Session 4: Comprehending and producing language

Introduction

In the previous session, you learned about babbling,first words, sign language and speech production. You also explored the role of Child Directed Speech (CDS) in shaping children’s early language use. Now children are contributors to the conversation, we need to consider the relation between language production and comprehension. You’ll take a brief pause to consider what makes a good theory of language acquisition, which introduces you to the transactional way of thinking about development. The remainder of the session explores different perspectives on learning semantics – what language refers to and what it means – before returning to the role that caregivers play in helping children to learn meaning.

By the end of this session, you should be able to:

• describe the comprehension-production asymmetry
• understand the transactional model of language development
• explain the strategies children use to learn the meaning of words
• consider how caregivers support children to learn meaning.