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Chapters 7 & 8 Terms

Terms in this set (81)

language
A communication system in whic words and their written symbols combine in rule-governed ways to enable speakers to produce an infinite number of messages
communicative competence
the ability to convey thoughts, feelings, and intentions in a meaningful and culturally patterned way
productive language
the production of speech
receptive language
understanding the speech of others
phonology
the system of sounds that a language uses
phoneme
the basic unit of a language's phonetic system; phonemes are the smallest sound units that affect meaning
semantics
the study of word meanings and word combinations, as in phrases, clauses, and sentences
grammar
the structure of a language; consists of morphology and syntax
morphology
the study of morphemes, language's smallest units of meaning
syntax
the part of grammar that prescribes how words may combine into phrases, clauses, and sentences
pragmatics
a set of rules that specify appropriate language for particular social contexts
language acquisition device (LAD)
Chomsky's proposed mental structure in the human nervous system that incorporates an innate concept of language
critical period
a specific period in childrens development when tehy are sensitive to a particular environmental stimulus that does not have the same effect on them when encountered before or after this period - support nativist oppinion
The Learning View of language development
B.F. Skinner -- propose that parents selectively reinforce the childs babbling sounds that are most like adult speech


-propse that child learns primarily through imitation or observational learning
Nativist view of language development
Noam Chomsky - proposed that children are born with an innate mental structure that guides their acquisition of language and, in particular, grammar

- biologically predisposed to acquire language
Interactionist View of language development
language is learned in the context of spoken language but assuming as well that humans are in some way biologically prepared for learning to speak
Language acquisition support system (LASS)
According to Bruner, a collection of strategies and tactics that environmental influences - provide the language learning child
infant-directed speech
a simplified style of speech parents use with young children in which sentences are short, simple, and often repetitive and teh speaker enunciates especially clearly, slowly, and in a higher pitched voice
expansion
a technique adults use in speak to young children in which they imitate and expand or add to a childs statement

Child: Give Mama
Adult: Give it to mama
recast
a technique adults use in speaking to young children in which they render a childs incomplete sentence in a more complex gramatically form
protodeclarative
a gesture that an infant uses to make some sort of statement about an object
protoimperative
a gesture that eitehr an infant or a young child may use to get someone to do something she or her wants
categorical speech perception
the tendency to perceive as the same a range of sounds belonging to the same phonemic group
cooing
a very young infant's production of vowel-like sounds (at about 1 month) - Oo sounds occur during social exchanges with caregiver
babbling
an infant's production of strings of consonant-vowel combinations (middle of first year)
patterned speech
a form of pseudospeech in which the child utters strings of phonemes that sound very much like real speech but are not (close of first year)
naming explosion
the rapid increase in vocabulary that the child typically shows at about age 1.5 years
overextension
the use, by a young child, of a single word to cover many different things
underextension
the use by ayoung child, of a single word in a restricted and individualistic way
holophrase
a single word that appears to represent a complete thought
telegraphic speech
two-word utterances that include only the words essential to convey the speaker's intent
overregularization
the application of a principle of regular change to a word that changes irregularly
metalinguistic awareness
the understanding that language is a rule-bound system of communicating
phonological awareness
the understanding of the sounds of a language and of the properties, such as the number of sounds in a word, related to these sounds
bilingualism
the acquisition of two languages
cognition
the mental activity through which human beings acquire and process knowledge
constructivist view
the idea that children actively create their understanding of the world as they encounter new information have new experiences

