We report a longitudinal comprehension study of (long) passive constructions in two native-Spanish child groups differing by age of initial exposure to L2 English (young group: 3;0-4;0; older group: 6;0-7;0), where amount of input, L2 exposure environment, and socioeconomic status are controlled. Data from a forced-choice task show that both…

This review article starts with an overview of changing education paradigms and the literature on cognitive and linguistic relationships in imaginative play related to comprehension of oral and written texts. Strategies for developing the cognitive and linguistic foundations for text comprehension through play are described. A review of current…

The ability to acquire language is a critical part of human development. Yet there is no consensus on how the skill emerges in early development. Does it constitute an innately-specified, language-processing module or is it acquired progressively? One of Annette Karmiloff-Smith's (1938-2016) key contributions to developmental science addresses…

This study reported the development and initial validation of the Survey of Parent/Provider Expectations and Knowledge (SPEAK), a self-administered questionnaire assessing expectations and knowledge about early childhood cognitive and language development. Development of the SPEAK was guided by the theory emphasizing the role of language input…

Purpose: Understanding the contribution of the use of proper language to thinking development and learning processes, served as the basis of this study. The purpose of this study is to learn from parents, teachers and teacher-trainees whether their view of efficient teaching also relies on the teacher's use of proper language.…

This cross-linguistic study investigated whether the native language has any influence on lexical composition among Italian (N = 125) and Finnish (N = 116) very preterm (born at <32 gestational weeks) children at 24 months (controls: 125 Italian and 146 Finnish full-term children). The investigation also covered the effect of maternal education…

Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, cognitive scientist, logician, historian, political critic and activist. Chomsky is an Institute Professor and Professor Emeritus in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at MIT where he has worked for over fifty years. Chomsky has been described as the father of modern linguistics and a major…

This study aims to investigate the developmental status of rural Chinese children, the extent of interactive parenting they receive, and the relation between the two. A sample of 448 six to eighteen-month-old children and their caregivers were randomly selected from two rural counties in Hebei and Yunnan provinces. According the third edition of…

This book proposes a new theory on children's thinking (cognitive) development. According to this theory, the stages of said development should be divided into four stages: first, the stage of animalistic thinking (birth--before possessing basic language ability); second, the stage of elementary thinking (beginning to possess basic language…

A review of 20 experimental, shared book reading (SBR) interventions using questioning strategies with preschool children was conducted. The studies were analyzed in terms of their quality, focus, and the questioning strategies employed. Although there were few methodological concerns about the studies conducted, treatment fidelity and…

The embodied-cognition approach views cognition and language as grounded in daily sensorimotor child-environment interactions. Therefore, the attainment of motor milestones is expected to play a role in cognitive-linguistic development. Early attainment of unsupported sitting and independent walking indeed predict better spatial cognition and…

Shared reading represents an established practice to foster preschool vocabulary development, particularly when coupled with explicit instruction in word meanings. However, a question remains as to whether explicit word definitions detract from story delivery and hence language learning. Accordingly, this study compared explicit versus…

Many American preschool children enter kindergarten without the emergent literacy skills needed to learn to read. To address this problem, this multicase qualitative study investigated the emergent literacy practices at Steiner Waldorf-inspired and Reggio Emilia-inspired schools. The research questions focused on how alternative preschool…

This study describes the reliability and validity of four language tests: The Sentence Comprehension Test (SCT), the Expressive Language Test (ELT), the Sentence Repetition Test (SRT), and the Arabic Picture Vocabulary Test (APVT). These tests were administered to two groups of Qatari Arabic-speaking children: A typically developing group (n=81 to…

In many low- and middle-income countries, young children learn a mother tongue or indigenous language at home before entering the formal education system where they will need to understand and speak a country's official language(s). Thus, assessments of children before school age, conducted in a nation's official language, may not fully reflect a…