 2016). This allows months, when children’s cognitive skills
children to develop pretend play schemes play a role in terms of insight, flexibility,
that rely on their imagination. and divergent thinking (Wallace & Russ,
2015). These skills are essential to create
pretend play schemes and to take on vari-
Magical Thinking ous roles in these schemes (e.g., mother,
father, baby, doctor).
During the preschool stage of develop- Multischeme play sequences appear
ment, we see that children engage in mag- at about 3 years of age, when children
ical thinking (Subbotsky, 2010). Magical expand single scheme play (e.g., making a
thinking occurs when a child assigns ani- cake for a doll) to create a series of events
macy to certain inanimate objects (e.g., the (e.g., getting the ingredients to make a
belief that a child’s favorite TV character cake for the doll’s birthday party, making
actually lives in the television set). Learn- the cake, serving the cake, cleaning up,
ing to distinguish between fantasy and and putting the doll to bed for the night).
reality is an element of cognitive devel- Another change occurs at around 3 to 3½,
opment. Magical thinking appears when when children create a dialogue between
children believe that a certain action will themselves and their dolls or stuffed toys
influence the world around them (e.g., and talk for the toys. Younger children
rely on more familiar roles for pretend Next, we explore children’s linguistic
play (e.g., playing house), while older development as they enter the preschool
preschoolers create more elaborate play age.
schemes that may involve superheroes
(Galotti, 2017). Preschoolers’ imagina-
tion develops when they take on different
roles in play. At this stage, they take on
Linguistic Development
the roles of firefighter and other familiar
figures. As reviewed in previous chapters, lan-
Play is an important factor in the guage consists of five areas: phonology,
development of language. Children must morphology, syntax, semantics, and prag-
achieve the language skills to create and matics. Bloom and Lahey (1978) identified
explain the play scheme to other chil- three major components comprising lan-
dren. For example, play involves the use guage: form, content, and use.
of narrative structures to develop a play
scheme. Preschoolers must use their lan- Language form includes phonology,
guage skills to explain the goals, events, morphology, and syntax. These
plans, and outcomes of the play scheme. language areas are similar in that
Preschoolers who engage with peers in they define the structure and rules of
play demonstrate higher receptive vocab- language.
ulary skills than children who predomi-
Language content refers to the area of
nantly engage in parallel play (Holmes,
semantics, or the meaning of words
Romero, Ciraola, & Grushko, 2015). In
and the relationship of these words to
addition, more complex play skills predict
one another.
better narrative skills during the school-
age years (Stagnitti & Lewis, 2015). By 3 Language use describes the pragmatic
to 5 years of age, children use their lan- and social components of language.
guage skills to create and maintain play
schemes, relying less on the use of props. While these five areas are each distinct,
At age 5, when symbolic and pretend they also interact dynamically with one
play skills involve coordinated sequences another. For example, as a preschooler’s
of events (e.g., shopping, cooking, and vocabulary increases, she or he is able to
putting baby to bed), time relations produce lengthier sentences. This reflects
appear, such as first, next, before, and after. the interaction between semantic, mor-
Children acquire the distinction between phological, and syntactic skills.
the temporal relations before and after in
later stages of preschool development.
Phonology
Children’s cognitive and play skills
develop during this stage. They have Phonology is the part of language that
now achieved the language and contains rules that govern the structure,
cognitive skills that allow for the type distribution, and sequencing of speech
of imaginative play that includes sounds to create words. Initially, chil-
interaction with peers. dren make production errors that are
termed phonological processes (Table 5–1).
Table 5–1. Phonological Processes
Phonological Process Adult Target Child’s Production

Unstressed syllable banana “nanuh”
deletion
Reduplication daddy “dada”
Consonant cluster stop “top”
reduction
Final consonant deletion bus “bu”
Initial consonant deletion cup “up”
Syllable repetition daddy “dada”
Fronting (back sound cup “tup”
produced as a front sound)
Backing (front sound top “cop”
produced as a back sound)
Assimilation dog “gog”
cat “cac” or “tat”
Vocalization car “cah”
Prevocalic voicing top “dop”
Depalatization chew “too”
Gliding run “wun”
lip “wip”
Epenthesis cup “cupuh”
Studies on phonemic and phonological containing specific speech sounds in their

development in children have demon- early word productions, and children’s
strated a wide range of ages in which production errors have been attributed to
children demonstrate the mastery of spe- their weak representations or knowledge
cific speech sounds (Bauman-Waengler & of phonemes (Stoel-Gammon, 2011).
Davis, 2016). Syllable structure refers to the com-
Phonological processes are typically position and sequencing of consonants
described in three broad categories: syl- and syllables within a word. An example
lable structure processes, substitution of syllable structure process is a child’s
processes, and assimilation processes. deletion of a syllable from a word that
Children demonstrate selectivity to words consists of two or more syllables, such as
puter produced in place of the word com- stops) for another (e.g., fricatives). Exam-
puter. This phonological process is also ples include the following.
referred to as syllable deletion or reduc-
tion. Syllable reduction is the deletion of Stopping ton /tn/ for sun /sn/
a syllable from a word containing two or
Fronting tea /ti/ for key /ki/
more syllables.
Gliding
wabbit /wbIt/ for rabbit
/rbIt/
The simplest syllable for children to
produce is an open syllable structure.
Assimilation processes consist of the pro-
An open syllable is one in which the
duction of a speech sound that is similar
final sound in the syllable is a vowel
to another sound in the same word, as
(V), e.g., bee. A closed syllable is one
shown in the example below. Progressive
that ends in a consonant (C), e.g., beet.
assimilation consists of a speech sound
taking on the characteristics of a preced-
Whole word processes include redu- ing sound within the word (i.e., initial
plication, final consonant deletion, cluster phoneme /k/ produced in place of the
reduction, and unstressed syllable omission. final phoneme /t/).
Reduplication: Daddy /ddi/ kak /kk/ for cat /kt/

produced as dada /dd/
Regressive assimilation consists of a
Final consonant deletion: Bus /bs/
speech sound that takes on the character-
produced as buh /b/
istics of a succeeding sound (i.e., the final
Cluster reduction: Stop /stAp/ phoneme /t/ produced in place of the ini-
produced as top /tAp/ tial phoneme /k/).
Unstressed syllable omission: Banana
tat /tt/ for cat /kt/
/b@nn@/ produced as nana /nn@/
Some children have difficulty dis-
An example of the difference between criminating the difference between two
a stressed and unstressed syllable is similar phonemes, which typically will
in the difference in the meaning of result in substitution processes (e.g., f/v,
the following words: PREsent and s/z, and p/b). As children achieve the
preSENT. In the first example, the ability to judge the correct production of
meaning of the word is a gift (e.g., a sound, their productions achieve adult
I gave her a birthday present). In forms of the target words. While there
the second example, the meaning is variability in children’s accurate word
of this word is to give something to production, most phonological processes
someone (e.g., presenting an award). disappear by age 4. The intelligibility
of a child’s speech is how clear and eas-
ily understood the speaker’s speech is
Substitution processes consist of the to a listener. By age 4, a child’s speech
substitution of one phonemic class (e.g., is typically judged to be 100% intelligible
to strangers, with intelligibility at 50% at Function words include determiners (a,

age 2 and at 75% at age 3 (Flipsen, 2006). an, the, that), conjunctions (and, or, but),
prepositions (in, on, under), pronouns
(she, he, we, they), auxiliary verbs (am, is,
Morphology are, was, were, be, been), modals (can, could,
shall, should, may, might), and quantifiers
Morphemes are the smallest units of (some, an, much, many, few).
meaning in a language. Note that the
word cat cannot be reduced to one or
two phonemes (e.g., /k/ or /t/) without Function words, such as determiners
the loss of the meaning of the word cat. (e.g., the, a, an), do not have content
At approximately age 3, a child’s gram- meanings, such as nouns and verbs.
matical morphology begins to emerge. Instead, their definition is based on
Grammatical morphemes can be free their use or function.
or bound. A free morpheme is a whole-
word morpheme that can stand alone as a A bound morpheme serves a gram-
word, while bound morphemes must be matical purpose and can be attached to a
attached to other morphemes. Free mor- free morpheme. Bound morphemes can
phemes include content words and func- be either inflectional or derivational.
tion words. Inflectional morphemes maintain the
word’s grammatical category (e.g., noun,
Content words: nouns, verbs, or verb.) and add a grammatical feature
adjectives, and adverbs to that word, such as indicating posses-
Function words: modify or link sion or tense. Children’s grammatical
content words together within a morpheme development is shown in
sentence Table 5–2.
Table 5–2. Grammatical Morpheme Development Ages 3–5
Age Morpheme Example

3 Regular plural -s The boys are playing.
3 Possessive ’s That is the girl’s hat.
3 Uncontractible copula She is. (in response to “who is
pretty?)
3 Articles I have a ball.
Mommy pulled the wagon.
4–5 Regular past tense He kicked me.
4–5 Contractible auxiliary Daddy’s eating.
Source: Reproduced with permission from Language Development: Under-
standing Language Diversity in the Classroom (p. 144), by S. Levey & S.
Polirstok (Eds.), 2011, Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Possession mommy’s hat to utilize grammatical cues in an adult’s

Tense I walked home language productions in order to facili-
tate comprehension and development
There are differences in the use of inflec- of grammatical categories. For example,
tional morphemes, shown in the irregular the use of an article (e.g., the) would indi-
adjective forms that are exceptions to the cate to a child that the following word is
rule of adding the inflectional regular suf- a noun. Semantic bootstrapping refers to
fixes -er and -est. Examples are shown for conceptual approaches to learning. For
the words good and bad. example, children create grammatical
categories with objects and living entities
Comparative Form better, worse placed in the category noun, while actions
Superlative Form best, worst are placed in the category of verb. Chil-
dren utilize this semantic information (the
Derivational morphology emerges in meaning of a word and its relationship to
the later preschool and early school-age other objects or entities) to infer meaning
stages. Derivational morphemes change and its place within a sentence. These cat-
the grammatical category of the word, as egories are expanded with other language
shown in the example of the verb teach factors, such as morphemes.
becoming the noun teacher (i.e., teach + er).
Sentence Types
Syntactic Development A sentence is a syntactic structure that
presents a complete thought (Justice &
Syntax describes how words, phrases, Ezell, 2016). Once children begin to com-
clauses, and sentences are combined bine two words to produce sentences, they
within a language to form sentences demonstrate the emergence of syntax. The
(Angell, 2009). The early precursors to earliest sentence structures to emerge are
syntactic development can be found in declarative sentences, which follow a
children’s word combinations (Singleton subject + verb + object (SVO) structure,
& Shulman, 2013). Developmental growth e.g., The dog ate the cookies. Examples of
occurs rather rapidly in this domain, with preschoolers’ syntactic development are
early syntactic connections mastered shown in Table 5–4.
at approximately 30 months of age and Interrogative sentences, consisting of
adult-like syntax evident by age 4 (Owens, questions, appear at approximately age 3.
2016). Table 5–3 provides examples of typ- An interrogative sentence requires subject
ical utterances produced by preschoolers. inversion and auxiliary verbs (e.g., am, is,
One theory of syntactic development are, was, were), as shown in the develop-
is that children rely on a strategy called ment of interrogative sentence produc-
bootstrapping. In this theory, children tions shown below.
utilize syntactic or semantic cues in lan-
guage in order to “pull” themselves up to Sleep?
more advanced linguistic skills (Gleitman,
Mommy sleeping?
1990; Hacquard, 2014; Jin & Fisher, 2014).
Syntactic bootstrapping is a child’s ability Is Mommy sleeping?
Table 5–3. Typical Utterances Produced by Preschoolers
Communicative Function Example

Requesting information What’s that?
(using a variety of questions) Can I go now?
Is he eating candy?
Where are you going?
Why can’t I have it?
Responding to requests It’s in my closet.

(answering a question or I don’t want it.
supplying information)
I didn’t do it.
He did it.
Describing events, objects, or It’s a red truck.

properties He’s building it slowly.
That’s a tractor.
There’s a crane.
Stating facts, feelings, I feel sick.

attitudes, and beliefs Ghosts are not real.
I don’t like it.
Encoding from a picture book The boy and the girl got into
the van and the van took
them to the train.
Describing a plan First, I’ll build the tracks,

then I’ll make the train.
Describing a past experience She pushed me so hard I fell

down and hurt myself.
Complaining You always give the big one

to him.
Criticizing Your picture is yucky.
Annoying I’ll do it again and again and

again and again.
Threatening Give it back or I will tell

Mommy.
Polirstok (Eds.), 2011, Los Angeles CA: Sage.
128
Table 5–4. Syntactic Development Ages 3–5
Age Morphosyntactic Characteristics Examples

3 Simple sentences and difference
sentence types are in the child’s
repertoire
a. Declaratives a. I’m eating
b. Interrogatives b. What are you eating?
c. Imperatives c. Push the truck.
d. Negatives d. No more chicken.
e. Use of quantities e. I have two trucks.
f. Use of adjectives f. He has a red ball.
g. Use of adverbs g. She runs fast.
3½–4 Embedded phrases in sentences. The man in the hat is driving.

Subordinate clauses in sentences. Before you go, put on your coat.
4–5 Conjoined sentences using I play the drums and she plays the
conjunctions “and,” “because,” and piano.
“but” I cried because he hit me.
I like cookies but not fish.
Source: Reproduced with permission from Language Development: Understanding Language Diversity
in the Classroom (p. 144), by S. Levey & S. Polirstok (Eds.), 2011, Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
At 35 to 40 months of age, children can’t go?). Negative interrogatives do not

begin to produce indirect and embedded emerge until approximately age 5, when
Wh-questions. children acquire negative modal auxiliary
verbs (e.g., can’t and don’t).
Direct question: Danny asked, “Can
I come to play?” Can’t I have a cookie with my juice?
Indirect question: Danny asked me if
Negative sentences are productions in
I can come to play.
which the child demonstrates a rejection
Embedded Wh-questions: I don’t or protest, shown in the following devel-
know what happened; I don’t know opment of negative sentences.
when it happened.
No juice
At 31 to 34 months of age, interrogative
I don’t want juice
reversals are produced, with an increased
use of Wh-questions emerging (e.g., Why I I don’t want juice with my cake
Imperative sentences include a demand During stage III (31–34 months), the sen-
or request. Children transition from label- tences are expanded with modifiers and
ing an item as a command to producing articles.
full sentences.
My mommy makes yummy cookies.
Ball
At stage IV (34 months +), children’s
Give me the ball
utterances expand to include a wider vari-
Throw the ball to me ety of modifiers and an increased usage of
pronouns.
Sentence Elements That boy kicked the red ball to his friend.
Noun Phrases Verb Phrases

Noun phrases contain the main subject of During stage I of development, a child
the sentence, including words that modify produces single verbs, as syntactic struc-
the noun, such as: tures have yet to develop (e.g., drink, play,
go). By stage II (27–30 months), children
Articles: a, an, the produce verbs with early acquired gram-
Quantifiers: some, many, all matical morphemes, such as the pres-
ent progressive -ing (e.g., playing). Early
Possessive pronouns: mine, your infinitives begin to emerge (e.g., I want to
play).
Demonstratives: this, that
Numerical terms: one, two, three
Infinitives refer to the use of the
Adjectives: happy, black, large word to before a verb, e.g., She wanted
to swim, to drive, to run, to eat.
Ordinals: first, second, third
Children typically go through four At stage III, auxiliaries are acquired (e.g.,
stages of noun phrase development, am, is, are, don’t, can’t) and the past tense -ed
which correspond to Brown’s (1973) stages is observed in regular verbs (e.g., walked).
of development. During stage I (ages 18 The past tense -ed is also produced in the
to 25 months), children produce predom- overregularization of irregular verbs (goed
inantly single words. During this stage, instead of went). Prepositional phrases are
syntax has not begun to fully emerge, as attached to verb phrases to mark the loca-
two-word utterances provide the struction of the object in the sentence (i.e., on
ture required for syntactic development. the bed) (Figure 5–1).
At stage II (27 to 30 months), sentence By stages IV and V, modal auxiliaries
production is expanded, as shown in the appear in children’s productions (e.g., can,
following example. could, would, should). Modal auxiliaries are
verbs that are combined with other verbs
Mommy makes cookies. to express obligation (You should eat your
S (Sentence)
NP (Noun Phrase) VP (Verb Phrase)
PP (Prepositional Phrase)
NP
Noun Verb Preposition Determiner Noun
Elmo is on the bed
Figure 5–1. The structure of a sentence to demonstrate a prepositional phrase.
dinner), uncertainty (I could go to the mov- tences (e.g., I would like to come, but I have
ies if my mother says okay), ability (I can to finish my homework).
lift this stone), permission (You can use my
bike), or future possibilities (I will go to the Embedding and Conjoining
party). Modal auxiliaries are acquired in
the following order of development: can, Between 36 and 48 months of age, chil-
could, shall, should, will, would, may, might, dren advance from simple sentences to
and must (Wells, 1985). longer and more complex sentences. The
By stage V, most children have fully emergence of complex sentences begins
acquired regular and irregular past tense with conjoined or coordinated sentences,
verbs (Owens, 2016). Examples consist of referred to as compound sentences. These
the regular past tense verbs walked and sentences comprise two main clauses that
talked and the irregular past tense verbs are conjoined by the conjunction and, or,
caught and threw. Conjunctions (e.g., and, but, or because. The conjunction and is the
but, if, because) are also produced, which first conjunction produced by preschool-
allow the creation of more complex sen- ers. Between 48 and 60 months of age,
children begin to demonstrate complex 1985; Oetting, Rice, & Swank, 1995; Rice
sentences in their embedding of phrases & Hoffman, 2015). The ability to acquire
and subordinate clauses. A subordinate words is attributed to the skill of fast map-
clause cannot stand alone in a sentence ping. Fast mapping is a child’s ability to
and serves as a grammatical unit within internalize or learn a symbol (the word/
the sentence. Subordination contributes vocabulary item) after minimal exposures
to increased syntactic complexity. A sub- to a word.
ordinate clause is a clause that contains a During the late preschool period,
subject and predicate but is not a complete children’s word definitions are concrete.
sentence. More abstract word definitions appear
with the acquisition of synonymy (i.e.,
The dog that lives next door is nice. words with similar features, such as sick
and ill), explanation (i.e., giving the rea-
I played ball until my mom called me.
son for an action), and specifications of
Whoever broke the window should categorical relationships (e.g., placing dog
explain what happened. and bird in the category animal) (Bernstein
& Levey, 2009). Children learn that the
word block can now apply to their neigh-
borhood (going around the block) and to
Semantics obstructions (He blocked me and I couldn’t
get through).
Semantics is the component of language
that describes how meaning is conveyed
Abstract lexical terms do not label
by words, sentences, conversation, and
objects or observable actions.
narratives. Semantic development begins
Abstract terms label concepts, such
with children’s vocabulary development.
as time, while concrete terms label
Vocabulary increases rapidly, starting at
observable things and actions that
age 2 (Golinkoff, Mervis, & Hirsh-Pasek,
can be pointed at in the environment.
1994) with 900 to 1,000 words at 3 years of
age, 1,500 words at 4 years of age, and
over 2,000 words acquired by age 5 Abstract lexical terms, such as words for
(Owens, Farinella, & Metz, 2014). Over time (before, later, soon), present difficulties
time, children expand and extend the for younger children because their mean-
meaning of words to apply to related ing is not apparent or visible. For exam-
objects or entities. For example, many ani- ple, utterances that indicate time (e.g., in
mal names are first learned from books a minute) are always difficult for a child
read to young children (e.g., cat). The to understand when asking When can I get
meaning of the word cat is extended to a cookie? During the preschool stage, chil-
other entities when a child visits a zoo. dren have an incomplete understanding of
When this occurs, children learn that the more abstract terms that refer to the actual
word cat can refer to kitty cat, tiger, and lion. duration of time (Shatz, Tare, Nguyen, &
New words are learned quickly fol- Young, 2010). For example, children were
lowing initial representations in both asked questions including, How long does
didactic (direct teaching) and informal it take to see a movie? How long does it take to
contexts (Apel, Kahmi, & Dollaghan, eat breakfast? and How long does it take for
puppies to grow up to be dogs? They were

given the option of answering days, hours, mean at least some and possibly all.
or years. Preschoolers’ knowledge of these The difference between the quanti-
terms was found to be incomplete, with fiers some and any is acquired by
better understanding of these terms at 4 years of age.
age 6.
Children learn new concepts and
how to code these concepts linguistically
The Mental Lexicon by forming sentences to convey their
ideas and knowledge. The main concepts
The mental lexicon is a mental dictionary acquired between 2 and 5 years of age
that holds all the words that an individual consist of spatial concepts (location), tem-
has acquired. Children’s mental lexicon poral concepts (time), quantity concepts
is organized according to phonological (number), quality concepts (description),
similarity, with words that differ by one and social emotional concepts (feelings),
phoneme, referred to as phonological as shown in the following examples:
neighbors. Words that are phonologically
similar to many other words are said to Spatial concepts: in, on, over, between,
“reside” in phonologically dense neigh- across, along
borhoods. A word’s neighborhood size,
also referred to as its neighborhood den- Temporal concepts: before, after, later
sity, has been defined as the number of Quantity concepts: more, less, empty,
words similar to one another (e.g., mat and full
rat as neighbors of the word cat). Children
learn new words faster if the words are of Quality concepts: rough, smooth, hard,
low phonological density, while the orga- soft
nization of these words is restructured as Social emotional concepts: happy, sad
children are introduced to new vocabulary
(Hoover, Storkel, & Hogan, 2010). The terms more/less and same/different
present difficulty for preschoolers. They
There are some aspects of language may choose the size of an object to inter-
that present younger preschoolers pret both more and less (Owens, 2016).
with difficulty, such as certain For example, younger preschoolers may
determiners and quantifiers. The choose a larger object, rather than a larger
determiner the refers to a specific number of objects, to represent more.
thing (the book) and a refers to a
general set of things (a book). Children
frequently make mistakes in article Semantic Relations
use until age 4 (Zdorenko & Paradis,
2011). The quantifiers some and any Single words express meaning, such as the
also present younger preschoolers words daddy and go. When these words
with difficulty (Hurewitz, Papa are combined to form a sentence, a seman-
fragou, Gleitman, & Gelman, 2006). tic relation exists. Examples of semantic
Some 3-year-olds interpret some to relations expressed by preschoolers can
be found in Table 5–5. Semantic relations
Table 5–5. Semantic Relations Produced by Preschoolers
Agent + action He is throwing the ball.
Action + object I am eating the pear.
Demonstrative That’s a ball.
Entity + attribute The stove is hot.
Entity + location The doggie is in the bed.
Possessor + possession This is my doll.
Recurrence Can I have more juice?
Disappearance The juice is all gone.
Negation I don’t want to go to bed.
describe the relationship among words Temporal Relations

in the sentence. For example, the words
big and bug each have a meaning. When Temporal relations include the terms
a younger child combines thee words to before, after, when, since, and while. Children
form the phrase Big bug, a semantic rela- first acquire terms that refer to sequencing
tionship is created (i.e., attribute + entity). (then, before, after), followed by the acqui-
sition of terms that refer to simultaneity
(while, at the same time). Terms that refer
Relational Terms to sequence and duration (since, until) are
acquired at the school-age stage (Winskel,
During the preschool years, children 2003).
acquire relational terms that apply to tem- Preschool-age children must achieve
poral (time), spatial (location), and physi- knowledge of syntactic structure to under-
cal (place) concepts. Children also begin stand the terms before and after. Instead of
to acquire relational terms that apply to relying on the syntactic structure of sen-
kinship relations. Examples of these rela- tences that contain these terms, younger
tional terms include: children rely on the order of mention. The
order of mention refers to the order of
Temporal relational terms: before/after events that are reported in a spoken utter-
Locational relational terms: in/on ance. The following example presents the
chronological order of events (first, put
Physical relational terms: high/low on his shoes; second, ate a cookie) that are
Kinship terms: mother/father consistent with the order of mention (first,
put on his shoes; second, ate a cookie).
Examples of the development of loca-
tional, physical, and kinship relational He put on his shoes before he ate a
terms can be found in Table 5–6. cookie.
Table 5–6. The Acquisition of Locational, Physical,Temporal, and

Kinship Terms
Locational
Age Relationship Physical Kinship Term
3–4 Under Big/little Mommy/Daddy
Heavy/light
4–4.6 Next to Tall/short Mother/father

Behind Long/short Sister/brother
In back of Hard/soft
In front of
School Right/left Deep/shallow Uncle/cousin

age
Polirstok (Eds.), 2011, Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
In the following example, the order of dren to better understand the connection
mention does not follow the chronological between events and time.
order of events. In this example, the order
of mention (first, ate a cookie; second, put
on his shoes) is not consistent with the Children are able to recall and
chronological order of events (first, put on discuss past events at 2 to 3 years of
his shoes; second, ate his cookie). age, but reference to the actual time
of past events may not occur until 35
Before he ate his cookie, he put on his to 40 months of age (Peterson, 1990).
shoes. Children frequently use yesterday as a
term for any period in the past.
Children rely on the order of mention
until 4 to 6 years of age, with better under-
standing of syntax and the terms before
and after at age 7 (Blything, Davies, & Physical Relations
Cain, 2015; Owens, 2016).
Temporal relations, such as yesterday Children acquire the physical relations
and tomorrow, are better understood with big/little as young as 2 years of age (Sand-
exposure to adults’ use of these terms hofer & Smith, 2001), while other physical
(Hudson, 2006). By age 4, children are relations are learned later.
better able to conceptualize the timeframe
for events occurring in the past or future, Big/little
which contributes to their understanding
Tall/short and long/short
of the terms yesterday and tomorrow. Expo-
sure to the use of these terms allows chil- High/low
Thick/thin not require a listener’s response. In contrast

Deep/shallow to conversational interaction, narratives
consist of an extended monologue that
Wide/narrow
incorporates the use of intonation, gesture,
and prosody, along with the description of
Locational Terms an event. Narrative involves a story struc-
ture that includes the setting (who are the
Children must establish a good grasp of characters, when did the event take place,
the environment before they learn the and where did the event take place), the
words associated with spatial concepts. action being discussed, feelings associated
Spatial terms begin with simple configu- with the action or event, and some sort of
rations, such as in/on. Children begin by outcome. The elements of a narrative must
describing one target object (e.g., a book) be connected and expressed according to
in relation to a single landmark (e.g., on a the actual sequence of events (i.e., what
table). Children understand support rela- happened first, next, last).
tions (in/on) before proximity relations There may also be differences in
(by and next to). Configurations learned the structure of narratives produced by
later are between, across, and along (Weist, speakers of different languages. However,
2002). Consequently, children will have a all narrative styles include sharing and
better understanding of the toy is in the bag recounting of personal events and expe-
than the toy is next to the bag or the book is riences, self-generated stories, telling and
between the bag and the box. Before age 4, retelling of familiar tales, and the retelling
children use in, on, and over to label object of stories from movies, books, and televi-
location, whereas up, down, and off are sion shows. Initially, children’s narrative
used as locational prepositions (e.g., stand development lacks a cohesive or complete
up, sit down) (Owens, 2016). order of events, as shown in Table 5–7
(Bernstein, 2011). The full order of narra-
Prepositions expressing spatial relative elements emerges at age 5.
tions can address location or direction. At 3 years of age, children produce
Prepositions of location appear with additive chains, a set of events that relate to
verbs describing a state or condition a central topic, with no particular tempo-
of an object or entity (e.g., in the box). ral order. This level of narrative consists of
Prepositions of direction appear with sequences of events that can be arranged
verbs of motion (e.g., stand up). in any order with no effect on the mean-
ing of the narrative. Apel and Masterson
(1998, p. 5) provide an example of this
We now explore the development of level of narrative produced by a child
children’s narrative skills. Learning this aged 4 years and 5 months.
aspect of semantics begins when young
children are exposed to the structure of My mom went to outer space. And she
narratives in stories that are read to them. saw a monster. And she ate moon cake.
And she saw everything but nothing else.
Narrative Development That was it.
Narrative is a form of discourse that differs Temporal chains are produced between
from conversation because narratives do 3 and 5 years of age, when narrative is
Table 5–7. Narratives Produced by Preschoolers
Age Narrative Type Example

3 Primitive Has a concrete core with minimal
detail
4 Unfocused chains Presents a story, at times drifts off
5 Focused chains Has a main character and a series of
events
5+ True narratives Thematic bonds and complex syntax
which hold narratives together.
Stories contain setting information,
a series of events, as well as
consequences and motivations.
Source: Reproduced with permission from Language Development: Understand-
ing Language Diversity in the Classroom (p. 151), by S. Levey & S. Polirstok
(Eds.), 2011, Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
structured to include sequential infor- Internal response: Characters’ feelings

mation, expressed by temporal or timed about the initiating event
sequences of events.
Internal plan: Statement about fixing
One day, I went to the park. A big boy the problem
pushed a little boy and he fell down. He Attempt: Action to solve a problem
cried. The end.
Consequence: Event or events
At around 5 years of age, children following the attempt
produce simple causal chains that present
an episode (a set of smaller scenes strung Resolution/reaction: The final state
together to make a longer story). This following the attempt
level of narrative structure consists of ini- Ending: A statement ending the story
tiating event, attempt, and consequence. The
elements that are absent include setting, With all elements present, the Winnie
internal response, internal plan, resolution, the Pooh story would include the follow-
and ending. In the causal chain, events ing elements (bolded) to provide a full
are related by causal dependency because narrative episode.
events cause other events. By 7 to 8 years
of age, children produce a complete epi- One day, Winnie the Pooh lost his honey
sode, summarized next. pot. He was sad. He decided to go out
and find more honey. He met some bees.
Setting: Introduction of characters,
The bees told him to take some honey from
time, and place
the tree. He was happy because he got
Initiating event: Problem (e.g., a more honey. He lived happily ever
broken toy) after.
Two types of narratives are pro- the form and structure of language, such
duced by older preschool-age children: as rules for forming sentences and phono-
personal narratives, a description of logical features that form and distinguish
“what happened,” and fictional nar- words and the meaning of words (Berko
ratives, drawn from a child’s imagina- Gleason & Bernstein Ratner, 2017). Meta-
tion. Children use personal narratives to linguistic awareness allows children to
describe their own experiences. Personal recognize syntactic, semantic, and pho-
narratives can consist of decontextual- nological components that may contain
ized narratives that are descriptions of errors, as shown in the following exam-
people, objects, and events absent from ples (Kahmi & Koenig, 1985, p. 209):
the immediate environment. Personal
narrative can also consist of contextual- Syntactic awareness: Where “he go?”
ized narratives that consist of every day versus Where is he going?
conversation. Cohesive devices are used
Semantic awareness: Jill “eats” cards
to provide a well-organized narrative by
versus Jill plays cards
creating a connection between elements
of the story. These are linguistic devices Phonological awareness: He “locks”
that refer to a previously stated person to school versus He walks to school
or object (Gabig, 2014) and are used to
connect parts of a conversation or narra- Typically developing children can
tive. Examples consist of and, then, when, identify and revise errors by age 4, but
because, so, then, if, but, and that. These are metalinguistic skills do not fully develop
terms that are learned beginning with until age 7 or 8. Metalinguistic skills
and. Cohesive devices consist of addi- require the development of intact lan-
tive, temporal, and causal conjunctions. guage skills and differentiate typical from
atypical language development. Meta-
Additives Conjunctions that link linguistic awareness is also a factor in
clauses through addition developing intact literacy skills for read-
(e.g., and) ing and writing abilities. For example,
metalinguistic awareness plays a role in
Temporal Conjunctions that link
phonological skills, providing children
clauses temporally (e.g.,
with the ability to recognize rhymes (e.g.,
then, next)
cat, hat, and bat) and to identify sounds
Causal Conjunctions that link in words (e.g., the word cat contains the
clauses causally (e.g., three sounds “c,” “a,” and “t”). In sum-
because, so) mary, metalinguistic awareness is present
when children develop the ability to think
about language itself (Yopp &Yopp, 2010).
Metalinguistic Awareness
Pragmatics
Metalinguistic awareness appears dur-
ing the preschool years, providing chil-
dren with the ability to consciously reflect Pragmatics involves the appropriate use
on the nature and properties of language. of language based on three major commu-
This ability allows children to reflect on nication skills:
◆ The use of language to greet, inform, Indirect Requests

and request (e.g., saying hello, giving
information, asking for something in In the preschool period, children begin
an appropriate manner) to understand and use indirect requests
◆ The ability to change and adapt (Bates, 1976; Wells, 1985). When children
language to different persons and situa- acquire modal auxiliaries (e.g., can, could,
tions to maximize their understanding would, and might), they begin to under-
(e.g., providing background informa- stand that an indirect request is a more
tion so the listener will understand appropriate form to convey the underly-
the topic and simplifying language so ing intention (e.g., to get a cookie or to go
younger listeners can understand) to the playground). Between 3 and 4 years
◆ The ability to follow rules in conver- of age, children produce indirect requests
sation (e.g., turn-taking, maintaining a through the use of modal auxiliaries (e.g.,
topic, staying on topic). Can I have a cookie?). Modals first appear
with the production of can at about 30
Children first understand how to produce months of age.
polite requests to achieve a better outcome
when asking for something. By age 3, chil- can and will: 2 years and 6 months
dren begin to use the word please. Later,
children produce indirect speech acts should and could: 2 years 9 months to
(e.g., Can I go to the playground?) at about 3 years
3½ to 4 years of age (Bates, 1976; Leech, may, might, and must: 3 years
2016). Preschoolers are also better able to
elaborate on topics and discuss activities The negative forms of the earlier
(Berko Gleason & Bernstein Ratner, 2017). learned modal auxiliaries may appear
Pragmatics also describes the rules as early as 30 months (can’t, won’t, and
for communicative interaction. Examples don’t) (Owens, 2016). Inversion appears
include adapting to a listener’s needs, around age 3 for earlier acquired modal
initiating a conversation, turn taking in a auxiliaries.
conversation, and forming polite requests
(Westby, 1980). From 36 to 48 months, Why can’t you come?
conversations are maintained through
extended turn-taking. Children make con-
versational repairs and correct others.
There are indirect speech acts that
Humor is inserted into social exchanges
require a child to infer a meaning
and language begins to become more
that goes beyond the words that are
abstract and figurative. Preschoolers are
being used. For example, when a
able to advocate for themselves and pro-
speaker says, “This is a salad fork,”
vide justifications in their reasoning. As
the child must draw the inference
they get older, children begin to ask more
that this fork is only to be used
questions for clarification, to gain infor-
for eating salad, along with the
mation and word meanings. During the
understanding that the other forks in
preschool years, joint play with peers
the kitchen are to be used for other
begins to emerge. By the end of age 3, chil-
foods. This inference is made through
dren rely on verbal language, rather than
understanding the meaning that is
physicality, to communicate.
Understand the main point of the

being communicated by the indirect conversation
speech act. The ability to understand
the inference of a speaker’s utterance Make sure the topic is understood by
begins to appear in preschool-aged others in the interaction
children (Horowitz & Frank, 2016).
Preschool-age children learn to take
turns in a conversation, to maintain the
conversational topic, and to contribute
new and relevant information. Children
Conversational Development are able to maintain a topic established by
a speaker by age 3½. There is considerable
Conversation is a communicative event growth in the length, variety, and complex-
that requires a speaker and a listener. Con- ity of children’s conversational narratives
versation involves a setting, a topic, rules from 3 to 5 years of age. By age 4, children
for taking turns as speaker and listener, may produce three to nine sentences in
and common knowledge shared between narrative conversation, whereas 3-year-
the speaker and listener to ensure a suc- olds produce four. By age 5, the major
cessful interaction. Children’s early con- change is providing greater information
versation lacks these conventions that for the listener in terms of temporal orien-
govern successful communication. Fre- tation (when something has occurred).
quently, their conversation begins with The conversational topics of 4-year-
the assumption of shared information. For olds consist of enacting scenarios, describ-
example, a 2-year-old held up a toy to a ing, and problem solving (Schober-Peterson
telephone receiver and said, Mommy, look & Johnson, 1989). At ages 3 to 5, children
at my new toy, based on the assumption will attempt to repair a breakdown by
that his mother shared his perspective. repeating the previous word or utterance,
These early conversational attempts lack rather than providing a clarification.
a TOM because children lack an under-
standing of what a listener sees or knows
(which differs from the child’s own per- A communication breakdown
spective of the situation or context). occurs when a listener has difficulty
Children achieve the principles that understanding what has been
govern conversation once they develop communicated. Conversational
the language skills and rules for conversa- breakdowns can result from
tional interaction (Brinton & Fujiki, 1989), articulation difficulties, incomplete
as shown in the following conversational information, or lack of attention to
rules that are acquired when children the topic (Roth & Spekman, 1984).
develop more advanced language and
pragmatic skills: At age 2½, children are inconsistent
in their understanding of the need to
Introduce topics with appropriate repair a breakdown when communica-
referents (background information) tion fails (Shatz & O’Reilly, 1990). At age 2,
clarification requests consist of confused
Do not interrupt other speakers
facial expressions. Young preschool-age
Contribute to a topic children request clarification by asking
Huh? or What? (Ninio & Snow, 1996). children learn to talk about objects absent
It is not until the early school-age years from the immediate environment, events
that children are able to request specific in the past and future, and personal
clarification for better understanding of a experiences.
speaker’s message.
By age 4, children can adopt different
roles in conversation by adjusting pitch
Humor
and loudness. For example, they use a
deeper and louder voice when taking
on a male role in play. By age 4, children Conversational skills frequently involve
are able to use motherese (child-directed the use of humor. By age 2, children invent
speech) when interacting with younger their own jokes (Hoicka & Akhtar, 2011).
children. This consists of a higher pitch Examples consist of handing an adult the
and quieter voice. Register refers to the incorrect object (giving a spoon when
language style used for a specific purpose asked for a cup) or making up names for
or to adapt to a specific social context. For things (calling a cup a silly or another
example, when speaking before a class, a name). At age 3, children are more likely
speaker will be careful to use a more for- to laugh when mislabeling items in this
mal style of speech. Register also includes manner. Examples of children’s develop-
the politeness forms developed when pre- ment of humor include the use of incon-
schoolers learn that vocabulary and gram- gruity (e.g., a bowl for a hat at 18 to 24
mar play a role in communication, such as months), appreciation of jokes (2 to 7
the use of indirect requests (e.g., Can I have years of age), and enjoyment of puns, sat-
a cookie?). By age 5, they purposefully use ire, and ambiguous meanings as children
polite forms. Topic maintenance ensures develop greater vocabulary skills at later
cohesion (connection between elements) in ages (e.g., she has bear feet versus bare
a conversation. At age 2, only half of contri- feet; McGhee, 1980). Humor also plays a
butions to a conversation are on topic. role in children’s socialization, with most
By age 3½, children can sustain a research showing a relationship between
topic of conversation about 75% of the play and humor.
time but are better able to sustain a topic
when they are interested or actively Understanding humor depends on
engaged in the topic at hand. Turn-taking a child’s ability to recognize incon-
is also a factor in conversation. This refers gruity (an absurd or strange situation
to taking turns as speaker and listener. or action). Incongruity involves an
Children have difficulty sustaining that event or story resulting in an illogical
topic beyond one or two turns at ages 2½ conclusion or action (e.g., a shoe
to 3, but 5-year-olds can sustain a conver- used as a hat). The understanding
sation for about 12 turns, based on more of the incongruity of an unexpected
advanced vocabulary and language skills outcome is humor, with the response
(Hoyte, Degotardi, & Torr, 2015). Con- of laughter. Understanding that there
versation frequently requires referring was an unexpected, incongruous
to entities or events that are absent from result reflects a child’s ability to
the context, defined as decontextualized understand humor (Southam, 2005).
language. During the preschool years,
Children begin to enjoy riddles at conversation and interaction because

ages 3 to 4 (What do you call a rabbit who children can put themselves into
tells jokes? A funny bunny) (Southam, the listener’s shoes and understand
2005). Humor in riddles and jokes requires others’ feelings, beliefs, and intended
understanding that words may sound the meanings.
same but are spelled differently and have ◆ Syntactic development is character-
different meanings (bear/bare) (Bernstein ized by the production of a greater
& Levey, 2009). For older children, humor range of sentence types and expanded
often involves linguistic ambiguity, such sentence length.
as the example of phonological ambiguity ◆ Syntactic skills reflect greater sentence
shown below (i.e., sick-tick). complexity at around age 3 with the
production of sentences that include a
Why did the clock go to the doctor? main clause (e.g., I think) and a subor-
Because he was tick. dinate clause (e.g., that) to produce
sentences such as I think that I like that.
In summary, infants show an appreciation ◆ Children now produce auxiliary verbs
of humor, while preschoolers truly appre- (e.g., is, are) and morphological inflec-
ciate the use of humor when interacting tions (inflectional and derivational
with peers. morphemes).
◆ Pragmatic development reflects the
use of more polite forms of request,
such as the use of please by younger
Summary children, and indirect speech acts
(e.g., Can I) at about age 3 or 4.
Children’s language skills develop dur- ◆ Children’s word productions are
ing the preschool period. By 4 years of closer to those of adults as their
age, children achieve adult-like speech phonological skills develop.
and language skills with respect to their ◆ Phonological awareness develops when
production of more complex and lengthy children become more aware of sounds
sentence structures, interactive communi- in words and the connection between
cation, the correct production of sounds, spoken sounds and written letters.
vocabulary development, and phonologi- ◆ Semantic skills increase when children
cal awareness. develop a better understanding of
language and acquire more abstract
◆ Cognitive development is reflected word meanings (e.g., toy block, don’t
in children’s interest in learning how block the doorway, around the block).
things work, better planning, and ◆ Semantic skills also develop as chil-
problem solving. dren produce stories with a central
◆ Cognitive development is also reflected topic and temporal order (e.g., This is
in children’s awareness of the concepts a story about and first . . . then . . . next).
of time (e.g., when and how long), ◆ Children begin to gain knowledge
space (e.g., where), and quantity (e.g., about print, which further develops
how many and how much). their literacy skills in later grades.
◆ Theory of mind develops and chil- ◆ Humor appears in preschoolers’
dren can engage in more successful conversations with peers. This shows
an understanding of more abstract Indirect speech acts

language.
Inflectional morpheme
Chapter 6 traces the development of Intelligibility
language during the school-age stage of
Interrogative sentences
Language content
Language form
Key Words Language use
Magical thinking
Assimilation processes
Mental lexicon
Bootstrapping
Mental state verbs
Bound morpheme
Metalinguistic awareness
Closed syllable
Modal auxiliaries
Cohesion
Negative sentences
Cohesive devices
Open syllable
Complex sentence
Personal narratives
Compound sentence
Register
Concrete
Semantic relations
Conjoined sentences
Subordinate clause
Content words
Subordination
Contextualized narrative
Substitution processes
Declarative sentence
Syllable structure processes
Decontextualized language
Theory of mind (TOM)
Decontextualized narrative
Working memory
Derivational morpheme
Divergent thinking
Embedding
Study Questions
Fast mapping
1. Describe the role of morphemes in
Fictional narrative children’s syntactic development.
Free morpheme 2. Provide an example from this
chapter that demonstrates the
Function word
relationship between two language
Imperative sentences areas.
3. Explain the role of modal auxiliaries Baron-Cohen, S. (1996). Mind blindness: An

in children’s interaction with others. essay on autism and theory of mind. Cam-
bridge, MA: MIT Press.
4. Explain the importance of meta- Bates, E. (1976). Language and context: The acqui-
linguistic awareness in language sition of pragmatics. San Diego, CA: Aca-
development. demic Press.
Bauman-Waengler, J., & Davis, A. (2016). Artic-
5. Explain the role of narrative in ulation and phonology in speech sound disor-
children’s language learning. ders: A clinical focus (5th ed.). Boston, MA:
Pearson Education.
Berko Gleason, J., & Bernstein Ratner, N.
(2017). The development of language. Boston,
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Appendix 5–A
Developmental Milestones, Ages 3 to 5
Three to Four Years of Age

