Competent Language Users Research Articles

Emily’s song: a case study of egocentric speech

Learning to be a competent language user may be the most complex task human beings undertake, yet the one most taken for granted. This paper examines a song spontaneously created and sung by a 44-month-old child. The song, an element of bath-time play, weaves a chapter in her ongoing self-narrative, disclosing not only her sense of herself as a developing person, but also revealing her struggle with this development. Examination of the relation of the structure and functions of the song demonstrates that it is a variation of egocentric speech clearly connected to her thinking and not merely a tuneful accompaniment to her imaginative play. Early childhood educators and care-givers often witness similar episodes of language use among children engrossed in play in school settings. Observation of the form and content of such language use can provide the early childhood teacher or caregiver with information about a child's language development, sense of self, and readiness for formal and informal literacy experiences, which presume a developing facility and competence in thinking through language.

Universities and lote proficiency

The methods employed to study languages at university are less important for producing competent language users than the availability of in-country experience. The principal issue to be addressed with regards to this experience is that of equity of access. Real equity can only be achieved through a substantial government commitment to in-country language learning.

Development of referential communication skills: How familiarity with a listener affects a speaker's production of redundant messages.

In order to be an effective verbal communicator, one needs to give messages that reflect the demands of the task and the needs of one's listener. This study investigated developmentally how sensitive speakers are to the needs of their listeners. Of interest was whether children vary their production of redundant messages (saying more than the minimal necessary to be informative) as a function of sharing common experiences with a listener. First- and fourth-grade speakers gave messages to a fictitious listener (represented by a drawing) who was supposed to be either a stranger or a friend. Both first and fourth graders were more likely to give redundant messages to an unfamiliar listener than to one with whom they shared common experiences. Fourth graders, however, gave a different type of redundant message, one more sensitive to a listener's needs. Fourth graders included several differentiating features in their messages, whereas first graders included both differentiating and nondifferentiating features. Discussion focuses on the development of verbal communicative skills and how studying the production and comprehension of different types of informative messages can increase our understanding of communicative development. To become competent users of language, we need to develop a means of effectively verbally communicating our ideas and needs. Although most researchers agree that communicative skills evolve and change with development, there is controversy over how best to conceptualize the development of communication and what is the nature and type of changes that occur (e.g., Shatz, 1983; Whitehurst& Sonnenschein, 1985).

Evidence for a reciprocal model of language development

A reciprocal model of language development is proposed analogous to Bowlby's model for the development of attachment, a control system model. The hypothesis for the research reported is that a reciprocal behavioral system operates between the language-developing infant-child and the competent language user in a socializing-teaching-nurturing role vis-a-vis the language-developing child. Findings are from a longitudinal study of four infant-mother dyads, videotaped in the home from the time the infants were 3 months until they were 2 years old. The mother's linguistic behavior following vocalizing and verbalizing by her infant is analyzed for evidence that it is language-teaching behavior appropriate to the infant's level of linguistic development and, in the terms of the control system model, elicited by the infant's linguistic behavior.

Language Functions Elicited by Meaningful Activities

If children are to be considered competent language users within the school setting, they must meet the demands of the classroom situation in terms of language function. Five language functions normally required in school settings were delineated as follows: relating socially to others while stating personal needs; directing the actions of the self and others; giving information; reasoning, judging, and predicting; and imagining and projecting into nonclassroom situations. Meaningful activities were designed to elicit each of the five language functions, and a research project was undertaken to determine whether or not a particular activity could elicit a significant concentration of a specific language function. Results indicated that the specifically designed activity clearly tended to elicit the desired language function. The article describes the language functions as well as the activities, and presents suggestions for implementing the activities in both the clinic and classroom setting.