Using data from a longitudinal German large-scale study and structural equation modeling, this study investigated the effects of different dimensions of the early home learning environment (HLE) as well as the effect of language-related preschool quality at the age of 3 to 5 years on students' later school-relevant language proficiency (as…

Background: Oral language competence provides children with an essential foundation for academic achievement and emotional well-being, yet many children enter school with delayed language and those living in economically disadvantaged areas are at disproportionate risk of experiencing language difficulties. A tiered system, offering high-quality…

While it is established that parental "wh"-questions, as a high-quality language input, are associated with child language outcome, less is known about the role of children's "wh"-questions in their language development. This study examines whether children's "wh"-questions during a dinnertime conversation are…

Within English early childhood education, there is emphasis on improving speech and language development as well as a drive for outdoor learning. This paper synthesises both aspects to consider whether or not links exist between the environment and the quality of young children's utterances as part of their speech and language development and if…

This study employs the Specificity Principle to examine the relative impacts of external (input quantity at home and at school, number of books and reading frequency at home, teachers' degree and experience, language usage, socioeconomic status) and internal factors (children's working memory, nonverbal intelligence, learning-related…

This study analyzes how others engage rural and urban Mozambican infants during naturalistic observations, and how the proportion of time spent in different engagements relates to infants' language development over the second year of life. Using an extended version of Bakeman and Adamson's (1984) categorization of infant engagement, we…

This study describes the language environment of preschool programs serving children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and examines relationships between child characteristics and an automated measure of adult and child language in the classroom. The Language Environment Analysis (LENA) system was used with 40 children with ASD to collect data…

The study compared the vocal production and language learning environments of 26 young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to 78 typically developing children using measures derived from automated vocal analysis. A digital language processor and audio-processing algorithms measured the amount of adult words to children and the amount of…

The optimal age in FLL (foreign language learning) for children has been discussed over 50 years but there is no satisfactory conclusion for us. However, the notion "the younger, the better" in FLL has a big market in the world. As a result, the distorted hypothesis is being spread widely as a true and complete theory. Specifically…

Reviews research on contributions of the child's environment to the development of syntax and semantics. Current theoretical proposals for internal and external constraints are discussed, and the implications of the research for the theoretical descriptions of the child's contribution to development are considered. (RH)

Language skills play an important role in learning. Teachers must understand how meanings are formed, why they are often difficult to communicate, and the importance of language in the formation and sharing of meaning. Various communication practices that inhibit or enhance the students' understanding of meaning are explored. (DF)

This booklet contains four articles that discuss factors influencing language growth. The first, "The Child's Equipment for Language Growth" by Charlotte Wells, examines what the child needs for language learning, how the child uses his equipment for language growth, and what school factors facilitate the child's use of his equipment for language…

Experimental research on the environmental conditions that promote generative language learning is reviewed. Recombinative generalization is introduced as a process that enables individuals to express and to comprehend novel utterances. This review focuses on the use of a miniature linguistic system paradigm to explore how recombinative…

Argues that the specialized knowledge that writing demands can only be acquired through a particular kind of reading. Illustrates how this kind of reading occurs and considers ways teachers can facilitate such learning. (JL)

Children's speech styles vary considerably, ranging along a continuum from formal to informal, in the various educational and social settings they encounter in school. Teachers who see their role as preparing children to fill social roles will be aware of the speech styles that children use and will accept varying speech styles as appropriate to…