Child Language Aqquisition
Speech Development
Learning to Write
Learning to Read
Spelling
Features of Books borrowed from Oral Tradition
Proverb or Aphorism
A saying or summary of accepted wisdom eg: "Don't talk to strangers"
Repeated Formulae
Repeated spell or sequence of events eg: Said the Pig, Said the Goose etc.
Assonance
Repitition of same vowel sounds
Balanced Sentence
Two ideas are placed side by side in a sentence, they could be complimentary or contrasting eg: "Dennis didn't like the night time, he didn't want to be alone"
Parallel Sentences
Similar ro balanced sentences however some repition of syntax eg: "The Pianist was annoyed. The bandleader was unhappy"
Rhythmic Language
Best appreciated when the text is read aloud. Emphasises some words over others
Epithet as Methphor
New ways of looking at familiar ideas. Helps to explain words eg: "Fog" or "Everything's been rubbed out"
Alliteration
Repition of same consonant or consonant cluster sound (a group of consonants together eg: th or gr)
Repeated Epithet
A traditional name tag that goes in front of a character's name eg: Little Red Riding Hood
Developmental Stages of Spelling (Gentry)
2. Semiphonetic
Leaves random spaces in writing, uses few known words in correct place (eg: names), Shows letter-sound correspondance (Uses initial consanants, uses partial mapping of word: 2 or 3 letters), Reads back accurately at conference
3. Phonetic
Total mapping of letter-sound correspondence, Vowels are omitted when not heard, Writes quickly, Spaces words correctly, Letters are assigned strictly on the basis of sound (eg: br=bar or prt=party). Have not yet learnt unusual patterns
4. Transitional
Vowels appear in every syllable, Silent "e" pattern becomes fixed, Inflectional endings such as "s" or "ing" are used, Common letter sequences are used (ay/ee/ow), Child moves toward visual spelling, May include all, but reverse some, letters (eg: from=form)
1. Exploration
Pre-letter writing, Random writing on page (letter, symbols, numbers), May use repetition of familiar letters (for example the child's name), Uses left-to-right directionality, Uses random sight words
Mistakes in Spelling
Poor Spellers with a weak Visual Memory:
Have a fairly clear idea which symbol represents which sound
Don't remember how words should look and get confused when trying to write them down
Are not always poor readers
Poor Spellers with a weak Auditory Analysis:
Cannot say which symbol represents which sound
Cannot hear the constituent parts of words
Make random guesses
Are probably poor readers
Get the initial letter wrong - suggests the child is not yet reading for reading, let alone writing. Could be a serious problem in a child over 7 years
5. Invented Spelling
Most words spelt phonetically thought some simple and more familiar words are spelt correctly
Stages of Language Aqquisition
3. Telegraphic Stage
4. Pre-School Stage
2. Two-Word Stage
1. Holophrastic Stage
2. Mock Handwriting
Children practice drawing shapes on paper, although they are usually still unreadable
3. Mock Letters
Children produce random letters but still no spacing or matching sounds with symbols
Child Directed Speech
Phonology
Use of exaggerated "Sing-Song" intonation which helps emphasise key words
Phrases are seperated more distinctly
Speak more slowly
Exaggerate difference between questions, statements and commands
Use a higher and wider pitch range
Lexis and Semantics
Use of concrete nouns "cat" and dynamic verbs "give"
Adopt child's words for things eg: "Doggie"
Frequent use of child's name and absense of pronouns
Pragmatics
Lots of gestures/warm body language
Fewer utterances per turn, stopping frequently to allow the child to respond
Supportive language used
Grammar
Repeated sentence frames
More simple sentences
Omission of past tense
Use more commands, questions and tag questions
Use expansions where the adult fills out the child's utterances
Use recastings where child's vocab is put into new utterances
Four Stages of Learning to Read - Harris and Coltheart (1986)
The Whole Word Stage
Children recognise words as a whole but are not aware of internal orthographic structure
The Discrimination Net Stage
Children begin to understand orthography but in a fragmented way. They will often use their sight vocabulary when faced with an unfamiliar word, words of similar length eg: "kitchens" and "children" may be confused or words with similar endings eg: "weight" and "sight" may also be confused
The Phonological Recording Stage
Extensive use of sound correspondaces and "sounding out" words. This is an essential stage as it allows words which have never been encountered before to be read through the child's understanding of letter to sound correspondance. This stage is undergone by children taught to read by mother the Phonics and Whole-Word methods.
