Causes and consequences of variability in early language learning
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Anne E. Fernald
Abstract
At every age, individuals vary substantially in language abilities. This chapter focuses on individual differences in language proficiency that are already evident in the second year of life. Although studies over a century have documented links between parent-child verbal interactions and later language outcomes, the emphasis in research since the 1970s has been on commonalities across children, rather than on individual differences, where they come from, and how they matter. Recent studies show that differences in early processing efficiency predict language growth, and that variability in early language experience contributes to these differences in processing skill. These findings suggest that it is time to reframe the debate about the causes and consequences of variability in language learning. Keywords: Early experience; language processing; individual differences
Abstract
At every age, individuals vary substantially in language abilities. This chapter focuses on individual differences in language proficiency that are already evident in the second year of life. Although studies over a century have documented links between parent-child verbal interactions and later language outcomes, the emphasis in research since the 1970s has been on commonalities across children, rather than on individual differences, where they come from, and how they matter. Recent studies show that differences in early processing efficiency predict language growth, and that variability in early language experience contributes to these differences in processing skill. These findings suggest that it is time to reframe the debate about the causes and consequences of variability in language learning. Keywords: Early experience; language processing; individual differences
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- List of contributors ix
- Introduction 1
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Part I. Extracting regularities
- Toward a theory of gradual morphosyntactic learning 15
- Cues to form and function in the acquisition of German number and case inflection 35
- Developing first contrasts in Spanish verb inflection 53
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Part II. Multiple cues in learning to communicate
- A new look at redundancy in children's gesture and word combinations 75
- Learning the meaning of “ um ” 91
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Part III. Discovering units
- From first words to segments 109
- Analysis and generalization across verbs and constructions 135
- Two- and three-year-olds' linguistic generalizations are prudent adaptations to the language they hear 153
- Units of learning in language acquisition 167
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Part IV. Individual differences
- Causes and consequences of variability in early language learning 181
- Individual differences in measures of linguistic experience account for variability in the sentence processing skill of five-year-olds 203
- Genetic variation and individual differences in language 223
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Part V. Mechanisms for learning
- Language as a process 241
- Memory, sleep and generalization in language acquisition 261
- Bayesian modeling of sources of constraint in language acquisition 277
- Index 295
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- List of contributors ix
- Introduction 1
-
Part I. Extracting regularities
- Toward a theory of gradual morphosyntactic learning 15
- Cues to form and function in the acquisition of German number and case inflection 35
- Developing first contrasts in Spanish verb inflection 53
-
Part II. Multiple cues in learning to communicate
- A new look at redundancy in children's gesture and word combinations 75
- Learning the meaning of “ um ” 91
-
Part III. Discovering units
- From first words to segments 109
- Analysis and generalization across verbs and constructions 135
- Two- and three-year-olds' linguistic generalizations are prudent adaptations to the language they hear 153
- Units of learning in language acquisition 167
-
Part IV. Individual differences
- Causes and consequences of variability in early language learning 181
- Individual differences in measures of linguistic experience account for variability in the sentence processing skill of five-year-olds 203
- Genetic variation and individual differences in language 223
-
Part V. Mechanisms for learning
- Language as a process 241
- Memory, sleep and generalization in language acquisition 261
- Bayesian modeling of sources of constraint in language acquisition 277
- Index 295