◆ Hears you when you call from ◆ Talks about activities at school or at
another room. friends’ homes.
◆ Hears television or radio at the ◆ People outside of the family usually
same loudness level as other family understand child’s speech.
members. ◆ Uses a lot of sentences that have four
◆ Answers simple who?, what?, or more words.
where?, and why? questions. ◆ Usually talks easily without repeating
syllables or words.
Four to Five Years of Age

◆ Pays attention to a short story and ◆ Uses sentences that give lots of details
answers simple questions about it. (“the biggest peach is mine”).
◆ Hears and understands most of ◆ Tells stories that stick to topic.
what is said at home and in school. ◆ Communicates easily with other
children and adults.
◆ 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.
Source: Reproduced with permission from How does your child hear and talk? Available from
the website of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association: http://www/asha
.org/public/speech/development/chart.htm. All rights reserved.
6
Language Development in
Middle and Late Childhood
and Adolescence
María R. Brea-Spahn and Sandra Levey
Case Study
Ginger is an 8-year-old in the third grade. chapter, you will be able to understand the
She has a diverse vocabulary. She is a good language factors that contribute to a child’s
student and enjoys reading books and ability to achieve successful academic skills
writing in her journal. After reading this during the school-age years.
Chapter Objectives Their language also develops through

participation in after-school programs
This chapter presents language develop- and peer relationships (Nippold, 2000).
ment in early childhood (6 to 8 years), late We begin this chapter with a discussion of
childhood (9 to 12), and adolescence (13 to the factors that support language develop-
19). School-age children and adolescents ment during the school-age period. Next,
add sophistication to their language con- we provide a description of advances in
tent, form, and use as a result of exposure the semantic, syntactic, and discourse
to the academic context through textbooks levels of language. Finally, we discuss lit-
and the language spoken by teachers. eracy development during the school-age
149
stages. After reading this chapter, you will The understanding and use of figura-
be able to understand: tive language
◆ The factors that contribute to success More complex linguistic forms

in developing school-age and adoles- The use of derivational morphemes
cent academic skills
◆ The language development of school- Advanced social and pragmatic skills
age children and adolescents
◆ The impact of reading and writing on Examples of the linguistic attainments of
the language skills of early and late typically developing children at age 10
elementary school-age children and and adolescents at age 15 can be found in
adolescents Table 6–1 (Nippold, 2007).
Language in Middle and Metalinguistic Awareness

Late Childhood and
Adolescence: Sources
Metalinguistic awareness involves the
of Development
ability to reflect on and consciously think
about language and how it is used. Meta-
In comparison with the rapid language linguistic awareness is necessary for the
learning of infants, toddlers, and kinder- development of reading skills. This is
garteners, there is a gradual and subtle essential when school-age children are
process of language development in presented with riddles or jokes, as shown
school-age children and adolescents. Lan- in the following example (Nippold, 2007,
guage skills continue to develop into mid- p. 234).
dle childhood (6–8 years), late childhood
(9–12), and adolescence (13–19) (Nippold, Why did the hungry man go to the
2007). By age 5, children participate in lamp store? Because he wanted a light
conversations and negotiate demands, snack.
such as providing reasons for parents
to purchase a desired game or toy (Nip- Growth in metalinguistic awareness
pold, 1998). As children progress through depends on a maturing cognitive system.
school, opportunities for learning differ- Cognitive development and metalin-
ent subjects and participating in extracur- guistic awareness develop within social
ricular activities promote their language contexts, in which school-age children
development. There is advancement in and adolescents thrive. This, in turn, sup-
semantic knowledge, syntactic complex- ports the emergence of abstract thought.
ity, and discourse comprehension and Abstract thought involves the ability to
use. School-age children’s development conceptualize (to form a concept or idea
includes the following language, cogni- about an occurrence or an event) and to
tive, and social skills (Gabig, 2014, p. 211). solve a problem or develop a plan by
thinking of the solution or a path of action,
Advanced metalinguistic skills rather than the use of an actual action to
More abstract vocabulary skills solve the problem. An example of a child
Table 6–1. Linguistic Attainments of Typical Development: Age 10 and Age 15
Linguistic Skills Age 10 Age 15

Lexical Development
Understands word meaning 20,000 words 30,000 words
Understands psychological sweet, hard, cold, bright bright, sharp, dull
meaning
Uses morphological cues Identifies unknown words Identifies unknown words
for word identification
Word definition Defines concrete nouns Defines abstract nouns
Verbal Reasoning
Analogies Can solve second-order Can solve third-order
analogies analogies
Syllogisms Can understand logical Can understand illogical
syllogisms syllogisms
Figurative Language
Metaphors understood Common, transparent Difficult opaque
metaphors metaphors
Enjoys jokes and riddles Linguistic ambiguity Linguistic ambiguity
understood explained
Proverbs understood Common, concrete proverbs Some abstract proverbs
Syntax
Length in conversational 7+ words 8+ words
discourse
Length in expository 9+ words 10+ words
discourse
Persuasive writing mean 11+ words 12+ words
length of utterance
Subordinate conjunctions because, before, even though, so that,
Adverbial conjuncts also, then, so, besides furthermore, nevertheless
Discourse and Pragmatics
Stories and narratives Uses all grammar story Complete episodes and
elements elaboration
Discourse Uses conjunctions as
cohesive elements
Explains rules of a game Detailed explanations of
accurately games
Conflicts Negotiates with peers Mutual collaboration with
peers
Source: Adapted with permission from Later Language Development: School-Age Children, Adolescents,
and Young Adults — Third Edition (pp. 361–366), by M. A. Nippold, 2007, Austin, TX: Pro-Ed. Copy-
right 2007 by Pro-Ed, Inc.
151
using abstract thought to plan a path of Table 6–2. Metalinguistic Skills

action is shown below.
Phonological Knowledge that words
Jay was thinking about how he might awareness are composed of
ask his parents for a new bike. He syllables and phonemes
thought about the things he would say, Semantic The ability to provide
along with how he might explain the awareness word definitions and
problems with his old bike. understand figurative
language forms (simile,
metaphor, and idiom)
Abstract thought develops early,
Syntactic Understanding of
when children engage in pretend
awareness syntactic (sentence
play (e.g., using an object to repre-
structure) rules and
sent other things, such as a box to the ability to correct
represent a car, rocket ship, or stove). syntactic errors
Abstract thought allows children to
create a mental image of an object Pragmatic Awareness of the
that represents something else. In awareness connection between
addition, abstract thought allows language and its use in
social interaction
younger school-aged children to
recognize that alphabet letters repre-
sent sounds and meaning, as well as
understand that numbers represent can define words, with greater vocabu-
physical quantities. Abstract thought lary development through exposure to
allows older children to plan ahead reading. Syntactic awareness appears in
by anticipating or imagining what adolescence, when complex sentences
might occur in the future. are understood and produced (Justice &
Ezell, 2016). Pragmatic awareness appears
during later childhood and adolescence,
when children can successfully partici-
Four Types of Metalinguistic pate in appropriate communication with
Knowledge others through a better understanding of
their mental states and needs.
There are four types of metalinguistic Metalinguistic competence is another
knowledge that characterize the school- factor that appears during the school-
age child’s language development (Berko age stage of development. Competence
Gleason & Ratner, 2017): phonological involves the awareness that language is
awareness, semantic awareness, syntac- composed of syntactic, semantic, mor-
tic awareness, and pragmatic awareness phological, phonological, and pragmatic
(Table 6–2). domains that can be synthesized, ana-
Phonological awareness grows dur- lyzed, and reorganized.
ing the early school-age period, when chil-
dren can use strategies to identify a word ◆ Synthesis refers to the consideration
by its sound patterns. Semantic awareness of prior learning or ideas when devel-
expands around age 10, when children oping new ideas, plans, or tasks.
6. Language Development in Middle and Late Childhood and Adolescence 153
◆ Analytical skills involve the ability Verbal Reasoning

to interpret, observe, detect patterns,
and process information, such as Verbal reasoning is a cognitive skill that
understanding frequent occurrences involves the ability to draw conclusions,
or frequent behavioral patterns in solve problems, and make decisions. Chil-
others. dren who possess verbal reasoning can
◆ Organization involves the use of answer questions such as, What would hap-
a systematic approach to problem pen if . . . ? and Why do you think . . . ? Two
solving by creating order and examples of verbal reasoning are found in
gathering the necessary materials to the ability to process analogies and syllo-
complete a goal, such as the study gisms. Both analogy and syllogism tasks
materials needed to prepare for are associated with reasoning methods
a test. that are used in daily problem solving.
Metalinguistic skills are dependent ◆ An analogy presents the relations

on the development of cognitive abili- between the features of sets of things,
ties. Younger school-age children (age relying on a correspondence or partial
7–11 years) are in the concrete operations similarity.
stage of cognitive development (Piaget & ◆ A syllogism involves a deductive
Inhelder, 1969). In this stage, children use process: a formal argument consisting
logical thought to process or understand of a major and minor premise and a
events and to solve problems. They pos- conclusion.
sess the ability to draw on prior experi-
ence to understand and to explain others’ An example of analogy follows.
behaviors and actions. In addition, their
attention span increases, allowing chil- Eyes are to see as ears are to ________.
dren to maintain a task for about 15 min-
utes at 6 years of age and for an hour at The goal is to analyze the relationship
age 9. Piaget (1954) placed adolescents in between the first and second terms (eyes:
the formal operations stage. At this stage, see) and apply this relationship to the third
their cognitive skills allow them to under- and fourth terms (ears: hear). As shown
stand more abstract concepts (Dijkstra, in Table 6–1, older children understand
Eerland, Zijlmans, & Post, 2014). more complex analogies as their verbal
reasoning and vocabulary skills have
Concrete concepts refer to objects in progressed. More advanced vocabulary
the physical world, such as a tree in skills are essential to understand complex
a forest, along with physical actions analogies, such as the example below
(e.g., running, drinking). Abstract (Nippold, 2007, p. 121). In this example,
concepts refer to entities that have the child must know the words apex,
no direct representation in the base, and anterior. In addition, the word
physical world, including emotions, posterior must be present in the child’s
figurative language (e.g., metaphors), lexicon.
and abstract action (thoughts and
emotions). Apex is to base as anterior is to
(posterior).
Analogical processes can be found in mates are out for weeks. It would not be
daily activities, such as explaining some- logical to assume that all officemates are
thing to a younger child. For example, out for weeks. An example of an illogical
email can be explained by describing the syllogism is shown in the following exam-
similarity between receiving a message on ple (Markovits, Schleifer, & Fortier, 1989,
the computer and receiving a message by p. 793). In this case, the second premise
mail. This explanation employs analogical (All red things have a nose) does not share
reasoning to draw this comparison. any terms with the first premise (Every
Zobole is yellow).
Email is to the computer as letter is to
the mailbox. Major premise: Every Zobole is yellow.
Minor premise: All red things have a
A syllogism is a formal argument
nose.
that consists of a major and minor prem-
ise and a conclusion, used to convince Conclusion: Therefore, Zoboles have
others or to inform others of facts. Syllo- a nose.
gisms play a role in academic and other
general skills, given the need to formu- As shown in Table 6–1, illogical syllogisms
late and understand logical arguments. In are not detected until children reach age
the classroom, logical arguments appear 15, given that advanced cognitive skills
in academic texts, with children asked to play a role in children’s ability to process
draw conclusions from what they have more abstract cognitive tasks (Galotti,
read. Children must also understand if an 2017). At this age, a child might say, “That
argument is logical and not presenting a makes no sense because we only know
false conclusion. that a Zobole is yellow.”
Syllogisms also play a role in conver-
sation, as shown in the following example
Note the difference between the
(Tessler & Goodman, 2017). In this exam-
illogical syllogism and the logical
ple, someone is telling a friend that office-
syllogism. In the logical syllogism,
mates are out with the flu.
there is a connection between the
premises and the conclusion. The
Major premise: All officemates are out
illogical syllogism shown in the
with the flu.
example shows no connection
Minor premise: Some officemates between the first and second premise.
with the flu are out for weeks.
Critical-thinking skills are an essential
What would be a logical conclusion?
factor for school-age children when pre-
sented with illogical beliefs or ideas. Criti-
Conclusion 1: Therefore, some
cal thinking involves the analysis of the
officemates are out for weeks.
content of a spoken or written text for
Conclusion 2: Therefore, all accuracy and logic (Nippold et al., 2014).
officemates are out for weeks. This analysis allows the child to judge the
logic of the ideas being expressed.
In conversation, a listener would draw the We next discuss the language devel-
logical conclusion that only some office- opment that occurs in early, middle, and
later grades. These changes appear in

semantics (vocabulary, narrative, conver- We can say Many houses are being
sation, expository discourse, and figura- built or They spilled much of the salt
tive language), syntax and morphology, onto the floor, but we cannot say Much
pragmatics, and literacy. houses or Many sands. The correct
use of the terms many and much
are acquired by the late elementary
school years.
Semantics
Within the classroom, teachers focus
on children learning three types of vocab-
Vocabulary ulary words that target three tiers of word
knowledge (Beck et al., 2013). Tier 1 con-
At 6 years of age, children have acquired sists of basic and concrete vocabulary
approximately 18,000 words, with an items that children learn even before
increase in vocabulary when children entering school. Examples include book,
begin to read. By the time children reach girl, boy, dog, big, small, house, and table.
adulthood, they will have acquired 60,000 Tier 2 consists of high-frequency words
words (Nippold, 2006). Many words are that are more abstract and occur in writ-
learned through incidental learning ten text and adult conversation. These
(Akhtar, Jipson, & Callanan, 2001), when vocabulary items are important for read-
children are not directly taught these ing comprehension. Examples include
words. In this case, words are learned consistent, expectation, justify, and predict.
in conversations and other contexts. In Tier 3 words appear in academic texts
contrast, other words are learned when and specific domains (e.g., geography).
they are explicitly taught through direct Domain-specific vocabulary items are
instruction (Beck, McKeown, & Kucan, specialized to an area or field of study.
2013). During the period of learning Examples include terms such as isotope,
new words, certain vocabulary terms are peninsula, and evolution, learned in the
learned as children are exposed to the cor- domains associated with physics, geogra-
rect use of these words: phy, and biology, respectively.
◆ Irregular past tense verbs (e.g., eat/ate,

There are differences in vocabulary
catch/caught, throw/threw). Children
across languages and cultures. For
produce irregular verbs (e.g., ate,
example, a child who lives in a
caught, threw) correctly after 8 years
desert region will have vocabulary
of age.
differences from a child who lives in
◆ Reflexive pronouns (e.g., myself, your-
a busy city. Despite these differences,
self, themselves), produced by about
most children are familiar with zoo
9 years of age.
animals (Nelson & Nelson, 1990).
◆ Mass and count nouns (e.g., water
vs. house). Mass nouns label non-
individual substances, such as water, Mental state verbs are another cat-
salt, and sand, and count nouns label egory of vocabulary terms that depend
individual objects, such as house on cognitive abilities. The use and under-
and car. standing of these terms is based on the
ability to understand the thoughts, feel- Dinosaurs disappeared approximately

ings, and ideas of others. These terms 65 million years ago, with many differ-
consist of metalinguistic verbs (which ent explanations for what caused the
refer to spoken language) and metacogni- dinosaurs to become extinct.
tive verbs (which refer to thoughts). These
vocabulary items are often used in class- Over time, vocabulary skills con-
room discussions of history and philoso- tinue to develop, given direct instruction
phy (Nippold, 2007, p. 42). or through the metalinguistic strategies
shown in Table 6–3: semantic mapping,
Metalinguistic verbs refer to spoken semantic feature analysis, and context
language: assert, imply, predict clues (Ram, Marinellie, Benigno, & McCar-
thy, 2013). Vocabulary skills expand when
Metacognitive verbs refer to thoughts: children are exposed to books, comics,
remember, conclude, assume magazines, and media events (e.g., mov-
ies and television shows). Reading skills
Older children and adolescents have considerable influence on the vocab-
acquire metalinguistic strategies that ulary development of children beyond
support vocabulary skills (Nippold, 2006), grade 4 (Gabig, 2014), when children
described in Table 6–3. An example of a transition from learning to read to read-
metalinguistic strategy involves using ing to learn. Adolescents are exposed to
surrounding words in a written text to abstract vocabulary that is found in figura-
understand the meaning of a new word. tive expressions (e.g., idioms, metaphors,
The following example shows how con- similes, and proverbs). Specialized vocab-
text clues can be used to identify the ulary is also found in expository discourse,
meaning of the word extinct. when children enter the later grades.
Table 6–3. Metalinguistic Strategies
• Semantic mapping (graphic organizers) involves creating maps or webs of words to

visually display the meaning-based connections between a word and related words
or concepts. For example, if there is a lesson about bugs, the children will organize
a map that shows differences and similarities across different bugs (e.g., wings/no
wings, number of legs, color, and size). In this way, prior knowledge is used and
vocabulary learning occurs.
• Semantic feature analysis involves comparing how word meanings differ or
are similar. For example, children may have a lesson about animals and their
characteristics (e.g., general appearance). Next, the children will use a plus or minus
sign to indicate whether each animal does or does not have that feature. In this way,
children are required to analyze semantic features that identify these differences. In
addition to vocabulary development, semantic processing is developed.
• Context clues involve using other words in a sentence or a paragraph to understand
an unknown word. In this way, vocabulary is expanded, and a reading strategy is
provided to develop literacy skills.
parison between boiling water and the

Expository discourse refers to person’s anger. Proverbs are expressions
academic language found in that express a thought or truth (e.g., Prac-
textbooks and classroom lectures. tice makes perfect). This figure of speech
Examples include comparison expresses a truth that additional practice
(compare/contrast), causation may be a factor in greater success. The
(cause/effect), procedural (temporal understanding of figurative expressions
sequence), problem/solution, and emerges during the school-age years.
collection/description (Ward- Understanding figurative language
Lonergan & Duthie, 2014, p. 44). requires abstract language processing, as
a child must understand the meaning of
these expressions by going beyond the
Figurative Language basic meaning of the words used. For
example, the idiom Going by the book does
Figurative language consists of idioms, not mean moving or walking past a book.
similes, metaphors, and proverbs. Rid- Instead, this expression means following
dles and puns are also included in this rules. The following example demonstrates
language category. Figurative language is the use of this figurative expression (Nip-
found in books, television shows, movies, pold and Duthie, 2003, p. 792).
and magazines. Idioms are expressions
that cannot be understood from the mean- Ben and his mother were driving to
ings of their separate words, as shown in the ski resort for the weekend. Ben
the following example: wanted to get there quickly, so he
asked his mom to drive faster. She said
They are walking on eggshells. she wouldn’t go any faster. Ben said to
himself, “Mom goes by the book.”
Clearly, the speaker does not truly mean
that these individuals are actually walking
on eggshells. Instead, this idiom means Idiom
that they are being very careful when pre-
sented with a delicate or sensitive topic. Idiom comprehension is affected by a vari-
Similes are expressions in which two ety of factors. One factor is familiarity, or
unlike things are explicitly compared by how often a child has previously heard
using the words like or as (e.g., Busy as a the idiom used. Another factor is trans-
bee). We know that bees are frequently parency (how close the figurative mean-
seen flying about while looking for pol- ing of the idiom is to its literal meaning).
len or nectar. This figure of speech makes A transparent idiom is: I don’t think you can
a comparison between the activities of trust her — she will stab you in the back. In
a bee and a person’s workload. A meta- this case, the transparency is found in the
phor is a figure of speech that makes a knowledge that a stab in the back is an
comparison between two things that are attack. The actual meaning of this idiom
unrelated but share some common char- is that someone may betray your trust.
acteristics (He was boiling mad). We know The opposite of a transparent idiom
that water boils when the temperature is is an opaque idiom, whose figurative and
high enough. This comment makes a com- literal language is not easily discernible,
such as Barking up the wrong tree. This meanings apply to intelligence and per-
idiom is based on the idea that a dog is sonal traits.
barking at the wrong tree (i.e., the squir-
rel being sought is hiding in another tree).
The actual meaning of this idiom is that a Metaphor
person is on the wrong track, looking in
the wrong place, or considering an incor- A metaphor makes a comparison between
rect idea. School-age children find trans- two entities that are not related but share
parent idioms easier to comprehend than some common characteristics.
opaque expressions (Nippold & Duthie,
2003). Preadolescent children may under- The exam was a breeze.
stand certain idioms if they have previ-
ously heard these terms used, know the In this example, the metaphor means that
meanings of the words embedded in the the exam was easy, with comparison to a
idiom, and can read between the lines for the gentle breeze. By age 6, children under-
intended, yet unexpressed, meaning (Nip- stand simple metaphors (Nippold, Leon-
pold & Rudzinski, 1993). ard, & Kail, 1984), with more complex
metaphors understood by adolescence.
Examples of metaphors found in children’s
Simile books consist of You are toast (someone is
being told he or she is in trouble) and My
Similes make comparisons between two school is a zoo (the school is full of kids act-
different subjects by using the words like ing out or behaving like wild animals).
or as (e.g., As stubborn as a mule or As light
as a feather). Frequently, figurative lan-
guage is found in children’s literature. Proverbs
Examples consist of the following exam-
ples, taken from children’s books: Proverbs express a practical or basic truth,
as shown in the following examples.
He is as stubborn as a mule. (Mules are
resistant to being told or urged to ◆ Two wrongs don’t make a right.
move.) (When someone has done something
wrong, do not do something wrong in
My best friend is as sharp as a pencil.
return.)
(The term sharp is associated with
◆ The pen is mightier than the sword.
intelligence.)
(Using words is often more effective
I woke up as fresh as a daisy. (You woke than forcing people to do what you
up feeling good.) want.)
Over time, children learn that many words Children have difficulty understanding
have various meanings, such as sharp, dull, proverbs before age 12. Additionally, prov-
deep, and shallow. Although the mean- erbs may pose a significant difficulty for
ing of these words applies to physical children from diverse cultural or linguis-
meanings (e.g., sharp or dull objects, and tic backgrounds (Roseberry-McKibbin,
deep or shallow water), the more abstract 2007), given that proverbs are specific
to different languages and cultures. An taries (Ward-Lonergan, 2010). This form

example is the Indonesian proverb Like an of discourse also involves the explanation
owl yearning for the moon. The meaning of of games. Persuasive discourse involves a
this proverb is to wish for something that speaker expressing logical reasons to per-
is impossible to attain. suade or motivate others to engage in an
activity or to accept an idea or an opinion.
Riddles and Puns

There are differences between conver-
sation, narrative, and expository
A riddle is a question or statement that
discourse. Conversation discourse
requires an answer, as shown in the follow-
takes place in more informal social
ing example (Nippold, 2007, p. 242).
contexts, as when a student engages
in conversation about a favorite
Question: Why can’t the bicycle stand
movie or a vacation trip with a group
up by itself?
of friends. Narratives are meant to
Answer: Because it is two-tired. convey stories and events. The plot of
a narrative may follow a chronolog-
A pun is a joke that makes use of the dif- ical order of events (e.g., first, then,
ferent possible meanings of a word, as next). Expository discourse consists
shown in these two examples. of the use of language to convey
information (Bliss, 2002).
What do you call an alligator in a vest?
An investigator!
Narrative
Why can’t you feed a teddy bear? Because
they are always stuffed! School-age children learn to produce or
write narratives that involve fictional
Both types of humor are understood by events or past experiences. These narra-
older school-age children and play a role tives may also involve stories from events,
in children’s interaction with others. television shows, or movies. Narratives
contain an underlying structure that con-
sists of the following elements (Stein &
Narrative, Conversation, Glenn, 1979).
and Expository Discourse
Setting: Characters, place, and time
Discourse forms include conversation, Initiating event: A problem or an
narrative, expository, and persuasion (Nip- event, such as a surprise party
pold, 2014). Conversation involves the use
of language in social interaction. Narrative Internal response: Reaction of the
discourse involves the use of language to character(s) to the initiating event
express a series of connected events or a Plan: The method to solve a problem
story, often involving personal, fictional, or to respond to an event
or nonfictional events. Expository dis-
course is found in textbooks, classroom There is also an outcome that summarizes
lectures, technical papers, and documen- the narrative elements (e.g., and they lived
happily ever after when the wolf ran away). ◆ Consideration of participants’
The ability to understand the structure of thoughts and feelings
a story is established by 9 to 10 years of age ◆ Repairs used to clarify understanding
(Berman & Slobin, 1994). Older school- if others are confused
age children, around 12 to 13 years of age,
produce narratives with a greater propor- Expository Discourse
tion of complete episodes than younger
children, as described in Chapter 5. An Expository discourse consists of language
example of a school-age narrative follows that is typically found in textbooks, class-
(Nippold, 2007, p. 295), with the speaker room lectures, and technical papers. This
expressing an event that occurred. This type of discourse is based on factual infor-
narrative continues beyond this example, mation with a focus on the following fac-
with a friend asking more about the spi- tors (Ward-Lonergan, 2010):
der and what happened next.
Comparison: Compare and contrast
I going to tell you what happened to ideas
me this morning. I was playin’ on the
Causation: Explain a cause and the
monkey bars. A boy came along with
resulting effect
a big, huge, giant spider in his hand.
Problem: Provide a solution
Conversation Collection/description: Provide a
description of the elements
Conversation involves cognitive and per-
ceptual abilities (Avivi-Reich, Jakubczyk, Enumeration: Provide a definition
Daneman, & Schneider, 2015). Cognitive and example
abilities involve focused attention to the
conversation while avoiding distractions, Expository discourse may be used to inform,
switching attention from one speaker to express facts, or to argue a point of
to another, keeping track of the topics, view. This type of discourse requires dif-
extracting the meaning of the information ferent cognitive skills than those required
being discussed, and keeping information by narrative discourse, and is more lin-
in memory for the future. Perceptual abili- guistically complex (Nippold, Hesketh,
ties involve listening and comprehension Duthie, & Mansfield, 2005; Sun & Nip-
of the topic being discussed. This allows pold, 2012). This complexity is based on
for successful participation in the con- the use of a greater number of words and
versation. Conversational growth during more advanced syntax. An example from
the school-age years appears as children a high school text can be found in Table 6–4,
achieve the following abilities (Nippold, showing the elements that characterize
2007, p. 286). expository discourse (Lundine & McCau-
ley, 2016, p. 308).
◆ Improved and longer topic When children reach grade 4, they
maintenance begin to use linguistic skills that distin-
◆ Appropriate turn-taking guish narrative from expository discourse
◆ A greater number of relevant comments (Berman, 2004). However, children do
Table 6–4. Expository Discourse
Descriptive A definition of global warming (for

instance, such as)
Procedural Procedures to slow global warming

(first, next, until, during)
Enumerative Physical changes to the earth because

of global warming (another, also)
Cause/effect Reasons for global warming (because,

effect of, so, consequently)
Compare/ Climate changes over time (however,

contrast as opposed to, in comparison)
Problem/ Solutions for global warming (problem,

solution concern, issue, possible solution)
not incorporate the elements of sentence ment. Persuasion discourse abilities prog-
structure and vocabulary that distinguish ress during school age and adolescence,
narrative and expository writing until as shown in the following examples (Nip-
adolescence (Berman, 2004; Berman & pold, 2007, p. 306).
Nir-Sagiv, 2007).
Another form of discourse involves Adjustment to listeners’ characteristics
persuasion. Persuasion requires the knowl- (e.g., age, needs, beliefs)
edge to convince others to agree with an
idea or an action. Consequently, it is essen- Provision of advantages to persuade
tial to possess the skills to persuade others in the listener to agreement
an appropriate manner to achieve success. Anticipation and response to
counterarguments
Persuasion
Provision of a variety of different
Persuasion is the discourse genre that arguments
involves convincing others to accept a
point of view or argument, with progress In summary, conversation, narrative, and
in persuasion occurring after grade 3. expository discourse skills continue to
Adolescents achieve the ability to pro- develop with age and experience. Chil-
duce a persuasive argument that appeals dren also develop an understanding of
to others’ values and beliefs (Nippold, figurative language. In this case, meaning
1998). At this stage of development, they must be found by going beyond the basic
are able to see another person’s point of meaning of the words that are used (e.g.,
view when engaged in a persuasive argu- He goes by the book).
(Steffani, 2007), as shown in the following

There are narrative differences across example:
languages. For example, children
from Spanish-speaking backgrounds I went to school, and then I came home
may produce narratives as conver- and watched TV.
sational and descriptive statements.
Chinese and Korean children may Subordination is one of the factors
express multiple experiences in a brief that contributes to increased syntactic
narrative style. Redundant elements complexity. A subordinate clause con-
are often omitted, such as the use of tains a subject and predicate (e.g., Mary
“I” in subsequent sentences. drove) but does not express an indepen-
dent or complete sentence. An indepen-
dent clause is a complete sentence with a
subject (S), verb (V), and object noun (O)
Syntactic and (e.g., Mary drove to the store). By grade 8,
Morphological the use of a greater number of subordinate
Development and embedded clauses appear (Nippold
& Sun, 2010).
A subordinate clause is sometimes
Syntactic Development termed a dependent clause. This is a clause
that cannot stand alone as a complete
School-age children’s syntactic develop- sentence, since a complete thought is not
ment is reflected in the increased length and expressed. An embedded clause (words
complexity of their utterances. A 6-year-old that include a subject and verb) is within
may produce sentences composed of six another clause and typically marked by
words, while adults produce utterances commas. The following examples illus-
that contain at least ten words (Nippold, trate the use of subordinate clauses (in
2006). The mean length of response or boldface):
mean number of words used per sen-
tence may be related to the complexity She lives in the city, which is
and length required for certain language convenient.
events. For example, expository discourse Always lock the door, because it keeps
requires greater syntactic complexity than you safe.
conversation (Nippold, Hesketh, Duthie,
& Mansfield, 2005), given that more com- The following example is an embedded
plex tasks must be explained and under- clause:
stood by the listener (e.g., the explanation
of rules for a game). The dog who lives next door is friendly.
A subordinate clause is introduced

Syntactic Elaboration by a subordinating conjunction or a rela-
tive pronoun. Examples of subordinating
Syntactic elaboration involves the increased conjunctions are after, although, as, if, as if,
length and complexity of sentences. The because, before, even if, even though, since,
main characteristic of a complex sentence though, unless, until, whatever, when, when-
is that it contains two or more main verbs ever, whether, and while. Examples of rela-
tive pronouns are which, that, who, whom, age period is passive sentence structure.
and whose. In the following sentence, the dog is the
subject (S), the word chased is the verb (V),
Independent clause (SVO): The dog and the cat is the direct object noun (O).
ate the cookies.
SVO: The dog chased the cat.
Subordinating conjunction: Because
the dog ate the cookies . . .
To form a passive structure, the sentence
Relative pronoun: The dog, who lives structure SVO is transformed to the pas-
next door, ate the cookies. sive structure OVS, as shown in the fol-
lowing example.
The terms if and although may not be used
consistently until age 15 (Bernstein & OVS: The cat was chased by the dog.
Levey, 2009).
Younger children may understand passive
I will come, if I finish my homework in sentence forms, but they are not produced
time. until age 7 or 8 (Snyder & Hyams, 2015).
I went to school, although I had to come
home because I was sick. There are two types of passive
forms: reversible and irreversible.
Syntactic elaboration also consists of noun Some passive forms are irreversible
phrase or verb phrase elaboration. Both (The window was broken by the boy)
processes emerge during middle and late because the reverse form (The boy was
childhood. broken by the window) is not possible.
However, a reversible passive
Noun phrase elaboration: The dog; sentence (The boy was kissed by the girl)
The big dog can be logically reversed (The girl was
Verb phrase elaboration: The dog barks; kissed by the boy).
The dog barks loudly
The complex sentences produced at
Verb phrase elaboration can also be accom-
age 10 to 11 contain mental state verbs and
plished with the use of modal auxiliary
adverbial conjuncts (Bernstein & Levey,
verbs (e.g., can, could, shall, should, will,
2009). Mental state verbs describe some-
would, may, might).
one’s thoughts, beliefs, feelings, or inten-
tions and consist of terms such as believe,
I could climb the mountain if I wanted to.
think, know, understand, perceive, feel, guess,
recognize, notice, want, and imagine. Exam-
Verb phrase elaboration also occurs when
ples of adverbial conjunct terms consist
conjunctions (e.g., although, and, because,
of also, consequently, finally, instead, mean-
but, either) are used.
while, nevertheless, now, thus, and therefore.
She likes snow because she likes to ski.
Mental state verb: I think he likes me.
Another example of complex sentence Adverbial conjunct: Finally, the girl
structure that emerges during the school- found her bicycle.
The Analysis of Syntactic Syntactic complexity is measured

Complexity in T-units and clausal density. A T-unit
consists of a main clause plus all subor-
One approach to the analysis of syntac- dinate clauses and nonclausal structures
tic complexity takes account of sentences that are attached to or embedded within.
that contain an independent clause (IC), An example of this analysis is shown in
adverbial clause (ADV), or nominal Table 6–7 (Scott & Nelson, 2007). In this
(NOM) clause (Table 6–5). Examples of sample, there are 14 clauses and 8 T-units,
these syntactic components are presented resulting in a clause density of 1.75 (14
in Table 6–6 (Nippold, 2009, p. 870). These clauses/8 T-units).
examples, based on conversations between
an adult and a child age 12, include a dis-
cussion about chess and a general con- Morphological Development
versation about pets. Note that the child
employed more complex language in the English includes free morphemes, which
explanation of the chess game than in the can stand on their own and have mean-
general conversation about her pets. For ing, as well as bound morphemes — word
example, the conversation about chess in- parts that only have meaning when
cluded independent, adverbial, and nomi- attached to other words. Inflectional mor-
nal clauses, while the conversation about phemes add specificity to verbs. School-
pets consisted of independent clauses age children use inflectional morphemes
alone. These samples illustrate the differ- to indicate grammatical meaning with the
ence between expository discourse (game use of the plural (cat + s), past-tense forms
explanation) and conversation (informa- (walk + ed), and morphemes that indicate
tion report). As noted earlier, expository present and ongoing action (go + ing). In
discourse requires greater syntactic com- this way, semantic content and sentence
plexity than conversation, given that more length are increased.
complex tasks must be explained more Derivational morphemes act to mod-
carefully to be understood by the listener ify the meaning or grammatical function
(Nippold et al., 2005). of the words to which they are attached.
Table 6–5. Syntactic Complexity: T-Unit Elements
An independent clause can stand alone and expresses a main idea (e.g., The
dog ate a cookie) — while a phrase does not contain both a subject and a verb
(e.g., a red book, running away, and in the box).
An adverbial clause is used as an adverb that indicates time, place, or
condition (e.g., clauses beginning with after, although, unless, until, when).
A nominal clause is a dependent clause that acts as the subject or object of a
sentence, naming a person, place, or thing (e.g., clauses beginning with who,
what, which, where).
A relative clause is a dependent clause that modifies an independent clause
and is introduced by a relative pronoun (e.g., who, which, that, whose, whom).
Table 6–6. A Conversation About Chess and a Conversation About Pets
A Conversation about Chess A Conversation about Pets

Examiner: Now tell me why you enjoy chess. Examiner: Do you have any pets at
home?
Child: I enjoy [IC] it for the social part of it
because I get [ADV] to talk to a lot of people Child: Two cats.
and also because it can help [ADV] me in Examiner: What are their names?
school. It’s helped [IC] a lot in math. And
also I get [IC] to go different places for the Child: R and S.
Nationals. This year I’ll be going [IC] to Texas. Examiner: How old are they?
Examiner: Tell me how it helps you with Child: They’ll be [IC] three in May.
math.
Examiner: Can you tell me more
Child: With math, it’s [IC] different things like about them? What colors are they?
understanding. So I’ll have [IC] to understand
how different things work [NOM] in chess. Child: They’re [IC] gray and white
And then I’ll also have [IC] to understand tabbies. We got [IC] them from the cat
things like algorithms and things like that in adoption. So they were [IC] named
math too. after perfumes. So we couldn’t really
think [IC] of any names for them.
Examiner: Do you have any other reasons
why you enjoy chess? Examiner: Do you have any other
pets?
Child: I just enjoy [IC] it because it’s [ADV]
something fun to do, and I can kind of Child: No.
enjoy [ADV] my time there, and it’s [ADV]
better than sitting at home watching TV or
something.
Source: Reproduced with permission from Roseberry-McKibbin, C. (2009). School-age children talk
about chess: Does knowledge drive complexity? 2009, Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 52,
p. 870. Republished with permission from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
Table 6–7. Sentence Complexity Analysis
1. Yanis’ father was a farmer (1)

2. And he wanted him to be a farmer (2)
3. And then Yanis let the little goats out to go up the mountain and stuff (2)
4. And one went off (1)
5. And he was going to go after it (2)
6. And he got to the top of the mountain and saw the sea (2)
7. And he had a dream that night (1)
8. And he told his dad that he could be a fisherman and be back in a couple of days (3)
from C. M. Scott and N. W. Nelson (2007, November). Common measures of naturalistic language: What
they do and don’t tell us. Paper presented at the Meeting of the American Speech-Language-Hearing
Association, Boston, MA.
165
Derivational morphemes consist of pre- be understood. The examples below are

fixes (e.g., un-, im-, re-, and ex-) and suf- taken from a fourth-grade morphology
fixes (e.g., -ish, -ous, -er, -ate, and -able). test (Kieffer & Lesaux, 2007), with root
Examples of free, derivational, gram- words followed by derived words based
matical, and inflectional morphemes are on morphological additions. Which of the
shown in Table 6–8. following derived words may be the easi-
Derivational morphemes form new est for children when using a morphologi-
words. For example, -er is a derivational cal approach to decoding or analyzing the
suffix that changes a verb into a noun meaning of a word?
(paint to painter) or a noun to a verb (painter
to paint). Derivational morphemes are Grow Growth
acquired at the late preschool and early
Decide Decision
school-age levels. The derivational mor-
phemes that are acquired during the later Five Fifth
school-age years are -ful, -less, -ly, -ness, -al,
Admit Admission
and -ance.
Note that the words decision, fifth, and
Delight Delightful
admit involve sound and spelling changes
Happy Happiness between the root and derived form. If
you chose the word growth, you would
Slow Slowly be correct, as the word growth does not
Origin Original contain these changes. Examples of the
use of grammatical morphemes in form-
Distant Distance ing words and sentences are shown in
Table 6–9.
While morphemes add to the com- There are differences found in mor-
plexity of children’s sentence production phology across languages. Given that
and writing, children may also use a mor- many children within classrooms are
phological approach to decipher a word’s learning English as a new language, these
meaning. By interpretation of a root word differences should not be viewed as a
that is known, the meaning of a word can disorder.
Table 6–8. Morphemes
Free lexical morphemes Nouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives

Derivational morphemes The prefixes un-, -re, -im and suffixes -ish, -ous,
and -able (e.g., un + likely and understand + able)
Grammatical morphemes Articles, prepositions, conjunctions, and
pronouns (e.g., in, and, they)
Inflectional morphemes Plural -s, possessive ’s, third person present
singular -s (e.g., two cats, daddy’s hat, and she
eats only vegetables)
Table 6–9. Grammatical Morphemes
Present progressive They are going.

