Decontextualized Language Use in Early Mother-Child Interactions

• In Event: Home and Family Contributions to Young Children's Development

Abstract

The present study examined the relationship between the language learning context in family and the school language development of 3 to 6 year-old bilingual Turkish children in the Netherlands. Special attention has been paid to exploring the properties of decontetualized language in the child directed speech and its effects on the development of school language abilities of children. 15 mother-child dyads have been videotaped in three different interactional settings and analyzed to explore the decontextualized language features though a variety of measures. Results indicated synchronic and time-lagged relationships between decontextualized language use in mothers' speech and children's linguistic gains. These results and the possible contribution of exposure to decontetualized language and children’s school language development will be further explored.

Author

• Serpil Demir-Vegter, SQU