Increasing enrollment in childcare centers has led to questions about the extent to which those environments foster child development in areas such as language. This study examined the language of childcare center caregivers during book sharing with children to describe caregivers' use of linguistic structures (declarative, imperative, and compound/ complex sentences; wh—, yes/no, and choice questions) that have been suggested to positively or negatively affect early language acquisition. Results revealed similarities and differences in caregivers' use of the structures. Additionally, each caregiver demonstrated a communicative “style” during book sharing across the children. Implications for the speech—language pathologist's role within childcare centers are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Barnes, S., Gutfreund, M., Satterly, D., & Wells, G. (1983). Characteristics of adult speech which predict children's language development. Journal of Child Language , 10, 65—84.
2.
Bates, E., Bretherton, I., & Snyder, L. (1988). From first words to grammar: Individual differences and dissociable mechanisms. New York: Cambridge University Press.
3.
Bohannon, J., & Bonvillian, J. (1997). Theoretical approaches to language acquisition. In J. Berko Gleason (Ed.), The development of language (4th ed., pp. 259—316). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
4.
Burchinal, M.R., Roberts, J.E., Nabors, L.A., & Bryant, D.M. (1996). Quality of center child care and infant cognitive and language development. Child Development, 67, 606—620.
5.
Burchinal, M.R., Roberts, J.E., Riggins, R., Jr., Zeisel, S.A., Neebe, E., & Bryant, D. (2000). Relating quality of center-based child care to early cognitive and language development longitudinally. Child Development, 71, 339—357.
6.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. (n.d.). Career guide to industries, 2006-07 edition, child day care aervices. Retrieved August 17, 2006, from http://www.bls.gov/oco/cg/cgs032.htm
7.
Cross, T. (1984). Habilitating the language-impaired child: Ideas from studies of parent-child interaction. Topics in Language Disorders, 4(4), 1—14.
8.
Donahue-Kilburg, G. (1992). Family centered early intervention for communication disorders: Prevention and treatment. Rockville, MD: Aspen.
9.
Fey, M. (1986). Language intervention with young children. San Diego: College-Hill Press.
10.
Furrow, D., Nelson, K., & Benedict, H. (1979). Mothers' speech to children and syntactic development: Some simple relationships. Journal of Child Language, 6, 423—442.
11.
Girolametto, L., Hoaken, L., Weitzman, E., & van Lieshout, R. (2000). Patterns of adult—child interaction in integrated day care groups. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools,31, 155—168.
12.
Girolametto, L., Weitzman, E., & Greenberg, J. (2003). Training day care staff to facilitate children's language. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 12, 299—311.
13.
Girolametto, L., Weitzman, E., van Lieshout, R., & Duff, D. (2000). Directiveness in teachers' language input to toddlers and preschoolers in daycare. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 43, 1101—1114.
14.
Gleitman, L.R., Newport, E.L., & Gleitman, H. (1984). The current status of the motherese hypothesis . Journal of Child Language, 11, 43—79.
15.
Hammett, L.A., van Kleeck, A., & Huberty, C.J. (2003). Patterns of parents' extratextual interactions during book sharing with preschool children: A cluster analysis study. Reading Research Quarterly, 38(4), 442—468.
16.
Hoff-Ginsberg, E. (1985). Some contributions of mothers' speech to their children's syntactic growth. Journal of Child Language, 12, 367—385.
17.
Hoff-Ginsberg, E. (1986). Function and structure in maternal speech: their relation to the child's development of syntax. Developmental Psychology, 2, 155—163.
18.
Justice, L.M., Weber, S.E., Ezell, H.K., & Bakeman, R. (2002). A sequential analysis of children's responsiveness to parental print references during shared book-reading interactions. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 11, 30—40.
19.
Kisker, E.E., Hoffereth, S.L., Phillips, D.A., & Farquhar, E. (1991). A profile of child care settings: Early education and care in 1990 (Vol. 1). Princeton, NJ: Mathematica Policy Research.
20.
MacDonald, J.D., & Gillette, Y. (1986). Communicating with persons with severe handicaps: Roles of parents and professionals. The Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 11, 255—265.
21.
McCartney, K. (1984). Effect of quality of day care environment on children's language development. Developmental Psychology, 20(2), 244—260.
22.
McDonald, L., & Pien, D. (1980). Mother conversational behaviour as a function of interactional intent. Journal of Child Language, 9, 337—358.
23.
McNeill, J.H., & Fowler, S.A. (1999). Let's talk: Encouraging mother— child conversations during story reading. Journal of Early Intervention, 22(1), 51—69.
24.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Early Child Care Research Network. (2000). The relation of child care to cognitive and language development. Child Development, 71, 960—980.
25.
Nelson, K. (1973). Structure and strategy in learning to talk. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 38, (Serial No. 149).
26.
Newport, E., Gleitman, H., & Gleitman, L. (1977). Mother, I'd rather do it myself: Some effects and non-effects of maternal speech style. In C. Snow & C. Ferguson (Eds.), Talking to children: Language input and acquisition (pp. 109—150). Cambridge, UK: C.U.P.
27.
Olsen-Fulero, L. (1982). Style and stability in mother conversational behaviour: A study of individual differences. Journal of Child Language , 9, 543—564.
28.
Pecyna Rhyner, P.M., Lehr, D.H., & Pudlas, K.A. (1990). An analysis of teacher responsiveness to communicative initiations of preschool children with handicaps. Language, Speech and Hearing Services in Schools, 21(2), 91—97.
29.
Pellegrino, M.L.M., & Scopesi, A. (1990). Structure and function of baby talk in a day-care center. Journal of Child Language, 17, 101—114.
30.
Roberts, J.E., Bailey, D.B., & Nychka, H. (1991). Teachers' use of strategies to facilitate the communication of preschool children with disabilities. Journal of Early Intervention, 15, 358—376.
31.
Snow, C. (1972). Mothers' speech to children learning language . Child Development, 43, 549—566.
32.
Snow, C., Midkiff-Borunda, S., Small, A., & Proctor, A. (1984). Therapy as social interaction: analyzing the contexts for language re-mediation. Topics in Language Disorders, 4, 72—85.
33.
Tigerman, E., & Siperstein, M. (1984). Individual patterns of interaction in the mother—child dyad: Implications for parent intervention . Topics in Language Disorders, 4, 50—61.
34.
van Kleeck, A., & Beckley-McCall, A. (2002). A comparison of mothers' individual and simultaneous book sharing with preschool siblings: An exploratory study of five families. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 11, 175—189.
35.
van Kleeck, A., Gillam, R.B., Hamilton, L., & McGrath, C. (1997). The relationship between middle-class parents' book-sharing discussion and their preschoolers' abstract language development . Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research,40(6), 1261—1273.
36.
West, J. (1996). Child care and early education program participation of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Retrieved March 8, 2005, from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs95/web/95824.asp