Plural She has one cat and he has two cats.
Irregular plural forms elf/elves; man/men; child/children
Past irregular eat/ate; catch/caught; drive/drove
Possessive inflection Mary’s hat is lost.
Uncontractible copula/auxiliary She is. (response to who is crying)
Past regular -ed They walked to school.
Third person regular -s He walks to school.
Third person irregular She has a book.
Contractible copula He’s big.
Differences may appear in production is cold). Differences may also appear

between Spanish and English speakers between mainstream American English
(Roseberry-McKibbin, 2014, p. 107): the (MAE) and African American English
omission of the possessive morpheme (AAE) speakers: omission of the
-’s (The girl book is brown) and the past plural morpheme -s (He got three box of
tense form -ed (They walk to the store crayons), the possessive morpheme -’s
yesterday). Differences may also appear (That my brother bike), and the past tense
between Asian and English speakers morpheme -ed (She live in New York).
(Roseberry-McKibbin, 2014, p. 134): These differences emerge from the
the omission of the plural morpheme influence of West African languages,
-s (Here are two piece of toast) and the Native American languages, French,
possessive morpheme -’s (Mom food and English on AAE.
In summary, growth in the domain of is transformed. A description of children’s

syntax for children in the middle to late sentence development during the school-
school-age years and adolescence is char- age period is presented in Table 6–10.
acterized by an increase in word length
and sentence complexity, including the
use of morphology, modal auxiliary verbs,
passive sentence forms, and subordina-
Pragmatic Development
tion. The progress in syntactic complexity
is related to academic language exposure. Pragmatics involves the use of language in
As children are introduced to the lan- social interaction. Early social interaction
guage spoken by teachers and the lan- largely involves family. As children enter
guage used in textbooks, their language later grades, there is greater interaction
Table 6–10. Sentence Development
Description Example
Full propositional complement: contains a I hope (that) we go to lunch soon.
cognitive verb such as think, guess, wish, know,
hope, wonder, show, remember, pretend, mean, forget,
say, tell, may or may not contain that
Gerund: contains an -ing form that functions as Swimming is fun.

a noun
Participle: contains an -ing form that functions I see the man driving down the
as an adjective (modifies a noun or a pronoun) street.
I hear the dog barking loudly.
Simple infinitive: contains to followed by a verb I need to go.
Infinitive clause (to + verb) with different I want the baby to eat.
subject: Contains an infinitive; the subject of the
infinitive clause is different from the main clause
Unmarked infinitive: contains make, help, watch, Watch me run.

or let without a to marker
Simple Wh-clause: contains who, what, where, See how fast I am.

when, why, how; does not contain an infinitive to
marker
Wh-infinitive: contains a Wh-word and an I don’t know what to wear.

infinitive
Relative clause: contains an embedded phrase That is the one that I like.
that functions as an adjective; modifies an object
or subject noun phrase; may be marked by who,
which, that
Simple conjoining: contains two clauses that I ate fast so I could leave.
are joined by a conjunction; can be coordination I like cake and I like ice cream.
(and, but, or, etc.) or subordination (because, after,
etc.)
Embedded and conjoined: contains both an I want to stay here, but my mommy
embedded and conjoined clause; may include a says no.
catenative (a verb often followed by a function
word such as to or on); will have three or more
verbs
Multiple embedding: contains more than one I know that we have to eat soon.
embedded clause; one verb may be a catenative;
will have three or more verbs
from S. A. Stefani (2007). Identifying embedded and conjoined complex sentences: Making it simple.
Contemporary Issues in Communication Sciences and Disorders, 34, p. 46.
168
with peers. The social context becomes the more appropriate type of a request, in
backdrop for changes in social language comparison to a direct request (Give me
interaction. The pragmatic changes that your bike today). At age 10, children begin
occur during adolescence consist of prog- to use indirect requests more frequently
ress in topic maintenance, relevance to the within interaction.
topic of conversation, appropriate turn- In addition to the linguistic aspects
taking during conversation, the contribu- of pragmatics, there are pragmatic rules
tion of new information, the expression that govern interaction. These are rules
of empathy and understanding, and the that apply to greetings, providing infor-
ability to focus on a conversational topic mation, and adapting language to differ-
(Nippold, 1998). ent listeners (age and status). Pragmatic
There is increased insight into oth- rules also apply to turn-taking in conver-
ers’ thoughts and feelings during this sation, clarification if not understood, eye
period of development. This is reflected in contact during interaction, and distance
school-age children becoming more adept or proximity to other speakers in an inter-
at taking the perspective of others and action. The pragmatic skills required for
accomplishing social perspective-taking successful communication are reflected
(Nippold, 2007). Perspective-taking in- in conversation, narrative, and persua-
volves considering another person’s per- sive discourse (Nippold, 2006, p. 371). It
spective or point of view, such as the opin- is important to understand that pragmatic
ions, beliefs, feelings, and needs of others. rules differ across languages and cultures,
The social skills that ensure successful while many of these rules apply to most
peer acceptance for school-age children contexts of interaction. Grice (1975) pro-
are relevant comments, novel ideas, and vided pragmatic rules that specify appro-
amusing comments during social interac- priate conversation: Be brief and to the
tion (Nippold, 1998, 2000). point, be honest, and avoid misunder-
Children’s interaction also becomes standings (Table 6–11).
more appropriate when making requests In summary, language development
with the use of modal auxiliary terms (e.g., in school-age children is associated with
Can you . . . , could you . . . , would you . . . ?) growth in metalinguistic, cognitive, and
used to produce indirect requests (Can I use social skills. These are the factors that
your bike today?). Indirect requests are a develop when children are exposed to
Table 6–11. Pragmatic Rules that Govern Appropriate Conversation
The maxim of quantity Be as informative as possible, giving as much

information as is needed and no more.
The maxim of quality Be truthful and do not give information that is
false or lacks evidence.
The maxim of relation Be relevant to the topic being discussed.
The maxim of manner Be clear, brief, and orderly in what you are saying
to avoid any chance of obscurity or ambiguity.
varied experiences, along with the expe- from a word, such as the sounds that
riences provided through reading, the compose the word cat (e.g., c – a – t)
language spoken by teachers, and social and to blend spoken sounds that
interaction with peers. We now review the compose words (e.g., to blend or
language skills that support literacy skills combine the spoken sounds “c,” “a,”
during the school-age period. “t” to form the word cat)
◆ Elision consists of the ability to delete
a sound in a word to form a new
word (e.g., stop → top)
Literacy Skills in Early,
Middle, and Later Grades Gillon (2004) presents the following tasks
that characterize phonological awareness
For most school-age children and adoles- skills (Table 6–12).
cents, written language plays a pivotal role Once phonological awareness skills
in the development of more complex oral are acquired in the early elementary years,
language skills. Before children become the focus is on reading fluency (accuracy
proficient at understanding the symbolic and rate of reading). Following their mas-
nature of language necessary for reading tery of single-word decoding, children
comprehension, they must become pho- are taught to read from connected text
nologically aware. Phonological aware- found in stories and books. Writing fol-
ness includes consciousness about lexical lows a similar path, with children in the
units (words) and sublexical units (pho- first grade introduced to spelling com-
nemes, syllables, and onset/rime). mon words with regular phonetic pat-
terns (dog, ran, cat). In the second grade,
children read and write at a basic level
Onset refers to the initial sound or
and have an understanding of riddles and
sounds in a word (e.g., stop), while
puns, described in the explanation of figu-
the rime refers to the vowel and any
rative language development.
following consonants in the word
In the third grade, children can pro-
(e.g., stop).
vide a summary of what they have read.
In the fourth grade, the focus is on reading
Phonological awareness develops over the complex, domain-specific texts that con-
course of the early elementary school-age tain more technical vocabulary items that
period, with awareness that words are com- are related to the domain (e.g., history or
posed of smaller units of language (syllables, science). In the fifth grade, learners under-
onset-rime, and phonemes). Phonological stand a story plot, the characters’ behav-
awareness that appears during the school- iors and thoughts, as well as the function
age years includes the following examples: of quotation marks to denote dialogues
within story episodes. Their writing skills
◆ Alliteration skills signal awareness of have also developed and they are able
shared phonemes across words (e.g., to write more complex narratives about
big bad bears). events or experiences. In the sixth grade,
◆ Phoneme awareness reveals the children can organize, revise, and edit
ability to sequentially isolate a sound their written work.
Table 6–12. Phonological Awareness Skills
Age 4 Rhyme
Age 5 Recognition of phonemic changes in words (Hickory Dickory “clock”
versus Hickory Dickory Dock)
Syllable awareness (awareness that the word banana has three
syllables)
Blending onset and rime (th-umb)
Producing a rhyme (What rhymes with cat?)
Matching initial sounds; isolating an initial sound (Say the first sound
in the word ride)
Compound word deletion (Say cowboy. Say it again but don’t say cow)
Age 6 Blending of two and three phonemes (z-oo; sh-o-p; h-ou-se)
Phoneme segmentation (Say the word as you move a chip for each
sound: sh-e; m-a-n; l-e-g)
Phoneme substitution to build new words (Change the /a/ in cane
to /o/)
Age 7 Sound deletion (Say the word stop without the /s/)
Age 8 Sound deletion that includes blends (Say prank; now say it without
the /p/)
Age 9 Sound deletion that includes medial and final blends (Say snail. Say it
again, without the /n/; say fork. Say it again without the /k/)
By grade 7, children can understand

and compare written texts (e.g., poems, In a causal relationship, there is an
stories, other written texts). In grade 8, evident relationship between two
children are expected to analyze texts for things. This relationship makes
their ideas and to write arguments with something happen. For example, if
correct capitalization, punctuation, and an alarm clock caused you to wake
spelling. By grade 12, children are able up this morning, there is a causal
to identify the main idea and purpose in relationship between the alarm and
a written text, make simple connections this event. In school, children must
between ideas within a text, and provide understand cause and effect.
general evaluations of the meaning or pur-
pose of the text. At this stage, they must An overview of children’s language
possess the cognitive skills to integrate development, based on literacy and com-
text ideas, explain causal relationships, munication from kindergarten through
and evaluate complex information. grade 5, can be found in Table 6–13.
Table 6–13. An Overview of Language Development. Literacy and Communication:
Expectations from Kindergarten Through Third Grade
Kindergarten
1. Follows one- to two-step directions in sequence
2. Listens to and understands stories read to the class
3. Answers simple yes/no and Wh-questions (e.g., “What did you . . . ?”)
4. Produces clear speech
5. Asks for information
6. Participates in and initiates conversation
7. Understands reading from top to bottom and left to right
8. Understands words that rhyme
9. Can match words based on their sounds
10. Matches some sounds with letters
11. Has sight word recognition for some words
12. Prints names
13. Draws a picture to tell a story
First Grade
14. Understands and can recall information
15. Follows two- to three-step directions in sequence
16. Answers more complex questions
17. Can tell and retell stories with logical order of events
18. Produces a variety of sentence types and supplies directions
19. Stays on topic during a conversation
20. Asks and answers Wh-questions (i.e., who, what, where, why, and when)
21. Can match spoken with written words and can identify sounds in shorter words
22. May sound out unfamiliar words when reading
23. Prints words and spells frequently used words correctly
24. Can write short stories
172
Table 6–13. continued
Second Grade
25. Follows three- to four-step directions
26. Understands concepts that involve location and time
27. Can answer questions about a story
28. Produces more complex sentences
29. Can explain words and ideas
30. Uses language in more complex ways (e.g., to inform, persuade, entertain)
31. Maintains topic and turn-taking in conversation
32. Displays intact phonological awareness for the correspondence between sounds,
syllables, words, and longer spoken utterances with written forms
33. Has expanded sight word recognition
34. Monitors reading accuracy by rereading
35. Can explain the main ideas of a story
36. Writes clearly and uses a range of sentence types
37. Moves from inventive to accurate spelling
Third Grade
38. Shows good listening skills and continued progress in conversation skills
39. Can summarize, predict, and explain when working with reading tasks
40. Displays prediction and mastery of phonics in reading skills
41. Uses learned information to learn new topics
42. Uses topic-specific vocabulary in conversation and classroom discussion
43. Can explain material that has been learned in the classroom
44. Can ask and answer questions related to material learned in the classroom
45. Makes continued progress in monitoring reading accuracy
46. Composes stories and spells simple words correctly while using details in writing
47. Asks and answers questions about reading materials
48. Rereads and corrects errors
49. Spells most words correctly
Source: Reproduced and adapted with permission from D. Wellman Owre and M. Kennedy Brennan
(2002). An overview of language development. Literacy and communication: Expectations from kinder-
garten through fifth grade.
173
Summary Incidental learning

Lexicon
Children’s language continues to develop
during the school-age years. Progress Mental state verbs
appears in academic skills and social
interaction. Metalinguistic awareness
Metalinguistic competence
◆ Vocabulary development with
the acquisition of 3,000 words per Metalinguistic strategies
academic year Metaphors
◆ Advances in syntax characterized by
noun and verb phrase elaboration, Narrative
along with the production of longer Noun phrase
and more complex sentence forms
◆ The development of narrative Phonological awareness
discourse in earlier grades, with the Pragmatics
emergence of expository discourse in
later grades Proverbs
◆ The development of reading and
Similes
writing skills, based on phono-
logical awareness and vocabulary Subordinate clause
development
Subordinating conjunctions
Subordination
Key Words Syllogisms
Verb phrase
Analogies
Verbal reasoning
Causal relationships
Concrete operations stage
Conjunctions Study Questions
Context clues
1. Explain the role of pragmatics in
Critical thinking successful peer interaction.
Derivational morpheme 2. Describe the importance of verbal
Discourse reasoning in children’s academic
skills.
Domain-specific
3. Explain the role of morphology in
Expository discourse expanding sentence length.
Formal operations
4. Explain the differences between
Idioms narrative and expository discourse.
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middle and late childhood and adolescence.
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Learning words through overhearing. Child Sage.
Development, 72, 416–430. Galotti, K. M. (2017). Cognitive development:
Avivi-Reich, M, Jakubczyk, A., Daneman, M., Infancy through adolescence. Los Angeles,
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Expository discourse intervention for adoles-
7
The Development of
Literacy Skills
Sylvia F. Diehl
Case Study
Pat is 4 years old. He loves to point out in his name (i.e., the sound and symbol
his favorite stores to his Mother when relationship). He can identify his own
riding in the car. He frequently points out name and enjoys finding the special letters
signs, especially McDonald’s and Toys R in his name on signs and in books. After
Us. Pat loves to read books with his big reading this chapter, you will understand
sister and will often use his toys to act out why these abilities are important in
the stories they read. He is beginning to providing the foundation for literacy
learn what sound /p/ makes and that it is development.
Literacy encompasses the ability to read, language as starting in infancy, with liter-
write, speak, listen, and think effectively acy skills beginning during formal school
(Meltzer, Smith, & Clark, 2001). The pur- instruction. It is true that the process of
pose of reading is to gather meaning from identifying letters and words is best when
the printed page (Dickenson, Golinkoff, systematically taught, and this instruc-
& Hirsch-Paseki, 2010). The develop- tion typically occurs at school. Think for a
ment of literacy is indivisibly linked with moment about Pat’s identification of the
the development of language (Goodrich, fast food sign. This shows print aware-
Mudrich, & Robinson, 2015; Nelson, 2010). ness that Pat developed before formal
One usually thinks of the development of teaching. Moreover, comprehension of the
179
written word is a very complex skill that The Development

includes language and cognitive abili- of Literacy
ties whose building blocks are achieved
before formal teaching (Kamhi, 2009).
In infancy, when children are beginning
The process of acquiring literacy can-
to learn speech and language, abilities
not be viewed as beginning with school
are acquired that form the framework
instruction. Instead, the acquisition of
for later literacy learning. For instance,
literacy begins in infancy (Newman, Rat-
when a child’s mother says, “Here comes
ner, Juszcyk, & Juszcyk, 2006). Language
your Daddy,” the child learns to compre-
and literacy skills foster one another and
hend the word Daddy separately from the
help each other to flourish. Oral language
whole stream of words. This segmenta-
nourishes reading and writing develop-
tion skill provides the foundation for for-
ment, while reading and writing develop-
mal segmentation tasks, such as, “What
ment promotes growth in oral language.
is the first sound in nap?” Children also
In short, literacy skills are a means for a
become aware of print well before school-
child to learn and think about the world
age when exposed to books, magazines,
in increasingly complex ways (Morrow,
grocery lists, advertisements, television
2015; Teale & Sulzby, 1986).
shows, and educational toys.
Children learn that pictures or symbols

Chapter Objectives
stand for ideas. For example, young
children easily identify the trademark
The purpose of this chapter is to explore symbol of their favorite fast food
normal literacy development from infancy restaurant or identify the black and
through adolescence. After reading this white outline in the book as a “cow.”
chapter, you should understand: These are just a few examples of the
early foundational learning experiences
◆ The interdependence of language and that provide the underpinnings for
literacy conscious formal learning (Dickinson,
◆ The importance of metalinguistics Golinkoff, & Hirsch-Pasek, 2010).
◆ The developmental stages of literacy
in the preschool through adolescent
years
◆ Methods to support literacy develop-
ment across all ages
Emergent Literacy
This chapter begins with an examina- Emergent literacy is typically associated

tion of the relationship between language with the preschool years (Storch & White-
and literacy, followed by a review of the hurst, 2001; Whitehurst & Lonigan, 1998).
development of literacy for preschool- From 3 to 5 years of age, children gather
ers, elementary school-age children, and information about print and sounds. They
adolescents. A brief discussion concerning make sense out of reading and writing in
methods to support literacy development very elementary ways related to symbols
follows each section. or codes (i.e., awareness of print; appre-
7. The Development of Literacy Skills 181
ciation of rhyming in songs; early draw- throughout the early elementary school
ing and writing) and language-related years (Troia, Stone, Silliman, Ehren, &
skills (i.e., vocabulary, syntax, story struc- Wallach, 2014). Phonological awareness
ture) before they experience formal lit- refers to an individual’s awareness of the
eracy instruction (Justice & Ezell, 2004; phonological structure, or sound struc-
Westerveld, Trembath, Shellshear, & ture, of words. It starts with an interest in
Paynter, 2016). This foundation supports the sounds in words and with enjoyment
the development of abilities for accu- of rhymes, songs, and chants. At 2 years of
rate fluent reading with comprehension age, many children can detect rhyme and
(National Institute of Child Health and alliteration (van Kleeck & Schuele, 1987).
Human Development [NICHD], 2008). Later this matures into more conscious
During this time, the child starts to learn metalinguistic awareness of onset, rimes,
to think about language in a more mind- and individual phonemes. This kind of
ful way. This represents a transition from gradual progression proceeds through
using language automatically for com- the aspects of phonological awareness,
munication to conscious thought about including a child’s ability to understand
the use of language. This ability is called how the sounds of language relate to one
metalinguistic knowledge, which means another to form the meaning of words.
“thinking about language.” Phonological awareness involves iden-
Metalinguistic skills are essential for tifying and manipulating whole words,
learning to read and write (Laurent & Mar- syllables, initial consonants, and word
tinot, 2009; van Kleeck, 1994). In addition, chunks at the end of words (rime). Exam-
learning another language acts to promote ples of children’s phonological awareness
metalinguistic awareness (Naqvi, Thorne, follow:
Pfitscher, Nordstokke, & McKeough, 2013).
As the child progresses through school, Awareness of the sound structure of
each area of language becomes the focus words
of metalinguistic examination (Justice,
Understanding that the word dog
2006). Early metalinguistic skills typically
has one syllable and banana has three
involve print awareness and phonological
syllables
awareness (Justice, 2006; Justice & Ezell,
2004). Developing print and phonologi- Understanding that the word cat
cal awareness is a gradual developmental consists of three alphabet letters
process (Suortti & Lipponen, 2016). Young
Having the ability to identify rhyming
children exhibit print awareness by real-
words and, later, to generate rhyme
izing that the print underneath a picture
gives additional information. Identifying the ending sound of the
word hat
By 4 years of age, children become

Development of
aware that print has certain conventions.
Code-Related Literacy For example, they learn that print is orga-
nized from left to right and that a grocery list
Phonological awareness begins in the is organized differently than a storybook.
early preschool years and continues Children learn that print can represent
distinct names, depending on the varied world in more complex ways. They are
order of letters in words (Justice & Ezell, learning to communicate about people,
2004). At this stage of development, chil- objects, and events that are not actually
dren’s phonological awareness becomes present. This involves decontextualized
much more visible, graduating to the language, or language used to refer to
ability to segment sound units in words. things not present in the immediate envi-
Development goes from larger segments, ronment. Experience with decontextual-
such as parsing sentences into words, to ized language is crucial to later reading
smaller segments, such as dividing mul- development and text comprehension
tisyllabic words into syllables (e.g., ba-na- (Olaussen, 2016). In fact, comprehension
na and mon-key) (Moats, 2009). They also of complex language is the best predic-
begin to recognize when words rhyme tor of reading comprehension. During the
(e.g., hat-cat). preschool years, children also develop
As children grow, phonological an understanding of simple narratives
awareness increases and more complex or stories. Vocabulary develops as chil-
phonological awareness tasks are mas- dren learn new words from books. This,
tered. Earlier tasks typically involve in turn, feeds the growth of a larger and
matching letters (i.e., Can you find more varied vocabulary along with the
another “G”?), blending (i.e., What word ability to retell events.
does /b/-/i/-/n/ make?), and adding
sounds to form new words (i.e., add /s/
Very early print awareness begins
to the beginning of the word top). Later
to appear when children develop
developing phonological tasks involve
an interest in print and realize that
analysis, such as counting the number
print carries meaning (Justice &
of segments in words (i.e., How many
Ezell, 2004). They first begin with an
sounds are in the word cough?), segment-
understanding of the letters in their
ing (i.e., Say each sound in the word sun),
own names and, in this way, learn
and deleting sounds (i.e., Say spot without
that alphabet letters are “special”
the /s/) (Yopp & Yopp, 2009).
(Wood, 2007).
Literacy Developmental By age 4, children’s vocabulary and

sentences continue to develop into more
Milestones
and more complex forms. Children are
(Meaning Related)
now able to tell stories that remain mostly
on topic but do not have a typical story
The preschool years are an eventful time structure (Stadler & Ward, 2005). A de-
for building the foundation for literacy scription of children’s narrative develop-
development (Chall, 1996; Justice, 2006; ment is provided in Chapter 6, showing
Moats, 2009; Shipley & McAfee, 2009; that children begin with simple recounts
Tompkins, 2003; van Kleeck, 2006; Wolf- of events. This early knowledge of stories
ersberger, Reutzel, Sudweeks, & Fawson, matures into an awareness of narrative
2004; Wood, 2007; Yopp & Yopp, 2009) text structure (Hedberg & Westby, 1993).
(Table 7–1). By age 3, children are start- Text structure refers to the organization of
ing to think and communicate about their written text. Examples of the features and
Table 7–1. Preschool Literacy Development and Literacy Activities
Supporting
Preschool
Phonological Narrative Literacy
Print Concepts Awareness Spelling Vocabulary Development Writing Development
• Interest in • Enjoys • Scribbling • Ever- • Retells stories • Starts out • A literacy-rich
print playing with common expanding that stay scribbling, environment
the sounds vocabulary for mostly on which turns
• Groups of • May use letter • Book sharing
in words and words in their topic into writing
letters have symbols but no or dialogic
songs environment that looks like
meaning sound symbol • Relates stories reading
letters and
• Can separate correspondence • Able to use to personal
• Turns pages words • Pointing out
sentences into subordinating experience
one at a time • May be able to details about
183
words and and • Will interpret
spell name • By age 4, print
• Looks from words into coordinating his or her
answers wh-
left to right syllables • Direction of words to form writing and • Songs
questions
and top to writing on more complex drawing for
• Knows words about • Fingerplay
bottom page sentences others to
are made of read-aloud that promotes
form a whole
sounds • Some letter stories sound
meaning
sound matches play and
• Produces
by age 4 manipulation
words that
of the sounds
rhyme
in words
• Dramatic play
• Varied writing
experiences
organization of text structure for narrative various types of texts, along with the rela-
(story) elements of fiction follow: tionship among these ideas. With knowl-
edge of the framework of text structure,
Characters: People involved in the children can comprehend how words
story and sentences are arranged within varied
types of texts, from a simple grocery list to
Setting: Places where the action the popular Harry Potter series. For exam-
occurs ple, children must organize their thinking
Problem: Challenges that the charac- to match the thought of the author of the
ters face text and arrive at an understanding of the
sequence of events and the motivations of
Solution: How the challenge is the characters in narratives (i.e., the rea-
resolved sons for their actions). Children without
Plot: Events that make up a story exposure to text structure may approach
reading without a basic framework or
As stories are read to preschoolers, the plan which makes comprehension of the
narrative elements become expected and story more difficult.
start to be included in their retelling. Other
types of text structure related to nonfiction
Metalinguistic abilities are an inte-
are incorporated in the same way. With
gral part of language and literacy
exposure, these formats become familiar
learning, because children must be
and the framework for their structure is
aware of how to determine word
incorporated into the preschoolers’ reper-
meaning. In terms of word meaning
toire. Here are some examples of the fea-
(semantics), readers often consciously
tures and organization of the text struc-
wonder about the meaning of an
ture for nonfiction:
unfamiliar word. They may try to
decipher the word in context (i.e., by
Cause and effect: A discussion of how
determining the meaning via other
one action can cause another action to
words that surround it) or look it up
occur
in a dictionary.
Sequence of events: The chronological
order of actions or events
Description: A topic that is explained
in terms of characteristics, features, Supporting Literacy
and examples Development in the
Comparison and contrast: An expla- Preschool Years
nation of how two or more events are
alike and/or different Support for literacy skills in the preschool
years is intended to ensure that a child
Knowledge of text structure supports has a variety of literacy experiences. Dur-
children’s comprehension of both fiction ing this stage of development, children
and nonfiction texts by providing them are exposed to varying text structures
with the format for the ideas presented in and are given the opportunity to engage
in prewriting activities (e.g., scribbling proudly displayed in the classroom and

and drawing). Four strategies are recom- on the refrigerator at home.
mended to support literacy development
in the preschool years: providing: (1) a
Children’s early writing begins
print-rich environment and prewriting
with a mix of drawing efforts with
activities; (2) book sharing; (3) phonologi-
attempts to “write.” Very young
cal awareness activities; and (4) symbolic
children begin their attempts to
play (see Table 7–1).
write with scribbling and move
to drawing. There is a connection
between these early writing attempts
Print-Rich Environment
and children’s oral language skills
(Coates & Coates, 2016; Dyson,
Scribbling and drawing is an important
2000), as the combination of writing,
part of children’s literacy development.
drawing, and language is integrated
It provides the beginning motor practice
to form meaning.
for formal writing and provides addi-
tional information about the sound sym-
bol connection. Additionally, children
have interesting narratives and imagina- Book Sharing
tive play entwined with their scribbling
and early drawing. Listening to children Book sharing has been shown to provide
as they draw reveals their inner fanta- an important experience for preschoolers
sies. Children often use drawing to test (Pentimonti et al., 2012; Towson, Galla-
out their knowledge (Coates & Coates, gher, & Bingham, 2016; van Kleeck, 2006;
2016). Therefore, it is important to pro- Zevenbergen & Whitehurst, 2003), allow-
vide a print-rich environment at home as ing the novice reader to have a dialogue
an important ingredient in this experien- with a peer or an adult who is a more
tial effort to support children’s literacy experienced reader (van Kleeck, 2006).
development (Guo, Justice, Kaderavek, & Effective book sharing is interactive and
McGinty, 2012; Roskos & Neuman, 2001; involves more than just reading books
Wolfersberger et al., 2004). with a child. This kind of book sharing
There are a variety of reading materi- is called dialogic reading. It encourages
als that support different genres such as a gradual shift in the conversational roles
stories, poetry, directions, grocery lists, of the adult and child during shared inter-
and recipes. An assortment of materials active reading (van Druten-Frietman,
set the stage for purposeful encounters, Strating, Denessen, & Verhoeven, 2016).
including writing paper, construction The final outcome in dialogic reading is
paper, whiteboards, easels, chalk, crayons, for the child to become the storyteller and
markers, and glue and stickers. Modeling the adult an active listener (Towson, Gal-
writing and drawing with young chil- lagher, & Bingham, 2016; Zevenbergen
dren encourages their prewriting expe- & Whitehurst, 2003). Here are some fac-
rience. Adults should listen to children’s tors to consider before, during, and after
narrations of their drawings (Coates & shared interactive reading (Colmar, 2011,
Coates, 2016). Early drawing and writ- 2014; Lonigan & Whitehurst, 1998; Jus-
ing attempts should be celebrated and tice, Kaderavek, Bowles, & Grimm, 2005;
Koppenhaver, Erickson, & Skotko, 2001; and the plot). The child and adult
van Kleeck, Vander Woude, & Hammett, could also discuss how the content
2006; Whitehurst et al., 1994; Zevenber- relates to their lives and discuss the
gen, Whitehurst, & Zevenbergen, 2003; new words that they have encoun-
Ziolkowski & Goldstein, 2008): tered, along with what they would
like to read the next time.
◆ Before reading, consider the choice
of book being read. The content and
Shared interactive reading should be
length of the book and the complexity
done frequently and routinely to help
of the language should be a good
the child learn about the organization
match with the child’s interest,
of books and the text structure found
attention span, and comprehension
in them. New vocabulary words
abilities. A child should be encour-
should be discussed as they appear
aged to make predictions about the
in the text, along with periodic ques-
book’s content from its cover.
tions and comments about the story
◆ During reading, it is important that
(Huebner, 2000; van Kleeck, 2008).
the adult make the experience a posi-
Indicating aspects of print during
tive one by reading with expression
reading, such as pointing to words
and interest. With unfamiliar books,
while reading, has been shown to
the adult should do more of the
have a positive effect on reading
talking. As the child becomes more
acquisition (Pentimonti et al., 2012).
familiar with the book, the balance
should shift to the child (Whitehurst
et al., 1994). Adults should periodi-
cally pause to encourage commenting Phonological Awareness Activities
by the child. When the child volun-
teers a comment, the comment could Playing with sounds helps build the
be expanded. Fill-in-the-blanks (e.g., phonological abilities needed when for-
I think he is going to ___), wh-questions mal reading instruction begins (Phillips,
(e.g., who, what, where,and why), or Clancy-Menchetti, & Lonigan, 2008). Songs,
prediction questions (e.g., What do poems, alliterative games, and rhyming
you think will happen next?) are useful books help provide early experiences with
to encourage the child to repeat the manipulating sound. For young children,
expanded comment or fill in new these phonological awareness activities
information. Point out features of should not be seen as schoolwork but as
print that would be special to the an extension of play (Yopp & Yopp, 2009).
child, such as the letters in their name.
This kind of active interaction should
be periodic so it does not interrupt the Sociodramatic Play Experiences
meaning of the book.
◆ After reading, it is important to talk Sociodramatic play experiences are also
about the story that has been read. foundational for successful literacy devel-
Elements of text structure should be opment (Vygotsky, 1967). In sociodramatic
included when appropriate (e.g., char- play, children use an object to represent
acters, settings, problems, solutions, something other than what it is (e.g., a
box for a car or a block for a telephone). literacy development in both monolin-
The ability to substitute or represent one gual and bilingual children (Banerjee,
thing for another is a rung on the ladder Alsalman, & Alqafari, 2016; Eisenchlas,
to realizing that letters grouped together Schalley, & Moyes, 2016).
can represent the spoken word. In other
words, children realize that alphabet let-
ters are symbols that represent spoken Technology and Literacy
sounds and that these letters can be con-
nected to represent words. Symbolic play Despite mixed feelings by many on the
also encourages the language growth subject, the impact of technology on liter-
needed in literacy attainment (Wilford, acy must be recognized. Children are now
2000). Sociodramatic play has six ingredi- exposed to digital media from a young
ents, according to Smilansky (1968). These age (Kozminsky & Asher-Sadon, 2013).
ingredients are: (1) make-believing using Young children are frequently using Inter-
objects, (2) assuming a make-believe role, net applications, such as Starfall.com and
(3) make-believing about a situation or PBS.kids, which read stories to them or
action, (4) persisting or being able to con- present phonological awareness and pho-
tinue the play in face of challenges, (5) nic games. In the classroom, technology is
using language to communicate the con- being used as teaching aids. Whiteboards
text of play, and (6) interacting socially and computers are being used to motivate,
while playing. For example, children provide greater visual supports for the
were observed in a preschool classroom concepts being taught, and monitor prog-
acting out a book called Mrs. Wishy Washy ress. Research on this practice produces
that they had previously read as a class. varied results. For instance, Dennis, Wha-
This is a story about a farmwoman who lon, Kraut, and Herron (2016) studied the
washes her animals but they keep getting effects of using iPads in teaching vocabu-
dirty. The teacher had the objects of the lary. They found that both digital and non-
farm animals, a play bathtub, and a brown digital approaches were effective. Korat
towel out in the reading center. The chil- and Segal-Drori (2016) compared e-book
dren pretended to be the animals and the versus printed book reading and found that
farm woman. They would get the animals the e-book showed more positive effects.
“dirty” by throwing them on the brown
towel and repeating repetitive lines in the
book like, “Oh, lovely mud!” One child Literacy Development
even suggested getting the animals dirty
in the Elementary
by coloring them with water-based mark-
ers. When they couldn’t find any mark-
School Years
ers, they agree to pretend. They worked
together enacting the story many times The elementary school years mark a time
and changing roles. This play context of enormous growth in literacy develop-
helped cement the important language ment (Blachman, 1997; Chall, 1996; Kad-
and literacy factors discussed, such as eravek & Justice, 2004; Shipley & McAfee,
symbol development, character perspec- 2009; Tompkins, 2003; Wood, 2007) (Tables
tive, and expressive vocabulary. Socio- 7–2 and 7–3). Children go from identifying
dramatic play has been found to benefit sound and letter pairings in kindergarten to
Table 7–2. Literacy Development from Kindergarten Through Grade 2
Phonological
Grade Awareness Spelling Vocabulary Fluency Comprehension Writing
K • Segments onset • Knows the letters • Can talk about • Expands • Sight reads • Predicts what is
and rime (m and their sounds things that are vocabulary high-frequency next in stories
followed by -an) • Identifies all not physically using more words and • Answers
• Finds words that upper- and present words not in some CVC questions about
start with the same lowercase letters • Knows about immediate words read-aloud stories
phoneme • Can identify 2,000 to 3,000 environment • Draws and writes
• Blend sounds words in the words
together same word family
1 • Changes • Understands that • Knows about • Creates • Answers • Begins with
phonemes by words have a 2,000 to 3,000 meaning questions capital letters
adding, deleting, distinct spelling words while reading about text • Ends with period
188
or substituting • Spells by • Understands • Rereads to • Follows • Spacing irregular
phonemes sounding out the word get words simple written
• Has more advanced • Spells CVC and relations of right instructions
abilities to blend sight words antonyms and
sounds together synonyms
2 • Reads longer • Traditional • Uses context • Reading • Sequences • Writes narrative
words by sounding spelling increases of reading to speed events of story and expository
out using phonic • Consonant blends help decode increases • Uses context text with model
abilities and digraphs are words clues to help • Variety of
• Reads words acquired • Begins to use comprehension sentence forms
with one and two • Some root words, • Writing has
syllables morphological prefixes, and beginning,
structures are suffixes to middle, and end
used decode words • Legible writing
• Regular spacing
Table 7–3. Literacy Development from Grades 3 Through 10
Grade Spelling Vocabulary Fluency Comprehension Writing

3 • Mostly adultlike • Vocabulary • Reads at 114 words • Monitors • Narratives, letters,
spelling continues to be per minute comprehension simple expositories
• Long vowel and enriched through • Word analysis skills while reading • Uses more cohesive
control vowel reading when reading • Clarifies when does devices
spelling patterns • Knows between not comprehend
• Complex consonant 4,000 and 6,000 • Knows fact/opinion
patterns words
• Knows cause/effect
4–6 • Identifies • Uses vocabulary • Fluent reading • Makes inferences • Organizes writing
misspellings by effectively in writing • Understands an from text into beginning,
using orthographic middle, and end
189
• Knows between increasing number • Can summarize and
knowledge 5,000 and 8,000 of text structures paraphrase • Main idea is evident
• Applies inflectional words • Develops characters
endings and plots
• Uses syllabication • Reviews and revises
7–10 • Uses phonological, • Attains vocabulary • Reads fluently for • Reads • Complex sentences
orthographic, needed in content learning and for independently for in writing
and morphologic areas entertainment new knowledge and • Coherent and
knowledge to spell research projects cohesive writing
• Latin and Greek • A variety of text
affixes and root structures are
words explored
• Etymologies
reading a variety of text genres (e.g., types

of text) fluently by the fifth grade. Liter- Monosyllabic words can be split into
acy development occurs across the critical two parts — the onset and the rime.
literacy areas below: The onset is the initial consonant
sound (b- in bag and sw- in swim) and
◆ Phonological awareness the rime is the vowel and the rest of
◆ Vocabulary the syllable that follows (-ag in bag
◆ Reading comprehension and -im in swim).
◆ Spelling
◆ Reading fluency In grade 1, children continue to manip-
◆ Writing ulate the sounds of words through com-
pound word construction (e.g., railroad)
Phonological Awareness and syllable deletion (e.g., omitting a syl-
and Literacy Learning lable from a word). Examples consist of
saying the word railroad without road and
Formal reading instruction begins in ear- saying the word fishing without the -ing.
nest when a child enters kindergarten. By the end of the first grade and into sec-
Phonological awareness is now a large part ond grade, children begin to work with
of formal literacy learning. Phonological even smaller sound segments. They can
awareness is a broad term that incorporates now count the number of phonemes or
the size of a sound unit and how that sound sound units in a word (e.g., nut has three
unit is used in different contexts (Yopp & sounds). They may be asked to delete the
Yopp, 2009). There are levels of complexity initial or final phoneme of a word (e.g.,
for the sound units being learned: Say stop without the /s/). In addition to
deleting sounds, the first grader is able
Larger sound units — beginning with to blend sounds together to form words
sentences, then moving to words (Moats, 2009), such as blending “c-a-t” to
Smaller sound units — beginning with form the word cat.
syllables (e.g., ba–na–na), then moving Some words are recognized by sight
to individual phonemes in words at this stage of development, but many
(e.g., /b/) words are sounded out phoneme by pho-
neme. Additionally, during the second
Children gradually develop awareness of grade, word patterns are learned (i.e., the
the size of units, proceeding from the larger pattern of letters that form certain fre-
units of sentences and syllables in the pre- quently encountered words, such as the,
school years to individual phonemes or is, are, these, and other examples that occur
sounds in the kindergarten years. The way frequently in written text). Word pat-
in which sound units are manipulated (i.e., tern recognition acts to speed up reading
matching, blending, segmenting, substi- skills.
tuting, and deleting) develops from kin-
dergarten through grade 2 (see Table 7–2). Vocabulary Development and
In kindergarten, a child can iden- Reading Comprehension
tify the first sound of a spoken word and
separate it from its rime. For example, the Vocabulary knowledge is a powerful pre-
word pin begins with /p/, which is the dictor of reading development. However,
onset, and the rime is “in.” there is variance in the vocabulary knowl-
edge that children possess when entering change or exaggerate meaning because
school (Cervetti, Wright, & Hwang, 2016). they are grouped together). The first
Differences are likely related to the expe- grader uses this vocabulary to gather
rience base of the children and the fre- comprehension clues about pictures,
quency of words the children are expos- titles, and headings within a book. He or
ed to at home. In fact, vocabulary size in she can make accurate predictions using
first grade is a predictor of reading com- this information.
prehension in the eleventh grade (Cun- In the second grade, language skills
ningham & Stanovich, 1997). Another continue to expand and children are able
factor in reading comprehension and to identify root words (stand), prefixes
vocabulary development is the amount of (mis-), and suffixes (-ing). This is an impor-
reading experience. For example, expo- tant step in helping the child move away
sure to new words enhances children’s from sound-by-sound reading into more
memory for the pronunciation, spelling, fluent comprehension of text and words
and meaning of that word (Rosenthal & (e.g., misunderstanding). Second graders
Ehri, 2008). Because of the differences also have more fully developed narra-
related to their literary experience, the tives (Stadler & Ward, 2005). They can cre-
developmental ranges presented here are ate a full episode including setting, plot,
only an estimate of typically developing character, and resolution. Second graders
children. start to comprehend written text without
In kindergarten, the child’s ability to the aid of an adult (Wood, 2007). They
read and discuss decontextualized ideas become more independent in their read-
expands. Typically, topics discussed in ing and new word learning. They may
the classroom are not physically present. use dictionaries and other resources to
For example, a preschool-age child may support comprehension. As they mature
talk about a policeman when he sees a through elementary school, children are
policeman on the street. In the kindergar- able to comprehend lengthier texts, such
ten classroom, a discussion might be held as books with chapters.
about community helpers, such as police- By the fourth grade, independent
men and firemen, but they need not be reading is well developed (Wood, 2007).
present for this discussion to occur. Ideas By the fifth grade, children’s vocabulary
are discussed using oral language, pic- continues to develop and they become
tures, and books. The kindergartner also more interested in exploring nonfiction
expands his or her ability to tell stories or reading and enjoy biographies.
narratives that follow a sequential order
of events (Stadler & Ward, 2005). Spelling
It is estimated that a first grader
acquires 2,000 to 3,000 words and will Learning about spelling supports read-
learn about 3,000 words a year in the fol- ing development by increasing children’s
lowing years (Carlisle & Katz, 2005). By knowledge of phonemic awareness, in-
the third grade, vocabulary continues to creasing their knowledge of the alphabetic
develop and children are beginning to principle, and making sight words easier
understand complex word relationships. to remember. Recent studies have shown
Children enjoy nonliteral language, such the importance of formal spelling instruc-
as humor, idioms, and early figurative tion (Graham & Santangelo, 2014). The
language (e.g., groups of words that development of spelling involves a blend
of three types of linguistic knowledge By the second grade, children begin

