What are the two distinct styles of early language learning? What ...

[ss2343]

What are the two distinct styles of early language learning? What accounts for a toddlers language style?
 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Describe the social-interactionist view of language development.
 
  What will be an ideal response?

[Rilsmarie951]

Answer to Question 1

Answer: Young children have distinct styles of early language learning. Most toddlers use a referential style; their vocabularies consist mainly of words that refer to objects. A smaller number of toddlers use an expressive style; compared to referential children, they produce many more social formulas and pronouns. Referential children think words are for naming things, while expressive-style children believe words are for talking about peoples feelings and needs. The vocabularies of referential-style toddlers grow faster because all languages contain many more object labels than social phrases. Rapidly developing referential-style children often have an especially active interest in exploring objects. They also eagerly imitate their parents frequent naming of objects. Expressive-style children tend to be highly sociable, and their parents more often use verbal routines that support social relationships. The two language styles are also linked to culture.

Answer to Question 2

Answer: Recent ideas about language development emphasize interactions between inner capabilities and environmental influences. Social interactionists emphasize that childrens social skills and language experiences are centrally involved in language development. In this view, an active child strives to communicate, which cues her caregivers to provide appropriate language experiences. These experiences, in turn, help the child relate the content and structure of language to its social meanings. Among social interactionists, disagreement continues over whether or not children are equipped with specialized language structures in the brain. Nevertheless, much support has been provided for their central premisethat childrens social competencies and language experiences greatly affect their language progress.