Chapter 2 - Cognitive and Linguistic Development

1. Chapter 2 - Cognitive and Linguistic Development Deficiencies in Language Capabilities of Students in the Early Elementary Grades

2. Deficiencies in Language Capabilities of Students in the Early Elementary Grades • The language capabilities of young elementary school children are more limited than that of adults. Here are some examples to illustrate:  1. Children undergeneralize and overgeneralize word meanings. • Example: A child says, “can’t you see, I’m barefoot all over!” (Chukovsky, 1968).

3. Deficiencies in Language Capabilities of Students in the Early Elementary Grades 2. Children have difficulty understanding passive sentences, especially when there are two or more possible “actors” in a sentence. Example: consider these two sentences:

4. Deficiencies in Language Capabilities of Students in the Early Elementary Grades • The boy is pushed by the girl. The cup is washed by the girl. • They are more likely to be confused by the first sentence—that is, to think that the boy is the one doing the pushing—than by the second sentence (Karmiloff-smith, 1979). Both boys and girls can push someone else, but cups can’t wash girls.

5. Deficiencies in Language Capabilities of Students in the Early Elementary Grades 3. Children have difficulty finding contradictions within a message. • Example: here is a poem with numerous contradictions:

6. Deficiencies in Language Capabilities of Students in the Early Elementary Grades ‘Twas a summer day in winter, And the snow was raining fast, As a barefoot girl with shoes on. Stood sitting in the grass. ‘Twas evening, and the rising sun. Was setting in the west, And all the fishes in the trees. Were huddled in their nests.(Author unknown).

7. Deficiencies in Language Capabilities of Students in the Early Elementary Grades 4. Children haven’t yet learned many of the social conventions (pragmatics) involved in speaking effectively. • Examples: • * Beginning conversations, keeping them going, and ending them. • • Making relevant comments during conversations. • • Adopting an appropriate mood for the situation (Owens, 1996).

8. Deficiencies in Language Capabilities of Students in the Early Elementary Grades • 5. Children have difficulty comprehending a verbal message separate from its nonverbal context (e.G., The meaning the children think the speaker has in mind).

9. Deficiencies in Language Capabilities of Students in the Early Elementary Grades • Example: in a study by Donaldson (1978), 6-year-old children were shown four cows (two black, two white) and four horses (three black, one white). They were asked, “are there more cows or more black horses?” Only 14% of 6-year-olds correctly answered that there were more cows; Most said that there were more black horses. Follow-up questions indicated that the children interpreted the question as a request to compare only the black cows with the black horses. For example, one child defended his incorrect answer this way: “there’s more black horses ‘cos there’s only two black cows.”

10. Deficiencies in Language Capabilities of Students in the Early Elementary Grades • 6. Children have a superficial understanding of what it means to be a “good listener.” • Example: in studies by McDevitt (McDevitt, 1990; McDevitt, Spivey, Sheehan, Lennon, & story, 1990), elementary school children in grades 1, 3, and 5 were given the following dilemma:

11. Deficiencies in Language Capabilities of Students in the Early Elementary Grades • This is a story about a girl named Mary. Mary is at school listening to her teacher, ms. Brown. Ms. Brown explains how to use a new computer that she just got for their classroom. She tells the children in the classroom how to use the computer. Mary doesn’t understand the teacher’s directions. She’s confused. What should Mary do? (McDevitt, 1990, p. 570).

12. Deficiencies in Language Capabilities of Students in the Early Elementary Grades • Some children responded that Mary should ask the teacher for further explanation. But many others said that Mary should either listen more carefully or seek clarification from other children. Many children, especially younger ones, apparently believe that it is inappropriate to ask their teacher for help, perhaps because they have previously been discouraged from asking questions in school or at home.

13. Deficiencies in Language Capabilities of Students in the Early Elementary Grades • McDevitt (1990) offers several recommendations that may be useful in improving the listening skills of children in the early elementary grades. • A. Expect children to listen for only small amounts of time. Young children have limited attention spans.

14. Deficiencies in Language Capabilities of Students in the Early Elementary Grades • B. Discuss courses of action that children should take when they don’t understand a speaker. Children should learn that in most situations, asking questions is both acceptable and desirable.

15. Deficiencies in Language Capabilities of Students in the Early Elementary Grades • C. Discuss the components of good listening. It is important for children to realize that “good listening” involves more than just sitting quietly. It also involves paying attention and thinking about information.

16. Deficiencies in Language Capabilities of Students in the Early Elementary Grades • D. Encourage critical listening. Children who are taught not to believe everything they hear are more likely to evaluate messages for errors, falsehoods, and ambiguities. For example, children are less likely to be influenced by television commercials when they know that those commercials are designed to persuade them to buy something (McDevitt, 1990; D. F. Roberts, Christenson, Gibson, Mooser, & Goldberg, 1980).