(Bourassa & Treiman, 2001). It is the inte- to learn that words that “sound the same”
gration of these three types of linguistic may have different meanings and spell-
knowledge that leads to spelling expertise: ings (e.g., two, too,and to), and they are
challenged by the different spellings of
The first type of linguistic knowledge these words. When a child must choose
is phonological knowledge, helping a between alternative spellings (i.e., for ver-
child to form a link between sounds sus four), words that the children have
and letters. frequently seen in print provide ortho-
graphic guidance (Wright & Ehri, 2007).
The second type of linguistic knowl-
More exposure to reading provides chil-
edge is orthographic knowledge,
dren with the ability to recognize the
allowing a child to understand that a
meaning of these words, along with the
sound can be represented in print in
ability to spell them.
different ways (e.g., the “oo” sound in
In the second grade, children are now
the word shoot can also be spelled as
reading more frequently and indepen-
“oe” in the word shoe).
dently and are exposed to more words
The third type of linguistic knowl- in print. By the end of second grade, the
edge is morphological knowledge, use of inflections begins to appear with
providing the knowledge of inflec- the use of past tense and plurals evident
tions such as -er and -ing (e.g., bigger in children’s productions (Carlisle, 1988;
and running). Walker & Hauerwas, 2006). Examples
consist of the use of the past tense verb
Kindergartners and first graders pri- form -ed (e.g., walked) and the plural form
marily depend on their phonological -s (e.g., cats).
knowledge (Ehri, 2000), using their under- By the third grade, the use of morpho-
standing of the sound-symbol relation- logical knowledge in spelling becomes
ship to spell words. For example, children commonplace and affixes are consistently
may spell the word you as “u” or the word used correctly (Tompkins, 2003). An affix
night as “nit.” is a word element, such as a prefix or suf-
Next, children begin to spell words fix, that can only occur attached to a base,
with short vowels in consonant-vowel- stem, or root, as demonstrated in the fol-
consonant (CVC) form (e.g., cat, rip, men). lowing examples:
They are able to spell words with two
consonants together, such as the blends Prefixes that occur before a root/stem:
sm and st. At this stage of development,
un + kind unkind
children are also able to spell words with
digraphs, or words that have two conso- mis + lay mislay
nants that make one sound (i.e., th, sh, ch,
mis + understand misunderstand
used to spell thumb, shoe, and chin). Note
that the phonetic representation of these
Suffixes that occur at the end of a root/
sounds is a single phoneme: th /θ/, sh
stem:
/S/, and ch /tS/, as described in Chapters
1 and 3. care + ful careful
danger + ous dangerous

The National Reading Panel
happy + ness happiness (National Institute of Child Health
and Human Development [NICHD],
Third graders are able to use mean-
ingful chunks or segments of words in 2008) defines fluency as the ability
their spelling. More advanced inflectional to read a text quickly and accurately
endings are present, such as -ness or -ship and with proper expression. Fluent
(e.g., happiness and ownership). As children reading is connected with good reading
learn how to spell words, errors in add- comprehension, with the added
ing prefixes, suffixes, inflectional endings, requirement of good decoding skills.
along with doubling errors, are common The correlation between the rate of
(e.g., “hamer” for hammer). Children who oral reading and reading comprehen-
can integrate the three types of linguistic sion is strong during the elementary
knowledge in their spelling — phonologi- school years (Pinnell et al., 1995), but
cal, morphological, and orthographic — are rapid reading skills do not always
on their way to being good spellers. mean that the reader comprehends
the text. Most readers, but not all,
who can read text quickly are also
Reading Fluency good comprehenders. However,
some children have the ability to read
When children are first learning to read, words quickly but do not understand
their reading rate is quite slow because what they are reading. The ability to
they are putting significant mental effort read fluently is a complex skill that
into the phonological process of sounding develops over time.
out the words sound by sound. In order
to increase their rate, children must inte- Reading fluency requires a cogni-
grate their other linguistic abilities with tive process of analysis, in which children
spelling skills. These other linguistic abili- apply their knowledge of a wide number
ties consist of orthographic skills (which of unrelated facts about the world, along
allow children to quickly identify sight with an understanding of the relationship
words) and morphologic skills (which among various concepts (ideas about
allow children to identify prefixes and things) (Bialystok, 2001). Beginning and
suffixes). They must also connect their more advanced fluent reading (and writ-
orthographic skills with word meaning or ing) are based on different levels of cogni-
semantic knowledge. When these abilities tive processing and require different lev-
work in an integrative and automatic fash- els of language skills.
ion, the child is said to read fluently and Consider the cognitive demands of
his or her reading rate typically increases. conversation (low cognitive demands)
It is thought that if children spend less versus giving a book report in class (high
cognitive resources decoding a text, they cognitive demands). In a similar man-
have more resources available to devote ner, fluent reading depends on more
to understanding the meaning of the pas- advanced cognitive processes and lan-
sage (Lingo, 2014). guage skills. Fluent reading also requires
that the reader apply higher cognitive lowercase letters. Although there is vari-
processes to comprehension, rather than ability, basic writing conventions are fol-
the lower level processes assigned to lowed, such as using capital letters when
recognizing individual words (Stanov- appropriate and ending with a period.
ich, Cunningham, & Freeman, 2009). The By the second grade, children still rely
fluent reader holds sequences of words in on lines to guide their placement of letters
short-term memory, the site of operation but writing has become more automatic.
of comprehension processes on the words The diminished motor demands help chil-
that have been read. This process leads to dren focus more on the content in their writ-
meaningful phrasing while reading and to ten efforts. By this stage of development,
the integration of words into a meaning- connected writing expands and children’s
ful conceptual structure that can be stored written essays have a beginning, middle,
in long-term memory. In short, the more and end (Wood, 2007). They develop more
fluent the reader, the less chance for mis- interest in writing expository text structure
interpretation of the text (Rubin, 2016). or informational assignments.
The primary goal of expository

Writing
text is to deliver information about
a subject, a common issue, a way
As discussed earlier, children’s earliest
to do something, or an idea. This
writings are combined with drawing. Their
represents the beginning of a journey
first written word is often their own name
into a variety of expository text struc-
(Bloodgood, 1999). Children expand from
tures, each of which has a different
that name knowledge and begin to pep-
function (i.e., descriptive, sequence,
per their drawings with letters (Harste,
comparison-contrast, cause-effect,
Woodward, & Burke, 1984). In kindergar-
and problem-solution) (Westby, 1999).
ten, children’s early writing reflects their
burgeoning phonological development
and maturing motor skills. By the third grade, children are typi-
cally motorically fluent writers. They are
ready to begin the draft and revision pro-
Most kindergartners can stay within
cess for their writing efforts. Their plots
the lines on big writing paper,
include character development but may
and their writing flows from left
sometimes be fanciful and hard to believe.
to right and top to bottom (Wood,
Fourth graders are ready to write at more
2007). There is inconsistency in their
length using information resources to
spacing but there are also attempts to
develop the topic. Their budding ability
group words separately.
to understand idioms and early figura-
tive language appears in their attempts
In the beginning stages of writing, chil- to include humor in their writing. They
dren typically prefer uppercase letters. write in multiple genres, including nar-
Invented spelling is common (Moats, ratives and expositories, from letters to
2009) — for example, mommy written as basic research papers.
“MBXBC.” By the first grade, writing is Fifth graders continue to perfect the
legible but still larger than typical writing. draft and revision process. Their plots
It is not unusual to see a mix of upper- and become more complex and may include
more than one episode (e.g., a story within Grammatical forms: The little girl ran
another story). They continue to expand quickly around the track.
their enjoyment of different written genres
through poetry writing, cartooning, and Adept use of cohesive ties helps writ-
journaling (Wood, 2007). Their writing ing grow in coherence and increases the
shows more awareness of who will read clarity of the writing as the complexity
what they have written. increases (Dyson & Freedman, 2003). Both
Because oral language and written abilities grow throughout children’s lives
language are so closely connected, chil- and well into adulthood.
dren’s oral language feeds the complexity
of their written language. Their increasing
language skills are especially important in Supporting Literacy
the development of cohesion and coher- Development in the
ence in their writing. Cohesion is how the Elementary School Years
ideas relate to each other. A paper with
good cohesion is comprehensible and
A child’s literacy program in the elemen-
consistent. One thought naturally leads
tary school years should include five areas
to another. Coherence can be conceived as
recommended by the National Read-
the grammatical and lexical links from one
ing Panel (NICHD, 2000): (1) phonemic
part of a text to another. This includes use
awareness, (2) phonics, (3) fluency, (4)
of synonyms (words with the same mean-
vocabulary, and (5) text comprehension.
ing), lexical sets (a set of words with the
The child’s reading program should be
same topic, function, or form), pronouns
balanced, integrating all areas that play a
(words that replace nouns), verb tenses
role in literacy development, rather than a
(verb forms that express the time an action
focused concentration on one or the other.
took place), time references (words that
indicate when an event occurs, occurred,
or will occur), and grammatical forms Phonemic Awareness
(proper nouns, adjectives, prepositional
phrases, and relative clauses), as shown Phonemic awareness is an aspect of pho-
in the following examples: nological awareness that deals with the
phoneme. As stated in Chapters 1 and 3,
Synonyms: Myths often narrate a phoneme is the smallest sound unit of
historical beliefs. These narratives language. Whereas younger children deal
tell a story about what some people with larger units like words and syllables,
believe. school-age children deal with phonemes.
Phonemic awareness helps children real-
Lexical sets: We were looking for the ize that sounds can be put together to
lost cat. This feline was our pet. form words. Meaningful activities given
Pronouns: Peter was lost and he to beginning readers provide practice
didn’t know where he was. with segmenting and blending individ-
ual sounds (Torgesen et al., 2001). Once
Verb tenses: He went yesterday and
children become aware of the individual
decided to go again tomorrow.
sounds in words, they are able to under-
Time references: First, he ate; next, he stand blending and segmenting sounds
took a nap; and then he watched TV. in words. Segmenting involves break-
ing words into syllables (e.g., ba-na-na) an experienced reader reads the book on
or individual sounds (e.g., cat = c-a-t), an audiotape. As the child becomes more
whereas blending involves combining fluent, he or she could read in concert
individual sounds to produce a word with the audiobook and then indepen-
(e.g., c-a-t = cat). dently. Readers’ theater allows students
to rehearse a play that comes from their
reading. The script is then performed for
Phonics classmates with a minimum of prepara-
tion or props. Because it is in play form, it
Whereas phonemic awareness deals
is a natural vehicle to increase fluent read-
with spoken language sounds, phonics
ing presentation.
describes the relationship between pho-
nemes (sounds) and graphemes (writ-
ten language). In other words, phonics
Vocabulary
teaches the child the connection between
the sound that the phoneme makes and
Vocabulary is learned both incidentally
the letter representation. When present-
(implicitly) and by direct teaching (explic-
ing phonemic awareness activities, the
itly) (Nagy & Herman, 1985). Some word
connections to the grapheme(s) or the
meanings are taught explicitly. Explicit
written letter or letters that correspond
word learning strategies include pre-
with sounds should be made obvious to
teaching vocabulary words, repeated ex-
the child (NICHD, 2000; Torgesen et al.,
posure to vocabulary words, the key word
2001). Phonics should be explicitly and
method, word maps, the Cloze procedure,
systematically taught and children should
and root analysis. Even with the use of
be encouraged to use their phonic skills
these strategies, it is impossible for teach-
when reading or writing (NICHD, 2000).
ers to directly teach all the word meanings
needed. Therefore, students must be able
Reading Fluency to learn new words incidentally from oral
language or by inferring meaning from
Gaining fluency skills depends both on context when reading. Teachers can sup-
exposure to models of fluent reading and port incidental word learning, however,
on experience with reading aloud. There by inspiring interest and inquisitiveness
are numerous ways of providing repeated about learning new words. Modeling
experiences, such as student–adult read- word-learning strategies and interest in
ing, partner reading, choral reading, tape- word learning can help capitalize on inci-
assisted reading, and readers’ theater. dental word learning while students are
Repeated readings have been shown to reading independently (NICHD, 2000).
be effective in typically developing chil-
dren, children with learning disabilities,
and children learning a second language Strategies That Support
(Rubin, 2016). In student–adult reading Reading Comprehension
and partner reading, the readers take
turns reading aloud, whereas in choral Vocabulary knowledge is not all there is to
reading, the whole class reads together reading comprehension. Understanding
at the same time. Tape-assisted reading what is read takes more than just know-
allows the student to read along while ing the individual word meanings. Good
readers think about meaning as they are (Kervin & Mantei, 2016). The right bal-
reading, integrating the written text with ance between these technologies is a con-
what they already know. stant issue for teachers and is impacted
There are many strategies that aid by the technology available and by their
reading comprehension. These strate- attitudes and beliefs about new technolo-
gies include using graphic organizers, gies (Hew & Brush, 2007).
answering and asking questions about
what was read, discussing text structure,
and summarizing texts (NICHD, 2000).
Literacy Development
One method incorporates four of these
strategies (Palincsar & Brown, 1986). This
in Adolescence
method is called Reciprocal Teaching. In
this method, the more experienced reader This review highlights several common
models and encourages asking ques- instructional elements — such as explicit
tions about what is being read, clarifying instruction in comprehension, writing,
unknown words, predicting what might and cooperative learning — that could
happen next, and summarizing or using be explored in future research. Common
self-review. Another strategy, Question instructional elements can help inform
Answer Relationship, has been found to increasingly effective practices. Sys-
support reading comprehension and the tematic combinations of these elements
ability to answer questions (Green, 2016). and organizational components (such
In this strategy, four types of comprehen- as extended instruction or professional
sion questions are taught (right there, think development) could continue to be inves-
and search, the author and you, and on your tigated to determine which elements are
own). Knowing the expectation of the necessary and how many are sufficient to
question helps readers determine the cor- demonstrate positive effects (Biancarosa
rect source for the answer. & Snow, 2006.) By adolescence, children
are fluent readers, but this does not mean
that their literacy development is com-
Technology and plete (see Table 7–3). To meet the expec-
School-Age Children tations in the content areas in the upper
grades, it is imperative that their vocabu-
Technology is being increasingly used to lary, comprehension, fluency, and writing
address literacy instruction in our schools abilities continue to grow and expand. In
(International Reading Association, 2001). this section, growth in these areas is high-
Text formats are increasingly presented lighted along with methods to support
via multimedia or hyperlinks and are adolescents’ continued literacy growth.
impacting the way students integrate
information (Warschauer, 2006). Sources
for information are timely and searches Genre,Vocabulary, and
for information have innovative formats. Reading Comprehension
Social opportunities are also available in
the use of email, texts, and chats. Writ- Throughout adolescence, children learn
ing is increasingly expressed using digi- to enjoy, use, and comprehend a variety
tal means and has changed the way that of genres or types of text, both fiction and
texts are planned, produced, and shared nonfiction (Wood, 2007). In middle school,
they begin reading newspapers, maga- lary of the discipline being studied (Sil-
zines, and biographies. These continue in liman & Scott, 2009). For instance, let us
high school along with song lyrics, poetry, consider this sample question taken from
drama, short stories, and novels. As noted a high school science state examination
earlier, familiarity with different types of (NYSED, 2011):
text structure supports the comprehen-
sion of a text. This is especially helpful if When the bacterium, Serratia marces-
the content of the text is unfamiliar to the cens, is grown on a sterile culture medium
reader (Wallach & Butler, 1994). in a petri dish at 30°C, the bacterial colo-
nies are cream colored. When this same
bacterium is cultured under identical con-
Knowing different kinds of text struc-
ditions, except at a temperature of 25°C,
ture also helps support vocabulary
the colonies are brick red. This difference
development. When a student reads
in color is most likely due to the effect of
about the same subject in a variety of
temperature on the expression of the gene
types of print, there is more frequent
for color.
exposure to related vocabulary. This
helps the adolescent to learn a variety
The preceding passage contains ad-
of high-frequency (more common)
vanced vocabulary, such as sterile, medium,
and low-frequency (less common)
and expression, along with specialized sci-
words related to the subject (Adams,
entific vocabulary, such as bacterium, cul-
2011).
ture, and gene. This text also presents the
adolescent reader with increased syntactic
Along with varying text structure, com- complexity: The second sentence contains
prehension in content areas depends on a dependent clause and a phrase, in addi-
being able to master the oral and written tion to the independent clause. These ele-
language requirements presented in the ments increase the length of the sentence
varied subject areas found in different and the density of ideas being communi-
texts (Beck & Jeffrey, 2009). For example, cated. Thus, the adolescent reader must
each academic subject area has its own possess good language skills when faced
academic language register. An academic with this level of complexity.
register is a specialized way of speak- Social literacy demands are also
ing or writing in accord with disciplin- increasing during this period, given the
ary requirements (Wilkinson & Silliman, variety of technologies that are available
2008). Reading and understanding social and widely used, such as texting, instant
studies is quite different from reading and messaging, and other social networking
understanding science. media. There is greater motivation to fit
As adolescents travel through middle in with peers. Consequently, the adoles-
school and high school, a significant per- cent learns to meet the language demands
centage of their new vocabulary develop- found in humor and sarcasm. The closely
ment is related to their subject study. Con- related skills involved in the comprehen-
tent area texts contain vocabulary that is sion of figurative language (e.g., simile,
challenging because it is often more schol- metaphor, personification, hyperbole) are
arly and includes the specialized vocabu- also increasing (Wood, 2007).
Reading Fluency may have to focus almost entirely on the

decoding process, reading one word at a
Adolescents vary significantly in read- time. Reading becomes more automatic
ing fluency, as fluency is affected by the to the more experienced adolescent read-
four following factors (Barth, Catts, & ers, and fluency continues to develop
Anthony, 2009). throughout the reader’s lifetime.
The first factor in reading fluency is

word accuracy. Word accuracy is the Writing
ability to read or decode words using
the phonological, orthographic, and Writing development in adolescence cen-
morphological abilities described ters on improving the ability to revise
earlier in the chapter. The integration written work, the ability to write in a
of phonological, orthographic, and variety of genres, and the ability to use
morphological knowledge leads to multiple perspectives in writing. Writing
more rapid recognition of a word. in most classrooms consists of cycles of
planning, writing, and reviewing (Gra-
The second factor in reading fluency ham & Sandmel, 2011). Beginning in early
is the ability to name the word quickly. adolescence, the responsibility for the
It is thought that this quick naming reviewing process shifts more formally
retrieval plays a bigger part in fluency from the teacher to the student. Students
in younger than in older readers use dictionaries and thesaurus references
(Barth, Catts, & Anthony, 2009). independently while paying more atten-
tion to proper writing mechanics. Stu-
The third factor in reading fluency is
dents are able to evaluate their own work
working memory. This means that the
with guidance from a checklist or a rubric
reader can remember and manipulate
and make successive revisions. They may
information at the same time.
also participate in critiquing their peers’
The fourth factor in reading fluency work. As their ability to comprehend dif-
is language comprehension, which ferent text structures increases, so does
plays a large part in reading fluency their ability to write in different genres.
for adolescents (Barth, Catts, &
Anthony, 2009). This is the ability to
Adolescents begin to take notes
create meaning from the text. This
effectively and enjoy writing auto-
can be influenced by the students’
biographies, song lyrics, and poetry
familiarity with the text structure and
(Wood, 2007). They may enjoy formal
content. Unfamiliar structure and
collaborative writing in the form
content may need to be read more
of the school newspaper or wikis.
slowly than familiar structure and
Throughout adolescence, the ability
content.
to look at a problem or life situa-
tion from different points of view
Greater experience with reading continues to grow. Consequently, the
helps make these four factors work in con- ability to write persuasively matures.
cert more quickly. The beginning reader
Supporting Adolescent itive learning environment that provides

Literacy Development relevant connections to the students’ lives
(Kamil et al., 2008).
Supporting adolescent literacy devel-

opment successfully requires the use of
Summary
many of the direct methods for compre-
hension support discussed for the ele-
mentary school-age child. These supports This chapter discussed the relationship of
consist of explicit vocabulary instruction, language and literacy and the develop-
awareness of text structure, self-moni- ment of literacy from preschool through
toring, summarization, and activating adolescence. It also briefly reviewed sup-
schemas or prior knowledge (Biancarosa portive practices for teaching in literacy-
& Snow, 2004). For adolescents, there is related areas.
an increased expectation of being able to
interpret texts with more depth, rather ◆ Language and literacy development
than just obtaining basic information. For are interwoven and benefit each other.
this reason, opportunities for extended Good oral language makes learning to
discussion of the meaning and interpre- read easier, and reading increases oral
tation of text should be provided (Kamil language abilities.
et al., 2008). A recent meta-analysis inves- ◆ Many underlying skills needed for
tigated current adolescent programs for literacy development are seen before
their efficacy. They found that explicit formal literacy learning begins.
instruction in comprehension writing and ◆ Evidence-based practices for
the use of cooperative learning showed supporting literacy in preschool
positive effects on the reading abilities of include providing a print-rich
adolescents (Herrera, Truckenmiller, & environment, shared book reading,
Foorman, 2016). Various organizational phonological awareness play, and
components (such as extended instruc- symbolic play.
tion and professional development) could ◆ Literacy development in kindergarten
continue to be investigated to determine is primarily focused on learning the
which elements are necessary and how sound-symbol relationship. In first
many are sufficient to demonstrate posi- and second grades, development
tive effects (Biancarosa & Snow, 2004). targets use phonological awareness
With adolescents, motivation and and phonics skills to blend and
engagement become especially important. segment when reading and writing.
Adolescents face self-esteem and identity Older elementary school students
challenges that can significantly influence integrate phonological, orthographic,
their academic achievement (Wood, 2007). morphological, and semantic
If an adolescent has had previous literacy linguistic elements to become fluent
experiences that were unsuccessful, this in reading and writing.
can translate into reduced motivation ◆ The National Reading Panel (NICHD,
and effort (Ehren, Lenz, & Deshler, 2004). 2000) has designed a balanced reading
Therefore, it is important to provide a pos- program that includes phonemic
awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabu- Phonological awareness

lary, and reading comprehension.
Print awareness
◆ Adolescent literacy development
involves an expansion of fluency and Rime
knowledge of text structure along
Text structure
with an expansion of vocabulary
needed for content area knowledge.
◆ Supports for reading comprehension
should include knowledge of text Study Questions
structure, activating prior knowledge,
questioning, self-monitoring, and
1. Discuss the connection between
summarization.
language and literacy development.
◆ Adolescent literacy instruction
accounts for self-esteem and motiva- 2. What is involved in the development
tional issues along with the need to of emergent literacy?
discuss texts on a more integrative
3. How do you support literacy in the
level.
preschool years?
4. After third grade, children become
increasingly fluent readers. Discuss
Key Words what abilities aid this process.
5. Consider the five areas of the
Coherence
reading program recommended
Cohesion by the National Reading Panel
(NICHD,2000) and illustrate how
Decontextualized language
they should overlap to produce a
Dialogic reading balanced reading program.
Digraphs 6. What is the role of text structure in
reading comprehension?
Emergent literacy
7. Identify and discuss five strategies
Expository
that support adolescent literacy
Figurative language development.
Fluency
Metalinguistic knowledge
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8
Bilingual Children’s
Language Development:
Assessment and Intervention
Brian A. Goldstein
Case Study
Yaitza is a 5-year-old native Spanish- be considered: Should Yaitza be assessed in

English-speaking bilingual child who English, Spanish, or both languages? How
began to acquire English in preschool will you differentiate a possible language
at age 4. After reading this chapter, you disorder from a language difference? What
will understand how her language skills home and school factors might influence
will develop. You will also learn basic Yaitza’s language development? Should an
information about how to assess her interpreter be used in the assessment and
languages and treat her language problem treatment of Yaitza’s language disorder? If
should she be diagnosed with a language warranted, should intervention take place
disorder. The following questions should in English, Spanish, or both languages?
There are almost 5 million children in the lations to provide them with evidence-
schools in the United States who are learn- based assessment and intervention when
ing English as a second language. Thus, these services are required. The purpose
it is essential that students majoring in of this chapter is to provide information
speech-language pathology programs on language development and disorders
acquire knowledge of bilingual popu- in bilingual children. Prior to reading this
207
chapter, review the following statements Chapter Objectives

and think about and/or discuss whether
you think they are myths or facts.
After reading this chapter, you should
understand and be able to:
Myth or Fact? ◆ Describe sociocultural factors related

to bilingual language acquisition
◆ Summarize bilingual language
◆ Bilingualism is defined as the ability
development
to speak two languages fluently. ◆ Apply best practice principles for
◆ We should try to determine in which
assessment
language the bilingual child is ◆ Describe cross-linguistic and bilingual
dominant. approaches to intervention
◆ Bilinguals who are typically devel-
oping acquire their languages more The reader will learn and understand
slowly than monolinguals. definitions of bilingualism and related
◆ Language development for bilinguals terms, including:
proceeds at a steady pace over time.
◆ Bilingual children show the same ◆ Dialect
language skills in each language. ◆ Code switching
◆ All bilingual children undergo a silent ◆ The stages of second-language
period. learning
◆ Children learn second languages ◆ Typical speech and language develop-
quickly and easily, especially when ment in bilingual children
learning a language at a young age. ◆ Deceleration
◆ Being raised bilingually will confuse ◆ Acceleration
children. Therefore, each language ◆ Language proficiency
should be spoken by different ◆ Characteristics of bilingual children
people. with speech and language disorders
◆ The frequency of transfer is high in ◆ Appropriate assessment and interven-
bilingual children. tion approaches
◆ Transfer is greatest if both parents ◆ Use of interpreters and translators
“mix” languages.
◆ Language proficiency is control over
grammar and speech sounds.
What’s in a Name?
By the end of this chapter, you
should know whether these statements There are numerous terms for children
are myths or facts. Your knowledge of who are acquiring more than one lan-
these statements will provide insight and guage. You will hear them commonly
knowledge about how bilingual children referred to as:
acquire their languages and the character-
istics of speech and language disorders in ◆ Limited English proficient
such children. ◆ Non-English proficient
8. Bilingual Children’s Language Development: Assessment and Intervention 209
◆ Culturally and linguistically diverse two main types: simultaneous bilinguals

◆ English-language learners and sequential bilinguals.
◆ Dual language learners
◆ Bilingual Simultaneous bilinguals are those
◆ Multilingual who acquire both languages before
the age of about 5 years. Simulta-
Although these terms differ in mean- neous bilinguals who acquire both
ing, they are often used interchange- languages from birth are known to be
ably. Throughout this chapter, the term undergoing bilingual first-language
bilingual is used to refer to the children acquisition (de Houwer, 2009). That is,
under discussion. This approach is taken they are acquiring two first languages
to emphasize the fact that in bilingual from birth. Sequential bilinguals are
speech and language development, both those who acquire a second language
languages have an impact on acquisition. after a foundation in their first
terms like limited English proficient, language.
non-English proficient, and English-
language learners (ELL) tend to empha-
The distinction between simultaneous
size only one of the child’s languages, and
bilinguals and sequential bilinguals is
a term such as culturally and linguisti-
usually based on the age at which the sec-
cally diverse denotes not only those who
ond language is introduced.
are acquiring more than one language but
also those who might be using more than
one dialect (i.e., a rule-governed variant If the two languages are introduced
of a language, such as African American before about age 5 (and often age 3),
English). then the child is typically considered a
Bilinguals then are those individu- simultaneous bilingual (McLaughlin,
als who are acquiring more than one lan- 1984; Meisel, 2004). If, however, the
guage, or as one of my students once said, second language is introduced after
“Bilinguals are those who are not mono- age 5 (and often after age 3), then
lingual” (DiMarzio, personal communica- the child is typically considered a
tion). Her definition was quite perceptive sequential bilingual (Paradis, Genesee,
because we know that the speech and & Crago, 2011).
language development of bilinguals is not
identical to that of monolingual children
in either language. We will return to this Complexity in
issue later in the chapter. Defining Bilingual
As Baker (2006) has said, however,
“[d]efining who is or is not bilingual is
essentially elusive and ultimately impos- Although the categories just described are
sible. Some categorization is often nec- the main labels used to group bilinguals,
essary and helpful to make sense of the they are only one method used to clas-
world.” (p. 13) It is in that spirit that the sify bilinguals. Those two categories are
main types of bilinguals are presented. based on one criterion — the age at which
Bilinguals are often categorized as one of the second language was introduced.
Bilingualism, however, is somewhat more the other. Language dominance, how-

complex than that because bilingualism ever, is a term that is difficult to define and
is not an absolute condition but rather a validly assess. Moreover, the term should
relative one in that bilingual individu- be used with great caution because it is
als can be [either] slightly bilingual or often misunderstood and misused (e.g.,
very bilingual (Valdés & Figueroa, 1994). MacSwan & Rolstad, 2006). Language
What Valdés and Figueroa mean is that dominance most often connotes greater
bilingual skills reside on a continuum. skill in one language over the other. As
Being bilingual does not mean that one is alluded to previously, bilingualism exists
equally skilled in both languages. That is, on a continuum, likely influenced by lan-
the speech and language skills that bilin- guage domain. Thus, a bilingual child will
guals have in one language are not sim- have some skills that are superior in Lan-
ply mirrored in the other language. One guage A and other skills that are superior
can have superior skills in Language A in Language B. For example, Peña and
over Language B. For example, a child colleagues (2003) found such an effect
acquiring Vietnamese and English might in Spanish-English bilingual children. In
have superior speech and language skills their study, the children found receptive
in Vietnamese compared with skills in functions (e.g., show me what you do with a
English. Over time, however, that balance hammer) to be easier when asked in Span-
might change (Paradis, 2016). As the child ish than when those same children were
becomes more embedded in the U.S. edu- prompted about receptive functions in
cational system, for example, her English English. These results question the valid-
skills might become stronger than her ity of language dominance, as it is tradi-
skills in Vietnamese. tionally defined. Moreover, results from
Bilingual development is further other studies are equivocal on the useful-
complicated by the fact that a bilin- ness of such a construct.
gual child’s skills can vary by language
domain (i.e., syntax, semantics, lexicon, In a group of Welsh-English bilingual
phonology, and pragmatics). For example, children ages 2;6 to 5;0, Ball, Müller,
a bilingual child theoretically could have and Munro (2001) found that Welsh-
greater skills in syntax in Language A dominant children acquired the trill
but superior skills in phonology in Lan- earlier than their peers who were
guage B. Additionally, a bilingual child’s English dominant.
speech and language skills are not equally
distributed. Thus, the child might have In a group of 2-year-old French-
knowledge in one language that he or English bilingual children, Paradis
she does not have in the other (Paradis (2001) found that English-dominant
et al., 2011). For example, a bilingual child bilinguals preserved a higher
might be able to label an object in one lan- frequency of second syllables in words
guage but not in the other (Peña, Bedore, (e.g., gi-RAFFE, giraffe) than did
& Rappazzo, 2003). French-dominant bilinguals. However,
When bilinguals are said to have skills French-dominant bilinguals preserved
in one language but not in the other, they a higher frequency of third syllables
are often referred to as having (language) (e.g., e-le-PHANT, elephant) than did
dominance in one linguistic system over English-dominant bilinguals.
In a group of Cantonese- and and language acquisition when the skills

Putonghua-speaking bilingual of bilingual children are compared with
children ages 2;6 to 4;11, Law monolinguals. For example, Bialystok
and So (2006) found that both (2001) noted a cognitive advantage in
Cantonese-dominant and Putonghua- terms of executive control functions, such
dominant children acquired as activation, selection, attention, inhi-
Cantonese phonology first. That is, bition, and organization of information
regardless of which language was (problem solving, planning) in bilinguals
considered the dominant one, the compared with monolinguals. By the way,
children learned Cantonese before this advantage in bilinguals increased
Putonghua. commensurate with the amount of lan-
guage the children heard in their envi-
These equivocal results related to lan- ronment and their levels of proficiency
guage dominance question its validity. (i.e., how well they use each of their lan-
What is necessary from a practical point of guages). Thus, the more of each language
view is to determine the bilingual child’s that second-language learners hear and
relative strengths and weaknesses in each the more skilled they are in speaking each
of their languages across all domains of one, the greater the cognitive advantage.
language. Attempting to determine domi- These results seem to show support for
nance as an omnibus measure appears not acceleration of the language skills in bilin-
to be warranted, especially as it relates to guals compared with monolinguals.
speech and language development. Although bilingual children might
exhibit acceleration in their language
skills in comparison to monolinguals, they
might show deceleration as well. Decel-
Bilingual Speech and
eration indicates that development occurs
Language Acquisition more slowly in bilingual children than
in monolingual children. Such a result
In discussing speech and language acqui- has been shown for syntax, morphology,
sition, it is helpful to embed it within a and phonology (Gildersleeve-Neumann,
theoretical context. One such theory is Kester, Davis, & Peña, 2008; Swain, 1972;
the Interactional Dual Systems Model Vihman, 1982). For example, in a group
of bilingual language acquisition (Para- of Spanish-English bilingual 3-year-olds,
dis, 2001). This model assumes that bilin- Gildersleeve et al. (2008) found that over-
gual children develop distinct linguistic all consonant accuracy (i.e., how well chil-
systems for each language. Those two dren produce speech sounds) was lower
systems, however, interact and thus, are, in bilinguals than in monolinguals.
interdependent. Interdependence could The speech and language skills of
serve to speed up (i.e., acceleration) and/ bilinguals relative to monolinguals might
or slow down (i.e., deceleration) speech be accelerated or decelerated, but what
and language development relative to is important to realize, however, is that
that of monolinguals (Fabiano-Smith “[d]espite the acquisition of two lan-
& Goldstein, 2010; Paradis et al., 2011). guages, bilingual children do not appear
There is evidence that both acceleration to be ‘remarkably delayed nor remarkably
and deceleration occur in bilingual speech advanced’ relative to that of . . . monolingual
children” (Nicoladis & Genesee, 1996, p. 264, of exposure to English, 40% of the sequen-
emphasis added). That is, the speech and tial bilinguals exhibited morphological
language skills of bilinguals are similar, skills within the normal range of mono-
although not identical, to those of monolinguals, 65% for receptive vocabulary,
linguals in each constituent language and 90% for story grammar. Additionally,
(Goldstein, 2012). This result has been after an average of 8 months of exposure
found across various domains of language to English, overall consonant accuracy for
such as syntax (Paradis & Genesee, 1996) sequential bilinguals (ages 4;6 to 6;9) aver-
and phonology (e.g., Goldstein, Fabiano, aged 90% (Gilhool, Goldstein, Burrows, &
& Washington, 2005). Paradis, 2009). More specifically, conso-
It is important to point out, how- nant accuracy was less than 90% (average
ever, that bilingual children do not pro- of 83%) for only 2 of 10 children. These
ceed through the same linguistic stages at data show that even children who acquire
the same time in each language. Merino speech and language skills after expe-
(1992) found that the order of acquisi- rience in their first language approach
tion of grammatical forms was differ- monolingual norms after a relatively short
ent for monolinguals and bilinguals. For time period.
example, monolinguals first acquired the
active tense (e.g., ella come pan [she eats
bread]) followed by gender (gato rojo [cat Language Development
red]), plural (gatos [cats]), regular past
in Second-Language
tense (ella comió pan [she ate bread]), and
finally irregular past (ellos fueron a la casa
Acquisition
[they went home]). In contrast, bilingual
children first acquired the active tense fol- Children undergoing second-language
lowed by gender, present progressive (ella acquisition go through five primary stages
está comiendo [she is eating]), plural, and of speech and language development
finally regular past. Findings such as these (Hearne, 2000). It should be noted that
indicate that even though bilingual chil- these stages are meant to be general in
dren might show overall commensurate nature, given the known individual varia-
language skills with monolinguals, there tion of speech and language development
will be differences in those skills across of second-language learners (and all chil-
each constituent language. It is likely dren, in general).
that bilinguals will have skills that are
greater in one language over the other. For Stage I: Preproduction. In this stage,
example, bilinguals might exhibit more children often undergo a silent period.
advanced syntactic skills in Language A That is, they focus more on receptive
vs. Language B (Paradis et al., 2011). language (i.e., language comprehen-
The speech and language trajectory sion) than on expressive language
of children who acquire a second lan- (i.e., language production). The silent
guage after some facility with a first lan- period is relatively short — usually not
guage (i.e., sequential bilinguals) is some- more than 6 months (Tabors, 1997). It
what different from that of monolingual should be noted, however, that often
children in either language. For example, during this phase, children use some
Paradis (2007) found that after 21 months expressive language (in the second
language) with each other but less 5 to 7 years after introduction of the
so with adults in the environment second language), the children use
(Tabors, 1997). Also during this stage, specialized vocabulary related to
children respond to simple commands content areas, use English grammar
and have a receptive vocabulary of and vocabulary comparable to a
about 500 words. native speaker, and are able to actively
participate in grade level classroom
Stage II: Early Production. In this
activities.
stage (approximately 3 to 6 months
after introduction of the second
language), the children are still
focused more on receptive language Transfer and Code-Mixing
than on expressive language. Specifi-
cally, they are comprehending yes/
Bilingual children exhibit both acceleration
no and who/what/where questions.
and deceleration relative to monolingual
They typically use one- to three-word
development. They also show patterns of
phrases and formulaic expressions
transfer. Transfer is defined as language-
(gimme five). Their receptive and
specific features found in productions of
expressive vocabulary consists of
the other language (Paradis, 2001). This
approximately 1,000 words.
term is often used synonymously with
Stage III: Speech Emergence. In cross-linguistic effects. Cross-linguistic
this stage (approximately 6 months effects usually connote that the features
to 2 years after introduction of the are bidirectional; that is, from Language A
second language), the children to Language B and vice versa.
show increased comprehension and Transfer is a hallmark of bilingual
increased grammatical complexity, speech and language development. An
but exhibit grammatical errors; use example might be when a native Span-
simple sentences by expanding ish speaker produces red house as house
vocabulary; and have a receptive red because, in Spanish, nouns precede
and expressive vocabulary of around the adjectives that modify them. It should
3,000 words. be noted that features of transfer are vari-
able (Schnitzer & Krasinski, 1994, 1996),
Stage IV: Intermediate Fluency. In
occur in both languages (Gildersleeve-
this stage (approximately 3 years
Neumann et al., 2008), and are not equally
after introduction of the second
represented in both languages (Goldstein,
language), the children show
2008). From a practical point of view, fea-
improved comprehension, a receptive
tures of transfer are not true errors and
and expressive vocabulary of around
thus would not be treated if the bilingual
6,000 words, adequate face-to-face
child had a speech or language disorder
conversational skills, and more
and required intervention.
complex statements in which they
Code-mixing is the “use of phono-
express thoughts and opinions with
logical, lexical, morphosyntactic, or prag-
few grammatical errors.
matic patterns from two languages in the
Stage V: Advanced Language Profi- same utterance or stretch of conversation”
ciency. In this stage (approximately (Paradis et al., 2011, p. 89). According to
Paradis et al. (2011), there are a number of the same core group of words over
types of code-mixing: and over rather than using a robust
number of different words)
◆ Intra-utterance:. Alguien se murió en ◆ Increased number of false starts,
ese cuarto [someone died in that room] pauses, hesitation, and decreased
that he sleeps in. organizational skills.
◆ Inter-utterance:. Pa ¿me vas a
comprarun jugo? [are you going to buy Unfortunately, these characteristics often
me juice] It cos’ 25 cents. are similar to those features that signal a
◆ Mixing words:. Estamos como marido y true language disorder (i.e., not related
[we are like man and] woman. to learning a second language). It is pos-
◆ Mixing clauses:. You know how to swim sible, however, to stave off language
but no te tapa [it won’t be over your attrition with programs that support the
head] first language (Gutiérrez-Clellen, Simón
Cereijido, Restrepo, 2013; Restrepo &
As is the case with transfer, code-mix- Gray, 2012).
ing is a typical linguistic phenomenon in Features of language attrition should
bilinguals. Code-mixing does not mean not be confused with a true language dis-
that the bilingual speaker lacks control or order. That said, there is no doubt that
proficiency over the two languages. It is a bilingual speakers (be they simultaneous
natural occurrence in acquiring a second or sequential bilinguals) can exhibit a lan-
language. However, the more the bilin- guage disorder. What is interesting about
gual child’s parents code-mix, the more language disorders in these children is
likely it is that he or she will code-mix that they show commensurate language
(Lanza, 1992). skills to monolinguals with language im-
pairments (Paradis, 2005), and they exhibit
the same type and frequency of grammat-
ical errors as monolinguals with language
Language Loss/
impairments (Paradis, Crago, Genesee, &
Language Disorder Rice, 2003). Moreover, bilingual children
with Down syndrome (DS) showed com-
Another phenomenon typical in bilingual mensurate language skills to monolin-
speakers is language loss (also termed gual children with DS (Kay-Raining Bird
language attrition) (Anderson, 2012). Lan- et al., 2005), and bilingual children with
guage loss occurs when the speech and language impairments exhibited (pro-
language features of the first language are tracted) periods of plateaus or regressions
no longer utilized by the speaker because in grammatical development, just as did
he or she hears and uses less of the first monolinguals with language impairments
language over time. Examples of lan- (Kohnert, 2008).
guage loss include the following: Some speech-language pathologists
(SLPs) and other practitioners are often
◆ Deletion of grammatical markers (e.g., wary of providing intervention to bilin-
plural) gual children in their non-English lan-
◆ Decreased number of different guage. Their rationale is that bilingual
words (i.e., speakers will tend to use children with language disorders will be
even more “confused” by receiving ser- the family’s cultural background, who
vices in the non-English language. The can provide an “insider’s” informa-
evidence presented previously seems to tion on that culture and aid in the
obviate that concern. Both languages of interpretation of the family’s linguistic
the bilingual benefit from input in the and nonlinguistic characteristics.
two languages. As Kohnert (2008, pp. ◆ The structure of the non-English
143–144) says, “[a] disorder in bilinguals language: vocabulary, grammar,
is not caused by bilingualism or cured by word meaning, speech sounds, and
monolingualism.” pragmatics.
◆ Age of acquisition: Is the child a
simultaneous or sequential bilingual?
Assessment of Speech Also, at what age did the child begin
to hear and use each language?
and Language Disorders
◆ Language use: how often and with
in Bilingual Children whom each language is used.
◆ Language proficiency: how well each
Identification of bilingual children for language is used.
being at risk for language disorders (spe-
cifically semantics and syntax) is not pre- Once the case history is completed,
dicted by being bilingual (Peña, 2016; the SLP conducts testing to discern
Peña, Gillam, Bedore, & Bohman, 2011). whether the child has a speech or lan-
Thus, although being bilingual does not guage disorder and what the child’s
“cause” or exacerbate a speech or lan- strengths and weaknesses are in each of
guage disorder, it does complicate diag- the two languages. Testing can be either
nosing them differentially. formal or informal in nature. In speech-
In assessing all children, it is neces- language pathology, formal tests are often
sary for the SLP to complete a case history standardized. A standardized test is used
in which he or she begins to determine to measure a client’s performance in one
the presenting problem and the possible or more domains. That performance is
medical, psychosocial, and environmental then compared with that of a similar
factors related to the speech or language group on a measure that is not influenced
disorder. When a child is acquiring more by the person administering or interpret-
than one language (i.e., is not monolin- ing the test (Tomblin, 2000). This stan-
gual), the SLP must gather the following dardized procedure allows us to assume
additional information, specific to bilin- that differences in performance are based
gual children: on ability rather than on the testing proce-
dure. The difficulty in utilizing such tests
◆ The sociocultural characteristics of the with bilingual children is that they rarely
community: It is important to under- include bilingual children in the norma-
stand the culture of the family and the tive data. In fact, they usually are spe-
community (e.g., Lynch & Hanson, cifically excluded. Even for non-English
2011). The SLP might need a cultural tests, bilingual children are rarely included.
broker to aid in understanding the Finally, standardized tests that include
community’s culture. A cultural bilingual children do not test the full
broker is an individual, usually from range of bilingual skills (i.e., from “a little”
bilingual to “a lot” bilingual). Thus, there ◆ Testing beyond the test’s ceiling (i.e.,
are few standardized tests available to above the point where administration
use with bilingual children. In the con- of the test would stop if it were being
sideration of using standardized tests scored according to the instructions in
with bilingual children, it is important to the test manual)
determine if: ◆ Asking children to explain their
answers in order to determine if they
◆ The normative data include bilingual have understood the question
children. ◆ Utilizing informal checklists
◆ The bilingual children in the norma- (Roseberry-McKibbin, 2002) and
tive group are similar to the group parent questionnaires (Restrepo,
with whom you will use the test. 1998)
◆ Confidence intervals (i.e., the score a ◆ Comparing data from the child being
child would receive if he or she theo- evaluated with published data on
retically took the test multiple times) similar children
are provided. ◆ Focusing more on process-based
◆ The test manual reports data on: measures (rate and quality of
u Sensitivity (i.e., percentage of indi- “learning”) rather than on static
viduals correctly identified with a measures (Hwa-Froelich & Matsuo,
disorder) 2005; Peña & Quinn, 1997)
u Specificity (i.e., percentage of ◆ Analyzing narratives/conversational
individuals correctly identified as samples by measuring aspects, such
typically developing) as number of different words, number
of clauses per utterance, and cohesion
(Gutiérrez-Clellen, 2012)
Informal Assessment Procedures
Because there are so few standardized Dynamic Assessment

