“Despite that fact that age related
sequences are not completely mapped out for all domains of oral language, we
should use the knowledge we do have to monitor
whether or not children are mastering oral language skills at a pace that will
allow them to become successful learners, thinkers and readers. We want them to be “ready for school,” but we also want them to continue to be
successful throughout their school years.”
Here are some additional links mapping out developmental
sequences for the 4 levels of language:
Sounds: http://www.playingwithwords365.com/2011/09/speech-articulation-development-whats-normal-what-isnt/
(Katie, a pediatric speech language
pathologist)
Discourse: http://complexneeds.org.uk/modules/Module-2.4-Assessment-monitoring-and-evaluation/All/downloads/m08p080c/the_pragmatics_profile.pdf Hazel Dewart and Susie Summers
Looking at Words in More Depth
A Word Gap
The research
literature tells us that some children will have a 30 million word gap by the
time they are 3. We learn from an
article in Education Week about
research by Hart and Risley (Meaningful Differences) who studied children of
different backgrounds as they developed vocabulary from 7 months to 3 years.
The researchers
found that, on average, children from professional families heard more than
2,150 words an hour. Those in working-class families heard about 1,250 words.
Children in families on welfare heard little more than 600 words an hour.……
The hourly estimates
from those original 42 families were extrapolated to predict that by age 3,
children of professionals would hear about 45 million words, compared with only
13 million for a child in poverty—the source of the 30 million-word gap…
We know from subsequent research that this gap (The
Achievement Gap) continues to exist. We
need to know why, to what extent, and what we can do about it.
A deeper look at the developmental
sequence for words.
In their book, “How Babies Talk,” Golinkoff and Hirsh-Pasek
trace “vocabulary” development from 8 to 12 to 24 months. They describe children who said their first
“real” words: at 12 months (Priscilla), at 18 months (Edgar), and at 17.5
months (Michael). They include details
about “first” word appearance for each of these children, including the
information that Michael “had one continuous ear infection from 9 to 13 months”
and Priscilla “is the firstborn child of two English professors.” Knowing context
matters when time frames are used to suggest what is “normal” development.
They define “real” words as having four characteristics: (pp
93-94)
1 The same word is used consistently to signal the same
meaning.
2 The word the baby uses approximates the sound of the
conventional word used by the family.
3 The word is spoken with the intention to communicate and
not just as something the baby is immediately imitating.
4 The word is used in a variety of settings to name items of
the same type that the child had not heard anyone name before.
The next big
benchmark in word/vocabulary learning is the “vocabulary spurt.”
“Some time after toddlers have learned about 50 words,
around 19 to 21 months on average, the entire character of word learning
changes….) (p. 115)
During
the last half of the second year toddlers often experience an explosive period
of vocabulary growth, including words their parents would wish they didn’t
have. The rate has been estimated at nine new words a day, 63 new words per
week….”
The
authors continue… “In this chapter we examine the “vocabulary spurt” or the
“naming explosions.” What are toddlers doing at this time? What kinds of words are they saying? How are they saying them? ….What is going on
behind the scenes that allow the vocabulary spurt to occur?....Finally, the
chapter concludes with a discussion of toddlers who reach the vocabulary spurt
more slowly than their peers. We focus
on red flags in early language learning and look at populations of toddlers who
approach word learning in a less standard way.” (p. 116)
How do we/can we monitor growth in
word/vocabulary development?
Hoffman, Teale and Paciga suggest that we need to go beyond
just counting words.
Assessing Vocabulary in
the Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 2014,
Vol. 14(4) 459–481
Abstract
“There is widespread
agreement with in the field of early childhood education that vocabulary is
important to literacy achievement and that reading aloud can support vocabulary
growth. However, there are unexplored and significant problems with the ways we
assess young children’s vocabulary learning from read-alouds. This paper critically
reviews the forms of vocabulary assessment commonly used with young children,
examining the benefits and drawbacks of each. This review found: (a) general
vocabulary measures are not practical,
meaningful measures for vocabulary learning of specific words from books read aloud, (b)
researcher-developed measures for specific words from books read aloud
that mimic normed general vocabulary measures include serious threats to validity and reliability, and (c) other
forms of measurement, such as soliciting definitions from children, are
difficult to score reliably. This critical review of existing vocabulary
assessments of word learning from read-alouds concludes that researchers and practitioners should carefully consider their
needs for assessment data so as to choose,
design and balance the uses of assessments to meet their needs for meaningful, reliable
data.”
In their conclusion, they say:
….“By choosing, designing and balancing uses
of assessments to meet various needs for information, researchers
and practitioners can best capitalize on the strengths of each form of
assessment to inform instructional
design and ultimately improve student learning.”….
Why is
monitoring so important and how we do it?
*To eliminate the 30 million word gap
*To assess the effectiveness of our
“developmentally appropriate” practice
*To plan instruction and timely intervention
As a starting point, let me highlight several “core considerations
in developmentally appropriate practice” as advocated in the 2009 position
paper of the NAEYC. Although all of the
considerations are important, I am highlighting those that seem especially
relevant to helping children develop the oral language skills they need to be
successful learners, thinkers, and readers.
These guidelines suggest what we need to pay attention to, when, and
how.
Beginning with 3 areas of knowledge to consider in making decisions:
1 What is known about child development and
learning—referring to knowledge of age-related characteristics that permits general predictions about what
experiences are likely to best promote children’s learning and development.
2 What is known about each child as an individual—referring to what
practitioners learn about each child that has implication for how best to adapt
and be responsive to that individual variation.
3 What is known about the social and cultural
contexts in which children live…?
*****
In addition, we note the 12 “Principles of
child development and learning that inform practices” and highlight several that
are relevant to monitoring progress in oral language development:
2.
Many aspects of children’s learning and development follow well documented
sequences with later abilities,
skills, and knowledge building on those
already acquired.
3 Development and learning proceed at varying rates from child to child, as
well as at uneven rates cross different areas of a child’s individual
development.
4 Development and learning results from a
dynamic and continuous interaction
of biological maturation and experience.
5 Early experiences have profound effects,
both cumulative and delayed, on a
child’s development and learning and optimal
periods exist for certain types of development and learning to occur.
6 Development proceeds toward greater complexity, self-regulation,
and symbolic or representational capacities.
8 Development and learning occur in and are
influenced by multiple social and cultural contexts
9 Always mentally active in seeking to
understand the world around them, children learn in a variety of ways; a wide
range of teaching strategies and interactions are effective in supporting
all these kinds of learning.
10 Play is an important vehicle for
developing self-regulation as well as for promoting
language, cognition, and social competence.
11 Development and learning advance when
children are challenged to achieve
at a level just beyond their current
mastery, and also when they have many opportunities
to practice newly acquired skills.
*****
Other
questions about monitoring:
What tools are there for monitoring language
development across all 4 levels—sounds, words, sentences, discourse?
How often should we monitor progress?
How do we use those tools?
What do we do with the information we gain
from monitoring?
*****
For additional information and links on
“word” development, see Oral Language: Words (Part 1 of 5)
