CHILD LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
LEARNING OUTCOMES
• I can select and apply specific terminology to the study of my language
investigation (AO1).
• I can demonstrate critical understanding of a range of concepts and issues
related to the construction of meanings (AO2).
• I can analyse and evaluate the influence of contextual factors on the
production and reception of language (AO3).
Why is it important to look at how
children learn language?
Why is it important to look at how
children learn written language?
How can we effectively teach children
written language skills?
What is phonics?
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WHAT IS PHONICS?
Discuss: What issues might
be associated with phonics
spelling?
What impact might spoken
language acquisition have on
written language
acquisition?
SPELLING MILESTONES: 5-8 YEAR OLDS
A 5-6 year old: A 7-8 year old :
• language is broken into words • spelling words they read and use
frequently
• developing phonemic awareness
• breaking words into syllables
• learning about sound letter relationships
• will begin to spell unknown words
• phonetic spellers
• will begin to use rhyme to spell words
• use invented spelling
• will find and correct simple spelling
• may leave out vowels
errors
• learn to spell their name • will use sources around them for
• will use environmental print to assist their spelling
spelling • consolidate how words are formed
• may reverse letters
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ROBIN HOOD
• Work in of groups of 2-3.
• You will be given a collection of writing samples.
• Each group will be allocated a sample.
• Identify as many ‘areas of development’/common errors within the
sample as possible.
• Areas of development – features of writing that the child as not
yet fully mastered i.e. punctuation, spelling, etc.
• Prepare to share your ideas with the group.
Why is it
important to look
Complete the table of spelling at children
differences between A-C. between 6-7 years
old?
SPELLING ‘PROBLEMS’
Work in groups of 2-3.
Focus on your chosen spelling problem.
Why is this difficult to master at this stage
of development?
What differences are there between the
children at mastering this skill?
What strategies would help to overcome
this problem?
COHESIVE FEATURES USED IN WRITING
• Connectives
• Punctuation – full stop, colon
• Order of the text
• Tenses used
• Paragraphs
• Headings, sub headings
• Consistency of audience
• Anaphoric references – referring to the past - last week
• Cataphoric references – referring to future – later on
• Continuity of style
• Conventions followed
• Structure
• Illustrations Can you identify any of these features
• Layout in your texts?
• Consistency of sentence lengths
THE WAYS IN WHICH A CHILD SPELLS
• Doubling consonants – e.g. breezzy,
dissappeared
• Spell phonetically – e.g. ment, brite
• Stressed and unstressed letters – knife =
nife, stomach = tomach
• Vowel combinations – i.e. ‘I comes before e’
e.g. coulourful
• Suffixing and prefixing – e.g. living = liveing
• Initial letter – e.g. England = Ingland
Can you identify any of these features
in your texts?
Which phase would
each of your texts fall
THEORY 1: BARRY KROLL (1981) into?
• Barry Kroll (1981) identified 4 phases of children’s development and further work
by other researchers such as Katherine Perera added the suggested age ranges.
• Preparation – up to 6 yrs – basic motor skills are acquired alongside some
principles of spelling.
• Consolidation – 7/8 yrs – writing is similar to spoken language including more
colloquial and informal register. Also a string of clauses joined together by the
conjunction “and”.
• Differentiation – 9/10 yrs – awareness of writing as separate from speech
emerges. In addition, a stronger understanding of writing for different audiences
and purposes is evident and becomes more automatic.
• Integration – mid-teens – this stage sees the use of the “personal voice” in
writing. It is characterised by evidence of controlled writing, with appropriate
linguistic choices being made consistently.
Which stage
would each of
THEORY 2: DR CATHY BARCLAY (1996) your texts fall
into?
• 7 stages to a child developing their writing skills.
• Stage 1: Scribbling stage. Random marks on a page. Writing and scribbles are
accompanied by speaking.
• Stage 2: Mock handwriting stage. Writing and drawings. Produce wavy lines
which is their understanding of lineation. Cursive writing.
• Stage 3: Mock letters. Letters are separate things.
• Stage 4: Conventional letters. Usually involves writing the name as the first
word. Child usually puts letters on a page but is able to read it as words.
• Stage 5: Invented spelling stage. Child spells in the way they understand the
word should be spelt (own way).
• Stage 6: Appropriate/phonetic spelling stage. Attach spelling with sounds.
• Stage 7: Correct spelling stage. Able to spell most words.
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SPOKEN LANGUAGE ACQUISITION e.com/watch?v=_
JmA2ClUvUY
Children seem to acquire language by passing through a set of stages.
Before birth – Mehler et al (1988). It is possible that even before birth babies are becoming
acclimatised to the sounds of its native language. Babies as young as four days old are able to
distinguish their native language from other languages. The suggestion is that babies become used
to the rhythms and intonations of language whilst in the womb.
Crying – during the first few weeks of life, the child expresses itself vocally by crying. Different types
of crying can be identified (hunger, distress, pleasure). Cries are thought to be instinctive noises and
cannot really be considered ‘language’.
Cooing – (also known as gurgling or mewing) generally occurs when babies are around 6-8 weeks
old. They make sounds such as ‘coo’, ‘goo’, and ‘ga-ga’. It is thought that at this stage, the child is
developing increased control over its vocal cords.
Babbling – the most important stage during the first year of a child’s life. Begins at around 6-9
months old and often continues for some months after the child has started to use actual speech. At
the onset, the child begins to make sound that more closely resemble adult language. Combinations
of consonants and vowels are produced (‘ba’, ‘ma’, ‘ga’, ‘da’). Sometimes these sounds are repeated
producing reduplicated monosyllables (‘baba’, ‘mama’). These sounds still have no meaning, but
parents are often eager to believe that their baby is speaking its first words. Typically, the baby
enjoys exercising the mouth and tongue at this stage (also blowing bubbles and spluttering).
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SPOKEN LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
Children seem to acquire language by passing through a set of stages.
Phonemic expansion and contraction – during the babbling stage, the
number of different phonemes produced by the child increases. This is known
as phonemic expansion. Usually, by 9-10 months a reduction in the number of
phonemes occurs (phonemic reduction). The range of sounds the child makes
shrinks, becoming increasingly restricted to those of the child’s native tongue.
The baby retains the sounds of its native language, but discards those that will
not be needed.
Intonation and gesture – another development during the babbling stage is
that patterns of intonation begin to resemble speech. Often, there is a rising
tone at the end of an utterance, as if the child were asking a question. Other
variations of emphasis or rhythm may suggest greeting or calling. Research
has shown that, although children do not have the power of speech at this
stage, they show through their gestures a desire to communicate. The may
point at an object and look at an adult with a facial expression similar to ‘what’s
that?’