tests available to use with bilingual chil-
dren, informal means of assessment are One commonly used alternative assess-
implemented with them (e.g., Arias & Fri- ment approach is dynamic assessment,
berg, 2016). SLPs often use standardized based on the work of Vygotsky (1978) and
tests in an informal way. That is, they use his concept of the zone of proximal devel-
the stimulus items from the tests but do opment; that is, the “distance between
not report the scores. Some examples of the level of performance a child can reach
such informal procedures include: unaided and the level of participation that
can be accomplished when guided by a
◆ Giving more detailed explanations more knowledgeable participant” (Cam-
of tasks because not all children will pione & Brown, 1987, p. 83). This zone can
have experience taking such tests be interpreted as “potential.” The goals of
◆ Adding practice items, again because dynamic assessment are to profile learn-
of the lack of experience taking tests ers’ abilities; to observe learners’ modifi-
◆ Repeating stimuli and/or rewording ability; to induce an active, self-regulated
the test learning; and to inform intervention.
What dynamic assessment allows the that should be avoided; that is, testing
assessor to do is to tap future skills, or the “don’ts.” These include:
child’s modifiability (i.e., change through
mediation) (Peña, 1996). Modifiability ◆ Don’t use norm-referenced tests only.
involves three factors: child responsive- ◆ Don’t use only a language sample
ness (how the child responds to and uses or multiple assessments to qualify
new information); examiner effort (quan- someone for services.
tity and quality of effort needed to make ◆ Don’t use tests administered in
a change); and transfer (generalization English only.
of new skills). All three factors are criti- ◆ Don’t assume that features of a
cal in determining if a child fails on a task second language are characteristics of
because of experience or ability. a disorder (overdiagnosis).
The format for dynamic assessment ◆ Don’t assume that errors related to a
is test-teach-retest. In the test phase, the true disorder are features of a second
examiner determines the child’s areas language (underdiagnosis).
of weakness and the base level of func- ◆ Translated tests should not be used
tioning, without any aid or assistance. In for the following reasons:
the teach phase, the assessor models the ◆ There are differences in structure
target behaviors and strategies in mean- and content of each language.
ingful contexts, makes the child aware ◆ Using translated tests implies
of how the strategies are to be applied, (mistakenly) that all children
allows the child to lead some of the time, receive similar socialization,
and increases demands as the skills are language input, and academic
mastered. In order to determine how the instruction in both languages.
child has progressed after the teach phase, ◆ Differences in the frequency of
she is retested, measuring examiner effort target words vary from language to
(i.e., how much aid is needed by indi- language.
viduals to maximize their performance), ◆ Grammatical forms may not be
child responsiveness (i.e., how rapidly the equivalent.
child changes in response to teaching), ◆ Such tests do not tap into a child’s
and transfer (i.e., the generalization of the ability to acquire language.
task to other tasks and other domains).
Dynamic assessment has been used suc-
cessfully to differentiate children’s lack of Interpreters and Translators
experience from their lack of ability (Peña,
Iglesias, & Lidz, 2001). In some sense, all SLPs are monolingual.
That is, no SLP can possibly speak every
language that her clients speak. It is esti-
Do’s and Don’ts mated that only 6% of certified SLPs meet
the definition of a bilingual service pro-
The process outlined previously indi- vider (ASHA, 2016). Thus, it is highly likely
cates the type of assessment that should that monolingual SLPs will be provid-
be completed with bilingual children. ing services to bilinguals. The American
Equally important is the kind of testing Speech-Language-Hearing Association
(ASHA) (1985) has outlined a number of and/or issues. The second phase is inter-
tasks that monolingual SLPs can perform action. During this phase, the SLP and the
with bilinguals, including: interpreter interact with the client and
her or his family. The role of the SLP dur-
◆ Testing in English ing this phase is to make observations on
◆ Performing an oral-peripheral exam the body language of the child and note
◆ Conducting hearing screenings if the interpreter uses too many words
◆ Completing nonverbal assessments when instructing the child. The interpre
◆ Conducting a family interview (with ter should record all responses and ask
an interpreter or translator) for clarification when questions arise.
◆ Being an advocate for the client and In the debriefing phase, the SLP and the
family interpreter review the outcomes. The SLP
reviews the interpreter’s impressions and
It is likely, however, that at some point the SLP and interpreter discuss any dif-
an SLP will need to utilize the services ficulties related to the process. All reports
of an interpreter (conveys information should state that an assessment was per-
from one language to another when the formed with the assistance of an inter-
message is oral) or a translator (conveys preter. In the end, the SLP makes the final
information from one language to another recommendations.
when the message is written) to assess a In summary, assessment for bilin-
bilingual child. Here we focus on inter- guals is complex and multidimensional. It
preters, that is, the individual who serves is far more important to describe in detail
as the bridge between the SLP and the the child’s skills in all domains in both
family/child (Langdon & Cheng, 2002). languages rather than trying to deter-
The use of an interpreter does not negate mine, for example, in which language
the role of the SLP. It is the SLP’s job to the child is “dominant.” Moreover, rather
construct the assessment session (and the than focusing on the type of bilingualism,
intervention) and to train the interpreter etiology of the disorder, or scores on a stan-
in how to work effectively. The training dardized assessment, focus should be on
of an interpreter should include not only behaviors, symptoms, and characteristics.
verbal interaction but also nonverbal cues,
cultural effects, and contextual knowl-
edge (i.e., how the environment of the
assessment has shaped the interaction).
Intervention
Interpreters should be professionals who
regularly serve in this role. It is not appro- Although there have been several research
priate to have friends, neighbors, siblings, studies that focus on the assessment of
or relatives serve in this role because they bilingual children, there are far fewer
do not have the objectivity needed to pro- related to intervention for bilingual chil-
vide such services. dren with speech and language disorders
Langdon and Cheng (2002) outline (e.g., Thordardottir, Cloutier, Ménard,
a three-step process for the session. The Pelland-Blais, & Rvachew, 2016). This
first phase is termed briefing. In this phase, relative lack of studies has made it diffi-
the SLP plans the session, trains the inter- cult to apply principles of evidence-based
preter, and reviews the critical questions practice (EBP) to such children. EBP is an
approach to clinical decision making in Step 5: Choose the language of

which valid, reliable evidence is given intervention
more validity than intuition, anecdote,
and expert authority (Dollaghan, 2007; Step 6: Monitor progress
Justice & Fey, 2004). EBP includes not only
the best available evidence but also clini-
cal expertise and client values (Dollaghan, Myth or Fact? Revisited
2007). Thus, EBP requires the application
of evidence in combination with the cli-
nician’s experience, or clinical craft, and Now that you have read this chapter, you
understanding of the child’s and fam- should be able to answer myth or fact
ily’s unique demographic characteristics to the following statements. As before,
and sociocultural perspectives (Justice & read the statements and think about and/
Fey, 2004). As Kamhi (2011) has noted, or discuss whether you think they are
however, “the scientific method, with its myths or facts and indicate what evidence
emphasis on theoretical coherence, rep- underlies your decision. As you read and
licability, unbiased measurements, and discuss these statements, be aware that
logic, is diametrically opposed to flexible, the answers are not likely to be straight-
dynamic, spontaneous, reactive, and cre- forward. Just like bilinguals themselves,
ative clinical practice” (p. 61). It is such the answers are complex.
practice that must be provided to bilin-
gual children with speech and language ◆ Bilingualism is defined as the ability
disorders given the paucity of research to speak two languages fluently.
studies related to intervention. ◆ We should try and determine in
which language the bilingual child is
dominant.
Six-Step Process for Intervention ◆ Bilinguals who are typically devel-
oping acquire their languages more
For bilingual children, the purpose of slowly than monolinguals. Thus,
intervention is to systematically improve language development for bilinguals
their communication skills in both lan- is slower than that of monolinguals.
guages, through intervention carried out ◆ Language development for bilinguals
by a culturally and linguistically compe- proceeds at a steady pace over time.
tent professional. To do so, a six-step pro- ◆ Bilingual children show the same
cess for intervention is proposed here (see language skills in each language.
Appendix 8–A for a complete description ◆ All bilingual children undergo a silent
of these steps). period.
◆ Children, especially the young ones,
Step 1: Choose goals learn second languages quickly and
Step 2: Choose targets easily.
◆ Being raised bilingually will confuse
Step 3: Choose the goal attack children. Therefore, each language
strategy should be spoken by different people.
Step 4: Choose the intervention ◆ The frequency of transfer is high in
approach bilingual children.
◆ Transfer is greatest if both parents Evidence-based practice

“mix” languages.
Expressive language
◆ Language proficiency is control over
grammar and speech sounds. Interactional Dual Systems Model
Interpreter
Language dominance
Summary
Language loss
Acquiring more than one language is a Language proficiency
complex, multilayered task that is neither
quick nor easy. That said, bilingual lan- Language use
guage acquisition is similar, although not Limited English proficient
identical, to monolingual language acqui-
sition. This holds true for bilingual chil- Modifiability
dren with speech and language disorders Multilingual
as well. That is, even children who have
speech and language disorders are able Non-English proficient
to acquire two languages. Finally, there is Receptive language
significant interchild variation in the skills
of bilingual children. Sensitivity
Sequential bilinguals
Simultaneous bilinguals
Key Words
Specificity
Acceleration Transfer
Bilingual Translator
Bilingual first-language acquisition
Code-mixing
Study Questions
Confidence intervals
Cross-linguistic effects 1. List three alternative methods to
assess bilingual children with speech
Cultural broker
and language disorders. Further-
Culturally and linguistically diverse more, indicate how these three ways
are less biased than using standard-
Deceleration
ized tests to assess these children.
Dialect
2. In planning intervention for
Dual language learners bilingual children, explain why
the language of intervention is not
Dynamic assessment
the first decision to be made in this
English-language learners process.
3. How would you explain to a class- An interactional approach to evaluating learn-

room teacher that using more than ing potential (pp. 82–115). New York, NY:
one language by bilingual children Guilford Press.
will not necessarily slow down their de Houwer, A. (2009). Bilingual first language
acquisition. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual
overall language development?
Matters.
4. Explain why characteristics of code- Dollaghan, C. (2007). The handbook of evidence-
mixing are not features of a language based practice in communication disorders. Bal-
problem in bilinguals. timore, MD: Brookes.
Fabiano-Smith, L., & Goldstein, B. (2010).
Early-, middle-, and late-developing sounds
in monolingual and bilingual children: An
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Appendix 8–A
Proposed Intervention Process for Bilingual Children
Step 1: Choose Goals Step 2: Choose Targets
In planning intervention for bilingual Once the goals are chosen, then the spe-
children, SLPs often mistakenly begin the cific targets should be identified. For bilin-
process by attempting to determine in gual children, targets might be based on
which language to provide intervention. the child’s language skills, error patterns,
Although that is an important step (and is and errors in each of the two languages.
discussed later), it is not the first step. As For example, errors that are highly occur-
with anyone who requires services for a ring in or common to both languages
speech or language disorder, the first step might be selected first. Such errors might
is to choose the goals based on a compre- be deletion of consonant clusters (e.g.,
hensive assessment, as described earlier /plen/ “plane” → [pen]), omission of
in the chapter. Goals might be crafted the plural marker, and difficulties using
that cut across two intersecting continua the present progressive tense. Then tar-
(Baker, 2006). The first continuum focuses gets that are highly occurring in only one
on goals that are either context embedded language would be chosen. If the child
or context reduced. That is, goals related were a Spanish-English bilingual speaker,
to this continuum focus on the amount of the SLP might remediate final consonant
contextual support available to the child. deletion in English but flap and trill in
A context-embedded goal might be using Spanish.
one- to two-word responses related to
an object in the environment. A context-
reduced goal might be one where the Step 3: Choose the Goal
child describes a television show. Attack Strategy
The second continuum focuses on
goals that are cognitively demanding Fey (1986) outlines three goal attack strat-
or cognitively undemanding. Cogni- egies. Those strategies are adapted here
tively undemanding goals are those for for bilingual speakers. First, utilize a ver-
which the child has relative mastery of tical strategy in which one goal at a time
the language skills needed to communi- is taught until the specified criterion is
cate easily. Cognitively demanding goals reached. The bilingual correlate would be
are those that are challenging due to the to remediate an error that is common to
need for rapid processing of information. both languages. The error would be reme-
A cognitively undemanding goal might be diated in only one language but moni-
one that focuses on the child talking about tored in the other language. For example,
the weather. In contrast, a cognitively the SLP would target the use of plurals
demanding goal is one in which the child in Language A but monitor their use in
is asked to explain and justify an opinion. Language B. Second, utilize a horizontal
strategy in which more than one goal is Step 5: Choose the
addressed in a session. The bilingual cor- Language of Intervention
relate would be to target the same goal
in Language A and in Language B. For It is likely that following the previous four
example, the SLP would target plurals steps will provide insight about the lan-
in Language A for a period, take a break, guage of intervention. That is, the goals,
and then focus on plurals in Language B. targets, strategies, and approaches dictate
Finally, utilize a cyclical strategy in which which language should be used for inter-
several goals are addressed over a set time vention. Initially, language of intervention
period, although only one goal is reme- will depend on a host of factors, including
diated within each session. The bilingual but not limited to:
correlate would be to rotate not only
specific targets but also languages. For ◆ Language history (i.e., relative
example, at time 1, focus on plural -s in experience with each language)
Language A and present progressive in ◆ Use in each language (i.e., how
Language B. At time 2, focus on present frequently the child utilizes each of
progressive in Language A and plural -s the languages)
in Language B. ◆ Proficiency in each language (i.e.,
how well the child understands and
produces each language)
Step 4: Choose the Approach ◆ Environment (i.e., where and with
whom the child uses each language)
Kohnert and Derr (2012) recommend two ◆ Family considerations (i.e., the
general approaches to intervention for family’s goals as part of EBP)
bilinguals: the bilingual approach and the ◆ The child’s speech and language skills
cross-linguistic approach. The bilingual and errors/error patterns in each of
approach emphasizes skills common to the two languages
both languages by focusing on the cogni-
tive principles common to all language Regardless of the approach, it is
learning (i.e., efficient processing and almost certain that intervention should
quickly attending to changes in form); take place in both languages at some time
training aspects of form, content, and use during the course of treatment. Inter-
that are shared by both languages; and vention in English only is unlikely to be
highlighting interactions between cogni- an option. There is ample research evi-
tion and language or between Language A dence for providing intervention in both
and Language B (e.g., contrastive analysis; languages (see Gutiérrez-Clellen, 1999;
translation). The cross-linguistic approach Kohnert, 2008; and Kohnert & Derr, 2012,
emphasizes skills that are unique to each for reviews). Using a bilingual approach
constituent language. Such unique skills has shown to facilitate an increase in
might relate to aspects such as word speech and language skills in both lan-
order variation, morphology, omission of guages (Kohnert & Derr, 2012). For exam-
subjects, word length, syllable types, and ple, in a group of Spanish-English bilin-
orthography, to name a few. guals, Lopez and Greenfield (2004) found
that English phonological awareness client to achieve the goals (e.g., num-
skills were predicted by: (1) English oral ber of treatment sessions), determining
proficiency, (2) Spanish oral proficiency, how much effort was needed to facilitate
and (3) Spanish phonological awareness change by examining the child’s response
skills. That is, skills in Spanish predicted level (e.g., imitation vs. spontaneous pro-
how well the children were performing in duction), and determining the hierarchy
English. Research such as this indicates needed to produce change (e.g., incremen-
that if the goal of intervention is a bilin- tal steps vs. a few gradual steps). Effects
gual child, then direct intervention in both focuses on determining if the change was
languages is necessary; that children, even significant by charting outcomes through-
those with impaired language, are capa- out the intervention process. Finally, effec-
ble of acquiring more than one language; tiveness measures whether the interven-
and that focusing on Language A will tion provided to the child was the agent
not impede acquisition in Language B, responsible for the change. To measure
and in some cases, may facilitate it. effectiveness, the SLP would take base-
line data (e.g., measuring skill level before
intervention begins), treatment data (e.g.,
Step 6: Monitor Progress collecting data on the goals and targets),
and then withdrawal data (e.g., measur-
It is imperative to monitor progress during skill level after intervention ceases).
ing the intervention process by determin- Ideally, follow-up data would be collected
ing efficiency, effects, and effectiveness as well, that is, weeks or even months
(after Williams, 2003). Efficiency focuses after working on a target.
on determining how long it took for the
9
and Hearing
Brian J. Fligor and Sandra Levey
Case Study
You are a speech-language pathologist excellent, as are skills with nonverbal

working in an early intervention program. problem-solving tasks. You question if her
A 2½-year-old girl on your caseload shows hearing skills are normal, but she passed
both a receptive and expressive language the newborn hearing screening. Could
delay. This child’s attention seems limited, this child have a hearing loss? If so, is it
and she does not easily respond to verbal medically treatable because it is caused by
directions. She is not easily engaged in chronic ear infections? Or is it a perma-
language tasks, with little progress in nent hearing loss, requiring audiological
acquiring new consonants. You observe intervention? How would you proceed to
frustration with the inability to express assist this child?
her wants and needs. Eye contact is
An Overview of the system, tuned to the sound of their moth-

Role of Hearing in er’s voice. Language learning begins at
Language Development birth, if not before, when children listen
to their mothers’ voices in utero. Children
with normal hearing abilities possess the
Children begin their interaction with the ability to perceive the difference between
world with a fully functioning auditory non-speech sounds and spoken language.
227
In response to their interaction with other also describes audiological interventions

language users, children begin producing for mitigating the negative impact of hear-
their own approximations of the language ing loss. After reading this chapter, you
that they are exposed to in the environ- should understand:
ment. Language abilities develop when
children are able to hear spoken language ◆ Hearing mechanisms and abilities
and can attach meaning to the sounds that ◆ The effect of hearing loss on speech
form words. and language skills
Children who do not possess normal ◆ Methods for the identification of a
hearing need to be identified and given child with a possible hearing loss
appropriate intervention to provide them ◆ Audiological interventions for a
with the same language-learning oppor- hearing loss
tunities as children with intact hearing
abilities. Children lag behind in language
learning, along with a potential delay in
An Explanation of
the acquisition of literacy, when identifi-
cation and intervention are not provided.
Hearing Abilities
These children also permanently require
remediation in order to acquire language The human ear consists of three parts:
and achieve full academic and social the outer ear, middle ear, and the inner
potential. Results of a hearing assessment ear (American Speech-Language-Hearing
direct the audiologist and speech-lan- Association, 2017a), as shown in Figure 9–1.
guage pathologist in methods to provide
a child’s communication development, ◆ The outer ear consists of the ear canal
along with the opportunity to become a and eardrum. Sound travels down the
socially, emotionally, and academically ear canal, striking the eardrum and
equipped adult. Current statistics show causing it to move or vibrate.
that 5.8% of individuals 18 to 44 years of ◆ The middle ear is a space behind the
age have hearing difficulties (U.S. Depart- eardrum that contains three small
ment of Health and Human Services, bones called ossicles. This chain
2015). Consequently, it is important to be of tiny bones is connected to the
able to recognize the signs of a hearing eardrum at one end and to an opening
loss and to provide the support for lan- to the inner ear at the other end.
guage and academic progress. Vibrations from the eardrum cause
the ossicles to vibrate, which in turn
creates movement of the fluid in the
inner ear.
Chapter Objectives ◆ Movement of the fluid in the inner
ear, or cochlea, causes changes in
This chapter presents an overview of the tiny structures called hair cells. This
impact of hearing loss on communica- movement of the hair cells sends
tion, along with a review of the methods electric signals from the inner ear up
for determining the type, degree, and con- the auditory nerve (also known as the
figuration of a hearing loss. This chapter hearing nerve) to the brain.
9. Language Development and Hearing 229
Figure 9–1. Schematic of the structures of the ear. The outer ear
comprises the pinna and ear canal and terminates at the eardrum; the
middle ear comprises the eardrum, the ossicles (the malleus, incus, and
stapes), and the air-filled space and terminates at the oval window; and
the inner ear comprises the cochlea (from base to apex) as well as the
vestibular system (vestibule and semicircular canals). Signals from the
cochlea travel up the auditory nerve to the brain. Reproduced from the
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders,
http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/pages/noise.aspx
The visible part of the ear is called the that contains sensory cells. A sensory
pinna. The ossicles (also called audi- cell, when stimulated, conveys nerve
tory ossicles) are three bones in the impulses. Hair cells are the sensory
middle ear that transmit sounds to the receptors of the auditory system. The
cochlea: the malleus, incus, and stapes. hair cells transfer sound information to
The cochlea is a snail-shaped tube the auditory nerve.
Hearing is the ability to receive, pro- of pressure waves. Sound waves are col-
cess, and interpret sound. Sound vibra- lected by the pinna of the outer ear and
tions travel through the air in the form funneled down the ear canal toward the
eardrum. When a sound wave reaches These children also report feeling isolated
the eardrum, it causes the eardrum to and having no friends. Hearing loss can
vibrate. This is the first step in the pro- affect a child’s ability to develop commu-
cess of hearing. Sound is amplified in the nication, language, and social skills.
middle ear due to the lever or pedal action
of the bones (ossicles) in the middle ear:
the malleus, incus, and stapes (shown in Conductive Hearing Loss
Figure 9–1). The inner ear is the site where
hydraulic energy (fluid movement) is Any problem in the outer or middle ear
converted into chemical energy (hair cell that prevents sound from being conducted
activity) and finally to electrical energy properly is known as a conductive hear-
(nerve transmission). Once the signal is ing loss. The most common cause of a
transmitted to the nerve, it will travel up conductive hearing loss is otitis media (an
to the brain to be interpreted as meaning- ear infection). More than one-third of chil-
ful sound. dren may experience six or more episodes
of otitis media by 7 years of age (Waseem,
2016). Conductive hearing loss is almost
Sound waves enter the outer ear
always temporary, but hearing sensitiv-
and are directed to the eardrum
ity fluctuates better to worse depending
(tympanic membrane). Sound vibra-
on the health status of the middle ear. Ear
tions set the eardrum in motion. This
infections are most common in children
leads to movement of the malleus,
ages 6 months to 2 years and are caused
incus, and stapes (acoustic energy
by inflammation (i.e., irritation or infec-
converted into mechanical energy).
tion) of the eustachian tube (Figure 9–2),
Mechanical energy is transferred to
resulting in eustachian tube dysfunction.
the cochlea, which contains fluid
Ear infections occur most often in children
and hair cells (mechanical energy
this age due to their lower immunity to
becomes hydraulic energy). Vibra-
upper respiratory tract infections (com-
tions in the fluid cause movement
mon colds), the angle of the eustachian
of the hair cells. This creates an
tube (it is more horizontal in children than
electrical signal sent to the brain for
in adults, thus more difficult to pop open),
processing.
and length of the eustachian tube (shorter
in children than in adults).
Although most common in children
under the age of 2 years, conductive hear-
Types of Hearing Loss ing loss secondary to fluid in the middle
ear is not uncommon in school-age chil-
Children with hearing loss have been dren. This degree of hearing loss has been
found to have reduced vocabulary skills, implicated in reduced academic achieve-
difficulty hearing certain sounds, lower ment (Goldberg & McCormick Richburg,
reading and mathematical scores, impaired 2004). Although an ear infection may
social interaction, and produce shorter sometimes not show obvious symptoms,
and simpler sentences (American Speech- it frequently results in fever, crankiness,
Language-Hearing Association, 2009). and loss of appetite. This loss results in
Figure 9–2. The eustachian tube. The eustachian tube connects

the air-filled middle ear to the nasopharynx (top of the back of
the throat). At rest the eustachian tube is closed but when yawn-
ing, chewing, or swallowing, or under voluntary control, it pops open,
recycling air in the middle-ear space. Reproduced with permission
from Getty Images.
decreased hearing sensitivity for as long as cells) in the cochlea. It is estimated that 3
the middle-ear fluid is present (Mencher, to 4 of every 1,000 children are born with
Gerber, & McCombe, 1997). The degree of permanent hearing loss in the United
hearing loss from otitis media is typically States (Joint Committee on Infant Hear-
20 to 30 decibels hearing level (dB HL) ing, 2007), with more children developing
(Fria, Cantekin, & Eichler, 1985), which hearing loss between infancy and late ado-
is similar to the hearing of an individual lescence. It has been estimated that 19 of
wearing ear plugs. Although this degree every 1,000 high school graduates have a
of hearing loss is labeled “mild,” it can permanent hearing loss (Billings & Kenna,
contribute to a delay in the acquisition of 1999; Shargorodsky, Curhan, Curhan, &
spoken language. Eavey, 2010). Roughly half of the time, a
congenital hearing loss is caused by birth
complications due to prematurity (result-
Sensorineural Hearing Loss ing from poor oxygenation provided by
immature lungs). In the other half of the
A sensorineural hearing loss results from time, genetic causes are a factor in hearing
missing or damaged sensory cells (hair loss (Billings & Kenna, 1999).
Mixed Hearing Loss ties, and parties. Children with a mild to

moderate hearing loss may fall one to four
A mixed hearing loss is a combination of grades below children with normal hear-
a sensorineural and conductive hearing ing, with the gap in achievement growing
loss. This hearing loss results from prob- as they progress through school (Ameri-
lems in both the inner and outer or middle can Speech-Language-Hearing Associa-
ear. There may be damage to the outer or tion, 2017b).
middle ear and in the inner ear (cochlea)
or auditory nerve. When this occurs, the
An early study examined the
hearing loss is referred to as a mixed hear-
educational skills of children in
ing loss.
third, sixth, and ninth grades and
found that 5.4% of children had a
minimal hearing loss (MHI) (Bess,
Minimal Hearing Impairment
Dodd-Murphy, & Parker, 1998). Third
graders with MHI had difficulty with
A hearing loss of 16 to 25 dB HL has been
reading, language skills, attention,
classified as a minimal hearing impair-
and communication. Children with
ment (MHI). Children with a minimal
MHI were significantly more likely to
hearing impairment may be missed even
repeat a grade. These findings indi-
with hearing screening, given that hear-
cate that a child with even a minimal
ing screenings are generally placed at
hearing loss (16 to 25 dB HL) will
1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz. A minimal hear-
have difficulty in academic progress.
ing impairment may lead to an uncertain
grasp of many of the grammatical aspects
of spoken language, such as unvoiced
fricatives (/f, s, S, h/), stop plosive con- Noise-Induced Hearing Loss
sonants (/p, t, k/), and morphemes that
mark tense (walked), possession (Daddy’s Another type of hearing loss results from
hat), and plurals (Two cats). Children with exposure to noise. The onset or early
a minimal hearing impairment are fre- stage of a noise-induced hearing loss
quently not identiﬁed as having a hearing (NIHL) begins with a minimal hearing
loss, as this mild or minimal hearing loss impairment. Screening may not identify a
is not as apparent as a more severe hear- minimal hearing loss secondary to NIHL,
ing loss. given that the onset of NIHL is prevalent
The Centers for Disease Control and at 6000 Hz (Holmes et al., 2007; Rota-
Prevention (2011) reported that even a Donahue & Levey, 2016). Consequently,
small degree of hearing loss can affect better screening protocols and greater
a person’s speech, language comprehen- awareness of hearing difficulties are
sion, communication, classroom learning, essential factors in supporting children’s
and social interaction. A minimal hearing academic development.
impairment also leads to difficulty when NIHL can be caused by a one-time
engaged in conversation, especially within exposure to an intense sound, such as an
a noisy environment. This may lead to dif- explosion, or by continuous exposure to
ficulty in communicative interaction with loud sounds over an extended period of
peers within playgrounds, sport activi- time in a noisy environment. Recreational
activities (e.g., target shooting and hunt- as 150 dB even if a child is standing
ing, snowmobile riding, listening to porta- a foot away from the source of the
ble music players at high volume through noise.
earbuds or headphones, playing in a
band, and attending loud concerts) place The danger with noisy toys increases
individuals at risk for NIHL (National when children hold toys close to the ear.
Institute on Deafness and Other Commu- A noisy toy exposes the ear to as much as
nication Disorders, 2017). The onset and 120 dB of sound (close to the noise level
the progress of hearing loss may not be of a jet plane). Safety measures are impor-
apparent. For example, a study of hear- tant when using toys in play with young
ing abilities of college-age students (Rota- children (e.g., choosing toys carefully to
Donahue & Levey, 2016) found that half prevent hearing loss and covering the
of 40 students were found to have NIHL speakers with tape).
hearing loss, while none were aware that
a hearing loss was present. Education
on the hazards of noise and the poten- Central Auditory
tial effects on hearing is necessary for Processing Disorder
individuals throughout the lifespan, and
early education for children is particularly Speech perception tests for the assessment
important (Serpanos & Berg, 2012). of a central auditory processing disorder
One of the more disquieting sources (CAPD) are designed to test the abilities
of a potential NIHL is found in children’s of school-age children who have nor-
toys. Certain children’s toys exceed mal pure-tone audiograms but have dif-
safe listening levels, placing children at ficulty perceiving speech that is affected
risk for NIHL (Axelsson & Jerson, 1985; by background noise, competing signals
Nadler, 1995). University of California– in the contralateral ear, or rapid rate of
Irvine researchers (2007) found that many presentation. CAPD tests assess binaural
common children’s toys emit sounds at integration (how well the two ears work
decibel levels high enough to cause per- together), auditory memory, and retrieval
manent hearing damage, with some toys or recall of auditorily presented informa-
reaching a noise level comparable to that tion. The child appropriate for CAPD
of an ambulance, subway train, or power evaluation may present with recurrent
mower. An investigation of common toys complaints from parents, siblings, peers,
used in play revealed the following vol- and classroom teachers of difficulty fol-
ume levels (Cochary, 2009). lowing directions or reading.
◆ Rattles and squeaky toys have been

measured at sound levels as high as Unilateral Hearing Loss
110 dB.
◆ Musical toys, drums, and horns can Current findings show that 25 to 35% of
reach sound levels as loud as 120 dB. children with a unilateral hearing loss
◆ Toy phones have been measured may fall behind their peers in academic
between 123 dB and 129 dB. progress (Packer, 2015). The educational
◆ Toys producing firearm sounds (e.g., effects appear in difficulty deciphering
toy guns) produce sounds as loud others’ speech productions, such as a
teacher’s voice, when there is interfer- this leads to speech-language delays and
ence from background sounds (e.g., other social-emotional and behavioral prob-
children, paper rustling, noisy heating/ lems that result in frustration, resulting
ventilation/air conditioning systems in from the child’s inability to communicate
the classroom). Vocabulary and sentence thoughts, needs, and desires.
structure are extremely difficult for a child
affected by hearing loss to grasp.
Normal Hearing
A unilateral hearing loss or single- Sensitivity in Children
sided deafness is a type of hearing
loss with normal hearing in one ear
Normal hearing sensitivity in children
and impaired hearing in the other
is considered to be 15 dB HL or better
ear. A bilateral hearing loss is in
(Northern & Downs, 2002) because hear-
both ears.
ing thresholds of 20 to 25 dB HL or poorer
are considered to have a significant effect
Children with unilateral hearing loss on a child’s academic progress. Hearing
are not always positioned in such a way level is a unit of measurement with zero
that their “good” ear is toward the talker. as its reference point. On occasion, and
This results in morpheme and grammati- particularly for younger and develop-
cal errors, particularly hearing past tense mentally delayed children, 20 dB HL may
morphemes (e.g., waited), fricatives (e.g., f, be considered the limit of normal hearing.
v, s, z, h), and stop consonants (e.g., p, t, k).
The term HL means hearing level,
◆ Unvoiced fricatives consist of /f/ as
which is a scale based on young,
in fish, /s/ as in soap, /S/ as in shoe,
normal-hearing individuals with
and /h/ as in happy.
no history of noise exposure or
◆ Unvoiced stop plosives consist of /p/
other ear-related problems. Normal
as in pin, /t/ as in top, and /k/ as in
hearing is, on average, established
key.
as zero decibels at each of the test
◆ Morphemes consist of the past verb
frequencies (250 Hz, 500 Hz, and so
tense -ed morpheme (walked), posses-
on). So, it is possible to have better
sive morpheme -s (Mary’s book), and
than normal hearing (−5 dB HL or
the plural -s morpheme (two books).
−10 dB HL) or poorer than normal
hearing (20 dB HL, 30 dB HL, 100 dB
Typically, vowel sounds, which have
HL, and further loss).
lower frequency content and greater
intensity, are audible to children with
mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing
loss, whereas many consonant sounds are
not audible (e.g., /k/, /p/, /f/, /s/, and
Hearing Assessment
“th”). Functionally, the child would be
able to tell that someone is speaking while For children with a hearing loss, an audio-
not being able to understand the content gram describes the type, degree, and
of the spoken message. Understandably, configuration of the hearing loss, thus
indicating the residual or remaining audi- perform a repetitive play task, such
tory area (Appendix 9–A). The pure-tone as placing a peg in a pegboard every
audiogram is a fundamental component time she or he hears a tone.
of the audiological evaluation. It is the
graphical representation of an individ- There are also physiologic measures
ual’s detection threshold for frequency- used in pediatric audiology. One example
specific stimuli in the conventional audio- is tympanometry. Tympanometry tests
metric range (250–8000 Hz). Descriptions the movement of the eardrum to rule out
of types of hearing loss can be found in the presence of an ear infection or another
Appendix 9–B. problem in the middle ear. A handheld tool
is used to change the air pressure inside
the ear and to produce a sound. This tool
A sound is presented by air
measures how the eardrum responds to
conduction using earphones or
the pressure and the sound.
a loudspeaker (the sound moves
Following assessment, the degree of
through the air to the ear), and by
hearing loss is classified according to the
bone conduction using a device
following list:
(called a bone oscillator) that sends
vibration through the skull itself.
Mild hearing loss 21 to 40 dB HL
A bone oscillator can vibrate at
different frequencies (e.g., 250 Hz, Moderate hearing 41 to 55 dB HL
500 Hz, 1000 Hz, and so on) and loss
this vibration is carried through
Moderately severe 56 to 70 dB HL
the bones of the head to the inner
ears (cochlea), since the inner ear is Severe 71 to 90 dB HL
encased in the bones of the skull.
Profound 91 or greater
dB HL
It should be noted that the impact of
hearing loss is not fully explained by the
audiogram because two individuals with
Sound Intensity
the same audiogram may have different
levels of disability, owing in large part to and Frequency
age of onset and differences in the envi-
ronment in which the individual func- Decibels are a unit for expressing the rela-
tions (Yoshinaga-Itano, Sedey, Coulter, tive intensity (loudness) of sounds. Sound
& Mehl, 1998). Examples of audiological intensity is calculated on a logarithmic
assessment consist of the following: scale. Examples of different intensity lev-
els are conversation (60 dB), rock concerts
Conventional Audiometry (age 4 or 5): (110 dB), snowmobiles (120 dB), and jet
The child is asked to raise a hand or aircraft takeoff (130 dB).
push a button every time he or she
hears a tone.
On a logarithmic scale, sound
Conditioned Play Audiometry (CPA)
intensity increases 10-fold for every
(ages 2 to 5): The child is shown,
additional 10 dB. In other words,
nonverbally, how to wait, listen, and
when put into motion (Figure 9–3). The

each increase of 10 decibels repre- number of cycles per unit of time is called
sents a multiplication of the sound the frequency of a sound. The perceived
intensity by a factor of 10. Conse- pitch of a sound is the ear or mind’s sub-
quently, a change from 60 dB (the jective interpretation of its frequency.
level of quiet conversation) to 90 dB High-frequency (high-pitched) sounds
(the level of heavy traffic) is equiva- have waves that are very close together
lent to three 10-fold changes, and and low-frequency sounds have a greater
this change multiplies the intensity distance between the peaks of each wave,
by a factor of 10 × 10 × 10 (equal to a as shown in the examples in Figure 9–3.
1,000-fold intensity change). High-frequency sounds characterize
certain consonant sounds, such as the
The term Hz (abbreviation of the sound “s” in the word see. Low-frequency
term hertz) is defined as the number of sounds characterize vowel sounds, such
cycles (vibrations) that an object makes as the sound “oo” in the word who.
Figure 9–3. Sound waves. Note the difference between the low note (low-frequency wave) and
the high note (high-frequency wave).The frequency of a wave refers to how often the particles of
a medium (like air) vibrate when a wave passes through this medium.The higher the frequency, the
shorter the distance between each successive compression (i.e., low frequency, medium frequency,
and high frequency). In the examples shown in this figure, the intensity (or loudness) is shown in
the height of the wave.The higher the wave, the greater the intensity (i.e., loud, medium, and soft).
Reproduced with permission from Getty Images.
The Impact of a Difficulty with the multiple meanings of

