Discussed in the monograph are procedures and conclusions of Dr. Catherine Garvey's research on the social speech of 48 preschool children. It is explained that each S was observed and videotaped while in a playroom with two other children. Findings are cited for the following areas of study (with sample conclusions in parentheses): social…

Elementary school students were required to obtain objects from two adults engaged in conversation with each other. Results differed markedly between older and younger children. For the younger children, (1) there were three times as many statement requests (SRs) as interrogative requests (IRs); (2) almost 50% of requests were need statements; (3)…

The role that talk plays in socialization, social development, and possibly cognitive development is described. Research on talk is categorized as follows: studies that consider talk as a tool for investigation; studies that focus on development of grammar or language acquisition; and studies that fall between those extremes. (LB)

Social cognition refers to that ability which makes it possible for one to infer another's covert, inner psychological experiences and to interact with that individual accordingly (Shantz 1975; Flavell 1977). Piaget (1926) maintains that the ability to decenter socially and to take into account the perspective of another develops gradually as the…

Indicates that (1) children's violations decreased with age; (2) in the dyadic context, fathers assumed a more directive role in response to children's violations than did mothers; (3) there were no between-parent differences between parents regarding reactions to children's violations in the triadic context. (NKA)

Investigates the antecedents of individual differences in cognitive/language competence for 121 24-month-olds who were also assessed at 6 and 13 months. Warm verbal interactions between mother and child at three ages were associated with child competence at 24 months. Socioeconomic status was also modestly correlated. (Author/CB)

Selected studies that examine social interaction variables which affect the language young children use in social play are reviewed. Interaction variables discussed in major sections of the paper are (1) the nature of social play; (2) egocentrism and its impact on verbal communication; (3) language as a functional behavior; (4) adaptation of…

To discover whether linguistic retardation shows itself in vocabulary concerned with orectic characteristics of children and whether a relationship exists between linguistic retardation and orectic immaturity, children were studied (ages 8 to 16) from 11 schools for the hearing impaired. Discussed as background is the general linguistic…

This study is concerned with the acquisition of social awareness of language differences in preschool children, particularly their awareness of the differences between black and standard English (BE and SE). Awareness is defined as a type of sociolinguistic perception involving three related abilities: (1) discrimination (the ability to…

Examined 2-year-olds' language acquisition with an emphasis on the agency and intentionality of the child. Concluded that development depends on the child's expression of intentionality by actions (performance), the essential tension between the child's engagement and effort, and the integration of linguistic, cognitive, and social aspects of the…

A collection of papers discusses the importance of bilingual education's goals of high-level English proficiency, appropriate cognitive/academic development, and adequate psychosocial and cultural adjustment for language-minority students and describes various instructional strategies to achieve those outcomes. The papers include: "The Role…

The question of the relationship between children's play and more formal, literate uses of language is explored in the 9 studies described in this volume. Chapter titles and authors are as follows: (1) "The Influence of Discourse Content and Context on Preschoolers' Use of Language" (Lucia A. French, Joan Lucariello, Susan Seidman, and Katherine…