Maternal responsive and directive speech to children at ages 0;10 and 2;0 was investigated by applying a procedure frst introduced by Flynn and Masur (2007) to a new language community (Finnish). The issues examined were consistency and stability over time, and also the role of responsiveness and directiveness in child linguistic development at…

Investigation concentrated on verbal and nonverbal variables of child-mother interactions as it pertains to the child's language development. (MB)

Evaluation of the conversational behavior of 36 children (ages 48-59 months) playing in dyads with 3 different materials (modeling dough, a farm set, and animal puppets) found that each toy elicited the same amount of talking, though there were differences in discourse structure attributable to play materials. (DB)

This study focuses on the significance of specific maternal language teaching techniques in the early language development of the child. A recording was made of the verbal and nonverbal interactions in 20 mother-child dyads during a one-hour session in the home. The linguistic level for each of the children, who ranged from 1.9 to 5.0 years in…

This study examined adult-child interaction during story readings, specifically the complexity and richness of extra-script dialogue as a function of how familiar the child and adult reader have become with a particular story through repeated readings. Subjects were approximately 50 children, ages 3 to 6 years. Two-minute segments were selected…

Offers some conversational suggestions (modeled on a typical day in the life of the preschool) intended to motivate children to communicate and to build a better relationship between pupil and teacher. (Author/ED)

The early communication network existing between a mother and her 12-week-old infant was explored. Over 50 infants of both sexes from a variety of social classes were seen in their homes, and a wide variety of maternal and infant behaviors were studied. Of special interest was the vocalization-in-communication data. The results indicate a lawful,…

This report describes a study investigating the extent to which 2- and 3-year-olds, as they acquire language, continue to use infant nonverbal sharing behaviors (pointing, holding up, giving and partner play) or begin to use language to share in new ways. A group of 2- and 3-year-olds (12 of each) were observed in a playroom setting of three…

Discusses an alternate method of examining the verbal interaction of mothers and their children in dyadic communication. The behavior of both mothers and children differed significantly according to the ages of the children involved. Acta Symbolica, 807 Jefferson Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee 38105. Subscription Rates: annually, $12.00 individuals,…

This paper discusses findings from a study of the speech patterns of 10 mothers interacting with their own younger child, their own older child, and with an adult. Results are discussed in terms of the temporal-acoustic pattern and content of the mothers' speech. Two claims are made about the kinds of speech a child hears: (1) The flow of speech…

This paper examines some of the conversational skills manifested by children within a nursery group as they organize their own activities among themselves and cope with social and didactic demands of adults. Among the features examined are the number of active and passive participants within conversing groups, the intentions and pragmatic…

Thirteen years after the first edition of this book, significant changes in social and intellectual life have made the subject of classroom discourse more important than ever, and this new edition integrates current perspectives and research. New features in the book include: a new rationale for the importance of student-teacher talk (the…

The assumption that question-answer sequences consist of two moves was examined using data from recordings of second-grade classrooms in Austin, Texas. Interactions initiated by children's spontaneous questions in informal, small group settings were evaluated. Twenty-nine dialogue samples are presented and analyzed. Four issues in the study of…

Every speech community has a baby talk register (BT) of phonological, grammatical, and lexical features regarded as primarily appropriate for addressing young children and also for other displaced or extended uses. Much BT is analyzable as derived from normal adult speech (AS) by such simplifying processes as reduction, substitution, assimilation,…

This analysis of Brazilian baby talk (BT) includes data from two sources: elicitations of the use of BT from three mothers, all of whom have university degrees, and observations of adult-child interactions in the home. The data shows Ferguson's modified list of thirty lexical items that frequently have BT forms in various languages and the…