Hearing Loss on words that sound alike but have different
Language Development spellings
◆ Write/right
◆ Seen/scene
Preliteracy skills (Burgess & Lonigan, 1998)
◆ Two/to/too
and later reading skills (Parrila, Kirby, &
McQuarrie, 2004) depend on phonologi- Difficulty with morphemes
cal awareness, which is the ability to hear
sounds and to associate these sounds with ◆ Auxiliary verbs: am, is, are, was, were,
letters in words. Examples of early phono- be, been, have, had
logical awareness skills include the ability ◆ Inflectional morphemes: plural
to associate spoken speech sounds with -s (cats), possessive ’s (mommy’s),
written letters (e.g., the speech sound /p/ comparative -er (bigger), and super
with the written letter pin in the word pet) lative -est (biggest)
and to recognize words that rhyme (e.g., ◆ Derivational morphemes: -er (farm/
hat, bat, cat). The presence of any hearing farmer)
loss places a child at risk for impaired ◆ Present progressive: -ing (go/going)
phonological awareness, which may lead ◆ Past tense: -ed (wait/waited)
to an uncertain grasp of many of the gram- ◆ Determiners: the, a, an
matical aspects of spoken language. Chil-
Speech errors
dren who do not develop early phonolog-
ical awareness, prior to kindergarten, are ◆ Final consonant omission: bus
at risk for literacy difficulties (Goldstein produced as bu
et al., 2017). Phonological awareness skills ◆ Voiced consonants (/b, d, g/)
are essential for developing reading abili- produced in place of voiceless
ties in later grades. consonants (/p, t, k/)
Children with even a “mild” degree ◆ Difficulty in the perception of
of hearing loss possess word-reading and fricatives and stops, especially with
decoding skills that are lower than those unvoiced fricatives (/s, f, h, S, Z/, as
with normal hearing sensitivity (Bess et in sun, fun, he, she, treasure) and
al., 1998). The early identification of chil- unvoiced stops (/p, t, k/, as in pet,
dren with hearing loss is essential for the top, king).
prevention of difficulties in their learning
and communication skills. The American Academic success and progress can
Speech-Language-Hearing Association be effected by a child’s hearing loss. An
(2017b) cites four major ways that hearing early examination of the audiological
loss affects children: delayed receptive and records of 54,000 school-age children in
expressive communication skills, learning kindergarten through grade 12 revealed
problems in academic achievement, social that 106 of these children had hearing loss
isolation, and later vocational choices. in one ear (Oyler, Oyler, & Matkin, 1988).
A hearing loss causes the following effects Findings were that 24% of these children
on language abilities (Culbertson, 2007; repeated at least one grade and that 40%
Elfenbein, Hardin-Jones, & Davis, 1994; of them received special services, such as
Tye-Murray, 2007): speech-language pathology intervention.
The earlier children with hearing loss

receive services, the more likely they are Should hearing loss develop adventi-
to reach their full potential (Centers for tiously or unexpectedly, these areas
Disease Control and Prevention, 2017). may become dormant or inactive.
However, once identification of, and
intervention for, the hearing loss
occurs, these areas reawaken.
Age of Onset of
Hearing Loss
Typically developing children born
with normal hearing who lose significant
Children with early, even brief, normal hearing between 18 and 30 months often
access to spoken language who then “catch up” in their language to their nor-
adventitiously develop permanent hear- mal-hearing peers within 6 to 12 months
ing loss are often more prepared for spoken (Martin & Clark, 1996). Children with
language acquisition than children with congenital (inborn) hearing loss stand
congenital onset of hearing loss (North- an excellent chance of having language
ern & Downs, 2002). The development of on par with their normal-hearing peers.
the brain’s language centers benefits from The age of identification and intervention
a greater amount of auditory experience is the principal determinant in the lan-
and stimulation. In other words, the more guage outcome.
language that is acquired prior to the onset
of hearing loss, the greater is the opportu-
nity to lessen the negative impact of the
hearing loss on language use. Language
Signs of a Hearing Loss
centers in the brain are stimulated from
the earliest auditory experiences. Cherry (2011, p. 68) provided a list of signs
to help identify a child who may have a
hearing loss. Children with a hearing loss
Adventitious hearing loss describes
may exhibit the following behaviors:
individuals who were born with
normal hearing. However, at some
◆ Routinely asks for repetition
point in time, these individuals
◆ Frequently misunderstands what is
have lost some or all of their hearing
said
through illness or accident. This
◆ Appears to be inattentive
contrasts with the congenital onset of
◆ Has speech problems
hearing loss.
◆ Watches others to see what they are
doing
Although it is a somewhat artificial ◆ Exhibits fatigue at the end of the day
distinction, prelingual onset requires ◆ Withdraws from situations that
greater habilitative efforts (i.e., the efforts require careful listening
and tools for success) than does postlin-
gual onset. A prelingual deaf individual This list is not intended to be all-inclusive
is someone who was born with a hear- of the signs of hearing loss in toddlers and
ing loss, or whose hearing loss occurred school-age children. In addition, this list
before he/she began to speak. should not be used to replace ongoing
hearing screening, but if a child exhibits of childhood hearing loss. In 2012, JCIH
such signs, immediate audiological evalu- issued a clarification of the interventions,
ation would be indicated. such as requiring that individuals provid-
ing services to children who are deaf or
hard-of-hearing have expertise in their
areas of service. For example, an Ameri-
Intervention can Sign Language (ASL) instructor must
be fluent in ASL and a therapist providing
Age of Intervention listening and spoken language stimulation
(LSLS) must be a certified LSLS provider.
Prior to 1993, few hospitals provided
newborn hearing screening tests except
for infants identified as having risk fac- Devices Used for
tors (indicators) for hearing loss. The Joint Hearing Habilitation:
Committee on Infant Hearing (JCIH) was
FM Systems, Hearing Aids,
established in 1969. It was composed of
members from audiology, otolaryngology,
and Cochlear Implants
pediatrics, and nursing. The JCIH estab-
lished recommendations for the early FM Systems
identification of children who had been
diagnosed with hearing loss, of children A child with a unilateral hearing loss (loss
who were at risk for hearing loss, and for in one ear) has difficulty hearing on the
newborn hearing screening. In 1993, the affected side and difficulty focusing on
National Institutes of Health held a con- spoken language in the presence of com-
sensus conference (National Institutes of peting noises. The most significant effect
Health, 1993). The result of this confer- of unilateral hearing loss is found in class-
ence was a recommendation that all new- room performance, given that children
borns receive a hearing screening within with unilateral hearing loss are at signifi-
the first 3 months of life. The Joint Com- cant risk for poor academic performance
mittee on Infant Hearing (1994) recom- due to difficulty hearing in a typical
mended identification of all infants with (noisy) classroom environment. In fact, it
hearing impairment by 3 months of age is estimated that children spend approxi-
and the onset of habilitative programming mately 80% of the time listening to spo-
by 6 months of age. The seminal work of ken language in noise during the school
Yoshinaga-Itano et al. (1998) helped bol- day (Crukley, Scollie, & Parsa, 2011).
ster the newborn screening effort with Even with preferential classroom seating
research that found that children with nor- near the teacher and acoustic treatment
mal cognition, whose hearing losses were of the classroom to reduce reverberation
identified before 6 months of age, demon- of background noise, academic progress
strated significantly better receptive and should be monitored closely and supports
expressive language scores than children initiated if listening-related difficulties
with normal cognition whose hearing emerge. A hearing aid in the poorer hear-
losses were identified after 6 months of ing ear may be beneficial, but, typically, it
age. The JCIH (2007) reaffirmed the need does not improve the child’s ability to hear
for surveillance for adventitious onset in noise. However, in the classroom, FM
educational amplification systems (either across the speech frequencies) will have
ear level or sound field) may be used to significantly better access to the sounds of
improve the amount by which the teach- speech than without using hearing aids.
er’s voice exceeds the background noise.
If a child with normal cognition and
Sound-field systems work by no other concomitant conditions
projecting the teacher’s voice so that receives an early diagnosis of hearing
children have a better opportunity loss and is fitted with hearing aids,
to hear clearly the teacher’s instruc- coupled with speech-language
tions. These systems do not reduce therapy, an ear-level FM system in
exposure to external sound sources, the classroom, and educational and
but importantly, by raising the level psychosocial support, then speech
of the teacher’s voice, they can and language outcomes should be
increase the level of the speech signal normal to near-normal (Sininger,
relative to levels of external and Grimes, & Christensen, 2010).
internal sound sources (Dockrell &
Shield, 2012).
Cochlear Implants
Hearing Aids Children with severe (71 to 90 dB HL) and

profound (greater than 90 dB HL) bilat-
As soon as a bilateral hearing loss has been eral hearing loss generally have delayed
documented and is not felt to be transient, language development, unless language
there is no reason for a delay in fitting has been made accessible and habilitation
hearing aids, even if the baby is only 1 or has been well under way by 6 months of
2 months old. With current hearing aid age. A cochlear implant is a device that
technology, even newborns with severe- includes a magnet and electrode array
to-profound hearing loss can be fitted suc- that is surgically implanted in the inner
cessfully with hearing aids. Some young ear as well as an ear-level externally worn
children benefit from FM amplification, speech processor and microphone.
even during infancy, to provide better
hearing of their parents at a distance. The
Speech sounds picked up by the ear-
intent of fitting with hearing aids is to
level microphone are decoded by the
amplify speech sounds, giving the child
speech processor, and this decoded
access to speech sounds but not making
signal is transmitted wirelessly via a
them uncomfortably loud. The explosion
coil positioned over the magnet that
of technology in the area of digital hearing
rests just under the skin in a well
aids and directional microphones enables
drilled out in the temporal bone at
infants and young children to experience
the time of the implant surgery. The
significant benefit from amplification.
signal is then transmitted to select
With appropriately fitted and verified
electrodes on the array to give the
hearing aids, it should be expected that
user a sense of “hearing.” Histori-
children with up to a severe degree of
cally, patients received only one
hearing loss (less than 70 dB HL average
cheer them on in their good work through

cochlear implant, but more recently, a routine monitoring of hearing and com-
second implant is often used to give munication success.
patients better access to sound on
both sides and perhaps to help hear
better in noise.
Summary
A cochlear implant provides improved
access to spoken language when the Good auditory access to the cues of speech
child’s degree of hearing loss is severe to is necessary to develop phonological
profound. If the child and family opt for awareness. Hearing loss, both transient
a cochlear implant, these children may and permanent, can be undetected with-
still vary in their ability to acquire spoken out universal newborn hearing screening
language and may benefit from the use of and close surveillance for hearing loss
one of several forms of visual communica- through childhood. Scientifically valid
tion (ASL, signed and spoken English, or measures of hearing exist to fully charac-
Cued Speech). Cued Speech makes all the terize residual hearing function and direct
phonemes (sound-based units) of speech interventions. Interventions, when imple-
visible by using eight handshapes in four mented in a timely, family-centered fash-
positions near the mouth in combination ion, are effective at helping children with
with the lip shapes and articulation move- hearing loss develop language on par with
ments of speech (National Cued Speech their normal-hearing peers, if cognition is
Association, 2017). adequate to support such successes.
Each child and family presents an
individual situation in terms of choice of ◆ A team approach among the speech-
communication modality and educational language pathologist, audiologist,
setting that ranges all the way from being physicians, educators of the deaf,
mainstreamed in regular classes with sup- teachers, and family is vital to support
port services to residential placement at a the child’s development of self-esteem
school for the deaf. Regardless of choice and communication success.
of method and of educational placement, ◆ Language abilities develop when chil-
the audiologist, otolaryngologist, speech- dren are able to hear spoken language
language pathologist, teacher of the deaf, and can attach meaning to the sounds
and parents work as a team to ensure that that form words.
the child uses a language to which she ◆ Children who do not possess normal
has access, that the people in her environ- hearing need to be identified and
ment use it effectively with her, that she provided with appropriate interven-
is making demonstrable progress in that tion to provide them with the same
language sufficient to establish a basis for language-learning opportunities as
literacy, and that she is developing self- children with intact hearing abilities.
esteem as a successful communicator with ◆ When such identification and
her peers as well as with her family. The intervention of a hearing loss are
audiologist and speech-language patholo- not provided, children lag behind in
gist have an opportunity to monitor the language learning, with a potential
child’s progress, support the parents, and delay in the acquisition of literacy.
◆ Permanent hearing loss occurs in 3 to Key Words

4 per 1,000 newborns, and the number
increases to 19 per 1,000 by high
Air conduction
school graduation.
◆ More than one-third of children may Audiogram
experience six or more episodes
Bilateral hearing loss
of otitis media by 7 years of age.
Children with transient middle-ear Bone conduction
fluid secondary to an ear infection
Central auditory processing disorder
(symptomatic or asymptomatic)
(CAPD)
have conductive hearing loss that
could interfere with normal language Cochlea
development.
◆ Children with prelingual onset of
Cochlear implant
permanent hearing loss stand an Conductive hearing loss
excellent chance of having language
on par with their normal-hearing Decibels
peers, with the age of identification FM educational amplification systems
and intervention the principal
determinants in the language Habilitative
outcome. Hair cells
◆ The current JCIH position statement
(2007) proposes that all newborns Hearing aids
have their hearing screened by age Hertz
1 month, that those who do not pass
and have hearing loss are diagnosed Masking
by age 3 months, and that those with Minimal hearing impairment (MHI)
hearing loss receive appropriate
interventions, including fitting with Mixed hearing loss
hearing aids and enrollment in the Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL)
Individuals with Disabilities Educa-
tion Act part C Early Intervention. Ossicles
◆ Children with confirmed permanent Otitis media
bilateral hearing loss should be fitted
with hearing aids as soon as the Phonological awareness
family is ready to pursue this inter- Pinna
vention, even if the baby is only 1 to
2 months old. Postlingual
◆ For children with severe-to-profound
Prelingual
hearing loss, cochlear implants are an
option to provide access to spoken Sensorineural hearing loss
language should hearing aids provide
Tympanometry
limited benefit for supporting acquisi-
tion of spoken language. Unilateral hearing loss
Study Questions Billings, K. R., & Kenna, M. A. (1999). Causes

of pediatric sensorineural hearing loss.
Archives of Otolaryngology Head Neck Sur-
1. What is the purpose of universal gery, 125, 517–521.
newborn hearing screening? Burgess, S. R., & Lonigan, C. J. (1998). Bidirec-
tional relations of phonological sensitivity
2. What are the effects of a hearing loss and prereading abilities: Evidence from a
on children’s speech production? preschool sample. Journal of Experimental
Child Psychology, 70, 117–141.
3. A 2-year-old child with speech delay Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
and recurrent ear infections might (2011). Noise induced hearing loss. Retrieved
have what kind of hearing loss that from httpp://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/
has gone undetected but is contrib- noise
uting to the delays? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
(2015). Hearing loss in children. Retrieved from
4. What are the effects of a hearing loss https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/hearing
on a child’s academic progress? loss/index.html
Cherry, R. (2011). Hearing and listening skills.
5. What are the effects of a hearing loss In S. Levey & S. Polirstok (Eds.), Language
on children’s language abilities? development: Understanding language diver-
sity in the classroom (pp. 59–78). Los Angeles,
CA: Sage.
Cochary, J. (2009). Noisy toys. Retrieved from
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Yoshinaga-Itano, C., Sedey, A. L., Coulter, D.
Appendix 9–A
Audiogram
The right ear is graphed with

either a circle or a triangle,
and the left ear is graphed
with an X or a square when
headphones are used to
represent the air conduction
results of the right or left ear.
“S” represents the response of

at least one ear or the response
of the better hearing ear.
The symbol “ [ ” represents

masking the right ear and
the symbol “ ] ” represents
masking the left ear. Masking
involves testing one ear while
noise is introduced into the
other ear. This allows for
testing each ear separately.
Bone conduction testing is represented by the right ear graphed with < or [ and the
left ear with > or ].
Stimulus frequencies, in hertz (Hz), are on the audiogram abscissa. The stimulus
intensity, in decibels and hearing level (dB HL), are on the ordinate. The Audiogram
Legend is below the audiogram. Air conduction testing uses earphones or a
loudspeaker (the sound moves through the air to the ear) and bone conduction uses
a device (bone oscillator) that sends vibration through the skull. A bone oscillator can
vibrate at different frequencies (e.g., 250 Hz, 500 Hz, 1000 Hz, and so on) and this
vibration is carried through the bones of the head to the inner ear (cochlea).
Appendix 9–B
Types of Hearing Loss
Conductive hearing loss A problem conducting sound waves anywhere along

the route through the outer ear, tympanic membrane
(eardrum), or middle ear (ossicles). Otitis media
(inner ear infection) is the most common cause of a
conductive hearing loss.
Sensorineural hearing Permanent hearing loss is due to damage or
loss dysfunction in the inner ear.
Mixed hearing loss A conductive hearing loss that occurs in combination
with a sensorineural hearing loss.
Minimal hearing Some speech sounds may be heard but soft sounds
impairment are hard to hear (Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, 2015).
Central auditory Children have normal pure tone audiograms but
processing have difficulty perceiving speech that is degraded by
background noise or rapid rate of presentation.
Noise-induced hearing NIHL can be caused by a one-time exposure to an
loss intense sound or by continuous exposure to loud
sounds over an extended period of time in a noisy
environment. The onset and the progress of NIHL may
not be apparent.
Glossary
Abduct: To move away from midline. cord, or blood vessels that carry blood to
Abduction: Movement from midline. an organ.
Abstract thought: Higher level thinking pro- Age of acquisition (AoA): The age that a lan-
cesses characterized by organization and guage is first acquired.
logic. Air–bone gap: The difference, in decibels,
Acceleration: At certain points in develop- between air-conduction and bone-conduc-
ment, bilingual children might demonstrate tion thresholds.
a faster rate of acquisition than their mono- Air conduction: A method of transmitting
lingual peers. sound through the outer and middle ear to
Accommodation: When a new event does not the inner ear through an earphone deliver-
fit into a cognitive schema that already exists ing sound to the outer ear.
(e.g., penguin), there is a change in the exist- Alveolar ridge: A bony prominence of the
ing schema (e.g., birds) to accommodate the hard palate directly behind the upper inci-
characteristics of this new information. sors (teeth) that serves as an important
Acoustic: Relating to the sense or organs place of articulation for certain speech
of hearing, to sound, or to the science of sounds (e.g., /s/ and /t/).
sounds. Alveolar stop: A consonant sound created by
Acoustic resonance: The effect of different bringing the tongue tip in contact with the
vocal tract configurations on the production alveolar ridge, forming a complete closure,
of speech sounds. Alterations in the cross- then building up pressure behind the point
sectional area of the vocal tract determine of closure and suddenly releasing the occlu-
the frequencies at which sound energy will sion (e.g., /t/, /d/).
be minimally attenuated or diminished. Alveoli: Tiny air sacs within the lungs where
Acoustics: Relating to sound, the sense of hear- the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide
ing, or the science of the physics of sounds. takes place.
Acoustics can also be defined as sound Analogies: Tasks that involve analogical rea-
vibration propagating through air or the soning that uses information from one situ-
science of sound. ation to apply to another situation.
Action potential: Buildup of electrical current Analogy: Analogical reasoning involves using
in the neuron. information from one situation and apply-
Adaptation: The tendency of an organism to ing this information to a new situation.
change in response to the environment. Anaphora: Reference to a word or phrase
Adduct: To move toward midline. used earlier by replacing it with a pronoun.
Adduction: Movement toward midline. An example is the clause he did so in the sen-
Afferent fibers: Nerves that carry impulses tence, I told Paul to close the door and he did so.
from the body toward the brain or spinal The clause he did so makes use of anaphora.
249
Anaphoric term: A linguistic entity which exists when there is a good fit between
indicates a referential tie to some other the new information and the preexisting
linguistic entity in the same text (e.g., The schema. 2. In relation to phonetics, this term
monkey took the banana and ate it). “It” is ana- describes the changing of a speech sound
phoric as it refers to the banana. due to the influence of adjacent sounds. The
Angular gyrus: A region of the inferior pari- production of a speech sound that is similar
etal lobe of the brain that is involved in the to another sound in the same word (e.g., tat
processing of auditory and visual input produced in place of cat).
and in the comprehension of language. It is Assimilation processes: Progressive assimila-
involved in processes related to language tion consists of a speech sound taking on
and cognition. the characteristics of a preceding sound
Approximants: A class of speech sounds pro- within the word (e.g., kak for cat). Regres-
duced by bringing one articulator close to sive assimilation consists of a speech sound
another without creating audible noise; the taking on the characteristics of a succeeding
approximation of articulators is critical to sound (e.g., tat for cat).
the acoustic resonance of these sounds (i.e., Asymmetrical: A clinically significant differ-
/r/, /l/, /w/, /j/). ence in the degree of loss between the two
Apraxia: A neurological disorder that re-sults in ears that may be frequency specific.
difficulty initiating, planning, and/or pro- Audiogram: A standard graph for represent-
gramming the production of speech sound ing hearing sensitivity, in decibels hearing
sequences. Productions are inconsistent. level (dB HL) as a function of frequency.
Arcuate fasciculus: A bundle of nerve fibers Auditory brainstem response (ABR): The
that connects Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas, objective, physiologic measure most fre-
connecting the speech and language areas quently used for testing infants and chil-
in the brain. dren to estimate hearing sensitivity and/
Argument: Within grammar, a noun element or confirm a diagnosis of hearing loss. The
in a clause that relates directly to the verb, ABR is an electroencephalographic (EEG)
such as the subject or object of the sentence. response that is recorded via three scalp
An argument is an expression that helps electrodes and represents changes in elec-
complete the meaning of a predicate (the trical activity from the auditory nerve to
verb). Subject and object phrases are exam- midbrain level as a result of sound pre-
ples of arguments, shown as in the example sented to the ear.
of the sentence, John threw the ball. John and Auditory cortex: An area of the temporal
ball are arguments: John the subject argu- lobe of the brain that processes auditory
ment and ball the object argument. information.
Articulators: Structures in the vocal tract that Auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder
are used to create speech sounds. There (ANSD): This hearing disorder is char-
are dynamic (movable) articulators, such acterized by normal outer-, middle-, and
as the tongue and lips, and there are static inner-ear function at least up to the level
(immovable) articulators, such as the alveo- of the outer hair cells, but with abnormal
lar ridge and teeth, to which the dynamic function of the inner hair cells or auditory
articulators approximate (make contact) in nerve fibers.
the production of speech sounds. Auditory perception: The ability to perceive
Assimilation: 1. In relation to cognition, and understand sounds through the abili-
this term applies to children’s exposure ties associated with specific organs, such as
to new information or an event. In this the human’s ear. Sound exists in the form
case, the new entity can be assimilated or of vibrations that travel through the air or
incorporated into a schema that already through other substances.
251
Glossary
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Persistent Bootstrapping: A process in which lin-

difficulties in the social use of verbal and guistic knowledge is acquired, enabling a
nonverbal communication for social pur- child to analyze words or sentences well
poses, the ability to change communication enough to acquire further knowledge of
to match context or the needs of a listener, language. Figuratively, this early knowl-
difficulty following rules for conversation edge would serve as bootstraps by which
and storytelling, difficulty making infer- children can pull themselves up to acquire
ences or interpreting a speaker’s mean- the language spoken in the surrounding
ing, difficulty understanding nonliteral or environment.
ambiguous meanings of language (e.g., idi- Bound morpheme: Serves a grammatical pur-
oms, and humor). pose and can be attached to a free morpheme.
Autonomic nervous system (ANS): Inner- Brainstem: The lower part of the brain, adjoin-
vates muscles and glands for involuntary ing and continuous with the spinal cord.
actions (e.g., gland secretions). Responsible Broca’s area: A region in the left frontal lobe of
for the control of visceral functions (e.g., the brain associated with speech that con-
heart, digestion, and respiration). trols movements of the tongue, lips, and
Axon: A long fiber of a nerve cell (a neuron) vocal cords.
that typically conducts electrical impulses Bronchioles: Tiny air tubes within the lungs
away from the neuron’s cell body. that are a continuation of the bronchus. The
Babbling: The early production of connected bronchioles connect to the alveoli (air sacs).
sequences of sounds by infants. Bronchus: A large air tube that begins at the
Basal ganglia: Structure in the brain respon- end of the trachea and branches into the
sible for the control of muscle tone and pos- lungs.
ture, along with organization and guidance Categorical perception: The ability to dis-
of complex motor functions. criminate (tell the difference between)
Basic sentences: Sentences composed of a similar sounding sounds or syllables. Cat-
subject + verb (e.g., Susie ran). egorical perception tasks ask listeners to
Basilar membrane: The membrane of the discriminate between things that belong to
cochlea. This is a supporting membrane a different category (e.g., ba-ba-ba-ba-da-
that aids in translating sound vibrations da-da-da). This task asks listeners to per-
into electrical signals. ceive a change.
Bilabial stop: Sound produced by approxi- Causal cognition: Provides children with
mating the lips (e.g., /b/, /p/). the understanding of the relationship of
Bilateral hearing loss: A bilateral hearing cause and effect, such as what object causes
loss is a hearing impairment in both ears. another object to move, along with under-
When someone has a loss in only one ear, it standing of how desires, emotions, and
is known as a unilateral hearing loss. beliefs are the cause of others’ actions.
Bilingual: Describes an individual who has Causal relationships: Causality connects one
proficiency in two languages. It may also process with another process, where the
describe individuals who have varying first process is responsible for the second
degrees of proficiency in three, four, or even process and the second process is depen-
more languages. dent on the first process.
Bilingual first language acquisition: Acquir- Causality: The principle that everything that
ing two first languages from birth. happens must have a cause.
Bone conduction: A method of transmitting Central auditory processing disorder: A dis-
sound to the inner ear by mechanically order in which school-age children have
vibrating the bones of the skull, thereby normal pure-tone audiograms but have dif-
bypassing the outer and middle ear. ficulty perceiving speech that is degraded
in any way by background noise, reverber- Cochlear implant: A device that serves to
ation, competing signals in the contralateral give a sense of hearing to a person who
ear, rapid rate of presentation, or filtering. otherwise does not have access to sound. It
Central nervous system (CNS): The part of includes a magnet and electrode array that
the nervous system that consists of the is surgically implanted in the inner ear as
brain and the spinal cord. The CNS controls well as an externally worn ear-level speech
motor activities (e.g., walking, sitting, and processor and microphone.
speech) and movements that are connected Code-mixing: A code is a system of signals
to essential body functions (e.g., breathing). used for sending messages. Code-mixing
The CNS is also responsible for thought or -switching describes changes or mixes
processes that emerge from interaction with from one language or system to another.
the environment. Speakers use code-switching to shift from
Cerebellum: A region of the brain that plays a native language to a second language.
an important role in motor control. The cer- Code-mixing can also be used to mark one-
ebellum contributes to coordination, preci- self as part of a particular ethnic group.
sion, and accurate timing of motor skills. Cognition: The mental processes that consist
Cerebrum: The largest and uppermost por- of knowledge, along with the mechanisms
tion of the brain. The cerebrum consists of to acquire knowledge. Cognitive skills con-
the right and left cerebral hemispheres and sist of attention, working memory, reason-
accounts for two-thirds of the total weight ing, intuition, judgment, and perception.
of the brain. Cognitive theory: Language emerges through
Chaining: A narrative form that appears at cognitive skills, such as object permanence
about 3 years of age, when children talk (the ability to produce words for entities or
about events related to a central topic with things that are absent) and through schema
no particular order of occurrence. formation (the psychological structures that
Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS): Child- allow children to attach meaning to experi-
hood apraxia of speech is a motor speech ences and entities).
disorder that results in difficulty producing Coherence: Involves interpreting the meaning
sounds, syllables, and words. CAS is not of a context or situation by considering all
caused by muscle weakness or paralysis. aspects of a situation, along with any previ-
Instead, the brain has difficulty with plan- ous knowledge that relates to an event.
ning to move the articulators (e.g., lips, jaw, Cohesion: The use of transitional expressions
tongue) needed for speech. and other devices to guide readers and
Circumlocution: The use of an unnecessarily show how the parts of a text (written or
large number of words to express an idea, spoken) relate to one other.
such as saying I use it to dig a hole in the Cohesive devices: Linking words and phrases
ground, instead of saying the word “shovel.” to make an organized thought. In narrative,
Closed syllable: A syllable that ends in a con- the use of words to connect the text (e.g.,
sonant (e.g., beet). and then . . . ).
Cochlea: The end organ of hearing; the por- Communication: 1. The exchange of informa-
tion of the inner ear that contains the sen- tion between people through speaking, writ-
sory cells for the auditory system. It is fluid ing, or using a common system of signs or
filled and composed of two concentric laby- behavior. 2. The vehicle for social interaction,
rinths: the outer made of bone and the inner consisting of both verbal (words, sentences,
of membrane. narratives, and conversations) and non-
Cochlear: Reference to the spiral-shaped cav- verbal acts (eye gaze, gesture, turn-taking
ity of the inner ear that resembles a snail in conversation, and facial expressions).
shell and contains the sensory cells and Communicative competence: A person’s
nerve endings essential for hearing. knowledge of grammar, syntax, morphol-
253
Glossary
ogy, and phonology, along with an under- continues until age 12. At this stage, chil-
standing of how and when to use this dren form ideas based on reasoning and are
knowledge appropriately. able to employ abstract thought.
Communicative unit (C-unit): A method of Concrete (words): A concrete noun is one
separating spoken utterances or written which can be experienced by our senses as
sentences into distinct independent clauses we can touch it, see it, or hear it (e.g., table,
(simple sentence) and any dependent or apple, and dogs). An abstract noun can-
subordinating clauses, often used to mea- not be experienced by our senses, as these
sure growth in language abilities. nouns express a concept (e.g., truth).
Competition model: The competition model Conductive: Something that can conduct or
views language processing as a series of transfer heat, sound, or electricity.
competitions between lexical items, pho- Conductive hearing loss: A conductive hear-
nological forms, and syntactic patterns. ing loss occurs when there is a loss of sound
The learning of language forms is based on energy being transmitted through the outer
the accurate recording of many exposures ear or middle ear (tympanic membrane
to words and patterns in different contexts. and/or ossicles). Conductive hearing loss
Complex: When used to describe a sentence, decreases the sound energy reaching the
complexity consists of the presence of an cochlea for sounds of all intensity levels,
independent clause and at least one other thus making all sound perceived at levels
independent or dependent clause. When more softly than would be perceived by a
used to describe language, complexity can person with normal hearing sensitivity.
consist of lengthy and complex utterances Confidence intervals: A confidence interval
or reference to events not present in the cur- gives an estimated range of values, which
rent context. is likely to include an unknown population
Complex sentence: A sentence that contains parameter or the estimated range being cal-
an independent clause with one or more culated from a given set of sample data.
dependent clauses. A complex sentence Congenital: Refers to a defect or condition in
always has a subordinator, such as because, a fetus, present at birth.
since, after, although, or when, or a relative Conjoined sentences: Composed of two main
pronoun, such as that, who, or which. clauses that are conjoined by conjunctions
Compound-complex sentence: A sentence (e.g., and, or, but, and because).
made up of more than one main clause Conjunctions: Words that connect words,
and at least one subordinate clause. It is the phrases, and clauses.
combining of a compound sentence with a Content: The meaning of an expression.
complex sentence. Content word: A word that conveys meaning,
Compound sentence: A sentence that con- such as a noun, verb, or adjective,
tains two independent clauses joined by a Context clues: Context clues help a reader to
coordinator, such as for, and, nor, but, or, yet, define a difficult or unusual word. Clues
or so. may appear within the same sentence or in
Concepts: Abstract ideas, thoughts, or no- the sentences that are contained in the text.
tions that are formed by experiences or Contextualized language: Talk about the here
occurrences. Children’s conceptual devel- and now, by referencing people, objects,
opment is supplied by the environment and and action that are present in the immedi-
the cognitive ability to form concepts about ate context.
spatial (location), temporal (time), quantita- Contextualized narratives: Descriptions of
tive (number), qualitative (description), or people, things, or events present in the
social-emotional (feelings) knowledge. immediate environment.
Concrete operations stage: Stage of devel- Continuity: The hypothesis that there is conti-
opment that emerges at 6 years of age and nuity between children’s preverbal behaviors
(e.g., gestures, eye contact, prelinguistic strate a slower rate of acquisition than their
vocalizations) and later language skills. monolingual peers.
Conversational postulates: Conversation Decentration: Children are able to consider
contains the conversational postulate or multiple multiple attributes of an object or
the assumption that a speaker is telling the situation (e.g., height and width of an object).
truth, is offering information that is new Decibels (dB): A mathematically derived
and relevant to the conversation, and is ratio of sound level based upon the pres-
offering information that the listener genu- sure exerted by a particular vibration rela-
inely wants to hear. tive to some reference pressure. Decibels
Cooing: A stage in infants’ prelinguistic hearing level (dB HL) refers to hearing sen-
speech development that consists of the sitivity relative to normative data of sound
production of single-syllable, vowel-like pressure as a function of frequency.
sounds. Declarative sentences: Statements that pro-
Copula: In grammar, a linking verb, which vide information.
links the subject of a sentence with an adjec- Decode: 1. Decoding is the ability to read
tive or noun-phrase complement relating to something that has been written. 2. An indi-
it (e.g., to be, or to seem). vidual is able to comprehend or understand
Corpus callosum: A structure of the brain in information from another source.
the longitudinal fissure that connects the Decontextualized language: Consists of lan-
left and right cerebral hemispheres. This is guage that is understandable without con-
the structure that facilitates communication textual support (e.g., things that support
between the two hemispheres. the meaning of the utterance). Meaning is
Counterfactual reasoning: Thoughts about conveyed only via linguistic cues.
events that did not actually occur, based on Decontextualized narrative: Refers to descrip-
the condition of what might have happened. tions of people, objects, and events that are
Cranial nerves: These are nerves that emerge not present in the immediate environment.
from the brain and brainstem. Ten of the 12 Deep structure: In transformational gram-
emerge from the brainstem. Cranial nerves mar, the deep structure is an abstract rep-
relay information between the brain and resentation of a sentence, while surface
body. structure corresponds to the version of the
Critical thinking: Analysis of an action or sentence that can be spoken and heard. Sur-
event for accuracy and logic. face structures are derived from deep struc-
Cross-linguistic effects: The bi-directional tures by a series of transformations.
influence of one language on the other in Deferred imitation: Imitation of an event
bilingual speech and language production. after a period of delay, showing that the
Cultural broker: An individual, usually shar- child understands an expression. The
ing the family’s cultural background, who child’s imitative response may change or
can provide an insider’s information on expand the original utterance.
that culture and aid in the interpretation Deictic terms: The phenomenon wherein un-
of the family’s linguistic and non-linguistic derstanding the meaning of certain words
characteristics. and phrases in an utterance requires con-
Culturally and linguistically diverse: Denotes textual information (e.g., that one, over
not only those who are acquiring more than there, here, he, she). Words are deictic if their
one language but also those who might be semantic meaning is fixed but their specific
using more than one dialect (i.e., a rule- reference varies depending on time and/or
governed variant of a language, such as place.
Appalachian English). Deixis: An aspect of a communicative utter-
Deceleration: At certain points in develop- ance whose full interpretation depends on
ment, bilingual children might demon- knowledge of the context in which the com-
255
Glossary
munication occurs (e.g., the use of a word ing accurately and fluently. Dyslexia may
or expression such as he, that, now, or here). also impact on reading comprehension,
Dendrites: Projections of the neuron that con- spelling, and writing.
duct stimulation received from other neu- Effectiveness: A measure to determine whether
rons to the cell body (soma) of a neuron. intervention was responsible for a change.
Denial: Unwillingness to believe in some- Effects: Focuses on determining if change
thing or admit that something exists. occurred as a result of intervention. Change
Derivational morphemes: Prefixes and suf- can be measured by charting outcomes
fixes that are added to a root word to create throughout the intervention process.
additional meaning. This often changes the Efferent fibers: Carrying information away
part of speech of the root word, as in add- from the central nervous system.
ing the suffix -er to the verb teach to create Efficiency: Determining how long it took the
the noun teacher. client to achieve the goals, how much effort
Dialect: A rule-governed variant of a language. was needed to facilitate change, and the
Dialogic reading: A method to support a hierarchy needed to produce a change.
child’s literacy and language skills through Egocentric, egocentrism: Characterized by
asking questions during a reading task. preoccupation with one’s own internal
Digraphs: A pair of written letters that repre- world. The belief that you are the center
sent a single speech sound (e.g., th, sh, ch). of the universe and everything revolves
Diphthongs: Vowel-like sounds that are pro- around you.
duced with a gradually changing articula- Egocentric speech: The type of speech typi-
tion (e.g., how, boy, and sky). cally observed in young children which is
Discourse: The exchange of information or not addressed to another person.
conversation between people consists of Electromotility: The movement, resulting
the transmission of information, opinions, from change in shape, of the cochlear outer
ideas, or feelings. hair cells in response to electrical changes
Disinhibited: Lacking the ability to restrain within the outer hair cells.
from impulsive actions. Ellipsis: The omission of one or more words
Divergent thinking: The ability to explore and from a sentence, especially when the word
provide multiple solutions to a problem. that is omitted can be understood from the
Domain-specific vocabulary: Words that are context. In the sentence, I went but my wife
specific to a specific domain (area or field) didn’t, the omission of “go” at the end of the
of study. sentence (I went but my wife didn’t go) is an
Dual language learners: Individuals acquir- example of ellipsis.
ing two or more languages simultaneously Embedding: A process by which one clause is
while continuing to develop their first included (embedded) in another.
language. Embodied cognition: A theory that the body
Duration: The length of a syllable. influences cognition through the motor sys-
Dynamic assessment: An interactive approach tem, the perceptual system, and the body’s
to assessment that embeds intervention interaction with the environment. In this
within the assessment process. This begins view, the motor system influences the body
with a pretest, followed by intervention, and and the mind influences body actions. Chil-
ending with a posttest. The goal is to deter- dren’s cognitive skills develop through the
mine the child’s response to intervention. relationship between the infant’s mind and
Dysarthria: A motor speech disorder that physical body.
affects the muscles of the mouth, face, phar- Emergent literacy: The period when pre-
ynx, larynx, and respiratory system. schoolers learn about print, before they
Dyslexia: A specific learning disability that actually learn to read. The skills and knowl-
affects reading. This disorder affects read- edge about literacy that a child acquires
before learning to read, such as knowing word order of the child’s utterance (e.g.,
that the print on a page contains informa- child says Doggie eat, adult might say, The
tion about the story. doggie is eating).
Emergentism: The theory that language Experience dependent development: The
acquisition emerges from the interaction abilities that a human must acquire during
of biological forces and the environment. development or adulthood that are unique
According to this theory, neither nature to its own particular environment, such as
nor nurture alone is sufficient to prompt information about the physical characteris-
language learning and both of these influ- tics of the surroundings, the details of one’s
ences must work in tandem to allow a child language, and other cognitive capacities.
to acquire a language. These are experiences that the brain does
Encode: Encoding involves converting incom- not expect (such as the ability and the skills
ing information into meaning, such as spoken to care for animals on a farm).
speech sounds into words. A sender trans- Experience expectant development: The brain
mits information (encodes) that a receiver is prepared for exposure to environmental
comprehends or understands (decodes). experiences that result in the establishment
English language learners: Individuals who of neural pathways that result in learning.
are learning English as another language. For example, the brain expects to be exposed
Environment: The external factors influenc- to visual images and spoken sounds to
ing the life and activities of people, plants, allow the development of visual and audi-
and animals. Reference to the entities, tory systems.
things, and events that play a role in learn- Expository: A type of writing where the pur-
ing language. pose is to describe, inform, explain, or
Environmental: Relating to, or caused by, a define the author’s subject to the reader.
person’s interactions and surroundings. Expository discourse: Language that is typi-
Environmental theory: Environmental theory cally found in textbooks, classroom lec-
posits that the external environment pro- tures, and technical papers.
vides the essential information to support Expressive language: The language an indi-
language development. vidual produces spontaneously. Expres-
Equilibrium: The process of fitting new infor- sive language skills consist of a variety of
mation or input into an existing cognitive expressive skills, such as expressing words,
schema. ideas, and information.
Eustachian tube: A slender tube that connects Exuberant synaptogenesis: Tremendous growth
the middle ear cavity with the nasal part of in the number of synapses in the brain at
the pharynx and serves to equalize air pres- about week 12 of development.
sure on either side of the eardrum. Fast mapping: A hypothesized mental pro-
Evidence-based practice: The integration of cess whereby a new concept can be learned
clinical expertise, expert opinion, external based only on a single exposure to a given
scientific evidence, and client/patient/ unit of information. Fast mapping is
caregiver perspectives to provide high- thought by some researchers to be particu-
quality services reflecting the interests, val- larly important during language acquisi-
ues, needs, and choices of the individuals tion in young children.
we serve. Fictional narrative: A story drawn from a
Executive function(s): The cognitive pro- child’s imagination and in which the con-
cesses of planning, problem solving, work- tent is invented.
ing memory, inhibition, and multitasking. Figurative language: Non-literal phrases con-
Expansions: An adult’s more mature version sisting of idioms, metaphors, similes, and
of a child’s utterance that preserves the proverbs.
257
Glossary
Fissures: A series of valleys or depressions on activity during different tasks or activities