Jean Piaget spent his career studying the development of children's thinking, Working in his native Switzerland, Piaget based much of his theory on direct observations and interview with children
schema (plural, schemas)
an organized unit of knowledge that the child uses to try to understand a situation; a schema forms the basis for organizing actions to respond to the environment
organization
combining simple mental structures into more complex systems
operations
schemas based on internal mental activities
adaptation
adjusting one's thinking to fit with environmental demands
assimilation
applying an existing schema to a new experience
accommodation
modifying an existing schema to fit a new experience
stages of development
comprehensive, qualitative changes over time in the way a child thinks
sensorimotor stage
Piaget's first stage of cognitive development, during which children change from basic reflexive behavior to the beginnings of symbolic thought and goal-direted behaviors (age range: 0-2 years)
object permanence
the notion that entities external to child, such as objects and people, continue to exist independent of the child's seeing or interacting with them
basic reflex activity
an infant's exercise of, an growing proficiency in, the use of innate reflexes
primary circular reactions
behaviors focused on the infant's own body that the infant repeatedly engages in because they are pleasurable and satisfying
coordination of secondary circular reactions
an infant's combination of different schemas to achieve a specific goal
tertiary circular reactions
behaviors in which infants experiment with the properties of external objects and try to learn how objects respond to various actions
inventing new means by mental combination
children begin to combined schemas mentally and rely less on physical trial and error
symbolic thought
the use of mental images and concept to represent people, objects, and events
deferred imitation
mimicry of an action some time after having observed it; requires that the child have some sort of mental representation of the action
core knowledge of systems
Ways of reasoning about ecologically important objects and events, such as the solidity and continuity of objects
preoperational stage
in this stage, the ability to use symbols facilitates the learning of language; this stage is also marked by semi-logical reasoning, egocentricity-in which the child sees the world from her own point of view- and intuitive behavior, in which the child can solve problems using mental operations but cannot explain how she did so
symbolic function
the ability to use symbols, such as images, words, and gestures, to represent objects and events in the world
preconceptual substage
the first substage of Piaget's preoperational period, during which the child's thought is characterized by the emergence of symbolic function, the rapid development of language animistic thinking, and egocentricity
animistic thinking
the attribution of life to inanimate objects
egocentrism
the tendency to view the wold from one's own perspective and to have difficulty seeing things from another's viewpoint
intuitive substage
the second substage of the preoperational stage during which the child begins to solve problems by using mental operations but cannot explain how she arrives at the solutions
conservation
the understanding that altering an object's or a substances appearance does not change its basic attributes or properties
reversibility
The understanding that the steps of a procedure or operation can be reversed and that the original state of the object or event can be obtained.

This child's decision as to whether the two glasses hold equal amounts of colored water will reveal whether he's attained an understanding of the conservation of liquid
ends over means focus
consideration of only the end state of a problem in evaluating an event; failure to consider the means by which that end state was obtained
centration
focusing one's attention on only one dimension of characteristic of an object or situation
concrete operations stage
stage in which the child is able to reason logically about materials that are physically present
formal operations stage
stage in which the child becomes capable of abstract thinking, complex reasoning, and hypothesis testing
self recognition
a childs conceiving of the self as seperate from teh envrionment and other people
theory of mind
understanding of the mind and how it works
false-belief task
involves telling a child a story and then asking him what a character in the story thinks
horizontal décalage
the term piaget used to describe unevenness in children's thinking within a particular stage; for example, in developing an understanding of conservation, children conserve different objects or substances at different stages
mediators
Psychological tools and signs- such as language, counting, mnemonic devices, algebraic symbols, art, and writing- that facilitate and direct thinking and processes
elementary mental functions
Psychological functions, such as voluntary attention, complex memory processes, and problem solving, that entail the coordination of several cognitive processes and the use of mediators
zone of proximal development (ZPD)
The region of sensitivity for learning characterized by the difference between the developmental level of which a child is capable when working alone and the level she is capable of reaching wit the aid of a more skilled partner
scaffolding
an instructional process in which the more knowledgeable partner adjusts the amount and type of support he offers to the child to fit with the child's learning needs over the course of the interaction
reciprocal instruction
a tutoring approach based on the ideas of the zone of proximal development and scaffolding
community of learners
an approach to classroom learning in which adults and children work together in shared activities, peers learn from each other, and the teacher serves as a guide
guided participation
learning that occurs as children participate in activities of their community and are guided in their participation by the actions of more experienced partners in the setting
intent community participation
children's participation in the authentic activities of their community with the purpose of learning about the activity
egocentric speech
according to Vygotsky, a form of self-directed dialogue by which the child instructs herself in solving problems and formulating plans; as the child matures, this becomes internalized as inner speech
inner speech
internalized egocentric speech that guides intellectual functioning
microgenetic change
changes associated with learning that occur over the time of specific learning experience or episode
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