The Orthographic Stage
Words are recognised directly by spelling rather than by sound. Reading words is much faster and words do not have to be sounded out. Ability to distinguish between pronunciations eg: "pint" and "mint". Child understands meaning, sound structure, word class and orthographic form.
The Seven Stages of Learning to Write (Barclay 1996)
1. Scribbling
Random marks on the page which aren't related to letters or words- learning the skill of holding a pen/pencil. Often talk about what they're scribbling
Children's reading books
Graphology
Page Layout, Lineation, Pictures, Font and Size of letters
Lexis and Semantics
Length of words/number of syllables, types of words and sematic fields, sounds of words eg: onomatopoeia or rhyme, concrete/abstract nouns, repetition, ease of recognition (sound and spelling match), How context could help with more difficult words
Grammar/Syntax
Sentence type (simple/compund/complex), Sentence length, Position of subject and verb in sentence, Use of active and passive voice, Verb tense, Modification eg: adjectives/adverbs, pronouns used after subject or object has been clearly established
Cohesion
Careful structuring of the text to make the text cohesive, Repetition of words or parts of sentences, Pronouns used after referent (thing being referred to) well established
Features borrowed from the oral tradition of storytelling
Alliteration (big, bad wolf), repeated epithet (Little Red Riding Hood), Parallel sentence structures, rhythmic language
Influences from Everyday Speech
Face to face interactions, familiar scenarios, use of direct speech, informal register, repetition
The Stages of Learning to Read
Recognising letter (usually beginning with the first letter of their name)
Associating Sounds with Letters
Realising that letters make words
Realising that sounds combine to make words
Learning that a word says the same thing everytime you read it, no matter where you read it
Learning that words go together to form sentences
Learning the conventions of punctuation and layout
Teaching to Read
Whole-word schemes
Based on the principle of recognising words as a whole.
Arguments for point out that the system allows for longer and more meaningful sentences, through the use of frequently occuring words and the use of some longer words.
Arguments against object to the often arbitary choice of words which are not always closely related to the child's experiences.
Phonic Schemes
Based on the principle of recognising the regular sound-letter relationship in a writing system, and teaching the child to use these when decoding or constructing words.
Arguments for based on the idea that a child has a rationale for "sounding out" new words
Arguments against suggest that the child will struggle to blend induvidual sounds into a word. Also point out there are severe restrictions on the vocab available to early readers which can result in bizarre sentences being created.
What goes wrong?
Vowel combinations - ie/ei is the worst but also iou and other three vowel combinations can cause problems
Phonic Alternatives - The form is chosen in the wrong context but mirrors that of another word ie: nessessary as in lesson
Prefixes and Suffixes - Can cause problems with children who do not understand orthography. Ie: makeing - keep the e or remove it? Ence and Ance are frequently confused as they sound the same
Unstressed Syllables - Often much more commonly misspelt than stressed syllables
Single and Double Letters - A constant sourse of difficulty, the second most common after unstressed syllables. Shining becomes shinning, dropped becomes droped, latter and later and furry and fury are also confused
Halliday's Functions
Representational
Language used to convey facts and infomation
Heuristic
Language used to leran and explore the enviroment
Interactional
Language used to develop social relationships, includes "Phatic talk"
Regulatory
Language used to regulate others' behaviour
Personal
Language used to express opinions, ideas and personal identity
Imaginative
Language used to create and imaginary enviroment - often used in play
Instrumental
Language used to fulfill a particular need
6. Appropriate Spelling
Sentences become more complex as the child becomes aware of standard spelling patterns. Writing becomes more legible
Trends when Learning to Speak
Deletion
Addition
Substitution
Reduplication
Berko and Brown
Sometimes children understand what to say mentally but struggle to say the word physically. The "fis phenominon"
Metathesis
Assimilation
Common Errors
Underextension: The child uses the word "house" to describe where they live but is confused to hear the sameword used to describe where their grandmother lives.
Overextension: Child calls their father "dad" but also calls the postman, grandad and shopkeeper (all men) "dad".