the surface of the cerebrum. can be determined.
Fluency: 1. The ability to read a text quickly, Generative: A speaker’s ability to generate
accurately, and with proper expression. many types of sentences (to generate or to
This involves the ability to read with lit- produce).
tle effort and without conscious attention Generative grammar: A finite set of rules that
to the mechanics of reading. 2. The abil- can be applied to generate sentences that
ity to speak, read, and/or write without are grammatical in a given language. These
difficulty. rules are derived from a speaker’s tacit
FM educational amplification systems: A grammatical knowledge of the system of
sound system used in the classroom to that language.
improve the degree to which the teacher’s Gestation: The period of development before
voice exceeds the background noise at the birth.
location of the receiver, thereby improving Glides: Often referred to as semi-vowels,
signal-to-noise ratio. these are vowel-like sounds that do not
Form: The components of language that in- make up the nucleus of a syllable (i.e., /j/
clude syntax, morphology, and phonology. and /w/).
Formal operations: The formal operational Glottis: The space between the vocal folds.
stage begins at approximately age 12 and Grammar: The rules that govern the compo-
lasts into adulthood. During this time, sition of sentences, phrases, and words in
children develop the ability to think about any given language.
abstract concepts with the use of logical Graphemes: Written symbols, letters, or com-
thought, deductive reasoning, and system- binations of letters that represent a single
atic planning. sound. For example, the phoneme /f/ can
Free morphemes: A morpheme that can stand be represented as f in the word fast, as ph- in
alone as a word. A free morpheme is also phone, and as -gh in laugh.
termed an unbound morpheme or a free- Gray matter: The gray matter of the brain is
standing morpheme. mainly composed of neuronal cell bodies
Frequency: Language processing is connected and unmyelinated axons. Axons are the
to input frequency in the frequency effects processes that extend from neuronal cell
in the processing of phonology, phonotac- bodies, carrying signals between those
tics, reading, morphosyntax, formulaic lan- bodies. In the gray matter, these axons are
guage, language comprehension, grammat- mainly unmyelinated, meaning they are
icality, sentence production, and syntax. not covered by a whitish-colored, fatty pro-
Function words: These express a grammatical tein called myelin. The gray matter serves
or structural relationship with other words to process information in the brain.
in a sentence. Function words include deter- Guided distributional learning: This theory
miners (for example, the, that), conjunctions is part of emergentism, stating that lan-
(and, but), prepositions (in, of), pronouns guage acquisition emerges from the inter-
(she, they), auxiliary verbs (be, have), modals action of biological forces and the envi-
(may, could), and quantifiers (some, both). ronment. In this view, neither nature nor
Functional magnetic resonance imaging nurture alone is sufficient to prompt lan-
(fMRI): This is a functional neuroimaging guage learning.
procedure using MRI technology. This pro- Gyri: A series of elevations or ridges on
cedure measures brain activity by detecting the surface of the cerebral and cerebellar
changes associated with blood flow. When cortices.
an area of the brain is in use, blood flow to Habilitative: Adjectival form of habilitate,
that region also increases. In this way, brain meaning to make able to do something.
Hair cells: The sensory receptors of the audi- malleus at the top and has a projection that
tory system. The hair cells transfer sound is joined to the stapes at the bottom.
information to the auditory nerve. Indirect speech act: An utterance whose lin-
Heaps: A stage in a child’s pre-narrative devel- guistic form (a question) does not directly
opment. The child expresses an assortment refer to its communicative purpose (a
of unrelated ideas rather than connected request for action).
information. For example, a child might Infant-directed speech: Patterns that con-
just label objects or actions with no connec- sist of slowed rate and exaggerated into-
tion among these pieces of information. national patterns. This type of speech has
Hearing aids: An electroacoustic device which been termed “motherese.”
typically fits in or behind the user’s ear and Inferior frontal gyrus (IFG): Known as Bro-
is designed to selectively amplify sound ca’s area and important for the motor pro-
based on the user’s hearing loss for the gramming and the expression of spoken
sake of giving improved access to speech language.
sounds. Inflectional morphemes: Maintain the word’s
Hertz: The term hertz (abbreviation Hz) is grammatical category (e.g., noun, verb) and
defined as the number of cycles (vibrations) add a grammatical feature to that word
that an object makes when put into motion). (e.g., possession, or tense).
The number of cycles per unit of time is Inhibition: When an activity, impulse, desire,
called the frequency of a sound. The per- or a response is restrained or prevented.
ceived pitch of a sound is the ear’s or mind’s Innate: Qualities or abilities that are inborn.
subjective interpretation of its frequency. Innateness theory: A theory of language ac-
Heschl’s gyrus: Gyri (prominent, rounded, quisition which states that at least some lin-
elevated convolutions on the surfaces of the guistic knowledge exists in humans at birth.
cerebral hemispheres) located on the upper Inner hair cells: Transform the sound vibra-
surface of the temporal area of the cortex tions in the fluids of the cochlea into elec-
that are involved in the processing of audi- trical signals that are then relayed via the
tory stimuli. auditory nerve and the auditory brainstem
Homorganic: Having the same place of artic- to the auditory cortex.
ulation in the vocal tract (e.g., /t/, /n/, and Input: Sensory information that is processed
/d/). from an outside influence and is then acted
Hypothalamus: A region of the brain located upon or integrated.
between the thalamus and the midbrain Instrumental function: Playing a part in achiev-
that controls the autonomic nervous sys- ing a result or accomplishing a purpose.
tem. For example, the hypothalamus regu- Intelligibility: Refers to how clear and eas-
lates sleeping cycles, body temperature, ily understood the speaker’s speech is to a
and appetite. listener.
Idioms: Expressions with meanings that can- Intention: The meaning conveyed by a
not be predicted from the usual meaning of speaker. A listener must understand the
its constituent elements or words (e.g., kick speaker’s intent or intention to understand
the bucket). the meaning of an utterance.
Imperative sentences: Consist of a demand Intentional: The use of communication to
or request. indicate specific wants, desires, or needs.
Incidental learning: The type of learning that Interaction function: Communication or joint
occurs without direct teaching. Incidental activity involving two or more people.
learning describes children’s learning of Interactional dual systems model: A theory
new words. of bilingual language acquisition stating
Incus: The middle bone of the ossicular chain that bilingual children develop distinct lin-
in the middle ear. It articulates with the guistic systems for each language.
259
Glossary
Interneurons: Interneurons are located in the capacity which enables them to acquire
CNS (brain and spinal cord). These are neu- and produce language. This theory asserts
rons that act as a link between sensory and that humans are born with the instinct or
motor neurons (sensation and movement). innate facility for acquiring language. It is
They transmit signals through the use of believed that without this innate knowl-
neurotransmitters, the chemicals that allow edge of grammar, children would be unable
the transmission of signals from one neuron to learn language as quickly as they do.
to the next. Language content: Semantics, or the meaning
Interpreter: One who conveys information of words, phrases, sentences, and longer
from one language to another. spoken utterances or written language.
Interrogative sentences: These sentences ask Language dominance: When bilinguals are
a question. These sentences require an inver- said to have greater skills in one language
sion of the subjects and auxiliary verbs than in the other.
(e.g., am, is, are, was, were). Language exposure: The amount of time
Intonation: The rising or falling pitch of the an individual is exposed to a particular
voice when a word or syllable is produced. language.
Intrasentential growth: Refers to the advances Language form: The language areas that
in syntactic knowledge and use seen within define the structure and rules of language:
the length of a sentence. This is a term phonology, morphology, and syntax.
meant to capture syntactic changes. Language loss: This process occurs, over time,
Item-based: A usage-based model in which when the speech and language features of
children imitatively learn concrete linguis- the first language are no longer utilized by
tic expressions from the language they hear the speaker, possibly due to less exposure
around them. Children use their general or use of the speaker’s first language.
cognitive and social-cognitive skills to com- Language processing: The way words are
bine these individually learned expressions used to communicate ideas and feelings
and structures to develop language. and how communication is understood.
Jargon: 1. Sequences of variegated babbling Language proficiency: How well a language
that have the intonation shape of the child’s is spoken.
native language. 2. The language and Language status: The degree of admiration or
vocabulary associated with a particular respect for a particular language.
discipline, often confusing to novices and Language use: How often and with whom
persons not familiar with that discipline. each language is used.
Joint action: The shared action of two indi- Laryngeal system: The vocal folds are housed
viduals on a single object or a collective within the laryngeal system. The vocal folds
activity. are energized by air from the lungs and
Joint attention: The process by which young vibrate to produce phonation (sound pro-
children focus their attention on an object duced by the vibration of the vocal folds).
or event with a social partner through non- Larynx: A set of structures that house the
verbal communication. This may include vocal folds.
joint gaze and pointing. Lexicon: A lexicon is the vocabulary of a per-
Labio-dental: Produced at a place of articula- son or a language.
tion involving the lower lip and upper teeth Limbic system: A part of the brain that sup-
(e.g., /f/ and /v/). ports many functions, including emotions,
Language: A system of arbitrary symbols long-term memory, self-preservation, and
which is rule based, dynamic, generative, sensory processing (e.g., smells or scents).
and used as a social tool in communication. Limited English proficient (LEP): This is a
Language acquisition device (LAD): The con- term used to describe a student who is lim-
cept that infants have an instinctive mental ited in English proficiency and has not yet
mastered English in the four domains of sitivity of the other ear; used when hear-
reading, writing, listening, and speaking. ing sensitivity of the non-test ear is possi-
Lingua-alveolar: Sounds produced at a place bly better than the test ear, for the sake of
of articulation in which the tongue com- determining true hearing sensitivity of the
pletely or nearly closes against the alveolar test ear.
ridge (e.g., /s/, /t/, and /d/). Masking: Involves testing one ear while noise
Lingua-dental: Sounds produced at a place of is introduced into the other ear. This allows
articulation involving the tongue and teeth, for testing each ear separately.
such as the sound “th.” Mean length of utterance (MLU): The aver-
Lingua-palatal: Sounds produced when the age number of morphemes (basic units of
tongue articulates with the hard palate, meaning) a child produces. For example,
such as the sound “sh.” jump is one morpheme, whereas jumps
Lingua-velar: Sound produced at a place (jump + s) is two.
of articulation involving the tongue and Means-end: This is a process in which the
velum or the soft palate (e.g., /k/, and /g/). problem solver begins by envisioning the
Linguistic competence: Linguistic knowledge end, or ultimate goal, and then determines
possessed by native speakers of a language. the best strategy for attaining the goal in
It is distinguished from linguistic perfor- his/her current situation.
mance, which is the way a language system Means-end behavior: Children’s anticipation
is used in communication. of an outcome allows them to achieve a goal.
Linguistic individualism: The language expe- Mental lexicon: A mental dictionary that
riences of children and adolescents outside contains information regarding a word’s
of the family or traditional academic set- meaning, pronunciation, and syntactic
ting, consisting of unique vocabulary or characteristics.
concepts that allow a child or adolescent to Mental state verbs: These are verbs that refer
acquire an individualized personal vocabu- to a person’s mental state, e.g., frighten, like,
lary or a different way of talking. disappoint, think, believe, and remember. These
Liquids: A class of speech sounds also known verbs are sometimes called mental verbs.
as approximants (e.g., /l/, /r/). Metacognition: Knowledge of one’s own
Magical thinking: Magical thinking is most thoughts and the aspects that influence
present in younger children, when children thinking. Metacognition involves self-
believe that their personal thought has a reflection, self-responsibility, initiative, goal
direct effect on the rest of the world. setting, and time management.
Majority language: A language spoken by Metalinguistic abilities: Allow a child to
the majority of speakers in a region or in think and talk about language, along with
a country. the ability to use language to talk about
Main verb: The verb that conveys meaning in language
a sentence. Metalinguistic awareness: Refers to the abil-
Malleus: This is the largest of the ossicles. It ity to objectify language as a process as well
is continuous with the eardrum and articu- as a thing and to consciously reflect on the
lates with the incus, the next bone in the nature of language.
chain in the middle ear. Metalinguistic competence: Involves the
Mandible: The bone making up the lower jaw awareness that language is composed of
of the face. syntactic, semantic, morphological, phono-
Marked sounds: Less natural occurring sounds logical, and pragmatic domains that can be
in most languages (see unmarked). synthesized, analyzed, and reorganized.
Masked: The use of a noise applied to the Metalinguistic knowledge: The ability to
non-test ear while testing the hearing sen- think about language in a conscious manner.
261
Glossary
Metalinguistic strategies: Allow children to that cannot occur by themselves, such as

reflect on and knowingly consider oral and affixes).
written language and how it is used. The Morphology: A study of the system of rules
strategies that support vocabulary knowl- for combining the smallest units of lan-
edge are semantic mapping, semantic fea- guage into words.
ture analysis, and context clues. Morphophonemic: Referring to the changes
Metaphor: A figure in which a word or phrase in pronunciation undergone by allomorphs
literally denoting one kind of object or idea of morphemes as they are modified by
is used in place of another to suggest a neighboring sounds, such as the change in
likeness between them (e.g., drowning in the plural morpheme -s (i.e., /s/ to /z/)
money). when following a voiced sound (e.g., cats
Minority language: A language spoken by a vs. dogs).
minority or a smaller number of speakers in Morphophonology: The study of the inter-
the region of a country. action between a language’s morphemes
Mirror neurons: These are neurons in the and its phonological processes, focusing on
brain that fire when we undertake an action the sound changes that occur when mor-
or perceive the actions of others. They pro- phemes (minimal meaningful units) com-
vide an inner simulation or mirror of the bine to form words.
actions that we observe, allowing the view- Morphosyntactic development: The addition
er’s brain to symbolize and understand the of morphemes that expand a child’s syn-
actions of others. tax or sentence length. Examples consist
Mixed hearing loss: When bone-conduction of the production of determiners (the) and
thresholds are poorer than 20 dB HL and inflectional morphemes (e.g., the present
air-conduction thresholds are elevated by progressive morph -ing and the plural mor-
another 10 dB or more (an air–bone gap is pheme -s).
present). Motherese: A form of speech that differs from
Modal auxiliaries: Verbs that express mood typical adult speech, usually delivered with
(e.g., feeling, or intention), such as can, a “cooing” pattern of intonation, slowed
could, shall, should, will, and would. production, a higher pitch, and greater into-
Modal auxiliary verbs: A verb that combines nation changes.
with another verb to express mood or tense Motility: Capable of or demonstrating move-
(e.g., can, could, would, and should). ment.
Models: Examples of more mature language Motor: Activities such as walking, sitting, and
that can be imitated by a child. These con- speech that are controlled by the central
sist of scaffolds that support language nervous system.
development. Motor cortex: The part of the cerebral cor-
Modifiability: This describes a child’s respon- tex in the brain where the nerve impulses
siveness to intervention. This information originate that initiate voluntary muscular
consists of how the child responds to and activity.
uses new information, the quantity and Motor neurons: Transmit “directions” to
quality of effort needed to make a change, muscles for active movement.
the transfer of goals, or the generalization Multilingual: The use of more than two
of new skills. languages.
Morphemes: The minimal, meaningful, and Multilingualism: The knowledge or use of
distinctive components of grammar. Mor- more than two languages.
phemes are commonly classified into free Mutual exclusivity bias: Children’s assump-
(morphemes which can occur as sepa- tion that every object has only one label
rate words) or bound forms (morphemes or name (e.g., Mommy cannot be called
Marissa). This bias is often held until chil- Neuron: A nerve cell.
dren learn that an entity or an object can Neuroplasticity: The lifelong ability of the
have more than one name. brain to reorganize neural pathways based
Myelin: A sheath that covers many axons in on novel or new experiences, along with
the central nervous system, critical to neu- anatomical or physiological changes due
ral transmission and normal muscle func- to injury.
tion by facilitating the rapid transmission Neurotransmitters: Chemicals which facili-
of electrical impulses. tate the transmission of signals from one
Myths: Traditional stories that consist of neuron to the next across synapses. This
events that serve to explain a practice, chemical substance is released from the
belief, or natural phenomenon. axon terminal that travels along the syn-
Nares: Nostrils. apse to transfer an impulse to another
Narrative: A verbal description of events cell.
which is longer than a single utterance. Non-English proficient: Having minimal or
Narratives possess a structure that aids no English proficiency.
children’s understanding of stories. Nonexistence: Children at the one- and two-
Nasal cavity: A cavity of the vocal tract that is word utterance stage express nonexistence
important for the resonance of nasal sounds to indicate disappearance (e.g., All gone
(i.e., /m/, /n/, and /ŋ/). cookie).
Nasals: Sounds produced by vocal fold vibra- Noun phrase: The noun phrase is a part of
tion with the resonance of the nasal cavity a sentence that consists of a noun and its
added to the pharynx and oral cavity (e.g., modifiers, including a noun clause, a word,
/m/, and /n/). or a pronoun that can function as the sub-
National Institutes of Health: An agency of ject or object of a verb.
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Nucleus: The nucleus of neurons contains
Services that supports much of medical genetic material (chromosomes) including
research. information for cell development and syn-
Negative sentences: Sentences in which the thesis of proteins necessary for cell mainte-
child demonstrates a rejection or protest. nance and survival.
Nerve fibers: A process, axon, or dendrite of Object constancy: The understanding that
a nerve cell. objects remain the same even when viewed
Nerves: These fibers form a network of path- from a different perspective.
ways for conducting information through- Object permanence: 1. The knowledge that
out the body. Sensory (afferent) nerves carry objects have an existence in time and space,
information into the central nervous system independent of whether or not they can be
about sensations (e.g., touch, temperature, seen or touched. 2. The ability to remember
and pain), and motor (efferent) nerves carry that an object exists even when removed
information away from the central nervous from sight.
system for muscle control. Obligatory: An obligatory context is when a
Nervous system: This system consists of morpheme is required to make an equiva-
nerve tissues and structures of the central lent grammatical sentence in adult speech,
and peripheral nervous systems that are whether for linguistic or contextual reasons.
responsible for thought, muscle control, Onset: An onset is the part of the syllable that
and sensory functions. precedes the vowel of the syllable (e.g., /s/
Neural tube: Formed by the closure of ecto- from the word sit).
dermal tissue in the early vertebrate embryo Open syllable: An open syllable is one in
that later develops into the brain, spinal which the final sound in the syllable is a
cord, nerves, and ganglia. vowel (e.g., bee).
263
Glossary
Operant conditioning: Modification of vol- Overgeneralize: A process whereby children

untary behavior through reward/positive extend their use of grammatical features
reinforcement (a consequence that increases beyond the context of those in adult lan-
the likelihood of a behavior) or through guage, e.g., use of -ed, walk + ed to signify
punishment/negative reinforcement (a past tense of all verbs, eat + ed as opposed to
consequence that decreases the likelihood ate). The term overgeneralization refers to this
of a behavior). typical developmental process.
Oral cavity: An air-filled cavity of the vocal Paradigmatic: A response in a word associa-
tract (the mouth) that contains the tongue, tion task from the same class (e.g., hot-cold).
teeth, hard palate, and the velum. This response appears around age 9 when
Orthography: Written system of a language, children possess a more developed seman-
such as letters that compose written words. tic system. See syntagmatic.
Ossicles: Small bones within the middle ear Paralinguistic: The non-verbal elements of
that consist of the malleus, incus, and stapes. communication that modify meanings and
Otitis media: An inflammation or infection of convey emotion, including the pitch, vol-
the middle ear, with or without the pres- ume, and intonation of speech.
ence of effusion (fluid), that occurs in the Parallel distributed processing: The theory
area between the eardrum (the end of the views the mind as composed of a great
outer ear) and the inner ear, including number of elementary units connected in a
the eustachian tube. neural network. Mental processes are inter-
Otoacoustic emissions (OAEs): Tiny sounds actions between these units which excite
present in the ear canal that are thought to and inhibit each other in parallel rather
be generated by the electromotility of the than sequential operations.
outer hair cells of the cochlea. Parameters: Language-specific rules that apply
Outer hair cells: Outer hair cells help amplify to the specific syntactic rules for languages,
sound vibrations entering the inner ear such as word-order rules for sentence con-
from the middle ear. When hearing is work- struction that differ across languages.
ing normally, the inner hair cells convert Paraphasias: The incorrect production of the
these vibrations into electrical signals that wrong word or words.
travel as nerve impulses to the brain, where Parasympathetic: The parasympathetic ner-
the impulses are interpreted as sound. vous system plays a role in the processes of
Overextension: The process in which a child the body, such as digestion, control of the
applies a word meaning to more exem- heart rate, and contraction of the pupils.
plars than an adult would. A type of error In contrast, the sympathetic nervous sys-
in a child’s early word usage that reflects tem increases the heart rate and dilates the
overly inclusive definitions that are beyond pupils.
acceptable adult usage. For example, a child Pattern finding: Children’s sensitivity to
may perceive similarities in the characteris- regularities in the patterns of the adult’s
tics of entities and call them all the same utterances.
name (e.g., all four-legged animals would Perception: The use of senses (e.g., visual
be called doggie). and auditory perception) and one’s own
Overgeneralization: A typical process of concepts to acquire information about the
extending the features of an entity to environment.
another entity (e.g., all four-legged animals Perceptual: Relating to or involving sensory
called doggie). This process also applies to perception.
use of a rule, such as the use of the mor- Performatives: Speech acts that constitute an
pheme -ed to form the past tense form of a act of some kind, such as promising, threat-
verb (e.g., throwed, eated, goed). ening, or requesting.
Peripheral nervous system (PNS): The PNS words. This awareness consists of the abil-
consists of two parts: the somatic nervous ity to notice and manipulate the sounds of
system and the autonomic nervous system. a language, separately from the meaning of
Perseveration: The excessive repetition of a the word.
word, phrase, or longer utterance. Phonological processes: Children’s simplifi-
Personal function: When a child attempts to cation of words. These processes are pre-
communicate to express his/her feelings or dictable and consistent with typical devel-
attitudes. opment (e.g., “nana” produced in place of
Personal narrative: A narrative that describes the word banana).
past events experienced by the narrator or Phonology: Rules for the combination of
someone familiar to the narrator. sounds to form words in a language.
Perspective-taking: The perception of physi- Phonotactics: A branch of phonology that
cal, social, or emotional situations from a deals with restrictions in a language on the
point of view other than one’s own. permissible combinations of phonemes.
Pharyngeal cavity: The cavity of the pharynx Phrase structure rules: Describe a language’s
that consists of a part continuous anteriorly syntax and sentence structure.
with the nasal cavity by way of the naso- Pinna: The visible part of the ear.
pharynx, a part opening into the oral cavity, Plasticity: Plasticity, also known as neuro-
and a part continuous posteriorly with the plasticity, is a term that refers to the brain’s
esophagus and opening into the larynx. Its ability to change and adapt as a result of
anterior boundary is the root of the tongue experience.
and its posterior boundary is the pharyn- Positron emission tomography (PET): A nu-
geal wall. clear functional imaging technique used to
Phonation: The process of setting the vocal observe metabolic processes in the body.
folds into vibration to produce sound. PET provides the opportunity to study the
Phonemes: The smallest units of the sounds organization of cognitive functions and lan-
of a language that act to differentiate the guage processing in the working brain.
meaning of words (e.g., /b/ in bat vs. /k/ Postlingual: After the development of speech
in cat). and/or language.
Phonemic awareness: A subset of phonologi- Practical intelligence: The knowledge, not
cal awareness that allows children to hear, explicitly taught, needed to achieve or
identify, and manipulate phonemes. accomplish a goal. The skills involved with
Phonemic representations: A system for using practical intelligence can be thought of as
letters or symbols to represent sounds in applied to practical skills (e.g., what an
speech. The basis of phonetic and pho- infant must do to obtain a goal or solve a
nemic transcription is the phoneme, the problem).
smallest part of a word’s sounds that can Pragmatic: Relating to the rules for appropri-
be clearly defined as a separate sound that ate social interaction.
affects meaning. Pragmatics: 1. The branch of linguistics that
Phonetically consistent forms: Expressions studies language use rather than language
used to convey consistent meaning, such structure. 2. The connection between lan-
as doggy used only to label dogs. guage development and the environment
Phonetics: The study of the perception and or the context in which the communication
production of speech sounds. occurs.
Phonics: Sound-letter or phoneme-grapheme Predicate: The part of a sentence that pro-
correspondence. vides information about the subject of the
Phonological awareness: Defined as chil- sentence, such as what the subject is doing
dren’s awareness of the sound structure of or how the subject is affected. A sentence
265
Glossary
contains a subject (what or whom the sen- tern, word juncture, loudness, pausing, and
tence is about) and a predicate (which tells rhythm. Prosody extends over syllables,
us something about the subject). words, or phrases.
Prelingual: The period between birth and Prospective mental development: What a
13 months of age when an infant employs child needs to learn with guidance from an
sounds and gestures to communicate wants adult or more experienced peer, in relation
and needs before recognizable speech to the child’s zone of proximal development.
develops. Proverb: Expressions that express a thought
Preoperational stage: This stage begins at or truth.
approximately 18 months and ends at 6 Proximity: Closeness in time and/or space.
years of age. During this period of devel- Real-time functional magnetic resonance imag-
opment, children form ideas based on their ing (rtfMRI): Allows for brain–computer
own perception of events. This derives interface with a high spatial and temporal
from egocentrism, with children centered resolution and whole-brain coverage.
on themselves, their own experience, and Recasts: An adult’s correction or modifica-
their own desires. tions of a child’s utterances.
Presuppositions: Beliefs that a particular Receptive language: The language that peo-
state of affairs is true or false without the ple comprehend or understand.
provision of evidence. Recurrence: A semantic relation produced by
Primary auditory cortex: The part of the children to indicate the request of repetition
temporal lobe that processes auditory (e.g., More juice).
information. Reduplicated babbling: Repeated sequences
Principles: Innate language-general rules of repeated consonant-vowel pairs (e.g.,
or general principles that apply to all lan- bababababa).
guages, such as the principle that a sentence Referent absent: Reference to a person,
must contain a subject. thing, or event absent from the current
Principles and parameters theory: An innate environment.
language acquisition device that consists Referent present: Reference to a person, thing,
of language principles common to all lan- or event when these elements are present
guages and parameters that can be set for the within the current environment to which a
grammatical rules for a particular language. linguistic expression refers.
Print awareness: Knowledge that the printed Reflexive pronouns: Refer to the subject of
word carries a message, including but not the sentence compounded with -self (e.g.,
limited to the meaning and function of the myself, herself, and himself).
printed word, recognition of words and let- Register: Modifications of language influ-
ters, and terminology. enced by the current situation (e.g., conver-
Private speech: This type of speech is often sation with close friends as compared with
called egocentric speech, with children’s conversation with professors).
speech not adapted to a listener’s under- Regulatory function: Language used specifi-
standing or needs. cally to convey or to establish social dynam-
Processing: Involves the functions performed ics between individuals. In child language,
in the brain that allow us to perceive and the attempt to regulate the behavior of
understand spoken language, along with a another.
speaker’s ideas and feelings. Rejection: The semantic relation used to reject
Propositions: A statement claiming that (e.g., no bed).
something is true or false. Relational terms: These terms express a syn-
Prosody: The suprasegmental aspects of tactic relationship between elements in a
speech, including intonation, stress pat- phrase or a sentence (e.g., less, more, longer,
because, and between). The understanding Scripts: A sequence of familiar comments,

of relational terms that develop as chil- narratives, and events that have been rou-
dren develop the concepts that label these tinized with familiarity to a situation or
relationships. event.
Representational thought: The ability to pic- Selection restrictions: Constraints on partic-
ture something in your head. ular word meanings that govern potential
Resonance: A phenomenon in which a body word combinations.
of air, having a natural tendency to vibrate Semantic features: The perceptual or func-
at a particular frequency or frequencies, tional aspects of meaning that characterize
is set into vibration by another structure a word. Semantic processing occurs when
vibrating at or near those frequencies. we hear a word and encode its meaning,
Retrospective mental development: The cur- which involves understanding.
rent skills that a child has mastered in rela- Semantic relations: The relationship between
tion to the child’s zone of proximal development. the concepts or meanings (e.g., agent +
Reversibility: The capacity to be reversed or action = Dogs bark).
undone. Semantic roles: A semantic role is the under-
Rhotic diphthongs: These are r-colored or lying relationship that a word has with the
rhotic vowels (also called retroflex vowels, main verb in a clause, as shown in the rela-
vocalic /r/, or rhotacized vowels) that can tion of the semantic role of the agent (boy)
be articulated in various ways: The tip or to the verb left in the sentence, The boy left
blade of the tongue may be turned up dur- yesterday.
ing at least part of the articulation of the Semantics: 1. The study of meaning in a lan-
vowel (a retroflex articulation) or the back guage, as it is expressed in words, phrases,
of the tongue may be bunched. Examples sentences, and longer spoken, written, or
are found in the following words: car, bear, signed utterances. 2. The component of lan-
ear, and four. guage that refers to meaning, and the rules
Rhythm: The pattern formed by a sequence of that govern the assignment of meaning to
stressed and unstressed syllables. entities (people, animals, and things) along
Rime: The part of a syllable which consists of with activities or events. 3. A subdivision of
its vowel and any consonant sounds that linguistics devoted to the study of meaning
come after it (e.g., “it” from the word sit). in language and how the meanings in lan-
Scaffolding: The use of a model which con- guage are formed by the use and interrela-
sists of the input from more experienced tionships of words, phrases, and sentences.
language users to younger children to cor- Semiotic function: How words or signs cre-
rect word use, sentence structure, and other ate meaning as elements of communicative
forms of language. behavior, such as signs that take the form
Scaffolds: Input from adults that provide of words, images, sounds, gestures, and
children with cues and supports that allow objects.
them to acquire language. Scaffolds are used Sensitivity: 1. The ability to detect the presence
when children produce words or sentences of a signal; e.g., hearing loss exists when
that are not consistent with adults’ produc- there is diminished sensitivity to the sounds
tions (e.g., eated/ate, goed/went, I eating/I am heard at intensity levels consistent with nor-
eating). mal hearing. 2. The percentage of individu-
Schemas: 1. According to Piaget, the basic als correctly identified with a disorder.
psychological structures for organizing Sensorineural: A hearing loss is caused by the
information. 2. Organizational or concep- inner ear.
tual patterns in the mind used to catagorize Sensorineural hearing loss: Occurs when
objects or ideas. there is dysfunction in the cochlea or the
267
Glossary
nerve pathways from the inner ear to the Social competence: The emotional and cogni-
brain, resulting in loss of hearing sensitiv- tive skills and behaviors that children need
ity. This is the most common type of hear- for successful social adaptation and social
ing loss and generally cannot be medically interaction.
or surgically corrected. Social information processing: The way in
Sensory cells: Detect information (e.g., sounds, which people think about themselves and
light, touch, smell, taste, and temperature) the social world, including how they select,
through receptors on their surface. This interpret, remember, and use social infor-
information travels through nerves from mation gained in interaction.
the sensory cells to the brain. Social interaction: Any action that is shared
Sensory information: Sensory acuity is the with others and contains a shared symbolic
actual physical ability of the sensory organs system.
to receive input, while sensory processing Social-interaction theory: Children’s language
is the ability to interpret the information acquisition emerges through social interac-
the brain has received. The processing of tion and experience with language used in
sensory information consists of tactile per- the external environment. Children possess
ception (touch), visual perception (vision), the innate desire for social interaction.
gustatory perception (taste), auditory per- Socio-interactional: Relating to social rela-
ception (hearing), and olfactory perception tions or social interaction as a factor in lan-
(smell). Additional sensory information guage development.
consists of the perception of pain, touch, Soma: The main part of the neuron that con-
temperature sense, and limb propriocep- tains the nucleus of the cell.
tion or limb position. Somatic nervous system: Relating to the
Sensory neurons: Nerve cells that transmit nerves that carry motor (movement) and
sensory information (e.g., sight, sound, sensory (e.g., hearing, touch, and sight)
touch, or feeling). This sensory input sends information to and from the central ner-
this information to other elements of the vous system. These nerves are responsible
nervous system, with final transmission for voluntary muscle movements and for
of the sensory information to the brain or processing sensory information.
spinal cord. Specificity: Measures the proportion of posi-
Sequential bilinguals: Those who acquire a tives that are correctly identified as such
second language after establishing a foun- and the proportion of negatives that are
dation in their first language. correctly identified as such. For example,
Simile: A figure of speech in which two unlike the percentage of individuals correctly
things are explicitly compared, as in, “she is identified as typically developing.
like a rose.” Speech: The neuromuscular process by which
Simple sentence: A sentence that contains humans create a meaningful sound sig-
only a subject and a verb (e.g., Dogs bark). nal that is transmitted through the air (or
Simultaneous bilinguals: Those who acquire another medium, such as a telephone line)
at least two languages before the age of to a receiver.
about 5 years. Speech acts: A method of categorizing a speak-
Social cognition: The psychological processes ers’s intent or meaning (e.g., request, com-
that enable individuals to take advantage ment, promise). These spoken utterances are
of social signals that include facial expres- called acts because many types are intended
sions, such as fear and disgust, which warn to result in action (e.g., Can you pass the salt?).
us of danger, and eye gaze direction, which Speech awareness threshold (SAT): The
indicate where interesting things can be weakest intensity at which the child dem-
found. onstrates awareness of the presence of
sound, when a speech stimulus is presented before, while, and when (e.g., Before we eat,
through the audiometer using a develop- we wash our hands).
mentally appropriate test method. Substitution processes: Consist of the substi-
Speech reception threshold (SRT): The weak- tution of one phonemic class (e.g., stops) for
est intensity at which the child can identify another (e.g., fricatives).
50% of spondee words from a closed set of Sulci: A series of valleys or depressions on the
familiar items. A spondee word has two syl- surface of the cerebrum.
lables with equal stress, such as baseball or Superior frontal gyrus: Contributes to higher
toothbrush. cognitive functions and working memory.
Stapes: The third and smallest of the ossicles Superior temporal gyrus (STG): This area of
in the middle ear. the brain consists of the primary auditory
Stereocilia: Small, hair-like projections situ- cortex, responsible for processing sounds.
ated on the top of the hair cells that are It also comprises Wernicke’s area, which is
located in the inner ear. involved in language comprehension.
Stop-plosive: A class of speech sounds pro- Supralaryngeal vocal tract: Consists of the
duced by forming a complete closure in the oral, pharyngeal, and nasal cavities.
oral cavity, building up pressure behind Surface structure: Structural characteristics
that closure, and suddenly releasing the of the actual spoken message. The surface
closure to produce a brief noise burst. structure derives from the deep structure
Strategies: Chosen plans to bring about a through the utilization of phrase structure
desired future, such as achievement of and transformational rules.
a goal or solution to a problem. Syllable structure processes: Refers to the
Stroke: A stroke is the sudden death of brain composition and sequencing of consonants
cells in a localized area due to inadequate and syllables within a word.
blood flow. Syllogism: Involves a deductive process. A for-
Subordinate clause: A subordinate clause, mal argument consisting of a major and
sometimes called a dependent clause, usu- minor premise and a conclusion.
ally introduced by a subordinating element Symbolic functions: A word used to repre-
such as a subordinating conjunction or rela- sent an entity or activity not present in the
tive pronoun. current context. Children’s ability to think
Subordinate dependent clause: A subordi- or label a person, thing, or event even when
nate clause, sometimes called a dependent not present.
clause, usually introduced by a subordinat- Symmetrical: Similar degree of hearing loss
ing element such as a subordinating conjunc- in both ears across frequencies.
tion or relative pronoun. The subordinate Sympathetic: The part of the nervous system
dependent clause must always be attached that plays an excitatory role, such as prepar-
to a main clause, as it completes the meaning the body for a fight or flight response.
ing of the sentence (e.g., After Mary ate the Synapse: Connection between neurons through
sandwich, she cleaned the table). which signals flow from one neuron to
Subordinating conjunctions: Words that join another.
a subordinate clause to a main clause, such Synaptic cleft: The space between neurons
as after, although, because, until, and when. at a nerve synapse, across which a nerve
Subordination: This is a concept of syntactic impulse is transmitted by a neurotrans
formation, with one clause subordinate to mitter.
another. A dependent clause is called the Syntagmatic: Relating to the function and
subordinate clause and the independent behavior of a word or phrase within a syn-
clause is called the main clause. The sub- tactic unit. Within a word association task,
ordinate clause is introduced with subor- a child’s response that follows in a syntactic
dinate conjunctions, such as after, because, sequence (e.g., big-ball). By age 9, children
269
Glossary
respond with a word from the same class the transformation of an active sentence
(a paradigmatic response). (John kicked the ball) into a passive sentence
Syntagmatic-paradigmatic shift: Refers to the (The ball was kicked by John).
change that occurs when children provide Transformational rules: Rules that operate
a response that is in the same grammatical on strings of symbols, rearranging phrase-
class as the stimulus word (e.g., table-chair). structure elements to form an acceptable
Younger children provide a response that sentence for output.
represents a syntactic form (e.g., table-eat). Translation equivalents: Words that have
Syntax: 1. Rules that govern the way words an identical or functional meaning across
combine to form phrases, clauses, and languages.
sentences. 2. The order or arrangement of Translator: Conveys information from one
words in a sentence. language to another.
Tectorial membrane: The gelatinous structure Traumatic brain injury: Traumatic brain injury
that extends along the longitudinal length occurs when an external mechanical force
of the cochlea parallel to the basilar mem- causes brain dysfunction. Traumatic brain
brane. The tectorial membrane moves along injury usually results from a violent blow or
with the pressure variations of the cochlear jolt to the head or body. An object penetrat-
fluid, with movement encoded into electri- ing the skull, such as a bullet or shattered
cal digital signals to the brain through the piece of skull, also can cause traumatic
cochlear nerve. brain injury.
Temporal-parietal cortex: Incorporates infor- T-units: Measurements used to determine
mation from the thalamus and the limbic average sentence length in the spoken or
system, as well as from the visual, auditory, written language of school-age children
and somatosensory systems. This area of and adolescents. T-units include only full,
the brain also integrates information from independent clauses (e.g., basic sentences)
both the external environment as well as and any dependent clauses.
from within the body. Tympanometry: A procedure conducted prin-
Text structure: The way written text is orga- cipally to assess middle-ear function (how
nized. Knowledge of text structure sup- well sound is conducted through the ear-
ports comprehension of the text. drum and ossicles), rather than a test of
Thalamus: A part of the brain associated with hearing.
basic functions, such as sleep and attention. Underextension: The use of a general word to
The thalamus also relays information from mean one very specific thing, (e.g., “baba”
eyes, ears, and spinal cord to the cerebral may mean MY bottle and my bottle only).
cortex. This constitutes a restricted understanding
Thematic roles: These terms (e.g., agent, patient, of the meaning of a term.
and location) label the semantic relationship Unilateral hearing loss: Refers to a hearing
between the verb and noun phrases of sen- loss in only one ear, while a bilateral hearing
tences (e.g., agent + action = daddy go). loss is a hearing impairment in both ears.
Theory of mind (TOM): The ability to under- Unmarked: A sound that appears to be nat-
stand others’ mental states, such as indi- urally occurring and is acquired earlier.
viduals’ beliefs, intents, wishes, beliefs, and Unmarked sounds tend to occur more
knowledge. frequently across languages than marked
Total vocabulary size: The vocabulary knowl- sounds.
edge of an individual, based on vocabulary Unmasked: The unmasked threshold is the
for all languages spoken. quietest level of a signal that can be per-
Transfer: The generalization of new skills. ceived without a masking signal present
Transformation: The rules for transforming when testing hearing sensitivity. The masked
one type of sentence into another, such as threshold is the quietest level of the signal
perceived when combined with a specific behind the constriction, and forcing air
masking noise. through the constriction. Voiced fricatives
Usage-based theory: A theory of language are produced while the vocal folds are set
development in which children begin with into vibration (e.g., /v/, /ð/, /z/, and /Z/).
a concrete understanding of language, Voiced stops: A class of speech sounds pro-
beginning with imitation. duced by forming a complete closure in
Use: A linguistic term that defines the prag- the oral cavity, building up pressure be-
matics of language, or rules for using lan- hind that closure, and suddenly releasing
guage in interaction. the closure to produce a brief noise burst.
Variegated babbling: A stage in babbling Voiced stops are produced when the vocal
characterized by varied sequences of folds are set into vibration (e.g., /b/, /d/,
sounds in syllables. (e.g., babigoogi). and /g/).
Velar stop: A sound produced when the dor- Voiceless fricatives: Sounds produced by
sum of the tongue articulates against the forming a significant constriction, building
velum (soft palate) (e.g., /k/, /g/). up pressure behind the constriction, and
Velum: A muscular extension of the hard forcing air through the constriction. Voice-
palate also known as the soft palate. The less fricatives are produced without vibra-
velum is lowered during production of tion of the vocal folds. All fricatives, with
nasal sounds (e.g., /m/, and /n/) and is the exception of /h/, a glottal fricative, are
raised during production of all other Eng- created in the oral cavity.
lish speech sounds. Voiceless stops: A class of speech sounds
Velopharyngeal closure: The closing of the produced by forming a complete closure
nasal cavity from the oral and pharyngeal in the oral cavity, building up pressure
cavities. behind that closure, and suddenly releasing
Verbal reasoning: Involves the ability to draw the closure to produce a brief noise burst.
conclusions, solve problems, and make Voiceless stops are produced without vibra-
decisions. tion of the vocal folds (e.g., /p/, /t/, and
Verb phrase: The predicate of a sentence pro- /k/).
vides information about the subject (e.g., Vowels: Speech sounds that are formed with-
The car was stolen). The verb phrase (was out a significant constriction of the oral and
stolen) consists of the information about the pharyngeal cavities and that serve as a syl-
subject (The car). lable nucleus.
Visual language: A part of the reading pro- Wernicke’s area: A region of the brain that is
cess that is considered a secondary system, important in language development. Wer-
based on the use of visual skills to success- nicke’s area is located on the temporal lobe
fully recognize words and gather meaning on the left side of the brain and is respon-
from the written text. sible for the comprehension of speech
Vocables: Word-like productions that emerge (Broca’s area is related to the production of
at about 10 to 12 months. These words lack speech).
precise meaning but are perceived to sound Word: A meaningful sound or combination of
like a real word. sounds that is a unit of language or its rep-
Vocal folds: A pair of muscular tissues in the resentation in a text.
larynx that are separated during inhala- Word recognition: How well the individual
tion and achieve closure to be set into rapid understands speech stimuli.
vibration to produce sound (phonation). Working memory: A type of memory in which
The vocal folds are also known as vocal information is held while being process-
cords. ed. Working memory allows a child to
Voiced fricatives: Produced by forming a sig- understand and remember a series of
nificant constriction, building up pressure directions.
271
Glossary
Zone of proximal development: The dis- development, determined through problem

tance between the actual developmental solving under adult guidance or in collabo-
level, which is determined by autonomous ration with more proficient peers.
problem solving, and the level of potential
Index
Note: Page numbers in bold reference non-text material
A reading comprehension in, 197–198

reading fluency in, 199
Abstract concepts, 153 self-esteem in, 200
Abstract lexical terms, 132 semantic development in
Abstract thought, 61, 81, 150, 152 conversation, 160
Acceleration, of language acquisition in expository discourse, 160–161, 161
bilingual children, 211 figurative language, 151, 157
Accommodation, 80 idiom, 157–158
Active engagement, 41 metaphor, 158
Adaptation, 80 narratives, 159–160
Additive chains, 136 persuasion, 161
Additive conjunctions, 138 proverbs, 158–159
Adjectives, 12, 14 riddles, 159
Adolescence similes, 158
abstract thought in, 150 vocabulary, 155–157
critical-thinking skills in, 154 sentence development in, 167, 168
figurative language in, 151, 157 syntactic complexity analysis in, 164,
genre comprehension in, 197–198 164–165
language development in, 149–150, syntactic development in, 162–164
172–173 syntactic elaboration in, 162–163
language skills in, 150 verbal reasoning in, 153–155
linguistic attainments in, 151 vocabulary comprehension in, 197–198
literacy development in, 197–200 writing in, 199
literacy skills in, 170–171, 171–173 Adventitious hearing loss, 238–239
metalinguistic awareness in, 150, 152 Adverbial clause, 164, 164
metalinguistic competence in, 152–153 Adverbial conjunct terms, 163
metalinguistic knowledge in, 152, Adverbs, 13, 14
152–153 Affect, 3
metalinguistic strategies used in, 156, Affix, 192
156 African American English, Mainstream
morphological development in, 164, American English versus, 87, 88–90,
166–167, 166–167 167
pragmatic development in, 151, 167, 169, Air conduction testing, 235, 246
169–170 American Sign Language, 239
273
American Speech-Language-Hearing transfer in, 213

Association, 217–218, 237 translators for, 217–218
Amygdala, 63 Bilingualism, 208, 210, 219
Analogy/analogical processes, 153–154 Blending, 195–196
Angular gyrus, 54 Bone conduction testing, 235, 246
Antonyms, 25 Book sharing, 185–186
Arcuate fasciculus, 55, 55–56 Bootstrapping, 127
Articulation, 4 Bound morphemes, 14, 15, 126
ASHA. See American Speech-Language- Brain
Hearing Association arcuate fasciculus of, 55, 55–56
ASL. See American Sign Language cerebellum of, 56, 58, 63, 66
Assimilation, 80 cerebrum. See Cerebrum
Assimilation processes, 125 electrophysiological tests of, 46, 47
Attention frontal areas of, 46
definition of, 78, 78 frontal lobe of, 52–54, 53, 65–66
description of, 22, 23, 60 functions of, 65–66
Audiogram, 234–235, 246 left hemisphere of, 51–52
Auditory perception neurons, 48, 48–49
definition of, 71 occipital lobe of, 52, 53, 55, 65–66
of infant and toddler, 71 parietal lobe of, 52, 53, 65–66
Autonomic nervous system, 50 plasticity of, 47
Auxiliary verbs, 13, 93, 95, 237 right hemisphere of, 51–52
Axon, 48, 48–49 sensory functions of, 51–52
skills associated with, 46–47
subcortical structures and functions of,
B 56–58, 57–58
Basal ganglia, 56, 57–58 temporal lobe of, 52, 53, 55
Bilateral hearing loss, 234, 240 Brainstem, 58–59, 59, 63, 65–66
Bilingual children Broca, Pierre Paul, 52
code-mixing in, 213–214 Broca’s area, 52, 54, 55–56
cross-linguistic effects in, 213 Bronchi, 6
defining of, 209–211
interpreters for, 217–218
C
intervention process for, 224–226
language acquisition in, 211–212 Canonical babbling, 74
language attrition in, 214 Cardinal numbers, 12
language development in, 212–213 Categorical perception, 52
language disorders in Categorization skills, 78
assessment of, 215–218 Causal chains, 137
dynamic assessment of, 216–217 Causal conjunctions, 138
evidence-based practice for, 218–219 Causal relationships, 171
informal assessment of, 216 Causality, 81
intervention for, 218–219 Central auditory processing disorder, 233,
overview of, 214–215 247
language dominance in, 210 Central nervous system, 49–50, 50
language loss in, 214–215 Cerebellum, 56, 58, 63, 66
modifiability of, 217 Cerebrum
myths or facts about, 208, 219 frontal lobe of, 52–54, 53, 65–66
speech acquisition in, 211–212 hemispheres of, 51–52, 52
275
Index
occipital lobe of, 52, 53, 55, 65 definition of, 102

parietal lobe of, 52, 53, 65 preschoolers’ understanding of, 120
temporal lobe of, 52, 53, 55, 65 Conceptual knowledge, 17–18
Chronological narrative, 107 Conceptual scoring, 100
Classic narrative, 107 Concrete object reference, 94
Closed syllable, 125 Concrete operational stage, 81, 153
Cloze procedures, 37 Concrete terms, 132
Cluster reduction, 125 Conditioned play audiometry, 235
CNS. See Central nervous system Conductive hearing loss, 230–231, 231, 247
Cochlea, 228, 229, 231 Confidence intervals, 216
Cochlear implants, 240–241 Congenital hearing loss, 231
Code-mixing, 213–214 Conjoined sentences, 131–132, 168
Cognition Conjunctions
attention, 22, 23 description of, 93, 131, 138
definition of, 21, 77–78 subordinating, 162
embodied, 60–61 Consonant phonemes, 5, 7
metacognition, 25, 60 Consonants, nasal, 9
social, 22–23 Consonant-vowel productions, 75
working memory, 22, 23 Consonant-vowel syllables, 73–74
Cognitive abilities Consonant-vowel-consonant productions,
executive functions, 23, 23–24 75, 192
types of, 21 Content words, 126
Cognitive development Context clues, 156, 156
in infant and toddler, 77–79 Contractible auxiliary morphemes, 16
in preschooler. See Preschoolers, Contractible copula morphemes, 16
cognitive development in Conversation
theory of mind, 24–25 adolescent of, 159–160
Cognitive functions, 23 cognitive demands of, 193
Cognitive skills decontextualized language in, 141
description of, 21–22, 38, 59–60 middle and late childhood development
in preschoolers, 122 of, 160
Cognitive theory, 34, 37–38 preschooler development of, 140–141
Coherence, 195 syllogisms in, 154
Cohesion, 141, 195 theory of mind development through,
Cohesive devices, 138 120
Commissives, 106 turn-taking in, 141
Common nouns, 12 Conversation discourse, 159
Communication Conversational breakdown, 140
cognitive factors in, 60 Conversational recasts, 41
definition of, 2 Corpus callosum, 51, 52
intentional, 104 Count nouns, 155
Communication breakdown, 140 CPA. See Conditioned play audiometry
Communicative competence, 2 Cranial nerves, 50, 51
Comparative morphemes, 16 Critical-thinking skills, 154
Complete grammatical sentence models, 40 Cross-linguistic effects, 213
Complex sentences, 86 Cued speech, 241
Compound sentences, 86, 131 Cultural broker, 215
Concepts Culture
abstract terms used to label, 132 morpheme use affected by, 167
Culture (continued) Elementary school children

narratives affected by, 108–109, 136 literacy development in, 187–197,
pragmatics affected by, 19–20 188–189
pretend play affected by, 83, 85 phonemic awareness in, 195–196
relational terms affected by, 102–103 phonics in, 196
phonological awareness in, 188, 190
reading comprehension in, 190–191,
D
196–197
dB. See Decibels reading fluency in, 193–194, 196
Deceleration, of language acquisition in reading instruction in, 190
bilingual children, 211 spelling in, 188–189, 191–193
Decentration, 82 vocabulary development in, 190–191,
Decibels, 235–236 196
Declarative sentence, 98, 127 writing in, 194–195
Declaratives, 14, 106 Elision, 170
Decode, 2 Embedded clause, 162, 168
Decontextualized language, 141, 182 Embodied cognition, 60–61
Decontextualized narratives, 138 Emergent literacy, 180–181
Deferred imitation, 81 Emergentism, 34, 38–39, 41
Definite article, 92 Encode, 2
Dendrites, 48, 48–49 Epiglottis, 5
Denial, 97 Equilibrium, 80
Derivational morphemes, 14, 15, 127, 164, ERPs. See Event related potentials
166, 237 Eustachian tube, 230, 231
Determiners, 12, 93, 237 Event related potentials, 47
Dialect, 26, 209 Evidence-based practice, 218–219
Dialogic reading, 185–186 Executive functions
Digraphs, 192 definition of, 23, 121
Dimensional concepts, 18 description of, 23, 23–24, 60–61, 62
Dimensional relations terms, 101 in preschoolers, 121
Direct speech act, 20, 106 Expansions, 37
Directives, 106 Expository discourse, 156–157, 159–161,
Discourse, 98, 159 161, 164
Discrimination, 23 Expository text structure, 194
Disinhibition, 61 Expressive language, 2–3, 212
Distributional rules, 11 Expressive vocabulary, 100
Divergent thought, in preschoolers, 122 Expressives, 106
Domain-specific vocabulary, 155 Extensions, 37
Double negatives, 97 External mental state, 91
Dynamic assessment, of language
disorders, 216–217
F
Dyslexia, 56
Facial nerve, 51
False beliefs, 121
E Fast mapping, 132
Ear, 228–230, 229 Fictional narratives, 138
Ear infections, 230 Figurative language
EBP. See Evidence-based practice in adolescence, 151, 157
Electrophysiological tests, 46, 47 in elementary school children, 191
277
Index
in middle and late childhood, 151, 157 Hearing loss

Filled pauses, 4 academic success affected by, 237
Final consonant deletion, 125, 237 adventitious, 238–239
Fluency, reading, 170, 193–194 age of onset of, 238
FM systems, 239–240 behaviors suggestive of, 238
fMRI. See Functional magnetic resonance bilateral, 234, 240
imaging central auditory processing disorder,
Formal operations stage, 81, 153 233, 247
Free morphemes, 14, 15, 126, 166 cochlear implants for, 240–241
Frequency, of sound, 235–236, 236 conductive, 230–231, 231, 247
Fricatives, 237 congenital, 231
Frontal lobe, 52–54, 53, 65–66 FM systems for, 239–240
Function words, 126 hearing aids for, 240
Functional magnetic resonance imaging, interventions for, 239–241
47, 62 language development affected by,
237–238
minimal hearing impairment, 232, 247
G
mixed, 232, 247
Gaze following, 76 noise-induced, 232–233, 247
General all-purpose verb, 26 otitis media as cause of, 230–231
Generative, 12 postlingual onset of, 238
Gerund, 168 prelingual onset of, 238
Gestures, 3 sensorineural, 231, 247
Glossopharyngeal nerve, 51 signs of, 238–239
Grammar, 12 summary of, 241–242
Grammatical forms, 195 types of, 247
Grammatical morphemes unilateral, 233–234
definition of, 166 Hearing sensitivity, 234
description of, 14, 16 Hertz, 236
examples of, 167 Heschl, Richard L., 55
in infant and toddler, 86 Heschl’s gyrus, 55
in preschooler, 126, 126 Hesitation, 4
Grammatical sentence models, 40 High-frequency sounds, 236, 236
Graphemes, 8, 196 Hippocampus, 63
HL. See Hearing level
Homonyms, 25
H Humor
Hair cells, 228–229, 229 infant and toddler development of, 79–80
Hearing preschooler development of, 141–142
anatomy involved in, 228–230, 229 Hypoglossal nerve, 51
assessment of, 234–235 Hypothalamus, 56, 56, 58
audiogram of, 234–235, 246
definition of, 229
I
in language development, 227–228
physiology of, 228–230, 229 Idioms, 156–158
screening of, 239 Illogical syllogism, 154
sound intensity and frequency, 235–236 Imitation
Hearing aids, 240 deferred, 81
Hearing level, 234 definition of, 76
Imperative sentence forms mean length of utterance, 85, 87

infant and toddler development of, 99 morphemes, 85, 86
preschooler development of, 130 morphological differences, 87, 88–90
Imperatives, 14 morphosyntactic development, 85,
Incidental learning, 75, 155 86
Incongruity, 141 narrative development in, 106–109,
Incus, 229, 229–230, 231 107–108
Indefinite negative words, 97 perception by, 71–72
Independent clause, 164, 164 perceptual abilities of, 69–70, 70
Indirect speech acts, 20, 106, 139 phonological development in, 77
Infant and toddler play in, 82, 82–85, 84
auditory perception of, 71 pragmatic development in
babbling by, 73–74 early, 104–105
cognitive development in, 77–79 speech acts, 105–106, 106
early sentence production in, 91, 93 productions by, 73–74
expressive vocabulary in, 100 receptive vocabulary in, 100
facial expressions understood by, 72 semantic development in
gestures by, 70 relational terms, 101, 101–103
hearing screening in, 239 vocabulary, 100–101
humor in, 79–80 semantic relations in, 103–104, 104
incidental learning in, 75 semantic roles in, 103, 103–104
jargon used by, 74 social skills in, 76, 78
joint action in, 76 sustained attention by, 72
joint attention in, 76 syntactic development in, 90–91
language acquisition in, 70–71, 73 theory of mind in, 79
language development in vocabulary development in, 74–75,
early, 75–76, 82 100–101
highlights of, 117–118 word understanding by, 72
imperative sentence forms, 99 Infinitive clause, 168
interrogative sentence forms, 97–98, Infinitives, 130, 168
98–99 Inflection, 3
morphology, 85–90, 86–90 Inflectional morphemes, 14, 15, 126–127,
morphophonology, 90 166, 237
mutual exclusivity bias, 94 Information processing, 60
negative sentence forms, 96–97, 97 Inhibition, 23
nouns, 92–94, 93 Initiation, 23
overview of, 69–70 Innate, 34–35, 69–70
parent-child interactions in, 74–75 Inner ear, 228, 229
Piaget’s stages of, 80–81 Inner mental state, 72
play and, 82, 82–85, 84 Instrumental function, 104
pronoun acquisition, 91–94, 92 Intelligibility, of speech, 125–126
schemas, 80–82 Intensity, of speech, 3
stages of, 73 Intention, 104
syntax, 90–91 Intentional communication, 104
verbs, 93–96, 96 Interaction function, 104–105
word learning, 94 Interactional Dual Systems Model, 211
language processing in, 78 Internal mental state, 91
morphological development in Interneurons, 48
279
Index
Interpreters, 217–218 Language development

Interrogative sentence forms in adolescence. See Adolescence,
infant and toddler development of, language development in
97–98, 98–99 in bilingual children, 212–213
preschooler development of, 127, hearing loss effects on, 237–238
129–130 in infant and toddler. See Infant and
Interrogatives, 14 toddler, language development in
Inter-utterance, 214 in middle and late childhood. See Middle
Intonation, 3, 3, 71 and late childhood, language
Intransitive verbs, 95 development in
Intra-utterance, 214 in preschooler. See Preschoolers,
Irregular verbs, 16–17, 95–96, 155 language development in
Irreversible passive forms, 163 theories of. See Theories, of language
development
Language dominance, 210
J Language form, 12, 12–17, 123
Jargon, 74 Language loss, 214–215
JCIH. See Joint Committee on Infant Language processing
Hearing description of, 39
Joint action, 76 in infant and toddler, 78
Joint attention, 76 Language use, 19–20, 123
Joint Committee on Infant Hearing, 239 Larynx, 5
Leap-frog narrative, 107
Lexical sets, 195
K Lexicon, 153
Kinship relations terms, 101, 103, 134, 135 Limbic system, 56, 57–58
Limited English proficient, 209
Linguistic ambiguity, 142
L Linguistic competence, 2
LAD. See Language acquisition device Linguistic knowledge, 192
Language Listening and spoken language
acquisition of, 1–28 stimulation, 239
arbitrary symbols used in, 11 Literacy
components of, 12, 12–20, 123 acquisition of, 180
decontextualized, 141, 182 code-related, 181–182
definition of, 11 development of, 180
differences in, 25–26 elements of, 179
expressive, 2, 212 emergent, 180–181
figurative, 151, 157 social, 198
generative, 12 technology and, 187
receptive, 2, 212 Literacy development
syntax, 12, 12–13 in adolescence, 197–200
written, 21 book sharing for, 185–186
Language acquisition in elementary school, 187–197, 188–189
in bilingual children, 211–212 milestones in, 182, 184
in infant and toddler, 70–71, 73 phonemic awareness in, 195–196
Language acquisition device, 34 phonics in, 196
Language content, 12, 17–19, 123 in preschooler, 182, 183, 184–187
Literacy development (continued) Mental state verbs

print-rich environment for, 185 adolescent use of, 155–156
reading comprehension in, 190–191 description of, 24, 79, 163
reading fluency in, 193–194 infant and toddler use of, 91, 94
sociodramatic play experiences for, middle and late childhood use of,
186–187 155–156
spelling in, 188–189, 191–193 preschooler use of, 120
technology used in, 187, 197 theory of mind and, 120
vocabulary development in, 196 Mental states, 24
writing in, 194–195 Merge, 35
Literacy skills Metacognition, 25, 60
in adolescence, 170–171, 171–173 Metacognitive verbs, 156
in middle and late childhood, 170–171, Metalinguistic abilities, 25, 184
171–173 Metalinguistic awareness
in preschooler, 184–187 in adolescence, 150, 152
Locational relations terms definition of, 150
infant and toddler development of, 101 in middle and late childhood, 150, 152
preschooler development of, 134, 135, 136 in preschooler, 138
Logical syllogism, 154 Metalinguistic competence, 152–153
Loudness, 141 Metalinguistic knowledge, 152, 152–153,
Low-frequency sounds, 236, 236 181
LSLS. See Listening and spoken language Metalinguistic skills, 138, 153, 181
stimulation Metalinguistic strategies, 156, 156
Lungs, 6 Metalinguistic verbs, 156
Metaphors, 156, 158
MHI. See Minimal hearing impairment
M Midbrain, 58, 59
Magical thinking, 122 Middle and late childhood
Magnetic resonance imaging abstract thought in, 150
functional, 47, 62 critical-thinking skills in, 154
real-time functional, 46 figurative language in, 151, 157
Magnetoencephalography, 47 language development in, 149–150,
Main verbs, 13 172–173
Mainstream American English, African language skills in, 150
American English versus, 87, 88–90, linguistic attainments in, 151
167 literacy skills in, 170–171, 171–173
Malleus, 229, 229–230, 231 metalinguistic awareness in, 150, 152
Mass nouns, 155 metalinguistic competence in, 152–153
Mean length of utterance, 85, 87 metalinguistic knowledge in, 152,
Means-end behavior, 81 152–153
Medial temporal gyrus, 62, 64 metalinguistic strategies used in, 156, 156
Medulla oblongata, 58, 59 morphological development in, 164,
MEG. See Magnetoencephalography 166–167, 166–167
Memory pragmatic development in, 151, 167, 169,
definition of, 78, 78 169–170
short-term, 22 semantic development in
working. See Working memory conversation, 160
Mental lexicon, 133 expository discourse, 160–161, 161
281
Index
figurative language, 151, 157 Morphophonology, 11, 90

idiom, 157–158 Morphosyntactic development
metaphor, 158 in infant and toddler, 85, 86
narratives, 159–160 in preschooler, 129
persuasion, 161 Motherese, 141
proverbs, 158–159 Motor control, 53
riddles, 159 Motor cortex, 54, 54
similes, 158 Motor neurons, 48
vocabulary, 155–157 Movable articulators, 4, 4–5
sentence development in, 167, 168 Mutual exclusivity bias, 94
syntactic complexity analysis in, 164, Myelin, 48
164–165 Myelin sheath, 48, 48
syntactic development in, 162–164 Myths, 195
syntactic elaboration in, 162–163
verbal reasoning in, 153–155
Middle ear, 228, 229
N
Minimal hearing impairment, 232, 247 Narrative(s)
Mirror neurons, 61, 72 adolescent of, 159–160
Mixed hearing loss, 232, 247 chronological, 107
Mixing clauses, 214 classic, 107
Mixing words, 214 cohesive devices used to create, 138
Modal auxiliary verbs, 13, 20, 130–131, 139 cultural differences in, 108–109, 136
Modifiability, 217 decontextualized, 138
Monosyllabic words, 190 definition of, 24, 136
Morpheme description of, 106
bound, 14, 15, 126 expository discourse versus, 160
derivational, 127, 164, 166, 166, 237 fictional, 138
description of, 14, 15–16 infant and toddler development of,
free, 14, 15, 126 106–109, 107–108
grammatical. See Grammatical leap-frog, 107
morphemes middle and late childhood development
hearing loss effects on understanding of, of, 159–160
237 one-event, 107
in infant and toddler, 85, 86 personal, 138
inflectional, 126–127, 166, 237 preschooler development of, 136–138,
Morphological development 137
in adolescence, 164, 166–167, 166–167 purpose of, 195
in infant and toddler, 85–90, 86–90 structure of, 108
in middle and late childhood, 164, text structure for, 182, 184
166–167, 166–167 topic-associating, 108
in preschooler, 126, 126–127 two-event, 107
Morphological knowledge, 192 vocabulary skills in creating, 106
Morphology Narrative grammar model, 107–108
cultural differences in, 87, 88–90 Nasal consonants, 9
definition of, 2, 12 National Institute of Child Health and
in Mainstream American English versus Human Development, 193
African American English, 87, 88–90 National Reading Panel, 195
morphemes, 14, 15–16 Negative concord, 97
Negative sentence forms P

infant and toddler development of,
96–97, 97 Paralinguistic cues, 3, 3
preschooler development of, 129–130 Paralinguistic markers, 4
Negatives, 14 Parietal lobe, 52, 53, 65–66
Nervous system, 49–51, 50–51 Participle, 168
Neural pathways, 46 Past participle morphemes, 16
Neurons Past tense morphemes, 16
description of, 48, 48–49 Pattern finding, 39
mirror, 61, 72 PCFs. See Phonetically consistent forms
Neuroplasticity, 47 Perception
Neurotransmitters, 48 auditory, 71
NICHD. See National Institute of Child definition of, 78, 78
Health and Human Development by infant and toddler, 71–72, 78
NIHL. See Noise-induced hearing loss visual, 52, 60
Noise-induced hearing loss, 232–233, 247 Perceptual abilities, of infant and toddler,
Nominal clause, 164, 164 69–70, 70
Nonexistence, 96 Peripheral nervous system, 49–50, 51
Noun(s) Personal function, 105
count, 155 Personal narratives, 138
infant and toddler acquisition of, 92–94, Perspective-taking
93 in adolescence, 169
mass, 155 in infant and toddler, 169
Noun modifiers, 12 in middle and late childhood, 169
Noun phrases pronouns and, 91
description of, 12 Persuasion, 161
preschooler development of, 130 PET. See Positron emission tomography
in syntactic elaboration, 163 Phonation, 5
Phoneme, 5, 7–8, 10
Phoneme awareness, 170
O Phonemic awareness, 195–196
Object constancy, 81 Phonemic representations, 75
Object permanence, 38, 81 Phonetically consistent forms, 74
Object relations terms, 101 Phonics, 196
Objective pronouns, 92 Phonological awareness
Occipital lobe, 52, 53, 55, 65 in adolescence, 152, 152, 170
One-event narrative, 107 definition of, 181, 190, 237
Onset, 170, 181, 190 in elementary school children, 188, 190
Open syllable, 125 examples of, 181
Ordinal numbers, 12 in infant and toddler, 77
Orthographic skills, 193 in middle and late childhood, 152, 152,
Orthography, 8 170
Ossicles, 228–229, 229 preliteracy skills affected by, 237
Otitis media, 230–231 in preschooler, 138, 171, 181–182, 183,
Outer ear, 228, 229 186
Overextension, 18, 100 Phonological development
Overgeneralize/overgeneralization, 16, in infant and toddler, 77
95–96 in preschooler, 123–126
283
Index
Phonological processes Prefixes, 192

categories of, 124 Prefrontal cortex, 54, 60, 63
definition of, 11, 123 Premotor cortex, 54
examples of, 124 Preoperational stage, 81
in infant and toddler, 77 Prepositional phrases, 13, 130, 131
in preschooler, 123–125 Prepositions, 93, 136
Phonological processing, 53 Preschoolers
Phonological recasts, 37 book sharing for, 185–186
Phonological rules, 11 cognitive development in
Phonology concepts, 120
definition of, 2, 12 divergent thought, 122
description of, 10–11 executive functions, 121
verb changes and, 96 magical thinking, 122
Physical cues, 3 symbolic play skills, 122–123
Physical relations terms theory of mind, 120–121
infant and toddler development of, 101 working memory, 121–122
preschooler development of, 134–136, conceptual development in, 120
135 conversational development in, 140–141
Piaget, Jean, 80, 153 humor by, 141–142
Pinna, 229, 229 language development in
Pitch, 3, 141 milestones of, 147
Planning, 23 morphology, 126, 126–127
Play overview of, 119–120
language development and, 40, 82, phonology, 123–126, 124
82–85, 84, 123 play used in, 123
pretend, 40–41, 82, 123, 152 linguistic development in, 123–127
sociodramatic, 186–187 literacy development in, 182, 183,
Plurals, 16, 41 184–187
PNS. See Peripheral nervous system metalinguistic awareness in, 138
Pons, 58, 59 morphosyntactic development in, 129
Positron emission tomography, 47, 54 phonological awareness in, 138, 171,
Possessive morphemes, 16 181–182, 183, 186
Possessive pronouns, 92 pragmatic development in
Possessives, 12 communication skills used in, 138–139
Posture, 3 indirect requests, 139–140
Practical intelligence, 81 print-rich environment for, 185
Pragmatic awareness, 152, 152 semantic development in
Pragmatic development locational relations terms, 134, 135, 136
in adolescence, 151, 167, 169, 169–170 mental lexicon, 133
in infant and toddler, 104–106, 105 narratives, 136–138, 137
in middle and late childhood, 151, 167, physical relations terms, 134–136, 135
169, 169–170 relational terms, 134, 135
in preschooler, 138–141 semantic relations, 133–134, 134
Pragmatic skills, 38 temporal relations terms, 134–135
Pragmatics vocabulary, 132, 182
definition of, 12, 104, 138–139, 167 sociodramatic play experiences for,
description of, 19–20 186–187
rules of, 169, 169 symbolic thought in, 120
Preschoolers (continued) Quantitative relations terms, 101

syntactic development in Quantity, 14
bootstrapping, 127
milestones of, 129
R
noun phrases, 130
sentences, 127, 129–132 Reading
verb phrases, 130–131 dialogic, 185–186
utterances by, 128 purpose of, 179
vocabulary development in, 132, 182 repeated, 196
Present progressive morphemes, 16 tape-assisted, 196
Pretend play, 40–41, 82, 123, 152 Reading comprehension
Primary auditory cortex, 54 in adolescence, 197–198
Primary motor cortex, 54 in elementary school children, 190–191
Primary visual cortex, 54 strategies that support, 196–197
Principles and parameters theory, 34, Reading fluency, 170, 193–194, 196, 199
34–36, 39–40 Real-time functional magnetic resonance
Print awareness, 181–182 imaging, 46
Print-rich environment, for preschool Reasoning, 60, 78, 78
literacy development, 185 Recasts, 37, 40
Problem solving, 23, 60 Receptive language, 2, 212
Processing Receptive vocabulary, 100
definition of, 70 Recurrence, 101
information, 60 Reduplicated babbling, 73
phonological, 53 Reduplication, 125
syntactic, 53 Referent absent, 81
visual, 51 Referent present, 81
Pro-drop languages, 91, 91 Reflexive pronouns, 92, 155
Pronouns Register, 141
definition of, 12 Regulatory function, 104
errors with, 91–92 Rejection, 96
function of, 93 Relational terms
infant and toddler acquisition of, 91–94, cultural differences in, 102–103
92 in infant and toddler, 101, 101–103
objective, 92 kinship, 103
perspective-taking and, 91 in preschooler, 134, 135
possessive, 92 Relative clause, 164, 168
reflexive, 92, 155 Relative pronouns, 162–163
relative, 162–163 Repeated reading, 196
Proper nouns, 12 Representational skills, 82
Prosody, 3–4 Representational thought, 81
Prospective mental development, 36 Representatives, 106
Protowords, 74 Resonance, 74
Proverbs, 156, 158–159 Respiratory system, 6
Puns, 159 Retrieving information, 22
Retrospective mental development, 36
Reversible passive forms, 163
Q
Rhotic diphthongs, 8
Quantifiers, 12 Riddles, 142, 159
285
Index
Rime, 170, 181, 190 Sensorineural hearing loss, 231, 247

rtfMRI. See Real-time functional magnetic Sensory neurons, 48
resonance imaging Sentence development, 167, 168
Sentence forms
compound, 131
S
conjoining of, 131–132, 168
Scaffolding, 36 declarative, 98, 127
Scaffolds, 36–37, 37, 41 embedding of, 131–132, 168
Schemas imperative, 99
definition of, 38, 80 interrogative, 97–98, 98–99, 127, 129
in infant and toddler language negative, 96–97, 97, 129
development, 80–82 Sentence production
School-age children. See Adolescence; in infant and toddler, 91, 93
Middle and late childhood in preschooler, 127, 129–132
Segmenting, 195 Sequential bilinguals, 209
Self-esteem, 200 Shared code, 11
Semantic awareness Shared interactive reading, 186
in adolescence, 152, 152 Short-term memory, 22
in middle and late childhood, 152, 152 Silent pauses, 4
in preschooler, 138 Similes, 156, 158
Semantic bootstrapping, 127 Simple infinitive, 168
Semantic development Simultaneous bilinguals, 209
in adolescence. See Adolescence, Social cognition, 22–23
semantic development in Social environment, 79
in infant and toddler, 100–103, 101 Social interaction theory, 34, 36–37, 40
in middle and late childhood. See Middle Social literacy, 198
and late childhood, semantic Social referencing, 76
development in Social signals, 22
in preschooler. See Preschoolers, Social skills
semantic development in description of, 38
Semantic feature analysis, 156 in infant and toddler, 76, 78
Semantic knowledge, 17 Sociodramatic play, 186–187
Semantic mapping, 156 Soma, 48, 48–49
Semantic processing, 53 Somatic nervous system, 50
Semantic recasts, 37 Somatosensory cortex, 54
Semantic relations Sound intensity and frequency, 235–236
description of, 19 Sound waves, 229–230, 236
in infant and toddler, 103–104, 104 Spatial relations terms, 101
in preschooler, 133–134, 134 Specificity, 216
Semantic roles Speech
description of, 19 bilingual child’s acquisition of, 211–212
in infant and toddler, 103, 103–104 definition of, 4
Semantics emergence of, 213
definition of, 2, 12, 17, 132 intelligibility of, 125–126
preschooler development of, 132–138 movable articulators involved in, 4, 4–5
Semiotic function, 82 phonemes of, 5, 7–8
Semiotics, 83 production of, 9, 9–10
Sensitivity, 216 rate or rhythm of, 3, 4
Speech acts Syntactic development

categories of, 106 in adolescence, 162–164
definition of, 20, 105 description of, 13, 35
direct, 106 in infant and toddler, 90–91
examples of, 106 in middle and late childhood, 162–164
indirect, 106, 139 in preschooler, 127–132, 129
in infant and toddler, 105–106, 106 Syntactic elaboration, 162–163
Speech-language pathologist Syntactic processing, 53
bilingual children and, 217–218 Syntactic recasts, 37
description of, 45–46 Syntactic tree, 13
interpreters used with, 218 Syntax
translators used with, 218 in adolescence, 151
Spelling, 188–189, 191–193 definition of, 2, 127
Spinal accessory nerve, 51 description of, 12, 12–13, 90
Spinal nerves, 50 in infant and toddler, 90–91
Stapes, 229, 229–230, 231 in middle and late childhood, 151
Stimuli, 81 in preschooler, 127
Stops, 237 verb learning and, 94
Stressed syllable, 125
Subglottis, 5
T
Subject-verb-object word order, 35, 40, 127,
162 Tape-assisted reading, 196
Subordinate clause, 132, 162 Technology, for literacy development, 187,
Subordinating conjunctions, 162 197
Subordination, 132, 162 Temporal chains, 136
Substitution processes, 125 Temporal conjunctions, 138
Suffixes, 192 Temporal duration, 102
Superlative morphemes, 16 Temporal lobe, 52, 53, 55, 65–66
Supraglottis, 5 Temporal order, 102
SVO. See Subject-verb-object word order Temporal parietal junction, 64
Syllable awareness, 77 Temporal relations terms
Syllable reduction, 125 infant and toddler development of, 101,
Syllable structure process, 124 101–102
Syllables preschooler development of, 134–135
description of, 9, 73–74 Text structure, 182, 184, 194
structure of, 124 Texting, 70
Syllogism, 153–154 Thalamus, 56, 56, 58
Symbolic functions, 81 Theories, of language development
Symbolic play, 122–123 cognitive, 34, 37–38, 40–41
Symbolic thought, 120 emergentism, 34, 38–39, 41
Synapse, 49, 49 factors and approaches drawn from,
Synaptic cleft, 48 39–41
Synonyms, 195 overview of, 33–34
Syntactic awareness principles and parameters, 34, 34–36,
in adolescence, 152, 152 39–40
in middle and late childhood, 152, 152 social interaction, 34, 36–37, 40
in preschooler, 138 Theory of mind
Syntactic complexity analysis, 164, 164–165 case study of, 62
287
Index
definition of, 19, 23, 61, 72, 79 in speech production, 9, 10

description of, 24–25 Verb(s)
expression of, 61 auxiliary, 13, 93, 95, 237
failure to develop, 24 general all-purpose, 26
functions of, 19, 47, 72 infant and toddler acquisition of, 93–96,
in infant and toddler, 79 96
narratives, 24 intransitive, 95
in preschoolers, 120–121 irregular, 16–17, 95–96, 155
social cognition and, 22 main, 13
Third person singular morphemes, 16 mental state. See Mental state verbs
Thought metacognitive, 156
abstract, 61, 81, 150, 152 metalinguistic, 156
definition of, 78, 78 modal auxiliary, 13, 20, 130–131, 139
divergent, 122 transitive, 94–95
representational, 81 Verb learning, 94
symbolic, 120 Verb phrases
Time references, 195 description of, 12
Toddler. See Infant and toddler preschooler development of, 130–131
TOM. See Theory of mind in syntactic elaboration, 163
Topic-associating narratives, 108 Verb tenses, 195
Trachea, 5 Verbal reasoning
Transfer, 213 in adolescence, 151, 153–155
Transitive verbs, 94–95 description of, 23, 25
Translators, 217–218 in middle and late childhood, 151,
Transparent idiom, 157–158 153–155
Trigeminal nerve, 51 Verbal working memory, 79
T-units, 164 Verb-subject-object word order, 35
Two-event narrative, 107 Vestibulocochlear nerve, 51
Tympanometry, 235 Visual perception, 52, 60
Visual processing, 51
Vocabulary development
U
in adolescence, 155–157
Uncontractible auxiliary morphemes, 16 in elementary school children, 190–191,
Underextension, 18, 100 196
Unilateral hearing loss, 233–234 in infant and toddler, 74–75, 100–101
Unmarked infinitive, 168 in middle and late childhood, 155–157
Unstressed syllable omission, 125 in preschooler, 132, 182
Utterances Vocal folds
description of, 70 anatomy of, 5
by infant and toddler, 86 in speech production, 9, 9
by preschooler, 128 Voiced consonants, 237
Voiced sounds, 9
Volume, of speech, 3
V
Vowel phonemes, 5, 8
Vagus nerve, 51 Vowel sounds, 234
Variegated babbling, 73 Vowel-consonant productions, 75
Velum VSO. See Verb-subject-object word order
anatomy of, 5 Vygotsky, Lev, 36, 186, 216
W Word knowledge, 17
Word learning, 94
Wernicke’s area, 54, 55–56 Word stress, 3
Wh-clause, 168 Working memory
Wh-infinitive, 168 description of, 22, 23, 78–79
Whole word processes, 125 in preschoolers, 121–122
Wh-questions, 40, 98, 98–99, 129 Writing, 194–195, 199
Word(s) Written language, 21
content, 126
function, 126
indefinite negative, 97 Y
mixing, 214 Yes/no questions, 97
monosyllabic, 190
protowords, 74
semantic properties of, 94
Z
Word awareness, 77 Zone of proximal development, 36, 216

Introduction To Language Development

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Introduction to

Sandra Levey, PhD

Copyright © 2019 by Plural Publishing, Inc.

Typeset in 10.5/13 Palatino by Flanagan’s Publishing Services, Inc.

For permission to use material from this text, contact us by

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Levey, Sandra, author.

1 An Introduction to Language Acquisition 1

2 An Introduction to Theories of Language Development 33

3 The Brain and Cognitive, Speech, and Language Development 45

4 Infant and Toddler Language Development 69

5 Preschool Language Development 119

6 Language Development in Middle and Late Childhood 149

7 The Development of Literacy Skills 179

Key Words 201

8 Bilingual Children’s Language Development: 207

9 Language Development and Hearing 227

Diana Almodovar, PhD, CCC-SLP Denise Cruz is a bilingual speech-

María R. Brea-Spahn, PhD, CCC-SLP Sylvia F. Diehl, PhD, CCC-SLP is

Chapter Objectives who are learning a second language. There

Encoder/speaker I have a new toy!

Receptive language is the ability to

in the productions of a question, a state-

Table 1–1. Paralinguistic Cues

Affect Facial expressions

Prosody allows us to communicate differ- in children learning English as a new lan-

At times, the rhythm of speech is broken Speech and Articulation

Phoneme Initial Medial Final

Table 1–3. Vowel Phonemes of English

Phoneme Word Phonetic Transcription

open (abducted) to produce unvoiced

It is important to understand that

Phonology is the part of language that is

Morphophonology “Nana” produced in place of banana

Another interesting aspect of phonology is “Dada” produced in place of daddy

Table 1–4. The Components of Language

Form Syntax Rules for sentence structure

Verbs label actions, and there are two

Negatives No more milk. Cat → cats

Adverb use Run fast. Derivational morphemes involve a prefix

Table 1–7. The Role of Grammatical Morphemes

Morphemes Grammatical Function Example

Possessive Marks possession or ownership mommy’s

Comparative Marks a comparison bigger, closer

Superlative Marks something as exceptional biggest, quickest

Past tense Marks past action

Past participle Verb form used as an action;

Present progressive Marks present action eating, singing, barking

Uncontractible auxiliary The be verb preceding other The dog is barking

Contractible auxiliary The be verb contracted Baby’s crying (baby is

Irregular Verbs tense inflectional morpheme -ed (e.g., walk

irregular verb productions are shown in versations. Meaning is attached to entities

Table 1–8. Concepts Developed by Young Children

Colors Primary and basic color terms

duced to label a cow, cat, or tiger. Young

Written Language seen words are not spelled correctly (e.g.,

Table 1–9. Cognitive Abilities

Adapt to the environment Adjusting to different elements, situations, and events

Draw abstractions Forming ideas or concepts by extracting information from